mil novecientos treinta y nueve
/mil nobeθjentos tɾeinta i nwebe/from spelling rules
The English phrase 'nineteen thirty nine' is translated into Spanish as mil novecientos treinta y nueve.
This phrase is used to refer to the specific year that follows nineteen thirty-eight.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of several numerical parts: mil means thousand, novecientos means nine hundred.
Did you know?
- The word novecientos is an irregular combination because it uses nove- instead of the root nueve to avoid the repetitive sounds that would occur in nuevecientos.
- The word mil shares an ancient root with the Latin 'mille', which is why it is the ancestor of the English word 'mile'.
- While English speakers might say 'nineteen thirty-nine' to refer to the year, doing so in Spanish would sound like you are reciting two separate numbers, 'nineteen' and 'thirty-nine', rather than a single year.
Examples in context
- Hoy recordamos el año mil novecientos treinta y nueve como un hito histórico.Today we commemorate the year nineteen thirty nine as a historical milestone.
- En el año mil novecientos treinta y nueve, nació mi abuelo.In the year nineteen thirty nine, my grandfather was born.
- La guerra empezó en mil novecientos treinta y nueve.The war started in nineteen thirty nine.
- Ese libro fue publicado en mil novecientos treinta y nueve.That book was published in nineteen thirty nine.
- Estamos hablando del año mil novecientos treinta y nueve.We are talking about the year nineteen thirty nine.
Example conversation
Two students are discussing a history assignment in a library.
- Sofía¿En qué año ocurrió ese evento histórico?In what year did that historical event occur?
- AlejandroFue en mil novecientos treinta y nueve, Sofía.It was in nineteen thirty nine, Sofia.
- SofíaGracias, Alejandro. ¿Tienes la fecha exacta?Thanks, Alejandro. Do you have the exact date?
- AlejandroNo, solo sé el año.No, I only know the year.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries mil, nueve, treinta, y, CC BY-SA 4.0.
