barro
/ˈbaro/masculine
The English word mud translates to Spanish as barro, lodo, fango or limo.
Meaning: mixture of soil and water (noun)
Ways to say it
| Spanish | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| barro | /ˈbaro/ | masculine |
| lodo | /ˈlodo/ | masculine |
| fango | /ˈfanɡo/ | masculine |
| limo | /ˈlimo/ | masculine |
All these terms refer to a mixture of soil and water.
Which one should you use?
While all these words mean mud, fango often implies a thicker, stickier or more unpleasant sludge than lodo or barro. The word limo is used specifically for fine-grained silt or sediment found at the bottom of rivers or lakes. Barro is the most common word for mud, but it is also the standard word for clay used in ceramics.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
Each of these forms is a masculine noun. To express the action of making something muddy, you can use the verbs enlodar, embarrar or enfangar.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈbaro/
Did you know?
- In an unexpected linguistic twist, one possible origin for the word barro is the Latin word 'varus', which refers to a pustule on the face.
- The term fango is often used metaphorically in Spanish to describe a 'muddy' or morally corrupt situation that is difficult to escape.
- The distinction between barro, lodo and fango is often intuitive rather than strict, and a speaker might switch words just to avoid repeating the same sound in a sentence.
Examples in context
- No pises el lodo.Don't step in the mud.The sentence is useful for warning someone not to step in the lodo.Tatoeba #9466479 by dpcossio, translation #4376026 by Lepotdeterre
- Tom se cayó al barro.Tom fell into the mud.The sentence is useful for describing someone falling into the barro.Tatoeba #1522791 by marcelostockle, translation #1522784 by Spamster
- Ella lo sacó del lodo.She pulled him out of the mud.The sentence is useful for describing someone being pulled out of the lodo.Tatoeba #3276780 by cueyayotl, translation #887345 by CK
- El suelo está lleno de barro.The ground is full of mud.
- Evite pisar el barro.Avoid stepping on the mud.
- Después de la lluvia, la carretera se llena de fango.After the rain, the road fills with mud.
- Ese pantano está repleto de fango.That swamp is full of mud.
- ¡No te ensucies el pantalón en el lodo!Don't get your pants dirty in the mud!
- Los niños se divierten jugando en el lodo.Kids have fun playing in the mud.
- Las lluvias dejan el camino lleno de cieno.The rains leave the road full of mud.
- Después de la tormenta, la zona se convirtió en un lodazal.After the storm, the area turned into a mud field.
- 27 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Alejandro and María are walking in a park after a rainstorm.
- AlejandroMaría, ten cuidado con ese barro.Maria, watch out for that mud.
- MaríaGracias, Alejandro, casi me resbalo.Thanks, Alejandro, I almost slipped.
- AlejandroEs que hay mucho barro por todas partes.It is just that there is mud everywhere.
- MaríaSí, es un desastre caminar así.Yes, it is a mess walking like this.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “mud” translations and entries barro, lodo, fango, limo, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries barro, fango, limo, lodo, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
