Ways to say it
| Spanish | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| desperdicio | /despeɾˈdiθjo/ /despeɾˈdisjo/ |
masculine |
| desecho | /deˈset͡ʃo/ | masculine |
| desechos | /deˈset͡ʃos/ | masculine, plural |
| basura | /baˈsuɾa/ | feminine |
| acribaduras | /akɾibaduɾas/ (from spelling rules) | feminine, plural |
| ahechadura | /aet͡ʃaduɾa/ (from spelling rules) | feminine |
| ahechaduras | /aet͡ʃaduɾas/ (from spelling rules) | feminine, plural |
| echaduras | /et͡ʃaduɾas/ (from spelling rules) | feminine |
Spanish uses different words for waste depending on whether you are referring to abstract resources or physical objects. desperdicio is used for the waste of non-physical things like time, energy or opportunities, as well as the verb desperdiciar which means to waste a resource or an opportunity. For physical or industrial by-products, use desechos or desecho. The most common word for literal household garbage or trash is basura.
Which one should you use?
Choose your word based on the type of waste: desperdicio refers to abstract waste like time or energy. desechos refers to physical or industrial by-products. And basura refers to common household garbage.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Latin America, specifically in Colombia and Venezuela, the informal verb botar is often used to mean to waste or to throw away.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
desperdicio is a masculine noun and requires masculine articles such as el or un. In contrast, basura is a feminine noun and requires feminine articles like la or una.
How do you pronounce it?
/despeɾˈdiθjo/
Did you know?
- While basura means 'garbage', its distant ancestor is related to the Polish word śmieć and the Serbo-Croatian word смеће through a shared root meaning 'to sweep'.
- The term desperdicio originates from the Latin disperditiōnem, which referred to 'destruction' or 'ruin' rather than just useless by-products.
Examples in context
- ¡Qué desperdicio de energía!What a waste of energy!This is useful for expressing a reaction to wasted energy using desperdicio.Tatoeba #4600920 by cueyayotl, translation #24947 by CK
- Que desperdicio de tu título como abogado.What a waste of your lawyer qualifications!This demonstrates how to describe a wasted opportunity or qualification using desperdicio.Tatoeba #5108484 by hario7, translation #329280 by fcbond
- ¿Dónde hay que deshacernos de los desechos?Where should we dispose of the waste?This shows how to ask about disposing of physical waste using desecho.Tatoeba #1732296 by marcelostockle, translation #44504 by Lumi
- desperdiciar tiempoTo waste time
- desperdiciar recursosTo waste resources
- malgastar aguaTo waste water
- malgastar dineroTo waste money
- derrochar energíaTo waste energy
- derrochar talentoTo waste talent
- tirar comidaTo waste food
- echar a perder la oportunidadTo waste the opportunity
- echar a perder el trabajoTo ruin the work
- María decidió reciclar para no desperdiciar papel.María decided to recycle to avoid wasting paper.
- 8 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lucía and Daniel are cleaning the kitchen after cooking.
- LucíaDaniel, pon todo el desperdicio en esta bolsa.Daniel, put all the waste in this bag.
- DanielEstá bien, ¿está aquí el bote de basura?Okay, is the trash can here?
- LucíaSí, el desperdicio va en el contenedor gris.Yes, the waste goes in the gray container.
- DanielPerfecto, ya terminé de limpiar la mesa.Perfect, I've finished cleaning the table.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “waste” translations and entries desperdicio, desecho, desechos, basura, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries basura, desecho, desperdicio, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
