préstamo
/PRES-tah-moh/
loan
When you borrow money from a bank, that is a préstamo (loan).
📝 In Action
Necesito pedir un préstamo hipotecario para comprar la casa.
B1I need to ask for a mortgage loan to buy the house.
¿Puedes hacerme un préstamo de tu cargador por un momento?
A2Can you lend me your charger for a moment? (Can you make me a loan of your charger?)
El banco aprobó el préstamo en solo tres días.
A2The bank approved the loan in just three days.
💡 Grammar Points
Masculine Noun Rule
Remember that 'préstamo' is always masculine, so use 'el préstamo' or 'un préstamo'.
❌ Common Pitfalls
Confusing 'préstamo' and 'prestar'
Mistake: "Usando 'Yo préstamo dinero' (I loan money)."
Correction: Use the verb 'prestar': 'Yo presto dinero' (I lend money). 'Préstamo' is the *thing* (the loan), not the action.
⭐ Usage Tips
Using the Verb
To talk about the action of lending, use the verb 'prestar' (to lend). 'Préstamo' is the noun, the money or object that is lent.
In linguistics, a préstamo (loanword) is a word that is adopted from one language into another.
📝 In Action
La palabra 'champú' es un préstamo del hindi a través del inglés.
C1The word 'shampoo' is a loanword from Hindi via English.
El español tiene muchos préstamos del árabe debido a su historia.
B2Spanish has many borrowings from Arabic due to its history.
💡 Grammar Points
Linguistic Context
In this context, 'préstamo' refers to a word that one language takes and uses from another language, like Spanish taking 'Internet' from English.
✏️ Quick Practice
💡 Quick Quiz: préstamo
Question 1 of 1
Which sentence uses 'préstamo' in the financial sense?
📚 More Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between 'préstamo' and 'prestar'?
'Préstamo' is the *noun*, the thing itself (the loan, the borrowed object). 'Prestar' is the *verb*, the action of giving something to someone temporarily (to lend).
How do I say 'I borrowed a book'?
You can say 'Pedí un préstamo de un libro' (I asked for a loan of a book), but it's much more natural to use the verb 'pedir prestado': 'Pedí un libro prestado' or 'Tomé prestado un libro'.