la llama
/la ʝama/from spelling rules
The English phrase "the animal llama" is la llama in Spanish.
la llama refers to the South American camelid used as a pack animal. In certain parts of South America, such as Argentina and Chile, the term llama might be used more broadly to encompass the guanaco.
Which one should you use?
In Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia, speakers may use alpaca to differentiate the smaller species from the llama.
How does it change in a sentence?
To make the phrase plural, change the article to las and add an s to the noun, resulting in las llamas.
How do you pronounce it?
/la ʝama/
Did you know?
- The Spanish language uses the same word llama for the animal and for a 'flame', despite them having completely different origins.
- In Andean culture, llamas are often decorated with colorful tassels and pom-poms during festivals to signify ownership and community identity.
- The Spanish word llama is a loanword from Quechua, the primary language spoken by the Inca Empire.
Examples in context
- Me encanta la llama en el zoológico.I love the llama at the zoo
- Las llamas de los Andes son animales muy resistentes.Llamas from the Andes are very resilient animals
- ¡Mira qué linda la llamita!Look, how cute the little llama is!
- Vi una alpaca y una llama en el mercado de artesanía.I saw an alpaca and a llama at the craft market
- Los gauchos observaron las llamas y los guanacos en el horizonte.The gauchos observed the llamas and guanacos on the horizon
- Una llama blanca y elegante pastaba en el campo.A white and elegant llama was grazing in the field
- La llama es un animal muy fuerte.The llama is a very strong animal.
- Vi la llama en el zoológico.I saw the llama at the zoo.
- La llama camina por las montañas.The llama walks through the mountains.
Example conversation
Lucía and Alejandro are visiting a farm in the Andes.
- LucíaAlejandro, ¿viste la llama que está allí?Alejandro, did you see the llama over there?
- AlejandroSí, Lucía, es muy bonita y peluda.Yes, Lucía, it is very pretty and fluffy.
- LucíaDicen que la llama es muy sociable.They say that the llama is very sociable.
- AlejandroVamos a darle algo de comer.Let's give it something to eat.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries la, llama, CC BY-SA 4.0.
