restos humanos
/restos umanos/from spelling rules
The English phrase 'human remains' is translated into Spanish as restos humanos.
The phrase restos humanos is used in formal, forensic, archaeological or journalistic contexts to refer to the physical parts of a deceased person, especially after the body has begun to decay.
Which one should you use?
While restos humanos often implies fragmented or decayed parts, un cadáver typically refers to a whole, intact dead body. The term restos mortales can also be used as a formal way to refer to human remains.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In some Latin American countries, restos óseos is commonly used in scientific or forensic contexts to mean human remains.
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase restos humanos is masculine and plural, so any accompanying adjectives must also be masculine and plural.
Did you know?
- While English uses 'remains' to describe both the person and the physical parts, the Spanish restos can sometimes imply 'leftovers' or 'scraps' in a culinary context. This makes the choice of the adjective 'humanos' essential to avoid sounding like one is discussing food scraps.
- In some Spanish-speaking cultures, the term restos is used in the phrase recoger los restos, which can mean both physically recovering a body and metaphorically picking up the pieces of a ruined life.
- Spanish uses the word restos because it derives from the Latin 'restare', meaning 'to remain'. This mirrors the English 'remain' but applies to a wider range of physical debris in Spanish.
Examples in context
- Desenterraron una caja que contenía restos humanos.They dug up a box containing human remains.This sentence is useful for describing the discovery of a container holding restos humanos.Tatoeba #976462 by hayastan, translation #1334897 by CM
- Se encontraron restos humanos durante la excavación.Human remains were found during the excavation.This sentence is useful for describing the discovery of restos humanos during an excavation.Tatoeba #569052 by darinmex, translation #569049 by darinmex
- El arqueólogo descubrió antiguos restos humanos en el sitio de excavación.The archaeologist discovered ancient human remains at the excavation site.
- Los restos mortales del fallecido fueron entregados a su familia para su sepultura.The deceased's mortal remains were delivered to the family for burial.
- En el antiguo cementerio se encontraron restos de casi 200 individuos.Almost 200 individuals' remains were found in the old cemetery.
- Los despojos humanos yacen en paz bajo la sombra de los árboles del cementerio.The human remains lie in peace under the shade of the trees in the cemetery.
- La policía analizó los restos humanos encontrados en el bosque.The police analyzed the human remains found in the forest.
Example conversation
Two archaeologists are discussing a recent discovery at a site.
- AlejandroSofía, ¿viste lo que hallaron en la zona norte?Sofía, did you see what they found in the north zone?
- SofíaSí, Alejandro, parecen restos humanos muy antiguos.Yes, Alejandro, they look like very old human remains.
- AlejandroEs una noticia importante para nuestra investigación.It is important news for our research.
- SofíaDebemos proceder con mucho respeto.We must proceed with much respect.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
