tortuga marina
/toɾtuɡa maɾina/from spelling rulesfeminine
The English phrase "sea turtle" is tortuga marina in Spanish.
tortuga marina is used to refer to any turtle that inhabits the oceans.
Meaning: any turtle that inhabits oceans (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of tortuga (turtle) and marina (marine or of the sea).
How does it change in a sentence?
Because the phrase is feminine, it must be preceded by feminine articles such as la or una. When forming the plural, tortugas marinas, both the noun and the adjective take the plural suffix -s.
How do you pronounce it?
/toɾtuɡa maɾina/
Did you know?
- The word tortuga likely shares its roots with 'Tartarus', the deepest abyss of the Greek underworld.
- In Spanish, tortuga is used for both land tortoises and sea turtles, unlike English which distinguishes between 'tortoise' and 'turtle'.
- The word marina is also used in Spanish to refer to the 'Navy' as a military organization.
Examples in context
- Las tortugas marinas son criaturas maravillosas y protegidas por ley.Sea turtles are wonderful creatures protected by law.
- Ayer vi una tortuga muy grande nadando en el mar.Yesterday, I saw a very large turtle swimming in the sea.
- ¡Mira esa enorme tortuga marina en la playa!Look at that huge sea turtle on the beach!
- Las tortugas marinas son fascinantes.Sea turtles are fascinating.
- Vi una tortuga marina en el océano.I saw a sea turtle in the ocean.
- La tortuga marina es un animal hermoso.The sea turtle is a beautiful animal.
- ¿Has visto alguna tortuga marina en este acuario?Have you seen any sea turtle in this aquarium?
Example conversation
Mateo and Lucía are watching a nature documentary on TV.
- Mateo¡Mira esa tortuga marina!Look at that sea turtle!
- LucíaEs muy grande y lenta.It is very large and slow.
- MateoMe encanta la vida de la tortuga marina.I love the life of the sea turtle.
- LucíaA mí también me fascina.It fascinates me too.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “sea turtle” 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 marina, tortuga, CC BY-SA 4.0.
