Samara
/samaɾa/from spelling rules
Samara is the Spanish name for the city in Russia.
The term refers to the specific city in Russia. It should not be confused with the botanical term for a winged fruit.
Meaning: city in Russia (name)
Which one should you use?
The city name is written as Samara without an accent. In contrast, the botanical term for a winged indehiscent fruit is written as sámara, with an accent on the first syllable.
Related words
How do you pronounce it?
/samaɾa/
Did you know?
- In a Spanish biology textbook, sámara is the standard term for the 'helicopter' seeds of maple and ash trees.
- The word sámara is a 'proparoxítona' (esdrújula) because the stress falls on the third-to-last syllable, whereas the city name Samara is 'paroxítona' (llana).
- Depending on the dialect, a Spanish speaker might pronounce Samara and sámara so similarly that the listener must rely entirely on context to know if a city or a seed is being discussed.
Examples in context
- Señorita Samara, ¿puedo hablar con usted?Miss Samara, may I speak with you?
- Ella vive en Samara.She lives in Samara.
- Samara es una ciudad muy grande.Samara is a very large city.
- ¿Has visitado alguna vez Samara?Have you ever visited Samara?
Example conversation
Lucía and Javier are talking about travel plans.
- LucíaJavier, ¿conoces Samara?Javier, do you know Samara?
- JavierNo, pero me gustaría ir.No, but I would like to go.
- LucíaMi hermana está de viaje en Samara.My sister is traveling in Samara.
- JavierQué suerte tiene ella.She is so lucky.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “samara” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
