“Water” in Spanish
Water in Spanish is agua (pronounced AH-gwah). It is a feminine noun, but in the singular it takes the masculine-looking article: el agua (the water), un agua (a water). Adjectives stay feminine, so you say el agua fría, never el agua frío. In the plural everything is feminine again: las aguas.
Quick answer
| English | Spanish | Note |
|---|---|---|
| water | agua | feminine noun |
| the water | el agua | el because the word starts with a stressed a |
| a water / one water | un agua | una agua is also heard, but un agua is the standard |
| the waters | las aguas | plural is fully feminine |
| cold water | agua fría | adjective in the feminine |
| a glass of water | un vaso de agua | the most common way to ask for it |
| to water (plants) | regar | the verb is not built from agua |
Why it is el agua but agua fría
Spanish uses el and un instead of la and una right before a feminine noun that begins with a stressed a or ha sound. La agua would run two stressed a sounds together, so the language switched to el. The noun itself does not change gender. That is why:
- adjectives are feminine: el agua está fría, el agua limpia, el agua potable;
- demonstratives are feminine: esta agua, esa agua, aquella agua (not este agua);
- quantity words are feminine: mucha agua, poca agua, toda el agua;
- pronouns are feminine: ¿El agua? Ya la compré. (The water? I already bought it.)
- the plural uses las: las aguas del río, las aguas termales.
If another word comes between the article and agua, the stressed a is no longer next to the article, so you go back to la: la misma agua, la mejor agua, la poca agua que queda.
The same rule covers other words like el águila (eagle), el alma (soul), el hambre (hunger), el hacha (axe) and el aula (classroom). For the wider picture of noun gender, see masculine vs feminine nouns in Spanish.
How to pronounce agua
Two syllables: A-gua, with the stress on the first. The g before ua is soft: between vowels it is a light, breathy sound, close to a relaxed English “g” where the back of the tongue barely touches the roof of the mouth. The u glides into the a, so gua sounds like “gwah”. Do not say “ah-GOO-ah” with three syllables.
Everyday sentences with agua
Asking for and ordering water
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| ¿Me trae un vaso de agua, por favor? | Could you bring me a glass of water, please? |
| Una botella de agua, por favor. | A bottle of water, please. |
| ¿Agua con gas o sin gas? | Sparkling or still water? |
| El agua del grifo está bien. (Spain) / El agua de la llave está bien. (Mexico) | Tap water is fine. |
| ¿Tiene agua fría? | Do you have cold water? |
| Sin hielo, por favor. | No ice, please. |
At home and in daily life
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Tengo sed. ¿Hay agua? | I’m thirsty. Is there any water? |
| Bebo dos litros de agua al día. | I drink two liters of water a day. |
| El agua está muy caliente para la ducha. | The water is too hot for the shower. |
| Se cortó el agua esta mañana. | The water was cut off this morning. |
| Pon el agua a hervir para la pasta. | Put the water on to boil for the pasta. |
| Riego las plantas los domingos. | I water the plants on Sundays. |
| Lávate las manos con agua y jabón. | Wash your hands with soap and water. |
| Hay que ahorrar agua en verano. | We have to save water in summer. |
In nature
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| El agua del lago está tranquila. | The lake water is calm. |
| El agua de mar es salada. | Seawater is salty. |
| Los niños juegan en el agua. | The children are playing in the water. |
| El agua del río está muy fría en primavera. | The river water is very cold in spring. |
| Las aguas de esta costa son cristalinas. | The waters off this coast are crystal clear. |
Types of water
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| agua potable | drinking water |
| agua del grifo / agua de la llave | tap water |
| agua embotellada | bottled water |
| agua mineral | mineral water |
| agua con gas / agua sin gas | sparkling / still water |
| agua fría / agua caliente / agua tibia | cold / hot / lukewarm water |
| agua helada | ice-cold water |
| agua dulce / agua salada | fresh water / salt water |
| agua de mar / agua de lluvia | seawater / rainwater |
| agua corriente | running water |
| agua estancada | stagnant water |
| agua subterránea | groundwater |
| aguas residuales | wastewater, sewage (usually plural) |
| agua destilada | distilled water |
| agua tónica | tonic water |
| agua bendita | holy water |
| agua oxigenada | hydrogen peroxide (not “oxygenated water”) |
| aguas termales | hot springs |
Related words
- hielo – ice (un cubito de hielo, an ice cube)
- vapor – steam
- regar – to water (plants, a garden); la regadera – watering can (and “shower” in Mexico)
- mojar / mojado – to wet / wet
- la sed – thirst (tengo sed, I’m thirsty)
- acuático – aquatic (deportes acuáticos, water sports)
- el aguacero – downpour
- la sandía – watermelon (not “melón de agua”)
Mexico’s popular fruit drinks are aguas frescas: agua de jamaica (hibiscus), agua de horchata, agua de limón. Asking for “un agua” at a Mexican taquería can get you one of these, so say agua natural if you want plain water.
Common expressions with agua
| Spanish | Literal | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| estar como pez en el agua | to be like a fish in water | to be in your element |
| sentirse como pez fuera del agua | to feel like a fish out of water | to feel out of place |
| más claro que el agua | clearer than water | crystal clear, obvious |
| ahogarse en un vaso de agua | to drown in a glass of water | to make a big deal of a small problem |
| agua pasada no mueve molino | past water doesn’t turn the mill | what’s done is done |
| estar con el agua al cuello | to have water up to your neck | to be in serious trouble (often money) |
| llevar el agua a su molino | to bring the water to your mill | to turn things to your own advantage |
| hacer agua | to make water | to leak (a boat); to start failing (a plan) |
| estar entre dos aguas | to be between two waters | to be undecided, sitting on the fence |
| como agua para chocolate | like water for chocolate | furious, or burning with passion (Mexico) |
| un aguafiestas | a party-waterer | a party pooper, killjoy |
| romper aguas / romper fuente | to break waters | (of a pregnant woman) her water breaks |
Regional differences
Agua is the same word everywhere. What changes is the phrase around it. Tap water is agua del grifo in Spain, agua de la llave in Mexico and much of Central America, and agua de la canilla in Argentina and Uruguay. Sparkling water may be agua con gas (Spain, most places), agua mineral (Mexico, where it often means sparkling) or soda (Argentina). If you want to be sure, say agua sin gas or agua natural.
Common mistakes
| Wrong | Right | Why |
|---|---|---|
| la agua | el agua | stressed a right after the article |
| el agua está frío | el agua está fría | the noun is still feminine |
| este agua | esta agua | only el and un change, not demonstratives |
| los aguas | las aguas | the plural is feminine |
| Yo agua las plantas. | Yo riego las plantas. | “to water” is regar |
| Quiero un vidrio de agua. | Quiero un vaso de agua. | vidrio is the material; the drinking glass is vaso |
Verbs that go with agua
| Spanish | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| beber / tomar agua | to drink water | Toma agua, hace calor. (Drink some water, it’s hot.) Tomar is more common in Latin America. |
| hervir el agua | to boil the water | Hierve el agua antes de beberla. |
| echar agua | to pour / add water | Échale un poco más de agua al arroz. |
| servir agua | to pour someone water | ¿Te sirvo agua? (Shall I pour you some water?) |
| abrir / cerrar el agua | to turn the water on / off | Cierra el agua mientras te cepillas los dientes. |
| desperdiciar agua | to waste water | No desperdicies agua. |
| meterse en el agua | to get into the water | No te metas en el agua después de comer. |
Talking about amounts of water
Agua is normally uncountable, like “water” in English, so you count containers, not the water itself:
- un vaso de agua – a glass of water
- una botella de agua – a bottle of water
- una jarra de agua – a jug / pitcher of water
- un litro de agua – a liter of water
- un trago de agua – a sip / gulp of water
- una gota de agua – a drop of water
In a café or shop, though, un agua or dos aguas is normal shorthand for “a bottle of water” or “two bottles of water”, just as English speakers say “two waters, please”.
Practice
Choose the right word.
- ___ agua está muy caliente. (El / La)
- No bebas ___ agua; está sucia. (este / esta)
- El agua del mar está ___. (frío / fría)
- ___ aguas del Caribe son azules. (Los / Las)
- Necesito ___ agua para la sopa. (mucho / mucha)
- Mañana voy a ___ el jardín. (agua / regar)
Answers: 1. El 2. esta 3. fría 4. Las 5. mucha 6. regar
Translate. a) A glass of cold water, please. b) The water is clean. c) I’m thirsty.
Answers: a) Un vaso de agua fría, por favor. b) El agua está limpia. c) Tengo sed.
Quick answers
Is agua masculine or feminine?
Feminine. It only borrows el and un in the singular because of the stressed first syllable.
How do you say “I want water” in Spanish?
Quiero agua. More politely: ¿Me da agua, por favor? or Quisiera un vaso de agua.
How do you say “ice water” in Spanish?
Agua con hielo (water with ice) or agua helada (ice-cold water).
Is it el agua or la agua in the plural?
Neither: the plural is las aguas. The el swap only happens in the singular.
How do you say “I’m thirsty” in Spanish?
Tengo sed, literally “I have thirst”. Estoy sediento exists but sounds dramatic in everyday speech.
What is agua fresca?
A Mexican drink of water blended with fruit, flowers or seeds and sweetened, such as agua de jamaica or horchata.
More food and drink words: ice cream in Spanish and cold in Spanish. Where the accent goes in words like tónica and subterránea: Spanish accent rules.
