mayor y menor
/maʝoɾ i menoɾ/from spelling rules
The phrase for "major and minor" in Spanish is mayor y menor.
In the context of music theory, mayor y menor is used to refer to major and minor scales or keys.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is literally composed of mayor (greater/older) and menor (lesser/younger).
Is it said differently in some regions?
In some regions, importante is used as an alternative for major.
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase mayor y menor remains unchanged regardless of whether it refers to masculine or feminine nouns, as mayor is gender-neutral and menor is also used for both genders.
How do you pronounce it?
/maʝoɾ i menoɾ/
Did you know?
- The word mayor is also used to describe the 'mayor' of a town in some historical contexts, but the modern word for a city mayor is alcalde.
- The word mayor shares an ancestral root with the English word 'more', both tracing back to the Proto-Indo-European concept of 'greater'.
- While mayor means 'greater' or 'older', the word más grande is more frequently used for physical size. Calling a large building mayor would sound unnatural to native speakers.
Examples in context
- La empresa ha tenido un impacto menor en la economía.The company has had a minor impact on the economy.
- El concierto fue un éxito grande.The concert was a major success.
- Tuvimos un problema pequeño con el auto esta mañana.We had a minor issue with the car this morning.
- La reunión fue de gran importancia para el proyecto.The meeting was of major importance for the project.
- El evento tiene un papel poco importante en nuestra estrategia.The event plays a minor role in our strategy.
- escala mayor y escala menorMajor scale and minor scale
Example conversation
Elena and Javier are talking about their siblings.
- ElenaTengo dos hermanos, uno mayor y menor.I have two brothers, one older and one younger.
- Javier¿Cómo se llevan ellos?How do they get along?
- ElenaEl hermano mayor y menor pelean mucho.The older and younger brother fight a lot.
- JavierEso es muy común entre hermanos.That is very common among siblings.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries mayor, menor, y, CC BY-SA 4.0.
