Today’s Spanish word of the day is “medio” in the masculine form, or “media” in the feminine form.
It’s a versatile word that can be an adjective, adverb or noun depending on the context.
As an adjective, it can mean “half”, “average” or “middle”. It also translates as “half” when used as an adverb.
As a noun, it can have several meanings including “way” (as in “method”), or “midfielder” in soccer/football. The phrase “medio ambiente” means “environment”.
It can also be used in the masculine plural form (“los medios”) to mean “media” or “means”, for example:
- Los medios de comunicación influyen en la opinión pública. – The media influence public opinion.
- Los medios de transporte en la ciudad están mejorando. – The means of transport in the city are improving.
The word “medio” comes from Latin medius, meaning “middle”. This is also the root of lots of English words including “medium” and “media”.
Example sentences
Estoy a medio camino de mi destino.
I’m halfway to my destination.
Necesitamos buscar un medio para resolver el problema.
We need to find a way to solve the problem.
El vaso está medio lleno.
The glass is half full.
Él tiene medio millón de seguidores en redes sociales.
He has half a million followers on social media.
La selva amazónica es un medio ambiente único en Sudamérica.
The Amazon rainforest is a unique environment in South America.
