playa
“playa” means “beach” in Spanish. It has 2 different meanings depending on context:
beach
Also: shore
📝 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.
railyard
Also: marshalling yard, staging area
📝 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.
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✏️ Quick Practice
Quick Quiz: playa
Question 1 of 1
Which sentence uses 'playa' in its primary, most common meaning?
📚 More Resources
👥 Word Family▼
🎵 Rhymes▼
📚 Etymology▼
Comes from the late Latin word *plagia*, which meant 'slope' or 'side of a hill.' Over time, it specifically came to mean the side or slope bordering the sea, evolving into the modern sense of 'beach.'
First recorded: 13th century
Cognates (Related words)
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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.