contaminación del agua
/kontaminaθjon del aɡwa/from spelling rulesfeminine
Water pollution is contaminación del agua in Spanish. Wiktionary also lists contaminación hídrica and contaminación del medio hídrico.
Meaning: contamination of water (noun)
Ways to say it
| Spanish | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| contaminación del agua | /kontaminaθjon del aɡwa/ (Spain, from spelling rules) /kontaminasjon del aɡwa/ (Latin America, from spelling rules) |
feminine |
| contaminación hídrica | /kontaminaθjon idɾika/ (Spain, from spelling rules) /kontaminasjon idɾika/ (Latin America, from spelling rules) |
feminine |
| contaminación del medio hídrico | /kontaminaθjon del medjo idɾiko/ (Spain, from spelling rules) /kontaminasjon del medjo idɾiko/ (Latin America, from spelling rules) |
feminine |
The phrase refers to the contamination of water.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase contaminación del agua is composed of contaminación (contamination), del (of the) and agua (water).
Which one should you use?
Contaminación hídrica is a more technical or formal way to refer to water pollution, often used in scientific or legal contexts. Contaminación del agua is the most common and natural way to express water pollution in everyday conversation.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
Contaminación del agua is a formal way to say 'water pollution' in Spanish.
How does it change in a sentence?
Because contaminación is a feminine noun, you must use the feminine article la when referring to it, as in la contaminación del agua.
How do you pronounce it?
/kontaminaθjon del aɡwa/
Did you know?
- The word medio was borrowed directly from Latin because the natural evolution of the word would have sounded too much like the Spanish verb mear, meaning 'to piss'.
- The word agua is one of the few feminine nouns in Spanish that uses the masculine article el in its singular form, as in el agua, to avoid the awkward sound of two 'a' sounds clashing.
Examples in context
- La contaminación del agua es otro problema.Water pollution is another problem.This sentence is useful for introducing the topic of water pollution using contaminación del agua.Tatoeba #1126526 by alexmarcelo, translation #1126528 by CM
- la contaminación química del agua causada por las industrias de productos químicosChemical water pollution caused by chemical industries
- La contaminación del agua amenaza la vida marina y pone en peligro nuestra saludWater pollution threatens marine life and endangers our health
- La contaminación del agua afecta a los peces.Water pollution affects the fish.
- Debemos reducir la contaminación del agua en la ciudad.We must reduce water pollution in the city.
Example conversation
Javier and Sofia are discussing environmental issues.
- JavierMe preocupa la contaminación del agua en este río.I am worried about the water pollution in this river.
- SofíaTienes razón, Javier, hay mucha basura aquí.You are right, Javier, there is a lot of trash here.
- Javier¿Qué podemos hacer para ayudar?What can we do to help?
- SofíaPodemos organizar una limpieza, Sofía ayudará.We can organize a cleanup, Sofia will help.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “water pollution” translations, 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 agua, contaminación, del, hídrico, medio, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
