¿Quieres que volvamos a mi piso?
Do you want to go back to my apartment?
Here mi piso is the Spain word for an apartment, while in Latin America the same word often means the floor or a story.
From Mis otros yo · Spanish audio
Spanish vocabularyA1 · Beginner
How to say "floor" in Spanish
el piso
nounmasculineplural: los pisosSpain: also apartment
"Floor" in Spanish is el piso in Latin America, both the surface you walk on and a level of a building. In Spain the surface underfoot is el suelo, a level is el piso or la planta, and mi piso usually means "my apartment".
Hear "piso" in real movie scenes
In both scenes piso means the apartment, the way Spain uses it. Each video starts and stops on that line.
Sí, es tan grande como nuestro piso.
Yeah, it's as big as our apartment.
Your own apartment makes a handy yardstick because everyone knows exactly how big theirs is, and tan grande como means "as big as".
Piso, suelo or planta?
Three Spanish words share the jobs English gives to floor.
| Spanish | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| el suelo | the floor you walk on (Spain) | Hay agua en el suelo. (There's water on the floor.) |
| el piso | the floor you walk on (Latin America) | Hay agua en el piso. |
| el piso | a level of a building | la oficina del quinto piso (the office on the fifth floor) |
| la planta | a level, common in Spain | la planta baja (the ground floor) |
| el piso | an apartment (Spain) | In Mexico and Argentina it's el departamento. |
Tip: Count from la planta baja in Spain: the first level above the street is el primer piso.
Grammar: el piso, los pisos
Four things to know before you talk about floors.
Masculine, stress on pi-
el piso, los pisos. Say PEE-soh with a clear s, never a z sound.Ordinal numbers go first
el primer piso, el segundo piso, el tercer piso. Primero and tercero lose their -o before a masculine noun.On the floor takes en
en el suelo in Spain, en el piso in Latin America: Las llaves están en el suelo.Sharing a piso
In Spain, compartir piso is to share an apartment, and your roommate is tu compañero de piso.Example sentences
Sentences from the Wordy Spanish course. Tap to listen.
Mi piso está cerca del centro.
My apartment is near downtown.
Soy un compañero de piso organizado.
I'm a tidy roommate.
Vale, pues me los voy a llevar a mi piso.
Okay, then I'll take them to my apartment.
Vivo en el tercer piso.
I live on the third floor.
Common mistakes
Mistakes learners make with this word, and how to fix them.
✗el primero piso
✓el primer piso
Before a masculine noun, primero drops its last letter. The same happens with tercero: el tercer piso.
✗Hay agua en el piso (in Madrid, about the floor)
✓Hay agua en el suelo
In Spain el piso is mostly your apartment or a level of the building. The surface underfoot is el suelo.
✗Busco un piso (apartment hunting in Mexico)
✓Busco un departamento
In Mexico piso means a floor. An apartment there is a departamento.
Real conversation: meeting a new roommate
A short dialog before you decide to share an apartment.
Fernando might become your roommate, and he asks you about the apartment and about yourself before he decides.
Bueno, ¿has compartido piso alguna vez?
So, have you ever shared an apartment?
Sí, con mi mejor amigo.
Yes, with my best friend.
¡Qué bien! ¿Y tu piso es pequeño?
Great! And is your apartment small?
Your turn to answer
In the app you reply in Spanish for the last 2 lines.
Continue the conversation in WordyPractice: 3 quick exercises
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1 of 3 · Watch and choose
What do you hear in the video?
The other 33 exercises on this topic are in the app.
How to remember it
Piso sounds a bit like pizza. Picture a pizza landing face down on the floor of your new piso.
Questions about "floor" in Spanish
How do you say floor in Spanish?
For the surface you walk on, el suelo in Spain and el piso in Latin America. For a level of a building, el piso or la planta.
What does piso mean in Spain?
Most often an apartment: Mi piso está cerca del centro. It can also be a level of a building, as in el tercer piso.
How do you say ground floor in Spanish?
La planta baja. In Spain the next level up is el primer piso or la primera planta.
How do you say "on the floor" in Spanish?
En el suelo in Spain and en el piso in Latin America: Mis zapatos están en el suelo.
