el perezoso
/el peɾeθoso/from spelling rules
The English phrase "the animal sloth" is translated into Spanish as el perezoso.
el perezoso is used to refer to the slow-moving mammal native to Central and South America.
What does it mean word for word?
The word perezoso means "lazy".
Which one should you use?
While el perezoso refers to the animal, the word perezoso alone can also mean the personality trait lazy.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In some parts of Mexico, people may refer to a sloth as perezoso de tres dedos or tres dedos.
How do you pronounce it?
/el peɾeθoso/
Did you know?
- The suffix -oso in perezoso is a productive tool in Spanish used to turn nouns into adjectives meaning 'full of'. It is the linguistic relative of the English suffix 'ous' in words like 'joyous'.
- In Spanish, if you call a person perezoso, you are not describing their physical speed but rather their lack of motivation.
- The word perezoso is a direct cognate of the French word paresseux, both descending from the same root for 'laziness'.
Examples in context
- En la selva tropical, el oso perezoso se mueve con calma entre los árboles.In the rainforest, the sloth moves calmly among the trees.
- El perezoso duerme mucho durante el día.The sloth sleeps a lot during the day.
- El perezoso se mueve muy lentamente.The sloth moves very slowly.
Example conversation
Lucía and Alejandro are watching a nature documentary on TV.
- Lucía¿Qué es ese animal tan lento?What is that very slow animal?
- AlejandroEs el perezoso, Lucía.It is the sloth, Lucía.
- LucíaEs muy tierno.It is very cute.
- AlejandroSí, es un animal muy tranquilo.Yes, it is a very calm animal.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries el, perezoso, CC BY-SA 4.0.
