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Spanish word of the day: 'Contaminar'

The Local Spain
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Spanish word of the day: 'Contaminar'
Photo: nito103/Depositphotos"

Contaminar is a verb that means to contaminate or pollute.

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Depending on what is contaminated in Spanish there are different translations into English. Let’s see some examples:

When you talk about the environment, contaminar means to pollute:

  • El aire de la ciudad está contaminado.

        The city air is polluted.

 

If you are talking about food, contaminar would be translated as infected:

  •  Las fresas estaban contaminadas con insecticidas tóxicos.

       Strawberries were infected with toxic insecticides.

 

Contaminar also means to corrupt when you talk about a language:

  • El escritor Mario Vargas Llosa afirma que “Es saludable contaminar el idioma”.

       Writer Mario Vargas Llosa states "It is healthy to corrupt the language."

 

The following song, "Contaminame", was composed during the 90’s and is about the mix of cultures in Spain.

Pronunciation:

kohn-tah-mee-nahr

Check out our other word of the day posts

This language article been contributed by LAE Madrid, the leading Spanish academy in Madrid. Accredited by the Insitituto Cervantes, it offers Spanish courses for all levels and also has Spanish classes for kids and families.

READ ALSO: Green dogs and sweaty chickens: Ten animal idioms to help you sound more Spanish 

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