ballenas
/baʝenas/from spelling rules
The English phrase "whales" is translated into Spanish as ballenas.
ballenas is the term used for whales. In biological or zoological contexts, the term cetáceos is used to encompass both whales and dolphins. Other specific terms include cachalotes for sperm whales and rorcuales for rorquals.
How does it change in a sentence?
The singular form of ballenas is ballena. When discussing whales in a general sense, you must use the definite article las, resulting in las ballenas.
How do you pronounce it?
/baʝenas/
Did you know?
- In Spanish, the word ballena is used for the flexible strips of bone or plastic that provide structure to bras and corsets.
- The specific Spanish word for sperm whales, cachalotes, is actually borrowed from the French word 'cachalot'.
- While ballenas means whales, the word ballenero can refer to the whale hunter, the whaling ship or even a specific type of fishing boat.
Examples in context
- ¿Qué comen las ballenas?What do whales eat?This sentence is useful for asking about the diet of ballenas.Tatoeba #1831996 by Shishir, translation #1830498 by CK
- Tom quería ver ballenas.Tom wanted to see whales.This sentence is useful for expressing a desire to see ballenas.Tatoeba #10024693 by manufrutos, translation #10024140 by CK
- Las ballenas son mamíferos.Whales are mammals.This sentence is useful for stating that ballenas are mammals.Tatoeba #1240473 by Shishir, translation #5619999 by CK
- Las ballenas migran cada año desde el Ártico hacia aguas más cálidas.The whales migrate each year from the Arctic to warmer waters.
- 26 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Alejandro and Lucía are looking at a nature documentary on television.
- AlejandroMira, esas son ballenas gigantes.Look, those are giant whales.
- LucíaSon las ballenas más hermosas que he visto.They are the most beautiful whales I have seen.
- AlejandroMe gustaría viajar para verlas de cerca.I would like to travel to see them up close.
- LucíaSería una experiencia increíble para ti.It would be an incredible experience for you.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
