supermercado
/ˌsupeɾmeɾˈkado/
The English phrase "super market" is translated into Spanish as supermercado.
supermercado refers to a large self-service store that sells a wide variety of food and household goods.
What does it mean word for word?
The word is a compound of super- (super) and mercado (market).
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun is masculine, so it is used with the definite article el to form el supermercado (the supermarket). To form the plural, add -s to the end of the word to get supermercados (supermarkets).
How do you pronounce it?
/ˌsupeɾmeɾˈkado/
Did you know?
- The word supermercado is a calque, meaning it was created by translating the English word 'supermarket' piece by piece into Spanish.
- Depending on the region, you might see the term hipermercado for stores that are even larger than a supermercado and sell non-food items like electronics and clothes.
- While supermercado is the official term, people in Spain often shorten it to just el super in daily conversation.
Examples in context
- Voy al supermercado a comprar comida para la semana.I'm going to the supermarket to buy food for the week.
- ¿Dónde está la tienda de comestibles más cercana?Where is the nearest grocery store?
- ¿Sabes si hay un super por aquí?Do you know if there's a grocery store around here?
- Voy al supermercado ahora.I am going to the supermarket now.
- El supermercado está muy cerca de aquí.The supermarket is very close to here.
- Necesito comprar leche en el supermercado.I need to buy milk at the supermarket.
Example conversation
Mateo and María are talking in their kitchen.
- Mateo¿Vamos al supermercado, María?Shall we go to the supermarket, María?
- MaríaSí, necesito comprar frutas.Yes, I need to buy fruit.
- MateoEl supermercado está abierto hoy.The supermarket is open today.
- MaríaPerfecto, vamos enseguida.Perfect, let's go right away.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry supermercado, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries supermercado, CC BY-SA 4.0.
