museo
/muˈseo/masculine
The Spanish word for museum is museo.
The term museo refers to a building or institution. To be more specific, you can use the phrase Museo de Arte to specify an art museum. In many Spanish-speaking countries, national museums are referred to as Museo Nacional de followed by the country's name.
Meaning: building or institution (noun)
Which one should you use?
While museo is the general term, Pinacoteca is a term that specifically refers to an art gallery or museum. In some Latin American countries, Museíto is a diminutive and colloquial way to say museum.
How does it change in a sentence?
The word museo is a masculine noun. The plural form of museo is museos.
How do you pronounce it?
/muˈseo/
Did you know?
- The word museo shares its roots with the English word 'music', as both trace back to the Greek 'Mousa', the goddesses of inspiration.
- In some Spanish contexts, the phrase está en el museo is used idiomatically to describe something so old or classic that it belongs in a collection.
- The suffix used to create museíto is a common Spanish tool called the diminutive, which can either indicate a small size or express affection and informality toward the institution.
Examples in context
- Hoy fui al museo.I went to the museum today.This sentence shows how to use museo to talk about visiting a museum.Tatoeba #3113419 by marcelostockle, translation #12888814 by rul
- Eso no es un museo.That's not a museum.This sentence uses museo in a negative statement.Tatoeba #5668353 by arh, translation #5392541 by CK
- Fue al museo en taxi.She went to the museum by cab.This sentence illustrates the use of museo when describing transport to a museum.Tatoeba #13858557 by Seael, translation #388675 by CK
- El Museo de Arte ModernoMuseum of Modern Art
- Museo Nacional de AntropologíaNational Museum of Anthropology
- El museo de historia es fascinanteThe history museum is fascinating
- Vimos un experimento interesante en el museo de cienciasWe saw an interesting experiment at the science museum
- 121 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lucía and Mateo are deciding on their afternoon plans.
- Lucía¿Quieres ir al museo hoy?Do you want to go to the museum today?
- MateoSí, me encantaría ir.Yes, I would love to go.
- LucíaEl museo de este pueblo es lindo.This town's museum is nice.
- MateoPerfecto, vamos ahora.Perfect, let's go now.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “museum” translations and entries museo, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries museo, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
