puro diez
/puɾo djeθ/from spelling rules
In Spanish, "straight a's" is expressed as puro diez.
The highest possible grades in every subject on a student's report card.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In some Latin American countries, one might say Sacar calificaciones de diez en todo.
How does it change in a sentence?
While puro diez is often used as an invariable expression, you can pluralize it to puros dieces to refer to multiple perfect grades.
How do you pronounce it?
/puɾo djeθ/
Did you know?
- While puro diez refers to academic perfection, the word puro on its own is the standard Spanish word for a 'cigar'.
- The word diez in puro diez shares a common ancestor with the English word 'decimate'. Both stem from the Proto-Indo-European root *déḱm̥, which relates to the number ten.
- In certain Spanish-speaking regions, the 'perfect score' might not be a 'diez' but a 'cinco' or a 'cien', depending on the local grading scale. Using puro diez in a country that uses a scale of 1 to 5 would result in a misunderstanding.
Examples in context
- Ella siempre tiene puro diez en la escuela.She always gets straight A's in school.
- Mi hijo tiene puro diez en su boleta.My son has straight A's on his report card.
Example conversation
Two friends are discussing their academic performance at a cafe.
- Daniel¿Cómo te fue en el semestre, Sofía?How did your semester go, Sofía?
- Sofía¡Muy bien! Saqué puro diez en todas mis materias.Very well! I got straight A's in all my subjects.
- Daniel¡Felicidades! Eres una estudiante muy dedicada.Congratulations! You are a very dedicated student.
- SofíaGracias, Daniel. Me esforcé mucho este año.Thanks, Daniel. I worked very hard this year.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries diez, puro, CC BY-SA 4.0.
