veinte minutos
/beinte minutos/from spelling rules
The English phrase "twenty minutes" is translated into Spanish as veinte minutos.
veinte minutos is used to describe a period of time lasting twenty minutes.
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase uses the plural form minutos because the number veinte is greater than one. For comparison, if you were describing a duration of exactly one minute, you would use the singular form un minuto.
Did you know?
- In many Spanish-speaking countries, if someone says they will arrive in veinte minutos, they often mean a vague, approximate period of time rather than a precise measurement.
- The word veinte shares an ancient ancestor with the English word 'two', stemming from the same Proto-Indo-European root for 'two' and 'twenty'.
- While veinte minutos is the standard way to express the duration, when telling time, Spanish speakers often say veinte para las… to mean twenty minutes until the next hour.
Examples in context
- Yo ya llevo aquí veinte minutos.I've been here for twenty minutes.This sentence shows how to express how long you have been in a certain place using veinte minutos.Tatoeba #5711715 by arh, translation #9663011 by DJ_Saidez
- Volveré a llamar en veinte minutos.I'll call back in twenty minutes.This sentence demonstrates how to state that you will perform an action in twenty minutes using veinte minutos.Tatoeba #503606 by Shishir, translation #72952 by CK
- Tom compró su entrada hace veinte minutos.Tom bought his ticket twenty minutes ago.This sentence illustrates how to say that an event occurred twenty minutes ago using veinte minutos.Tatoeba #2133982 by marcelostockle, translation #1884531 by CK
- 12 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Daniel and Lucía are waiting for a train.
- DanielEl tren llega en veinte minutos.The train arrives in twenty minutes.
- LucíaEstá bien, podemos esperar.That's fine, we can wait.
- DanielTengo hambre, ¿buscamos algo?I'm hungry, shall we look for something?
- LucíaNo tenemos tiempo, son veinte minutos.We don't have time, it's twenty minutes.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries veinte, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
