problemas
“problemas” means “problems” in Spanish. It has 2 different meanings depending on context:
problems
Also: troubles, issues
📝 In Action
Tengo muchos problemas en el trabajo.
A1I have a lot of problems at work.
No hay problemas, podemos hacerlo mañana.
A2No problem, we can do it tomorrow.
Los problemas económicos afectan a todo el país.
B1The economic problems affect the whole country.
problems
Also: questions, exercises
📝 In Action
La maestra nos dio diez problemas de matemáticas.
A2The teacher gave us ten math problems.
No entiendo cómo resolver estos problemas de física.
B1I don't understand how to solve these physics problems.
Translate to Spanish
✏️ Quick Practice
Quick Quiz: problemas
Question 1 of 1
Which sentence is grammatically correct?
📚 More Resources
👥 Word Family▼
📚 Etymology▼
Comes from the Greek word 'próblēma', which meant 'something thrown forward' — like a question or obstacle thrown in your path to be dealt with.
First recorded: Around the 15th century
Cognates (Related words)
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why is 'problema' masculine if it ends in '-a'?
It's a rule-breaker that comes from its Greek origin. Many Spanish words that came from Greek and end in '-ma', '-pa', or '-ta' are masculine. Other examples are 'el mapa' (the map), 'el planeta' (the planet), and 'el tema' (the topic).