tres minutos
/tɾes minutos/from spelling rules
The English phrase "three minutes" is translated into Spanish as tres minutos.
tres minutos refers to a duration of time consisting of three sixty-second intervals. If you want to say that something happened three minutes ago, you can use the phrases Hace tres minutos or Tres minutos atrás. For informal situations where you want to say "a few minutes," you might use un ratito.
How does it change in a sentence?
While tres minutos is the plural form used for three minutes, the singular form un minuto is used when referring to a duration of one minute.
How do you pronounce it?
/tɾes minutos/
Did you know?
- In many Spanish-speaking countries, if someone tells you 'dame tres minutos', they likely mean they need much longer than 180 seconds.
- The word 'minuto' comes from the Latin 'minutus', meaning 'small', which highlights that a minute was originally conceived as a 'small part' of an hour.
- The number 'three' in tres shares the same ancient Proto-Indo-European root as the English word 'three', making them distant linguistic cousins.
Examples in context
- Déjame solo por tres minutos.Leave me alone for three minutes.This example shows how to use tres minutos to express a duration of time for being left alone.Tatoeba #13933042 by BenjaBesings_14, translation #12335314 by CK
- Cerrá los ojos por tres minutos.Close your eyes for three minutes.This example uses tres minutos to indicate how long someone should close their eyes.Tatoeba #1675888 by hayastan, translation #245008 by CK
- Tomás habló durante tres minutos.Tom spoke for three minutes.This example uses tres minutos to describe the duration of a person's speech.Tatoeba #5046295 by don_ramon, translation #5044412 by CK
- 16 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Daniel and Elena are waiting for a microwave to finish heating food.
- Daniel¿Cuánto tiempo falta, Elena?How much time is left, Elena?
- ElenaFaltan tres minutos.There are three minutes left.
- DanielEso es mucho tiempo.That is a long time.
- ElenaSí, espera tres minutos más.Yes, wait three more minutes.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries tres, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
