How to say Beach in Spanish

Beach in Spanish is playa. 

It is feminine so it needs an article la — la playa.

How to pronounce “beach” in Spanish?

It is pronounced as [plah-yah] and comes from late Latin word plagia. It is a pretty common word that you’ll likely hear when traveling to Spanish-speaking countries. If you’re an American citizen, there’s also a high chance you heard of this one before (e.g., Playa del Rey, California)

Spanish academic dictionary (rae.es) defines the word “playa” as a “shore of the sea or a large river, formed by sandbanks on an almost flat surface”.

Helpful phrases with the Beach (La Playa) word.

— Let’s go to the beach.
— Vamos a la playa. 
[báh-mohs ah lah plah-yah]

This is the most popular phrase with the beach word, and you can find a lot of songs using it. My favorite is Calma by Pedro Capó, which I often listen to on my way to the beach. It gives me a fantastic feeling of how beautiful and precious life is.

Also, don’t forget that the letter “v” in Spanish sounds more like an English “b”. The ideal way to pronounce it is to say something in between.

— Where is the beach?
— Dónde está la playa?
[dóhn-deh ehs-táh lah plah-yah]

It is the second most popular phrase to help you travel in Spain. Pay attention to accent mark, when saying, to make it sound natural and not to confuse people. The accent mark in Spanish is very important and can completely change the meaning of a word. If you don’t know how to properly emphasize certain syllables, then it could be two entirely different sentences! For example, “está” means location, when the same word with the accent on the first syllable means “this” (see the example below).

— This beach is popular
— Esta playa es popular
[éhs-tah plah-yah es poh-poo-láhr]

Another thing to keep in mind: the “L” letter is always soft in Spanish, which makes the language seem more delicate and dainty (at least, when Spaniards don’t cry at each other). To pronounce “esta playa es popular” well, try to soften your voice and forget about the pronunciation of the english word “popular”.

— It’s a beach day
— Es un día de playa
[ehs uhn díyah deh plah-yah]

If I lived by the sea, it would be every Sunday for me.

— I don’t want to go to the beach
— No quiero ir a la playa
[noh kyéh-roh ir ah lah plah-yah]

The beach is a place where everyone wants to go, but maybe this phrase can help you in certain situations 🙂.

See also: The best Spanish captions for Instagram

If you want to dig deeper into the topic, here are some useful links:

• https://www.spanishdict.com/
• https://www.collinsdictionary.com/
• https://www.linguee.com/

Vamos a la playa?

I have prepared the short list of the best beaches in Spain:

• Aiguablava beach (Barcelona)
• Cathedral beach (Galicia)
• Maro beach (Malaga)
• Las Teresitas (Canary Islands)
• La Concha Beach (San Sebastian)

Read also: Ultimate guide to the beaches in Spain

The list of Spanish phrases about the beach:

1. Ir a la playa – To go to the beach
2. ¿Vamos a la playa? – Shall we go to the beach?
3. La playa es hermosa – The beach is beautiful
4. Me encanta la playa – I love the beach
5. La playa está muy concurrida – The beach is very crowded
6. Esta playa es muy tranquila – This beach is very peaceful
7. El sol en la playa es muy fuerte – The sun at the beach is very strong
8. La arena de esta playa es muy blanca – The sand on this beach is very white
9. La playa tiene muchos chiringuitos – The beach has many beach bars
10. La playa es perfecta para hacer surf – The beach is perfect for surfing
11. La playa tiene muchas actividades acuáticas – The beach has many water activities
12. La playa es el lugar perfecto para relajarse – The beach is the perfect place to relax
13. La playa está cerca del hotel – The beach is close to the hotel
14. Me gusta caminar por la playa al atardecer – I like to walk on the beach at sunset
15. La playa es el lugar ideal para pasar el verano – The beach is the ideal place to spend the summer.

Here is another great song in the Spanish beach setting, by Rosalía:

Frequently Asked Questions