muela
/ˈmwela/
In Spanish, the phrase for molar tooth is muela.
The term muela refers to a large tooth at the back of the mouth used for grinding food. In professional medical or dental contexts, the technical term molar is also used in Spanish.
Which one should you use?
While muela is the standard term, muelita is an affectionate diminutive used in informal speech. In some parts of Spain, the colloquial term muelón is used specifically to refer to a big or oversized molar.
Is it said differently in some regions?
Muelón is a colloquial term used in some parts of Spain to describe a large molar.
How does it change in a sentence?
The plural form of muela is muelas, meaning molars.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈmwela/
Did you know?
- In Spanish, a 'millstone' is also called a muela, meaning the same word is used for both the tooth and the stone tool.
- The phrase sacar los dientes or sacar una muela is sometimes used metaphorically to describe a difficult or painful extraction of information.
- In Spanish, the word muela can refer to both a molar and a wisdom tooth.
Examples in context
- Me duele la muela derecha.My right molar hurts.
- Tengo una muela rota.I have a broken molar.
- La muela del juicio es muy grande.The wisdom molar is very large.
Example conversation
Sofía and Alejandro are talking about a dentist appointment.
- Sofía¿Tienes dolor de muela, Alejandro?Do you have a molar ache, Alejandro?
- AlejandroSí, me duele mucho una muela.Yes, one molar hurts a lot.
- SofíaDeberías ir al dentista pronto.You should go to the dentist soon.
- AlejandroTienes razón, iré mañana.You are right, I will go tomorrow.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry muela, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
