notas
/notas/from spelling rules
The Spanish word for "grades" is notas.
notas refers to the marks or scores given to students to evaluate their performance in a course.
Which one should you use?
While notas is the most common way to say grades, calificaciones is a more formal term often used in official academic documents or by teachers.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Spain, you may hear suspenso to mean failed or suspended. In parts of Latin America, apto is sometimes used instead of aprobado to express that a student has passed. In informal contexts, you may encounter Jalado to mean failed or flunked or De Panzazo to mean someone barely passed.
How do you pronounce it?
/notas/
What mistakes should you avoid?
Avoid using grados to mean academic grades. In Spanish, grados refers to temperature or angles, not academic marks.
Did you know?
- The word notas is a polysemous term that means both academic 'grades' and musical 'notes'.
- The term suspenso in Spain refers to a failing grade, but in other contexts, it describes the 'suspense' found in a thriller movie.
- A student who receives a zero or a very low mark might say they sacó un cero. The verb sacar is used here to mean 'to obtain' or 'to get' a specific result.
Examples in context
- Vamos a sacar buenas notas.We'll get good grades.This sentence is useful for practicing the use of notas regarding getting good grades.Tatoeba #5105212 by ecorralest101, translation #5105213 by Catriona
- Tom tiene notas extraordinarias.Tom got extraordinary grades.This sentence is useful for practicing the use of notas regarding extraordinary grades.Tatoeba #1386327 by marcelostockle, translation #680912 by Source_VOA
- Tuve pésimas notas este semestre.I got terrible grades this term.This sentence is useful for practicing the use of notas regarding terrible grades.Tatoeba #2099817 by marcelostockle, translation #257496 by CK
- María obtuvo un sobresaliente en su examen de matemáticas.María got an excellent grade on her math exam.
- Los estudiantes recibieron una nota notable por su trabajo en grupo.The students received a commendable grade for their group work.
- 21 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Javier and Elena are talking about university results in a cafe.
- Javier¿Cómo te fue con las notas?How did you do with your grades?
- ElenaSaqué buenas notas en mi curso.I got good grades in my course.
- Javier¡Qué bien! Yo tengo notas bajas.That's great! I have low grades.
- ElenaNo te preocupes, Javier, puedes mejorar.Don't worry, Javier, you can improve.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
