extraerse leche materna
/eɡstɾaeɾse let͡ʃe mateɾna/from spelling rules
The English phrase "pump breast milk" is translated into Spanish as extraerse leche materna.
This phrase describes using a device to remove milk from the breasts for later feeding. To refer to the device used for this process, you can use el extractor de leche.
Which one should you use?
While extraerse leche materna is a standard way to express this, you may also encounter the very formal phrase Obtener leche materna mediante extracción, which means "obtain breast milk by extraction". In casual conversation, many speakers use the verb sacar instead of extraer, resulting in the phrase sacarse leche.
How does it change in a sentence?
The term extraerse is a reflexive verb, meaning this phrase is used specifically when the subject is the person performing the extraction on their own body.
How do you pronounce it?
/eɡstɾaeɾse letʃe mateɾna/
Did you know?
- The Spanish word for milk, leche, is a close relative of the English word 'lactate' and the French word lait. All three descend from the Latin word lac, which meant 'milk'.
- Because extraerse is reflexive, the phrase emphasizes that the mother is performing the action on herself. Using the non-reflexive extraer leche would sound to a native speaker like the milk is being extracted by a medical professional or a machine independently.
- While extraerse leche materna is the standard term, in medical contexts in Spain and Latin America, you will often see the phrase extracción manual specifically to distinguish hand-expression from using el extractor de leche.
Examples in context
- Ella se sienta a extraerse leche materna.She sits down to pump breast milk.
Example conversation
Sofía and Daniel are organizing their baby's bag.
- SofíaVoy a extraerse leche materna para el día.I am going to pump breast milk for the day.
- DanielPerfecto, yo guardaré los biberones.Perfect, I will put away the bottles.
- Sofía¿Puedes traer el extractor de leche, Daniel?Can you bring the breast pump, Daniel?
- DanielSí, aquí lo tienes, Sofía.Yes, here it is, Sofía.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries leche, CC BY-SA 4.0.
