más o menos
/ˌmas o ˈmenos/
The English phrase 'plus or minus' is translated into Spanish as más o menos.
The phrase más o menos is used to express an approximate amount or degree, similar to 'plus or minus' or 'approximately' in English.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˌmas o ˈmenos/
Did you know?
- In some Spanish-speaking regions, más o menos can be used to describe a person's physical appearance as 'average' or 'plain' without being overtly insulting.
- In many Spanish-speaking cultures, más o menos can be accompanied by a hand gesture where the palm faces down and the hand rocks side to side.
- The word más shares a common ancestor with the English word 'master' through the Latin 'magis'.
Examples in context
- La temperatura será de 25 grados Celsius, más o menosThe temperature will be 25 degrees Celsius, plus or minus
- Tardaré más o menos una hora.I will take more or less an hour.
- ¿Cuánto cuesta el hotel? Más o menos cien euros.How much does the hotel cost? More or less one hundred euros.
- Había más o menos veinte personas en la fiesta.There were more or less twenty people at the party.
Example conversation
Elena and Javier are discussing the cost of a dinner.
- Elena¿Cuánto costó la cena, Javier?How much did dinner cost, Javier?
- JavierCostó veinte euros, más o menos.It cost twenty euros, plus or minus.
- ElenaEso es un precio razonable.That is a reasonable price.
- JavierSí, no fue muy caro.Yes, it wasn't very expensive.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry más o menos, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries menos, más, o, CC BY-SA 4.0.
