corrimiento de tierra
/korimjento de tjera/from spelling rulesmasculine
The English word landslide is translated into Spanish as corrimiento de tierra. Wiktionary also lists deslave and desprendimiento térreo.
Meaning: natural disaster (noun)
Ways to say it
| Spanish | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| corrimiento de tierra | /korimjento de tjera/ (from spelling rules) | masculine |
| deslave | /desˈlabe/ | Latin America, masculine |
| desprendimiento térreo | /despɾendimjento tereo/ (from spelling rules) | masculine |
| argayo | /aɾˈɡaʝo/ | Spain, masculine |
| alud terrero | /alud tereɾo/ (from spelling rules) | masculine |
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase corrimiento de tierra literally means movement of earth.
Which one should you use?
While corrimiento de tierra is a more descriptive and formal term, deslave is the more common everyday term in Latin American Spanish. The term desprendimiento de tierra is often used to describe a smaller-scale landslide or a detachment of earth or rocks.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Latin America, deslave is the common term. In Argentina, the term derrumbe is used. In Spain, you may hear argayo to refer to a landslide or rockfall or Desprendimiento de tierra to describe a landslide.
How does it change in a sentence?
All provided forms are masculine nouns.
Did you know?
- While the English word 'landslide' is often used as a metaphor for a victory by a large margin in an election, Spanish speakers use different terms like victoria aplastante to avoid the natural disaster imagery.
- The word tierra shares a common ancestor with the English word 'dry', stemming from a root meaning 'to dry up'.
- The word derrumbe, used for landslides in Argentina, shares a root with the verb derrumbar, which can also mean 'to demolish' or 'to tear down' a building.
Examples in context
- Las autoridades informaron sobre un grave deslizamiento de tierra en la región montañosa.The authorities reported a serious landslide in the mountainous region.
- ¡Viste el deslave que bloqueó el camino principal?Did you see the landslide that blocked the main road?
- El terremoto provocó un derrumbe en las laderas del volcán.The earthquake caused a landslide on the slopes of the volcano.
- El corrimiento de tierra bloqueó la carretera principal.The landslide blocked the main highway.
- Hubo un corrimiento de tierra después de la lluvia.There was a landslide after the rain.
- El corrimiento de tierra causó muchos daños en el pueblo.The landslide caused a lot of damage in the town.
Example conversation
Lucía and Alejandro are discussing the news on a rainy day.
- Lucía¿Viste las noticias sobre el corrimiento de tierra?Did you see the news about the landslide?
- AlejandroSí, fue un corrimiento de tierra muy peligroso.Yes, it was a very dangerous landslide.
- LucíaEspero que Alejandro esté a salvo en la montaña.I hope Alejandro is safe in the mountains.
- AlejandroÉl está bien, pero la zona es muy inestable.He is fine, but the area is very unstable.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “landslide” translations and entries corrimiento de tierra, deslave, argayo, 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.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries argayo, corrimiento, de, desprendimiento, tierra, térreo, CC BY-SA 4.0.
