citas
/θitas/from spelling rules
The Spanish word for quotes is citas.
citas refers to words or passages taken from a text or speech and repeated by someone else. In Spanish, it is standard practice to use angular quotation marks at the beginning and end of a quote.
Which one should you use?
While citas refers to textual quotes, the same word can also mean appointments or dates depending on the context of the conversation.
How does it change in a sentence?
The singular form of the noun is cita.
How do you pronounce it?
/θitas/
Did you know?
- While English uses 'quotes' to mean both the text and the marks, Spanish speakers often distinguish between the cita (the text) and the comillas (the punctuation marks).
- The term cita is also used to describe a 'date' in a romantic context, so a cita romántica is a date with a partner.
- The angular quotation marks used in Spanish, , are often called comillas latinas or 'Latin quotes' to distinguish them from the English 'curly' or 'straight' quotes.
Examples in context
- Debo saber de donde provienen estas citas.I need to know where these quotes come from.This sentence shows how to express the need to know the source of certain citas.Tatoeba #2224853 by marcelostockle, translation #2536002 by AlanF_US
- Solo traduzco las citas que me gustan.I only translate quotes I like.This sentence illustrates the act of translating only specific citas that one likes.Tatoeba #9833890 by samir_t, translation #10568386 by DJ_Saidez
- "La vida es muy corta" dijo el poeta."Life is very short," said the poet.
- El profesor dice: "El examen es mañana."The teacher says, "The exam is tomorrow."
- El informe afirmó: "El proyecto fue un éxito."The report stated, "The project was a success."
- "Seguiremos trabajando para alcanzar nuestros objetivos", afirmó el director."We will continue working to achieve our goals," stated the director.
- De acuerdo con el artículo publicado por The New York Times, "La educación es la clave del éxito".According to the article published by The New York Times, "Education is the key to success."
- "No puedo creer que dijiste eso", exclamó Juan."I can't believe you said that," exclaimed Juan.
- "¡Qué alegría verte!", dijo Ana con una sonrisa."How great to see you!" said Ana with a smile.
- "Vamos a comer asado en el fin de semana", dijo Juan."Let's have a barbecue over the weekend," said Juan.
- "¿Has visto algún libro interesante?", preguntó María."Have you seen any interesting books?" asked María.
- "No estudié lo suficiente", dijo Pedro."I didn't study enough," said Pedro.
- Estas citas son de un libro muy famoso.These quotes are from a very famous book.
Example conversation
Mateo and Lucía are studying for a literature exam.
- MateoLucía, ¿ya anotaste las citas del poema?Lucía, did you already write down the quotes from the poem?
- LucíaSí, Mateo, tengo todas las citas aquí.Yes, Mateo, I have all the quotes here.
- MateoPerfecto, ¿podemos leerlas juntos?Perfect, can we read them together?
- LucíaClaro, empecemos con la primera.Sure, let's start with the first one.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
