A colorful pile of various garments, including a folded shirt, a pair of pants, and a sweater, representing the concept of clothes.

ropa

/ROH-pah/

NounfA1

clothes?general term for garments,clothing?more formal/general term

Also:laundry?when talking about washing clothes

📝 In Action

Necesito comprar ropa nueva.

I need to buy new clothes.

Puse toda la ropa sucia en la lavadora.

I put all the dirty laundry in the washing machine.

Esta tienda vende ropa de hombre y de mujer.

This store sells men's and women's clothing.

Es importante llevar ropa cómoda para viajar.

It's important to wear comfortable clothes for traveling.

Word Connections

Synonyms

vestimenta (attire (more formal))
atuendo (outfit)
indumentaria (apparel (very formal))

Common Collocations

ropa de cama – bedding / bedclothes
ropa interior – underwear
ropa de deporte – sportswear / athletic clothes
cambiarse de ropa – to change clothes
tienda de ropa – clothing store

Idioms & Expressions

sacar los trapos sucios – to air someone's dirty laundry (discuss private, embarrassing matters in public)

💡 Grammar Points

Always Singular for 'Clothes'

In Spanish, 'ropa' is a special type of noun that means a group of things. Even when you're talking about many shirts, pants, and socks, you almost always use the singular form 'la ropa'. Think of it like 'furniture' or 'information' in English; you wouldn't say 'furnitures'.

❌ Common Pitfalls

Using 'Ropas' for 'Clothes'

Mistake: "Tengo muchas ropas nuevas."

Correction: Tengo mucha ropa nueva. The plural 'ropas' is very rare and only used to talk about different *types* of clothing collections (like 'ropa de invierno' and 'ropa de verano' are two different 'ropas'). For everyday use, 99% of the time, you should stick with singular 'ropa'.

⭐ Usage Tips

Talking About One Piece of Clothing

If you need to talk about a single item of clothing without naming it (like 'a garment' or 'a piece of clothing'), you can use the phrase 'una prenda de ropa'.

✏️ Quick Practice

💡 Quick Quiz: ropa

Question 1 of 1

Which sentence correctly says 'My clothes are clean'?

📚 More Resources

Word Family

ropero(wardrobe / closet) - noun

arropa(he/she wraps up / dresses warmly) - verb

ropaje(robes / attire (often historical or theatrical)) - noun

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is it 'la ropa' and not 'el ropa'?

In Spanish, all nouns have a designated gender, either masculine or feminine. 'Ropa' is a feminine word, so it always uses feminine words like 'la' or 'una' with it. There's no special rule for why; it's something you learn and memorize with the word.

If 'ropa' is singular, why do we say 'pantalones' (plural) for one pair of pants?

That's a great observation! Some specific clothing items, like 'pantalones' (pants), 'gafas' (glasses), and 'tijeras' (scissors), are plural in Spanish even when you're talking about just one item. It's a quirk of the language, similar to English. However, the general category word, 'ropa', is always singular.