té helado
/te elado/from spelling rules
The English phrase "ice tea" is té helado in Spanish.
té helado refers to a beverage made of tea that is served cold.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of té (tea) and helado (iced/frozen).
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Mexico, the term té helado is most commonly used to describe ice tea. In Spain, you can use té frío for ice tea. Another common way to say iced tea is té frío.
How does it change in a sentence?
To make the phrase plural, change both the noun and the adjective to get tés helados.
How do you pronounce it?
/te elado/
When do people say it?
In Mexico, you may use the phrase té helado con limón to have ice tea with a splash of lemon.
Did you know?
- While té helado is perfectly understood, using the word helado alone in a restaurant might lead a waiter to bring you 'ice cream' instead of 'iced' tea.
- The Spanish word té is an example of a 'doublet' with the word cha, as both entered different languages from different Chinese pronunciations of the same character.
- The Spanish word for tea, té, requires a written accent mark to distinguish it from the pronoun 'te' (meaning 'you').
Examples in context
- ¿Me podría traer un té frío, por favor?Could you bring me an ice tea, please?
- Oye, ¿me consigues un té helado?Hey, could you get me an ice tea?
- Me gusta el té helado con limón.I like iced tea with lemon.
- El té helado está muy rico.The iced tea is very delicious.
Example conversation
A sunny afternoon at a cafe.
- María¿Qué quieres beber, Daniel?What do you want to drink, Daniel?
- DanielPrefiero un té helado, por favor.I prefer an iced tea, please.
- MaríaYo también voy a pedir un té helado.I am also going to order an iced tea.
- Daniel¡Perfecto, hace mucho calor hoy!Perfect, it is very hot today!
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry té helado, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
