comer helado
/komeɾ elado/from spelling rules
To eat ice cream in Spanish is comer helado.
This phrase is used to describe the act of consuming a frozen dessert made from cream or fruit.
Which one should you use?
While comer helado is the standard way to express the action, you may also see tomar helado used in many Spanish-speaking regions to mean 'to have' or 'to consume' ice cream. If you wish to be more formal, you can use the phrase Degustar un helado, which means 'to taste an ice cream'.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In some Latin American countries, the word nieve might be used instead of helado to refer to ice cream.
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun helado can be used in its plural form, helados, when you are referring to multiple ice creams or different types of ice cream.
Did you know?
- While nieve means 'snow' in most contexts, in Mexico it specifically refers to water based sorbets rather than dairy based ice cream.
- The term helado is a direct cognate of the Italian word 'gelato', as both descend from the Latin word gelātus.
- The word helado is actually a hidden verb form. It is the past participle of the verb helar, meaning 'to freeze', making the dessert literally 'a frozen thing'.
Examples in context
- No voy a comer helado.I will not eat ice cream.This sentence shows how to express a future intention using comer helado.Tatoeba #1156086 by marcelostockle, translation #1132445 by Scott
- Me gustaría comer helado.I would like to eat ice cream.This sentence uses comer helado to express a preference.Tatoeba #4690062 by cueyayotl, translation #4690095 by NatsuDonkey
- ¿Dejas a tus hijos comer helados?Do you let your children eat ice cream?This sentence uses comer helado within a question about children.Tatoeba #6710296 by arh, translation #6707888 by CK
- Vamos a comer heladoLet's go eat ice cream
- ¡Claro! Me encantaría disfrutar de un helado en el parque.Of course! I would love to enjoy an ice cream in the park.
- 4 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Elena and Alejandro are walking through a park on a hot day.
- ElenaHace mucho calor, ¿quieres comer helado?It is very hot, do you want to eat ice cream?
- AlejandroSí, me encantaría comer helado ahora mismo.Yes, I would love to eat ice cream right now.
- ElenaPerfecto, vamos a la tienda de la esquina.Perfect, let's go to the corner shop.
- Alejandro¡Qué buena idea, Elena!What a great idea, Elena!
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries comer, helado, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
