Ways to say it
| Spanish | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| escalera | /eskaˈleɾa/ | feminine |
| gradas | /ˈɡɾadas/ | feminine, plural |
| escalinata | /eskaliˈnata/ | feminine |
The term refers to a contiguous set of steps. While the singular escalera can mean a single ladder or an entire staircase, speakers frequently use the plural form escaleras to refer to a set of stairs, much like in English.
Which one should you use?
escalera is the general term for a staircase or a ladder. If you are talking about a wide, grand or monumental set of stairs, often found outdoors, use escalinata. For the steps found in a stadium or on bleachers, use gradas, which refers to tiers or steps. If you need to refer specifically to the individual steps of a staircase in a technical or architectural context, the word peldaños is used.
How does it change in a sentence?
escalera and escalinata are feminine singular nouns. gradas is a feminine plural noun.
How do you pronounce it?
/eskaˈleɾa/
Did you know?
- The English word 'escalator' is a direct linguistic relative of the Spanish escalera, sharing the same Latin root for 'steps'.
- While escalera means stairs, the word escalada refers to the sport of climbing, such as rock climbing.
- Spanish has a specific word peldaño for a single step, which is often used metaphorically to describe a 'step' toward achieving a goal.
Examples in context
- Él subió las escaleras.He climbed the stairs.This sentence is useful for describing the action of climbing the escalera.Tatoeba #742178 by Shishir, translation #530801 by wma
- Bajó por las escaleras.He went down the stairs.This sentence is useful for describing the action of going down the escalera.Tatoeba #1682309 by termito2nd, translation #9202874 by DJ_Saidez
- Baja por las escaleras.Go down the stairs.This sentence is useful for giving a command to go down the escalera.Tatoeba #7276527 by arh, translation #9269729 by CK
- Por favor, tome la escalera a su derecha.Please take the stairs to your right.
- ¿Dónde están las escaleras?Where are the stairs?
- 86 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Sofía and Javier are in a house looking for the bedrooms.
- SofíaLa escalera está al fondo del pasillo.The stairs are at the end of the hallway.
- JavierGracias, Sofía. ¿Sube al segundo piso?Thanks, Sofía. Does it go up to the second floor?
- SofíaSí, usa esa escalera para subir.Yes, use those stairs to go up.
- JavierPerfecto, voy para allá ahora.Perfect, I'm going there now.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “stairs” translations and entries escalera, gradas, escalinata, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries escalera, escalinata, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
