tonta
/tonta/from spelling rules
tonta is the Spanish word for silly or foolish when describing a female.
The term tonta is used to describe a female who is being silly or foolish. A common way to express this as an exclamation when a woman makes a mistake is ¡Qué tonta!, which translates to "How silly!" or "How foolish!"
Which one should you use?
Use tonta specifically when referring to a female. For a male, use tonto.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Argentina, Uruguay and some other South American countries, the informal expression boluda is used as an equivalent to tonta.
How does it change in a sentence?
The word changes based on gender and number: use tonto for a foolish/silly male, tontas for foolish/silly females in the plural and tontos for a group of foolish/silly males.
How do you pronounce it?
/tonta/
Did you know?
- In Spanish, the word tonto can be used to describe 'dumb' technology, such as a teléfono tonto to refer to a basic feature phone as opposed to a smartphone.
- The phrase tonto del culo is a common, vulgar intensification of the word used to describe someone as completely and utterly stupid.
- The phrase hacerse la tonta means to pretend to be foolish or oblivious to avoid a task or responsibility.
Examples in context
- ¡Ay, mi tontita! ¿Cómo pudiste olvidar tu propio cumpleaños?Oh, my silly one! How could you forget your own birthday?
- No seas tonta, eso es verdad.Don't be silly, that is true.
- Ella cometió una acción muy tonta.She committed a very foolish act.
- Esa película es un poco tonta.That movie is a bit silly.
Example conversation
María and Javier are discussing a mistake María made at work.
- MaríaFui muy tonta al olvidar las llaves.I was very foolish to forget the keys.
- JavierNo te preocupes, a todos nos pasa.Don't worry, it happens to everyone.
- MaríaEs que me siento muy tonta ahora.It's just that I feel very silly right now.
- JavierTranquila, María, no es para tanto.Calm down, María, it's not a big deal.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
