paso de peatones
/paso de peatones/from spelling rulesmasculine
The English word crosswalk is translated into Spanish as paso de peatones. Wiktionary also lists cruce.
Meaning: place where pedestrians can cross a street (noun)
Ways to say it
| Spanish | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| paso de peatones | /paso de peatones/ (from spelling rules) | masculine |
| cruce | /ˈkɾuθe/ /ˈkɾuse/ |
masculine |
A crosswalk is a place where pedestrians can cross a street.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase paso de peatones literally translates to crossing of pedestrians.
Which one should you use?
The term paso de peatones refers specifically to a designated area for people to walk across. In contrast, cruce is a more general term for any intersection or crossing point of paths or roads.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In some Latin American countries, the term paso peatonal is used instead of paso de peatones. In Mexico, the phrase cruce peatonal is frequently used as an alternative to cruce de peatones.
How does it change in a sentence?
To make the phrase paso de peatones plural, you pluralize the head noun paso to get pasos de peatones.
How do you pronounce it?
/paso de peatones/
Did you know?
- While paso de peatones is standard, you might see cebra used in many countries to describe the stripes themselves. This comes from the word for 'zebra', referring to the black and white pattern.
- In some Latin American cities, pedestrians may wait for a traffic light to turn green even if there is a paso de peatones, as the painted lines alone do not always grant legal right-of-way.
- The word paso comes from the Latin 'passus', which literally meant 'spread out' or 'stretch'.
Examples in context
- Deberías tener más cuidado en un cruce.You should be more careful at a crosswalk.This sentence illustrates the use of cruce to warn about being careful at a crosswalk.Tatoeba #692821 by arapajoe, translation #69634 by CM
- El paso de peatones está justo delante.The crosswalk is right in front.
- No cruces si no hay un paso de peatones.Don't cross if there isn't a crosswalk.
Example conversation
Mateo and María are walking in the city.
- Mateo¿Dónde está el paso de peatones más cercano?Where is the nearest crosswalk?
- MaríaEstá en la esquina de la calle.It is on the corner of the street.
- MateoGracias, María, vamos por allí.Thanks, María, let's go there.
- MaríaSí, es más seguro para nosotros.Yes, it is safer for us.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “crosswalk” translations and entries paso de peatones, cruce, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries cruce, de, paso, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
