Ways to say it
| Spanish | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| fresa | /ˈfɾesa/ | feminine |
| frutilla | /fɾuˈtiʝa/ | Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, feminine |
Both fresa and frutilla refer to the strawberry fruit. You can use the term fresa silvestre for a wild strawberry or fresa de campo to refer to a field strawberry. Common descriptive phrases include fresas rojas for red strawberries and fresones grandes for big strawberries.
Which one should you use?
While fresa is the standard term in many Spanish-speaking regions like Spain and Mexico, frutilla is the preferred term in much of the Southern Cone and Andean regions.
Is it said differently in some regions?
The form frutilla is used in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay.
How does it change in a sentence?
Both terms are feminine nouns. The plural form of fresa is fresas and the plural form of frutilla is frutillas.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈfɾesa/
When do people say it?
When talking about food, you might use these words to describe something sweet, such as in the sentence Las fresas están dulces hoy (The strawberries are sweet today) or to discuss culinary uses like Podemos hacer una deliciosa mermelada de fresa (We can make a delicious strawberry jam).
Did you know?
- In a hardware store, a fresa is not something you can eat. It is the Spanish word for a 'milling cutter' or a drill bit used for cutting holes.
- In many Spanish-speaking countries, the word fresa has nothing to do with fruit when used as slang. In Mexico, calling someone a fresa refers to a person who is preppy, posh, or high-class.
- The Spanish word fresa was not inherited directly from Latin but was borrowed from the French word fraise.
Examples in context
- Fuimos a recoger frutillas.We went strawberry-picking.This sentence is useful for describing the activity of picking fruit using frutilla.Tatoeba #3113427 by marcelostockle, translation #253084 by sundown
- Me gusta la nieve de fresa.I like strawberry ice cream.This sentence shows how to express a preference for strawberry-flavored ice cream using fresa.Tatoeba #4482258 by cueyayotl, translation #1129683 by CK
- Una nieve de fresa, por favor.A strawberry ice cream, please.This sentence is a way to order strawberry ice cream using fresa.Tatoeba #9283783 by ecorralest101, translation #9283758 by DJ_Saidez
- Me encanta comer fresasI love eating strawberries
- ¿Dónde puedo comprar frutillas frescas?Where can I buy fresh strawberries?
- ¡Qué ricos los fresones!How delicious these strawberries are!
- Vamos a comer helado de frutillaLet's eat strawberry ice cream
- Me gustaría probar una fresa silvestreI would like to try a wild strawberry
- 13 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Sofía and Alejandro are deciding what to eat for dessert.
- Sofía¿Quieres una fresa con crema?Do you want a strawberry with cream?
- AlejandroSí, me encantan las fresas.Yes, I love strawberries.
- SofíaVoy a comprar algunas ahora.I am going to buy some now.
- AlejandroMuchas gracias, Sofía.Thank you very much, Sofía.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “strawberry” translations and entries fresa, frutilla, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries fresa, frutilla, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
