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barco

nounBeginnerHigh frequency

What does “barco” mean in English?

  1. boat

Example sentences

  • Cruzamos el río en barco.

    We cross the river by boat.

  • El barco llega al puerto.

    The ship arrives at the port.

  • Hay muchos barcos en el mar.

    There are many boats at sea.

How to use it

Barco means 'boat' or 'ship'. Masculine: el barco, los barcos. Specific synonyms: nave (ship, large), bote (small boat), buque (vessel, formal).

Common mistake

Spanish uses barco for both small boats and large ships. The size-specific words (bote/nave/buque) are technical or contextual.

Topics

Related Beginner words

Reference

This entry’s teaching guidance follows A New Reference Grammar of Modern Spanish (Butt, Benjamin & Moreira Rodríguez, Routledge), 1.