huella ecológica
/weʝa ekoloxika/from spelling rulesfeminine
The English phrase "ecological footprint" is huella ecológica in Spanish.
huella ecológica is a noun used to describe a measure of human demand on the Earth's ecosystems.
Meaning: measure of human demand on the Earth's ecosystems (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The term is composed of huella (footprint/track) and ecológica (ecological).
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun huella is feminine, so the adjective must also be in the feminine form ecológica. The plural form is huellas ecológicas, where both the noun and the adjective take the plural suffix '-s'.
Did you know?
- The concept of a 'digital footprint' in Spanish is often translated as huella digital, which creates a linguistic ambiguity as it can also mean a 'fingerprint' in a forensic context.
- The word huella comes from the verb hollar, which means to tread or trample upon. While the verb is rarely used in daily conversation, its derivative huella is common for any type of mark left by a foot or finger.
- While huella ecológica describes an environmental impact, the expression dejar huella is commonly used to describe leaving a lasting emotional or spiritual legacy in another person's life.
Examples in context
- Mi objetivo es reducir mi huella ecológica utilizando transporte público en lugar de conducir mi automóvil todos los días.My goal is to reduce my ecological footprint by using public transportation instead of driving my car every day.
- Deberíamos tomar medidas para disminuir nuestro impacto ecológico y proteger el medio ambiente para futuras generaciones.We should take steps to decrease our ecological footprint and protect the environment for future generations.
- Debemos reducir nuestra huella ecológica.We must reduce our ecological footprint.
- Su huella ecológica es muy baja.His ecological footprint is very low.
- La huella ecológica afecta al planeta.The ecological footprint affects the planet.
Example conversation
Elena and Daniel are talking about environmental habits.
- ElenaDaniel, estoy intentando disminuir mi huella ecológica.Daniel, I am trying to decrease my ecological footprint.
- Daniel¡Qué bien! ¿Qué estás haciendo exactamente?That's great! What exactly are you doing?
- ElenaAhora compro menos plástico y reciclo más.Now I buy less plastic and recycle more.
- DanielYo también quiero ayudar al planeta.I want to help the planet too.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “ecological footprint” translations, 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 huella, CC BY-SA 4.0.
