Inklingo

How to Say "holes" in Spanish

English → Spanish

agujeros

ah-goo-HEH-rohs/a.ɣuˈxe.ɾos/

nounA1General
Use 'agujeros' for any physical opening or gap, such as in a road, wall, or piece of clothing.
A large block of colorful yellow Swiss cheese clearly showing many round holes throughout its surface.

Examples

El calcetín tiene un agujero en el dedo gordo.

The sock has a hole in the big toe.

Hay muchos agujeros en esta carretera, ¡ten cuidado!

There are many holes in this road, be careful!

Necesito parchar los agujeros de mis calcetines viejos.

I need to patch the holes in my old socks.

Los ratones hicieron agujeros pequeños en la pared.

The mice made small holes in the wall.

Masculine Plural

Since 'agujero' (the singular form) ends in -o, it is a masculine noun. 'Agujeros' is the plural form, meaning you must use masculine plural articles and adjectives (e.g., 'los agujeros grandes').

ojos

/OH-hohs//ˈo.xos/

nounB2Specific (culinary)
Use 'ojos' specifically for the characteristic round openings found in certain types of cheese, like Swiss cheese.
A macro shot of a thick, yellow slice of Swiss cheese resting on a wooden board, clearly showing many perfectly round holes.

Examples

Me encanta el queso Gruyere por sus grandes ojos.

I love Gruyere cheese for its large holes (eyes).

Este queso suizo tiene muchos ojos.

This Swiss cheese has a lot of holes (eyes).

Hay que quitarle los ojos a las patatas antes de cocinarlas.

You have to remove the eyes from the potatoes before cooking them.

El puente tiene tres ojos grandes para que pase el río.

The bridge has three large arches (eyes) for the river to pass through.

Physical Openings vs. Cheese Holes

The most common mistake is using 'ojos' for any physical hole. Remember, 'ojos' is almost exclusively used for the holes in cheese. For all other physical openings, 'agujeros' is the correct term.

Related Translations

Learn Spanish with Inklingo

Interactive stories, personalized learning, and more.