la cena está lista
/la θena esta lista/from spelling rules
In Spanish, "dinner is ready" is said as la cena está lista.
This phrase is used to tell people that the evening meal is prepared and can be eaten.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of la (the), cena (dinner), está (is) and lista (ready).
How does it change in a sentence?
The adjective lista must be feminine to agree with the feminine noun la cena.
How do you pronounce it?
/la θena esta lista/
What mistakes should you avoid?
Do not use la cena está listo. Because cena is a feminine noun, you must use the feminine form lista.
Did you know?
- The word lista can also mean 'smart' or 'clever'. While la cena está lista means the meal is ready, saying ella es lista means 'she is smart'.
- In Spain, it is common to have la cena very late, often between 9 PM and 11 PM, which is much later than in most English-speaking cultures.
- The adjective lista is a cognate of the English word 'list', both tracing back to Germanic roots referring to a border or edge.
Examples in context
- ¡La cena está lista!Dinner is ready!Tatoeba #2117477 by Shishir, translation #1966372 by Sbgodin
- La cena está lista, papi.Dinner is ready, Father.Tatoeba #1291844 by hayastan, translation #282821 by CN
- Me pregunto si la cena está lista.I wonder if dinner is ready.Tatoeba #2240457 by marcelostockle, translation #324621 by CK
- Hola, la cena está lista. Por favor, siéntense a la mesa.Hello, dinner is ready. Please, take a seat at the table.
- Niños, ¡a cenar! Tenemos su plato favorito esta noche.Kids, dinner is ready! We have your favorite dish tonight.
- 3 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
In a kitchen during the evening.
- SofíaDaniel, ¡la cena está lista!Daniel, dinner is ready!
- Daniel¡Qué bueno! Ya voy, Sofía.Great! I'm coming, Sofía.
- Sofía¿Tienes mucha hambre?Are you very hungry?
- DanielSí, mucho. Gracias por cocinar.Yes, a lot. Thanks for cooking.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries cena, la, lista, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
