hierba alta
/jeɾba alta/from spelling rules
The English phrase "tall grass" is translated into Spanish as hierba alta.
hierba alta refers to grass that has grown to a height greater than usual. Depending on the context, you might also use Monte, an informal term that generally means "woods" but is occasionally used to refer to areas with tall grass or dense vegetation.
Which one should you use?
There is a distinction between the types of grass being described. hierba alta refers to the botanical plant or weeds. In contrast, pasto alto is more commonly used when referring to grass in a lawn or pasture context.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Chile and some parts of Colombia, pasto largo may be used instead of hierba larga or césped alto.
How does it change in a sentence?
The plural form is constructed by adding -s to both the noun and the adjective, resulting in hierbas altas.
How do you pronounce it?
/jeɾba alta/
Did you know?
- In some Spanish-speaking regions, the word monte is used to describe any land where nature has taken over, meaning a patch of 'tall grass' can be linguistically treated as a forest.
- The Spanish word hierba is a direct descendant of the Latin word 'herba', which also gave rise to the English word 'herb'.
- Depending on the region, such as in Chile or parts of Colombia, the adjective largo meaning 'long' is used instead of alto meaning 'tall' to describe overgrown grass.
Examples in context
- El campo estaba cubierto de hierba alta y húmeda después de la lluvia.The field was covered in tall and wet grass after the rain.
- Recuerdo cuando solíamos jugar en el campo de hierba larga durante el verano.I remember when we used to play in the field of tall grass during the summer.
- Cuidado con la hierba alta.Watch out for the tall grass.
- El conejo se escondió en la hierba alta.The rabbit hid in the tall grass.
- Hay mucha hierba alta en el campo.There is a lot of tall grass in the field.
Example conversation
Daniel and Lucía are walking through a park.
- Daniel¿Ves ese perro en la hierba alta?Do you see that dog in the tall grass?
- LucíaNo, no puedo verlo bien.No, I cannot see him well.
- DanielEstá justo detrás de la hierba alta.He is right behind the tall grass.
- Lucía¡Ah, ya lo vi!Ah, I saw him!
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries hierba, CC BY-SA 4.0.
