Inklingo

How to Say "eye" in Spanish

English → Spanish

ojo

OH-hoh/ˈoxo/

NounA1general
Use 'ojo' when referring to the organ of sight on your face, or the small opening in a needle or tool.
A close-up illustration of a single human eye with a brown iris, long eyelashes, and a bright white sclera.

Examples

Tienes un ojo verde y el otro azul. ¡Qué peculiar!

You have one green eye and the other blue. How peculiar!

Me duele el ojo izquierdo después de leer tanto.

My left eye hurts after reading so much.

Es muy difícil meter el hilo por el ojo de la aguja.

It is very difficult to put the thread through the eye of the needle.

El ojo de la cerradura estaba cubierto de polvo.

The keyhole was covered in dust.

Masculine Noun

Even though many body parts are feminine (like 'la mano' or 'la cabeza'), 'ojo' is always masculine: 'el ojo' (the eye).

Figurative Use

This meaning extends the concept of the 'eye' as a small, central viewing point or passage, such as in tools or mechanisms.

Using the definite article

Mistake:Me duele mi ojo.

Correction: Me duele el ojo. (Spanish often uses 'el' or 'la' instead of 'mi' or 'tu' when talking about body parts, especially with verbs like 'doler'.)

hembra

EM-brah (like 'em' in 'ember' followed by 'brah')/ˈem.bɾa/

NounC1specific
Use 'hembra' exclusively for the female part of a hook-and-eye fastener, which is a type of clothing closure.
A close-up view of a simple, cylindrical metal socket opening, designed to receive a corresponding plug or pin.

Examples

Necesitas alinear el macho con la hembra para cerrar la cerradura.

You need to align the male part with the female part (socket) to close the lock.

La conexión tiene una cabeza macho y una hembra.

The connection has a male head and a female head (receptacle).

Technical Gender Analogy

In technical Spanish, 'hembra' (female) is used for the part that receives or contains something, while 'macho' (male) is the part that inserts or connects.

Body Part vs. Fastener

The most common mistake is using 'ojo' for the fastener part. Remember, 'ojo' is for the body part or needle opening, while 'hembra' specifically refers to the socket part of a hook-and-eye closure.

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