helado
/eˈlado/masculine
The English phrase "ice cream" is helado in Spanish. Wiktionary also lists nieve and sorbete.
Meaning: dessert (noun)
Ways to say it
| Spanish | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| helado | /eˈlado/ | masculine |
| nieve | /ˈnjebe/ | Mexico |
| sorbete | /soɾˈbete/ | El Salvador, masculine |
The most common term for ice cream is helado.
Which one should you use?
While nieve literally means snow, in Mexico it is commonly used to refer to ice cream or shaved ice.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Mexico, nieve refers to fruit-based sorbets. In El Salvador, sorbete is used. In Spain, sorbete is used specifically for fruit-based sorbets.
How do you pronounce it?
/eˈlado/
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly use the feminine article la with helado because they are thinking of la crema or la nieve, but helado is always masculine.
Did you know?
- The term sorbete traveled through a long chain of languages, moving from Arabic to Persian, Turkish, Italian and French before entering Spanish.
- The word helado is literally just the word for 'frozen'.
Examples in context
- Me gusta la nieve.I like ice cream.Tatoeba #741809 by Shishir, translation #4439455 by fanty
- Le gusta la nieve.She likes ice cream.Tatoeba #4482228 by cueyayotl, translation #650986 by CK
- Me gusta el helado.I love ice cream.Tatoeba #1249536 by Shishir, translation #740936 by CK
- Me gustaría un helado de vainilla, por favor.I would like a vanilla ice cream, please.
- ¿Vamos por un heladito?Shall we go for an ice cream?
- 178 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
A sunny afternoon at a park.
- MaríaHace mucho calor hoy, Alejandro.It is very hot today, Alejandro.
- AlejandroSí, vamos a comprar un helado.Yes, let's go buy an ice cream.
- María¡Qué buena idea! Yo quiero uno.What a great idea! I want one.
- AlejandroYo también, María. Busquemos una tienda.Me too, María. Let's look for a shop.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “ice cream” translations and entries helado, nieve, sorbete, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries helado, nieve, sorbete, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
