Vía Láctea
/ˌbia ˈlaɡtea/feminine
The English phrase "milky way" is translated into Spanish as Vía Láctea.
Vía Láctea is used as the name of our galaxy.
Meaning: galaxy (name)
What does it mean word for word?
The term is composed of vía (way/path) and láctea (milky/made of milk).
How does it change in a sentence?
Because vía is a feminine noun, the phrase always takes the feminine definite article la.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˌbia ˈlaɡtea/
Did you know?
- The word vía is used in Spanish to describe not just a path, but also a railway track or a specific lane of traffic.
- The adjective láctea in Vía Láctea is the root for productos lácteos, the general term for all dairy products in Spanish.
- The Spanish word vía shares a common ancestor with the English word 'way', both tracing back to the Proto-Indo-European root *weyh₁- meaning to go or travel.
Examples in context
- Nuestra galaxia es la Vía Láctea.Our galaxy is the Milky Way.This sentence is useful for stating that our galaxy is the Vía Láctea.Tatoeba #10060976 by manufrutos, translation #7477013 by Amastan
- Nuestra Vía Láctea es una galaxia.Our Milky Way is a galaxy.This sentence is useful for stating that our Vía Láctea is a galaxy.Tatoeba #8383543 by arh, translation #8383986 by cromwellt
- Nuestra galaxia se llama Vía Láctea.Our galaxy is called the Milky Way.Tatoeba #1249342 by hayastan, translation #897395 by CM
- Los astrónomos estudian los fenómenos que ocurren en la Vía Láctea.Astronomers study the phenomena occurring in the Milky Way.
- El Camino de Santiago es una ruta histórica que se cree sigue el trazado de la Vía Láctea.The Camino de Santiago is a historic route believed to follow the path of the Milky Way.
- 20 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Mateo and Lucía are looking at the night sky.
- MateoMira, ¡puedo ver la Vía Láctea!Look, I can see the Milky Way!
- LucíaEs impresionante verla desde aquí.It is impressive to see it from here.
- Mateo¿Sabes cuántas estrellas hay en la Vía Láctea?Do you know how many stars are in the Milky Way?
- LucíaNo lo sé, pero son muchísimas.I don't know, but there are very many.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “milky way” translations and entries Vía Láctea, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries Vía Láctea, vía, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
