avenida
/ah-veh-NEE-dah/
avenue
The primary meaning of avenida is a wide city street or avenue.
📝 In Action
La Avenida de los Campos Elíseos es muy famosa.
A1The Avenue of the Champs-Élysées is very famous.
Para llegar al centro, tienes que tomar esta avenida principal.
A2To get to the center, you have to take this main avenue.
El tráfico en la avenida es insoportable durante la hora pico de la mañana.
B1The traffic on the avenue is unbearable during the morning rush hour.
💡 Grammar Points
Feminine Noun
Remember that 'avenida' is always feminine, so you must use 'la' or 'una' before it, and any adjectives describing it must also end in -a (e.g., 'la avenida ancha' - the wide avenue).
❌ Common Pitfalls
Confusing 'Avenida' and 'Calle'
Mistake: "Usando 'calle' cuando se refiere a una vía muy grande y ancha."
Correction: 'Avenida' is usually reserved for wider, often multi-lane streets, while 'calle' is the general term for any street, usually narrower ones. If it’s a major thoroughfare, use 'avenida'.
⭐ Usage Tips
Navigating Cities
In Latin America and Spain, addresses often use 'Av.' as the abbreviation for 'Avenida.' Pay attention to this when reading maps or instructions!
In a secondary context, avenida can refer to a sudden rush or surge, such as a powerful flow of liquid.
📝 In Action
Tras el deshielo, hubo una avenida de agua que arrasó el valle.
C1After the thaw, there was a rush of water that swept through the valley.
✏️ Quick Practice
💡 Quick Quiz: avenida
Question 1 of 1
¿Cuál es la diferencia principal entre una 'calle' y una 'avenida'?
📚 More Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
¿Puedo usar 'calle' y 'avenida' indistintamente?
While they both refer to roads, it's best to keep them separate. Use 'avenida' when referring to a wide, main street, often one lined with trees or major buildings. Use 'calle' for any other standard street.
¿Por qué 'avenida' es femenina?
Since 'avenida' is a noun describing a path or route, it simply inherited the feminine gender from its related Latin roots and the general pattern of Spanish nouns ending in -a.