tercer piso
/teɾθeɾ piso/from spelling rules
tercer piso is the Spanish phrase for third floor.
tercer piso refers to the level of a building that is three stories above the ground.
Which one should you use?
While tercer piso is the standard way to express this, you may also encounter tercera planta, as planta is a frequent synonym for floor or level. It is important to note that in many Spanish-speaking countries, the primer piso is considered the ground floor. In such locations, the tercer piso actually corresponds to the fourth level of the building relative to the street.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In many Spanish-speaking regions, the word planta is used as a synonym for floor or level, appearing in the phrase tercera planta.
How does it change in a sentence?
The ordinal number tercero shortens to tercer when it is placed immediately before a masculine singular noun like piso.
How do you pronounce it?
/teɾθeɾ piso/
Did you know?
- The word piso shares a deep ancestral root with the Latin pinsō, which originally related to the action of pounding or crushing.
- While piso refers to a floor level, in Spain it is the standard word for a 'flat' or 'apartment'. You might live in a piso on the tercer piso.
- The shortening of tercero to tercer is not an optional stylistic choice, but a mandatory phonetic rule in Spanish when it precedes a masculine singular noun.
Examples in context
- Estamos en el tercer piso.We're on the third floor.This sentence is useful for saying where you are located using tercer piso.Tatoeba #7745768 by arh, translation #7722416 by CK
- Me llevaron al tercer piso.I was taken up to the third floor.This sentence is useful for describing being moved to the tercer piso.Tatoeba #13589376 by Seael, translation #2540639 by CK
- En el tercer piso hay otra cafetería.There's another café on the third floor.This sentence is useful for describing what can be found on the tercer piso.Tatoeba #6766732 by arh, translation #8960745 by sundown
- Cuando llegues al edificio, sube al tercer piso para encontrar nuestra oficina.When you arrive at the building, go up to the third floor to find our office.
- Puedes encontrarme en el tercer nivel de la biblioteca, junto a las mesas de estudio.You can find me on the third floor of the library, next to the study tables.
- Nos vemos en el apartamento del tercer piso. ¡No te olvides de pulsar el botón del ascensor!See you in the third-floor apartment. Don't forget to press the elevator button!
- 8 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Mateo and Elena are in a hotel lobby looking for their room.
- Mateo¿Está nuestra habitación en el tercer piso?Is our room on the third floor?
- ElenaNo, Mateo, es en el segundo piso.No, Mateo, it is on the second floor.
- MateoAh, entiendo, gracias por avisarme.Ah, I see, thanks for telling me.
- ElenaDe nada, vamos a subir.You're welcome, let's go up.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries piso, tercer, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
