playa
/PLAH-yah/
beach
Playa means beach, a beautiful coastal area perfect for relaxation.
playa(noun)
beach
?seashore, coastal area with sand or pebbles
shore
?general term for the land bordering a body of water
📝 In Action
Vamos a la playa este fin de semana para tomar el sol.
A1We are going to the beach this weekend to sunbathe.
¿Prefieres una playa de arena o de piedras?
A2Do you prefer a sand beach or a pebble beach?
La costa está llena de pequeñas playas escondidas.
B1The coast is full of small, hidden beaches.
💡 Grammar Points
Feminine Noun Rule
Most Spanish nouns ending in -a are feminine, so you must use 'la' or 'una' before it: 'la playa'.
❌ Common Pitfalls
Gender Error
Mistake: "El playa."
Correction: La playa. Remember, 'playa' is feminine, even though it doesn't end in -o.
⭐ Usage Tips
Use of 'ir a la'
When talking about going to the beach, Spanish speakers almost always use the specific phrase 'ir a la playa', not a generic term for 'the sea'.
Less commonly, playa can refer to a railyard, an area used for sorting and storing trains.
playa(noun)
railyard
?an area with many parallel tracks for sorting and storing trains
marshalling yard
?technical term for railway sorting yard
,staging area
?any large, flat area used for temporary storage or organization (e.g., parking lot)
📝 In Action
El tren de carga esperó horas en la playa de maniobras antes de ser clasificado.
C1The freight train waited hours in the marshalling yard before being sorted.
Necesitamos expandir la playa de estacionamiento para acomodar más vehículos.
B2We need to expand the staging area (parking lot) to accommodate more vehicles.
💡 Grammar Points
Figurative Meaning
This meaning uses 'playa' metaphorically to describe any large, flat, open area, similar to how an actual beach is flat and open.
⭐ Usage Tips
Context is Key
You will only encounter this meaning in discussions about transportation, logistics, or specific urban planning, so don't worry about confusing it with 'beach' in everyday conversation.
✏️ Quick Practice
💡 Quick Quiz: playa
Question 1 of 1
Which sentence uses 'playa' in its primary, most common meaning?
📚 More Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
¿Por qué 'playa' es femenino si no es una persona?
'Playa' is feminine because its root in Latin, *plagia*, was a feminine noun. In Spanish, grammatical gender is not about being male or female, but about following word patterns. Since it ends in '-a', it fits the common pattern for feminine nouns.
¿La 'y' en 'playa' se pronuncia como 'll'?
For most native speakers today, the 'y' in 'playa' is pronounced like the 'y' in 'yes' or sometimes softer, almost like a 'j' sound in English ('PLAH-yah'). The older pronunciation, like the 'll' in 'caballo' (often sounding like the 'j' in 'jeep' in some regions), is less common for this word.