Vacaciones

Fri, Apr 8, 2016

He's on vacation = Está de vacaciones. Number = plural; preposition = de.

Let's look at how to talk about vacations and holidays in Spanish.

Vacation

To start, remember that the Spanish equivalent of vacation (British English: holiday) is always plural:

Humorously, I've heard vagaciones, a portmanteau of vacaciones and vagar, wander aimlessly, to refer to a relaxing yet unambitious vacation. (Vago is 'bum', 'lazy person'.)

Holiday

For holiday (American English) or bank holiday (British English), you want día feriado or día festivo.

More generally, a día inhábil is a non-work day, for example, Sunday. By extension, a business day is día hábil.

A long holiday weekend is called a puente, literally, a bridge. Hoy es puente. It's a three-day (or four-day) weekend (now). Note that puente is masculine: el puente.

Descansar

To say 'day off', use the verb descansar.

© 2003-2024 Mark R. Alexander