Which one should you use?
In many Latin American educational systems, la secundaria specifically refers to middle school or the level immediately following elementary school, which contrasts with the English concept of high school. Use ir a la secundaria if you specifically mean attending middle school or junior high.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Spain, students often refer to high school as instituto, using phrases like Ir al instituto, Estudiar en el instituto or Hacer el bachillerato. In student circles in Spain, the shorthand insti is common, as seen in Estudiar en el insti. In Mexico, high school is often called preparatoria and you might say Ir a la preparatoria or Estudiar en la preparatoria. In Argentina, high school is commonly called colegio secundario and you might use the phrase Hacer la secundaria. In the Southern Cone, including Argentina and Chile, el colegio is the standard term for high school, though in other regions this word might imply primary school. In Spain and parts of Latin America, ir al bachillerato is also a common way to refer to attending high school.
How does it change in a sentence?
To say 'I go to high school', you conjugate the verb ir to the first person singular form, voy, resulting in voy a la escuela secundaria.
Did you know?
- The verb ir is a linguistic puzzle because it is made of three different Latin roots. The form voy comes from vādere, fui comes from esse, and the voseo form andá comes from andar.
- A person in Mexico saying voy a la preparatoria and a person in Spain saying voy al instituto are both describing the same stage of education despite using entirely different nouns.
Examples in context
- Voy al colegio secundarioI go to high school
- Ayer asistí al instituto y estudié matemáticas.Yesterday, I went to high school and studied math.
- El próximo año mi hermano irá al instituto por primera vez.Next year, my brother will go to high school for the first time.
- ¿Cuándo vas a ir a la escuela secundaria?When are you going to go to high school?
- Mi hermana no quiere ir a la escuela secundaria.My sister does not want to go to high school.
Example conversation
Alejandro and Sofía are talking about their younger siblings.
- AlejandroSofía, ¿tu hermano menor ya es grande?Sofía, is your younger brother grown up now?
- SofíaSí, él empezó a ir a la escuela secundaria.Yes, he started to go to high school.
- Alejandro¡Qué rápido pasa el tiempo!How fast time flies!
- SofíaEs verdad, ya no es un niño.It's true, he is not a child anymore.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries a, escuela, ir, la, secundaria, CC BY-SA 4.0.
