dos pies
/dos pjes/from spelling rules
The English phrase "two feet" is translated into Spanish as dos pies.
dos pies is used to refer to both the anatomical body parts of a person or animal and the measurement of length equal to two units of a foot.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of dos (two) and pies (feet).
Which one should you use?
In Spanish, dos pies can refer to both the anatomical body parts and the unit of measurement, whereas in English, "feet" is the plural of "foot" and "foot" is the unit.
How does it change in a sentence?
The word pie (foot) changes from its singular form pie to the plural form pies when preceded by the number two.
Did you know?
- While dos pies can be a measurement, most Spanish-speaking countries use the metric system and refer to the imperial foot specifically as pie inglés to avoid confusion.
- In Spanish, the word pie is used in the term pie de página, which means 'footer' or 'footnote' at the bottom of a document.
- The word dos shares a common ancient ancestor with the English word 'two', originating from the Proto-Indo-European root *dwóh₁.
Examples in context
- El hombre tiene dos pies.The man has two feet.This sentence is useful for practicing the use of dos pies.Tatoeba #853493 by japegon, translation #853157 by piksea
- El escritorio mide dos pies de largo.The desk measures two feet long.
- El cuadro debe estar colgado a dos pies exactos del suelo.The painting should be hung two feet exactly from the floor.
- La estatua mide un par de pies de altura.The statue measures a pair of feet tall.
- La tabla mide dos pies.The board measures two feet.
- Necesito un cable de dos pies.I need a two-foot cable.
Example conversation
Lucía and Alejandro are at a hardware store looking at supplies.
- Lucía¿Cuántos pies mide ese tubo?How many feet long is that tube?
- AlejandroMide exactamente dos pies.It measures exactly two feet.
- LucíaPerfecto, es el tamaño que buscamos.Perfect, it is the size we are looking for.
- AlejandroLo llevaré a la caja, Lucía.I will take it to the register, Lucía.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries dos, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
