Spanish Conversation · Level 82
60 words
Spanish word
fantasma
Pronunciation
IPA/fanˈtasma/
Meaning
- masculine nounghost
Example
Vi un fantasma anoche.
I saw a ghost last night.
More examples
En el pueblo cuentan historias de un fantasma que aparece por la noche.
In the village, people tell stories of a ghost that appears at night.
Core concept
Translucent human figure floating above the floor in a dim room.
Common phrases
ver un fantasma
see a ghost
tener miedo a un fantasma
be afraid of a ghost
Similar words
espíritu: Nonphysical soul believed to exist apart from the body and to continue after death.
espectro: Pale, eerie apparition that appears as a thin, shadowy figure in dim or gloomy places.
aparición: Brief sudden manifestation that appears and then vanishes almost immediately.
sombra: Dark shape or outline that forms when an object blocks light, without physical substance.
Definition in Spanish
Aparición o figura que sugiere la presencia de un difunto; palabra usada tanto en relatos de miedo como en sentido figurado.
Word origin
It comes from Greek phántasma 'appearance', passed into Latin phantasma and then into Spanish to mean an apparition or ghost.
Usage tips
- Stress falls on the second syllable (fan-TAS-ma), and fantasma commonly appears in figurative phrases such as empresa fantasma to mean a sham or shell company rather than a literal ghost.
Other meanings
- apparitionnoun
Related words
- fantasmalghostlyadjective
- fantasmagóricophantasmagoricadjective