tomar el autobús
/tomaɾ el autobus/from spelling rules
To ride the bus in Spanish is tomar el autobús.
The phrase is used to describe traveling using a bus as a means of transportation.
Which one should you use?
While tomar el autobús emphasizes the action of catching or boarding the vehicle, ir en autobús emphasizes the method of travel (to go by bus).
Is it said differently in some regions?
Different regions use different words for the bus itself. In Mexico, it is common to use camión instead of autobús, such as in the phrases tomar el camión or the informal agarrar el camión to mean 'catch the bus'. In the Canary Islands and parts of the Caribbean, such as Puerto Rico or Cuba, the word guagua is used, leading to the phrase tomar la guagua.
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase tomar el autobús is in the infinitive form and can be conjugated to change the tense. For example, tomé el autobús means 'I took the bus'.
How do you pronounce it?
/tomaɾ el autobus/
Did you know?
- The word guagua is also used in some Andean regions to mean 'baby', which could lead to confusion if the context of transportation is missing.
- The word autobús shares an ancestor with the Latin word omnibus, which means 'for all' or 'for everyone'.
- The term guagua used in the Caribbean and Canary Islands is thought by some linguists to come from the English word 'wagon'.
Examples in context
- Disculpe, ¿dónde puedo tomar el autobús hacia el centro?Excuse me, where can I take the bus to downtown?
- Para llegar a mi destino, prefiero utilizar el autobúsTo reach my destination, I prefer using the bus
- ¿Vas a tomar el autobús hoy?Are you going to ride the bus today?
- Tengo que tomar el autobús para ir al trabajo.I have to ride the bus to go to work.
Example conversation
Lucía and Daniel are discussing how to get to a party.
- LucíaDaniel, ¿quieres ir en tu coche?Daniel, do you want to go in your car?
- DanielNo, prefiero tomar el autobús.No, I prefer to ride the bus.
- LucíaEstá bien, yo también puedo tomar el autobús contigo.Fine, I can ride the bus with you too.
- Daniel¡Perfecto, nos vemos en la parada!Perfect, see you at the stop!
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries autobús, el, tomar, CC BY-SA 4.0.
