chica materialista
/t͡ʃika mateɾjalista/from spelling rules
The English phrase "material girl" is translated into Spanish as chica materialista.
Which one should you use?
While chica materialista is the standard translation for a girl, you can use mujer materialista to refer to the same concept when specifically describing an adult woman.
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase is gender-specific. To refer to a material boy, you would use chico materialista. To make the phrase plural, both the noun and the adjective must take the plural suffix -s, resulting in chicas materialistas.
How do you pronounce it?
/tʃika mateɾjalista/
Did you know?
- The root of 'materialista' comes from the Latin 'materia', which originally referred to 'wood' or 'timber' as the physical substance of things.
- Spanish speakers might use the phrase interesada as a more common, colloquial synonym for a chica materialista when implying she is only dating for money.
- While in English 'materialist' often describes a philosophy, in Spanish, calling someone a materialista almost always carries a heavy social stigma of being superficial or greedy.
Examples in context
- ¿Sabes qué? ¡Esa chica es súper materialista! Siempre quiere lo último de moda.You know what? That girl is super materialistic! She always wants the latest fashion trends.
- Ella es una chica materialista.She is a material girl.
- No quiero ser una chica materialista.I don't want to be a material girl.
- Esa chica materialista solo piensa en marcas.That material girl only thinks about brands.
Example conversation
Daniel and Sofía are discussing a former classmate.
- DanielSofía, ¿has visto las fotos de Lucía?Sofía, have you seen Lucía's photos?
- SofíaSí, parece una chica materialista ahora.Yes, she seems like a material girl now.
- DanielSiempre quiere ropa de lujo.She always wants luxury clothes.
- SofíaEs verdad, es muy superficial.It's true, she is very superficial.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries materialista, CC BY-SA 4.0.
