Ways to say it
| Spanish | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| almuerzo | /alˈmweɾθo/ /alˈmweɾso/ |
Latin America, masculine |
| comida | /koˈmida/ | Spain, feminine |
| yanta | /ʝanta/ (from spelling rules) | dialectal |
| lonche | /ˈlont͡ʃe/ | Latin America, masculine |
| lonch | /lont͡ʃ/ (from spelling rules) | Latin America, masculine |
| lunch | /ˈlont͡ʃ/ /ˈlant͡ʃ/ |
masculine |
The word refers to a meal around midday.
Which one should you use?
In Latin America, almuerzo is the standard term for the midday meal. In Spain, comida is more commonly used for the main midday meal, even though comida literally means food.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
The word lonche is an informal, anglicized version of lunch used in many parts of Latin America, often referring to a packed lunch or a snack.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Spain, lunch is commonly referred to as la comida. Across most Latin American countries, lunch is usually referred to as el almuerzo. Other forms found in Latin America include lonche, lonch and lunch. The form yanta is dialectal.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun almuerzo is masculine, so you must use masculine articles like el (el almuerzo) or un (un almuerzo). To say to eat lunch, you can use the verb almorzar, which is an o-to-ue stem-changing verb. For example, the 'o' changes to 'ue' in many conjugations such as yo almuerzo (I eat lunch). Other verbs for the action of eating lunch include lonchear and lonchar.
How do you pronounce it?
/alˈmweɾθo/
Did you know?
- The word almuerzo shares a common ancestor with the English word 'mordant', which describes something that 'bites'. This is because the Latin root admordere literally meant 'to bite into'.
- In many Spanish-speaking cultures, la comida is the most important meal of the day and is often eaten much later than the English 'lunch', sometimes as late as 3 PM.
- While almuerzo is the standard term in Latin America, in some regions of Spain it can refer to a mid-morning snack rather than the main meal of the day.
Examples in context
- Te debo un almuerzo.I owe you a lunch.This sentence shows how to express owing someone a lunch using almuerzo.Tatoeba #2502598 by marcelostockle, translation #2389602 by CK
- Es hora del almuerzo.It's lunch time.This sentence uses almuerzo to indicate it is currently time for lunch.Tatoeba #1327438 by hayastan, translation #433692 by CK
- La comida está lista.Lunch is ready.This sentence uses comida to say that lunch is ready.Tatoeba #2052064 by marcelostockle, translation #3560086 by lys1123
- Vamos a almorzar en ese nuevo restaurante.Let's have lunch in that new restaurant.
- 201 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Daniel and Elena are deciding what to eat at work.
- Daniel¿Qué quieres para el almuerzo?What do you want for lunch?
- ElenaNo sé, tal vez una ensalada.I don't know, maybe a salad.
- DanielYo prefiero un almuerzo caliente.I prefer a hot lunch.
- ElenaEstá bien, busquemos un restaurante.Okay, let's look for a restaurant.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “lunch” translations and entries almuerzo, comida, yanta, lonche, lunch, 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 almuerzo, comida, lonche, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
