horas de crédito
/oɾas de kɾedito/from spelling rules
The English phrase "credit hours" is translated into Spanish as horas de crédito.
This phrase refers to the units used by colleges and universities to measure the value of a course based on the student's workload. In many academic contexts, Spanish-speaking students will often simplify this by referring to them simply as créditos.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of horas (hours), de (of) and crédito (credit).
How does it change in a sentence?
To refer to a single credit hour, use the singular form hora de crédito.
How do you pronounce it?
/oɾas de kɾedito/
Did you know?
- The word crédito originates from the Latin creditum, which referred to a loan or a financial credit.
- While you might say you are 'taking' credits in English, a Spanish speaker will often use the verb cursar, which literally means 'to course' or 'to follow a course'.
- In Spain, créditos follow the ECTS system, which is designed to make academic progress portable across different European universities.
Examples in context
- Estoy tomando cinco horas de crédito en la universidad este semestre.I am taking five credit hours at the university this semester.
- Cada asignatura tiene tres unidades de crédito.Each subject has three credit hours.
- Necesito completar 120 créditos para obtener mi título.I need to complete 120 credit hours to obtain my degree.
- Esta materia tiene tres horas de crédito.This subject has three credit hours.
- Necesito completar más horas de crédito este semestre.I need to complete more credit hours this semester.
- El número de horas de crédito varía según el curso.The number of credit hours varies depending on the course.
Example conversation
Two students are discussing their university class schedules.
- MaríaJavier, ¿cuántas horas de crédito tiene tu clase?Javier, how many credit hours does your class have?
- JavierTiene cuatro horas de crédito en total.It has four credit hours in total.
- MaríaEso es mucho trabajo para un solo curso.That is a lot of work for a single course.
- JavierSí, pero es fundamental para mi carrera.Yes, but it is fundamental for my degree.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries crédito, de, CC BY-SA 4.0.
