Inklingo

fotos

foh-tohs'fo.tos

fotos means photos in Spanish (plural of photograph).

photos, pictures

Also: pics
NounfA1
A small stack of colorful, rectangular printed photographs resting on a flat surface. The visible photos show simple, recognizable images like a flower and the sky.

📝 In Action

Me encanta tomar fotos de paisajes.

A1

I love taking photos of landscapes.

¿Viste las fotos de la fiesta de anoche?

A2

Did you see the pictures from last night's party?

Por favor, envíame las fotos por correo electrónico.

B1

Please, send me the photos by email.

Word Connections

Synonyms

  • imágenes (images)
  • retratos (portraits)

Common Collocations

  • tomar fotosto take photos
  • sacar fotosto take photos (common in Latin America)
  • álbum de fotosphoto album
  • sesión de fotosphoto shoot

Vocabulary Collections

Translate to Spanish

Words that translate to "fotos" in Spanish:

photospicspictures

✏️ Quick Practice

Quick Quiz: fotos

Question 1 of 1

Which sentence is grammatically correct?

📚 More Resources

👥 Word Family
foto(photo)Noun
fotografía(photograph, photography)Noun
fotografiar(to photograph)Verb
fotógrafo(photographer (male/general))Noun
fotógrafa(photographer (female))Noun
fotogénico(photogenic)Adjective
🎵 Rhymes
motosvotosremotos
📚 Etymology

'Fotos' is the plural of 'foto', which is a shortened version of 'fotografía'. This word comes from Greek: 'phos' (light) + 'graphis' (drawing/writing). So, a photograph is literally a 'drawing with light'!

First recorded: The short form 'foto' became popular in the early 20th century as photography became more common.

Cognates (Related words)

English: photoItalian: fotoPortuguese: fotoFrench: photo

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is 'fotos' informal? Should I use 'fotografías' in a formal setting?

While 'fotografías' is technically more formal, 'fotos' is so widely used that it's acceptable in almost all situations, including professional and academic ones. You can't go wrong using 'fotos'.

Why is 'foto' feminine if it ends in '-o'?

It's an exception that comes from its original, longer form. The full word, 'fotografía', ends in '-a', which is a typical feminine ending in Spanish. Even when we shorten it to 'foto', it keeps its original feminine gender. Other examples of this are 'la moto' (from motocicleta) and 'la radio' (from radiodifusión).