How to Say "earwax" in Spanish
The most common Spanish word for “earwax” is “cera” — use 'cera' when referring to the general substance found inside the ear, often in a neutral or descriptive context.
cera
seh-rahˈseɾa
Examples
El niño tiene mucha cera en los oídos.
The boy has a lot of earwax in his ears.
Plural Use
When talking about earwax in both ears, you still usually use the singular 'cera'.
cerilla
seh-ree-yahθeˈɾiʎa
Examples
El médico me quitó un tapón de cerilla.
The doctor removed an earwax blockage from me.
Es normal tener un poco de cerilla en los oídos.
It is normal to have a bit of earwax in your ears.
No uses bastoncillos para limpiar la cerilla.
Don't use cotton swabs to clean earwax.
Non-count vs Count
Just like in English, you usually talk about 'cerilla' as a mass of stuff, so you use it in the singular form most of the time.
Confusing wax types
Cera vs. Cerilla
Learn Spanish with Inklingo
Interactive stories, personalized learning, and more.