gato feo
/ɡato feo/from spelling rules
The English phrase "ugly cat" is translated into Spanish as gato feo.
Which one should you use?
In Spanish, the adjective feo typically follows the noun gato, whereas in English the adjective precedes the noun.
How does it change in a sentence?
If the cat is female, the phrase changes to the feminine form gata fea.
How do you pronounce it?
/ɡato feo/
Did you know?
- While gato usually means 'cat', the word is also a Spanish term for a 'car jack' used to lift vehicles.
- While gato feo describes an unattractive animal, using feo to describe a person's character in Spanish can imply they are 'nasty' or 'bad-tempered'.
- The term gato is also used in Spanish music to describe a specific style of traditional dance from Madrid.
Examples in context
- ¡Qué gato feo!What an ugly cat.Tatoeba #2698832 by ramonj, translation #1570765 by fanty
- Ese es un gato feo.That is an ugly cat.
- No quiero un gato feo en mi casa.I do not want an ugly cat in my house.
Example conversation
Mateo and Sofía are looking at a stray cat in the street.
- Sofía¿Viste ese gato feo en el callejón?Did you see that ugly cat in the alley?
- MateoSí, es un gato feo, pero parece hambriento.Yes, it is an ugly cat, but it looks hungry.
- SofíaPobre gato feo, necesita ayuda.Poor ugly cat, it needs help.
- MateoTienes razón, Sofía, vamos a darle comida.You are right, Sofía, let's give it food.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
