minas
/minas/from spelling rules
The English word "mines" is translated into Spanish as minas.
The term minas refers to excavations in the earth from which minerals or precious stones are extracted. It is also used to refer to naval mines, which are explosive devices used in water.
Which one should you use?
Depending on the context, minas can refer to both mineral excavations and naval mines (explosives).
How does it change in a sentence?
The singular form of the noun is mina.
How do you pronounce it?
/minas/
Did you know?
- In some Latin American countries, the word mina is used colloquially as a slang term for a 'woman' or 'girl', though this is highly informal and varies by region.
- In Spanish, the word mina is also used to describe the lead core inside a pencil, which is actually graphite.
- The word mina is a cognate with the English word 'mine', but they both trace their roots back to the Latin 'mina', which referred to a vein of ore.
Examples in context
- Argelia no tiene minas de diamantes.Algeria has no diamond mines.This sentence is useful for stating that a country does not possess diamond mines with respect to minas.Tatoeba #10276414 by Seael, translation #7857332 by Amastan
- La navegación era difícil porque había minas.Navigation was difficult because there were mines.This sentence illustrates how the presence of mines can make navigation difficult with respect to minas.Tatoeba #2267608 by cueyayotl, translation #2267607 by _undertoad
- En las minas se encuentran minerales valiosos.In mines you can find valuable minerals.This sentence describes finding valuable minerals within mines with respect to minas.Tatoeba #1239154 by Shishir, translation #775404 by drahcir
- Esa casa es la míaThat house is mine
- El coche es el míoThe car is mine
- Esa bicicleta es la míaThat bicycle is mine
- Los libros son los míosThe books are mine
- 4 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Elena and Javier are discussing a history documentary about gold.
- ElenaEl documental habla sobre las minas de oro.The documentary talks about the gold mines.
- JavierParece que el trabajo allí era muy peligroso.It seems like the work there was very dangerous.
- ElenaSí, las minas eran profundas y oscuras.Yes, the mines were deep and dark.
- JavierNo me gustaría trabajar en ese lugar.I would not like to work in that place.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
