poner música
/poneɾ musika/from spelling rules
To play music in Spanish is to poner música.
poner música is a common and general way to express the action of starting a music player or device so that music can be heard.
What does it mean word for word?
The verb poner literally means 'to put' or 'to place'.
Which one should you use?
While poner música is the standard way to say 'play music' in daily conversation, reproducir música is a more technical or formal term often found in software instructions or digital interfaces.
What mistakes should you avoid?
Do not use jugar música. English speakers sometimes mistakenly use jugar (which means to play a game or sport) instead of poner or reproducir when talking about music.
Did you know?
- In digital settings, reproducir is used for 'play', which is the same word Spanish speakers use for 'reproduce' or 'breed' in biology.
- While poner música is used for starting a device, if a person is actually performing the music on an instrument, Spanish speakers use the verb tocar.
- The word murga, referring to a type of musical carnival group, is a linguistic doublet of música.
Examples in context
- Cuando se sentía decaída, a Francisca le gustaba poner música en su viejo tocadiscos y ponerse a bailar, olvidando el mundo por unos minutos.Whenever Francisca felt down, she liked to play music on her old record player and dance, forgetting about the world for a few minutes.This sentence shows how someone might use poner música to help them feel better.Tatoeba #10660034 by Shishir, translation #10664614 by DJ_Saidez
- Por favor, ¿puede poner música?Could you please play some music?
- Oye, ¿por qué no pones música?Hey, why don't you play some music?
- Cuando lleguemos a tu casa, pon la músicaWhen we arrive at your house, put on the music
- Toca música mientras preparamos la cenaPlay music while we prepare dinner
- Si desean música, no duden en pedir que pongamos música.If you would like music, don't hesitate to ask us to play some.
- ¿Puedes poner música mientras compartimos un café?Can you play some music while we have coffee?
- Voy a poner música para estudiar.I am going to play music to study.
- ¿Puedes poner música en la fiesta?Can you play music at the party?
Example conversation
A couple is getting ready to relax at home.
- ElenaMateo, ¿quieres poner música?Mateo, do you want to play music?
- MateoSí, Elena, me encanta la idea.Yes, Elena, I love the idea.
- ElenaVoy a poner música suave.I am going to play soft music.
- MateoPerfecto, así descansaremos mejor.Perfect, that way we will rest better.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries música, poner, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
