media pulgada
/medja pulɡada/from spelling rules
The English phrase "half an inch" is translated into Spanish as media pulgada.
media pulgada is used to express a measurement of length equal to one half of an inch.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of media (half) and pulgada (inch).
Which one should you use?
media pulgada de grosor means "half an inch thick" and media pulgada de largo means "half an inch long".
Did you know?
- The word media in media pulgada is a homonym that also means 'sock' in Spanish.
- The word pulgada shares its origin with the Latin word for 'thumb', because the unit was originally based on the width of a person's thumb.
- In many Spanish-speaking countries, if you are talking about a computer or television screen size, you must use pulgadas even though the physical dimensions are actually measured in centimeters.
Examples in context
- La longitud del tornillo es de media pulgadaThe length of the screw is half an inch
- Encontré un tornillo de media pulgada en la caja de herramientasI found a half-inch screw in the toolbox
- Necesito una pieza de media pulgada.I need a half an inch piece.
- El tornillo mide media pulgada de largo.The screw is half an inch long.
- Solo falta media pulgada para terminar.There is only half an inch left to finish.
Example conversation
Mateo and María are working in a workshop.
- María¿De qué tamaño es este cable?How big is this cable?
- MateoTiene de grosor media pulgada.It is half an inch thick.
- MaríaEs un poco más grueso de lo que quería.It is a little thicker than I wanted.
- MateoNo te preocupes, María, lo arreglaremos.Don't worry, María, we will fix it.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries media, pulgada, CC BY-SA 4.0.
