Spanish Word of the Day: Amarillo (yellow)

Amarillo (yellow) comes from the Latin amarellus (amārus) which traces back to the meaning amargo or sour. It is thought this possibly came from the colour of the skin of an unwell person or possibly from the colour of bile which is sour.

Latin American Pronunciation

European Pronunciation

amarillo

Amarillo, the third colour in the rainbow, is primarily used as an adjective which means it must agree in both gender and quantity with the object it is describing as illustrated below:

  • amarillo
  • amarilla
  • amarillos
  • amarillas

Have you seen the beautiful yellow flowers in the garden?

Latin American Pronunciation
European Pronunciation

Smiling pretty african american woman with butterflies on yellow

It can be said that your skin is yellow (amarilla) if you become pale or sallow due to being unwell.

Lie down for a while, you’ve gone pale.

Latin American Pronunciation
European Pronunciation

La prensa amarilla (or amarillista) is an American term for journalism and associated newspapers that use sensationalism and scandal-mongering but present little or no legitimate, well-researched news. They may exaggerate news events using eye-catching headlines for increased sales. These types of publications are known as the tabloids in the UK.

The tabloid press didn’t stop talking about Taylor Swift and her boyfriend.

Latin American Pronunciation
European Pronunciation

Amarillo is a masculine noun when talking about the colour used in painting, for example, and it is also the colloquial name for fried sweet plantain in most of Latin America.

I love having some fried sweet plantain with my beans.

Latin American Pronunciation
European Pronunciation


About The Author

Thanks to family connections and work opportunities, Joanna has a lifelong affiliation with Spain and has been learning the Spanish language since the age of 12. Following university, Joanna spent a year living and working in Barcelona where her level of spoken Spanish was elevated to new levels (and she also dabbled in a little Catalan). Upon returning to the UK, she spent another year working for a Madrid based company whilst living in London, liaising every day with the factory in Spain. Joanna and her family then decided to up roots and move to Andalucía where they lived and worked for 12 years, fully integrated into Spanish village life and supporting the ex-pat community with their language challenges. Now living in Wales, Joanna has kept her connections to her village in Spain and returns as often as possible.


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