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How to Say "particle" in Spanish

English → Spanish

grano

GRAH-nohˈɡɾano

nounA1general
Use 'grano' when referring to a small, discrete piece of a larger substance, especially food grains or sand.
A small pile of shiny, golden wheat grains resting on a light brown surface.

Examples

El agricultor cosechó mucho grano este año.

The farmer harvested a lot of grain this year.

Quiero un café hecho con granos enteros.

I want a coffee made with whole beans.

Solo queda un grano de arena en el reloj.

There is only one grain of sand left in the clock.

Always Masculine

Even though it refers to small, countable items like seeds, 'grano' is always a masculine noun ('el grano').

partícula

nounB1general
Use 'partícula' for a very small piece of matter, like dust or smoke, or for a grammatical particle in linguistics.

Examples

Había muchas partículas de polvo flotando en el aire.

There were many dust particles floating in the air.

átomo

nounB1scientific
Use 'átomo' specifically when talking about the fundamental, indivisible unit of a chemical element in a scientific context.

Examples

El hidrógeno es el átomo más simple del universo.

Hydrogen is the simplest atom in the universe.

Material vs. Scientific Units

The most common confusion is between 'partícula' and 'átomo'. Remember that 'partícula' refers to tiny bits of matter you can see or imagine, like dust, while 'átomo' is a specific scientific term for the smallest unit of an element.

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