más y menos
/mas i menos/from spelling rules
The phrase for "plus and minus" in Spanish is más y menos.
This phrase is used to refer to the names of the mathematical symbols for addition and subtraction.
How does it change in a sentence?
In the context of addition, más functions as the mathematical operator for plus. In the context of subtraction, menos functions as the mathematical operator for minus.
How do you pronounce it?
/mas i menos/
Did you know?
- The word más shares a common ancestor with the English word 'master' via the Latin word magister.
- The word menos is used not only for subtraction but also to mean 'except' or 'save for' in phrases like todos menos yo.
- When reciting a subtraction problem aloud, a Spanish speaker says menos for the symbol, but the operation itself is called una resta.
Examples in context
- Diez menos dos resulta en ocho.Ten minus two results in eight.
- Tengo unos veinte dólares, más o menos.I have about twenty dollars, more or less.
- Tenía cinco caramelos, pero ahora me quedan tres. Es decir, dos menos.I had five candies, but now I have three. That is, two less.
- Dos más dos son cuatro, y cinco menos tres son dos.Two plus two are four, and five minus three are two.
- Solo usa los signos más y menos.Only use the plus and minus signs.
- En la calculadora dice más y menos.On the calculator it says plus and minus.
- Aprender los símbolos de más y menos es fácil.Learning the plus and minus symbols is easy.
Example conversation
Lucía and Mateo are studying basic math together.
- Lucía¿Cómo se llaman estos símbolos?What are these symbols called?
- MateoSon el más y el menos.They are the plus and the minus.
- LucíaAh, entiendo, más y menos.Ah, I see, plus and minus.
- MateoExacto, Lucía, lo has dicho bien.Exactly, Lucía, you said it correctly.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries menos, más, y, CC BY-SA 4.0.
