castillo de arena
/kastiʝo de aɾena/from spelling rulesmasculine
The English word 'sandcastle' is castillo de arena in Spanish.
The term refers to a sculpture made of sand that resembles a miniature castle.
Meaning: a sculpture made of sand and resembling a miniature castle (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of castillo (castle) and de arena (of sand).
How does it change in a sentence?
To make the phrase plural, you pluralize the noun castillo to castillos while keeping de arena the same, resulting in castillos de arena.
How do you pronounce it?
/kastiʝo de aɾena/
Did you know?
- The Spanish word arena for 'sand' shares the same root as the English word 'arena'. In Ancient Rome, the floor of an arena was covered in sand to soak up blood from gladiatorial combat.
- While castillo de arena is the standard term, Spanish speakers often use the verb hacer (to make) specifically for sandcastles, whereas in English, one might 'build' or 'construct' them.
Examples in context
- Ella decoró el castillo de arena con conchas y algas.She decorated the sandcastle with seashells and seaweed.This sentence is useful for showing how to use castillo de arena with decorative elements like shells and seaweed.Tatoeba #13854200 by mervert1, translation #12787048 by Tower
- Hoy construí un castillo de arena en la playa.Today I built a sandcastle at the beach.
- Los niños están construyendo castillitos de arena.The children are building little sandcastles.
- ¡Mira qué fortaleza de arena tan impresionante!Look at that impressive sand fortress!
- El castillo de arena es muy grande.The sandcastle is very big.
- Los niños construyeron un castillo de arena.The children built a sandcastle.
Example conversation
Javier and Lucía are at the beach.
- JavierLucía, ayúdame a hacer un castillo de arena.Lucía, help me make a sandcastle.
- LucíaClaro, Javier. ¿Dónde ponemos la torre?Sure, Javier. Where do we put the tower?
- JavierPongamos la torre en el centro del castillo de arena.Let's put the tower in the center of the sandcastle.
- LucíaEstá bien, va a quedar muy bonito.All right, it's going to look very pretty.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “sandcastle” 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.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries arena, castillo, de, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
