platos sucios
/platos suθjos/from spelling rules
In Spanish, "dirty dishes" is said as platos sucios.
The phrase platos sucios refers to plates and cutlery that need to be washed after a meal.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of platos (dishes/plates) and sucios (dirty).
Which one should you use?
While platos sucios refers specifically to plates, la vajilla sucia is a more collective term used to describe all the dirty dishes, including bowls, plates and sometimes glassware.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In parts of Central and South America, such as Peru and Bolivia, trastes sucios is the preferred term for dirty dishes.
How does it change in a sentence?
Since platos is masculine, the adjective must be sucios.
How do you pronounce it?
/platos suθjos/
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly use the feminine sucias with platos, but since platos is masculine, the adjective must be sucios.
Did you know?
- In Mexico, the word trastes used for dishes can also refer to 'stuff' or 'belongings' in a general sense, similar to how an English speaker might say 'all my gear'.
- The term plato not only means 'plate' but is also the standard word for a 'course' in a meal, such as el primer plato for the first course.
- In many Spanish-speaking households, the act of washing the dishes is often called lavar los trastes rather than lavar los platos.
Examples in context
- Hay muchos platos sucios en la fregadera.There's a lot of dirty dishes in the sink.This sentence shows how to use platos sucios when describing the amount of dishes in a sink.Tatoeba #1602723 by Shishir, translation #1600201 by jathonjet
- El fregadero está lleno de platos sucios.The sink is full of dirty dishes.This sentence demonstrates using platos sucios to describe a sink that is full.Tatoeba #3935846 by gianich73, translation #3022382 by sharptoothed
- Había una pila de platos sucios en la pila.There was a stack of dirty dishes in the sink.This sentence shows how to use platos sucios when referring to a stack of dishes.Tatoeba #11835267 by Seael, translation #11172780 by CK
- 3 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Alejandro and Lucía are in the kitchen after dinner.
- AlejandroLucía, ¿puedes ayudarme con los platos sucios?Lucía, can you help me with the dirty dishes?
- LucíaSí, yo los lavo ahora mismo.Yes, I will wash them right now.
- AlejandroGracias, hay demasiados platos sucios hoy.Thanks, there are too many dirty dishes today.
- LucíaEs verdad, cocinamos para mucha gente.It's true, we cooked for many people.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
