días libres
/dias libɾes/from spelling rules
The English phrase "days off" is translated into Spanish as días libres.
días libres refers to days when a person does not have to go to work or school. When expressing that you are personally taking time away from work, it is common to use the reflexive verb tomarse, as in tomarse unos días libres.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of días, meaning "days" and libres, meaning "free" or "available".
Is it said differently in some regions?
In some Latin American countries, you may also encounter the phrase días de asueto to refer to "days off". Additionally, if you are referring specifically to the "weekend", the phrase fin de semana is used.
How does it change in a sentence?
While días libres is the plural form for "days off", if you wish to refer to a single day off, you should use the singular form día libre.
Did you know?
- In Spain, workers often negotiate a puente or 'bridge' when a holiday falls near a weekend. This involves taking a día libre on the Tuesday or Thursday to create a long continuous break.
- The word libre in días libres is a cognate of the English word 'liberal'. Both derive from the Latin liber, meaning 'free'.
- Even if you are not traveling or going on a trip, Spanish speakers often use the word vacaciones to describe a long period of días libres.
Examples in context
- Toma unos días libres.Take a few days off.This sentence is useful for the imperative "Take a few days off" using días libres.Tatoeba #4466701 by senryakun, translation #3635959 by CK
- Me voy a tomar un par de días libres.I'm taking a couple of days off.This sentence is useful for saying "I'm taking a couple of days off" using días libres.Tatoeba #1321868 by Shishir, translation #258941 by CK
- Tom se está tomando un par de días libres.Tom is taking a few days off.This sentence is useful for describing someone else taking time off using días libres.Tatoeba #1692941 by marcelostockle, translation #1488736 by Spamster
- El gerente nos dará dos días libres la próxima semana.The manager will give us two days off next week.
- La próxima semana tendré unos días libres para descansar.Next week, I will have a few days off to relax.
- En mi país, el 16 de septiembre es un día feriado muy importante.In my country, September 16th is a very important public holiday.
- 2 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Elena and Javier are talking about their schedules at a cafe.
- Elena¿Vas a trabajar este fin de semana?Are you working this weekend?
- JavierNo, tengo mis días libres.No, I have my days off.
- Elena¡Qué bien! ¿Qué planes tienes, Javier?That's great! What plans do you have, Javier?
- JavierSolo quiero descansar mucho.I just want to rest a lot.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
