Spanish word

leña

Pronunciation

IPA/ˈleɲa/

Meaning

  • feminine nounfirewood

Example

¿Traes leña para la barbacoa?

Are you bringing firewood for the barbecue?

Illustration for leña (firewood)

More examples

No uses leña mojada porque hace mucho humo.

Don't use wet firewood because it makes a lot of smoke.

Core concept

Heap of chopped firewood beside a hearth or grill.

Common phrases

  • traer leña

    bring firewood

  • leña mojada

    wet firewood

  • cortar leña

    cut firewood

Similar words

madera: General raw or processed wood material used in carpentry and building.
tronco: Whole trunk section from a tree, unsplit and substantial in size.
leño: Sturdy sawn or split log intended to burn slowly as a single piece.
astilla: Fine thin wood fragment used to catch a spark and start a fire quickly.

Definition in Spanish

Porciones de madera seca y troceada que se emplean como combustible para encender y mantener fuego en estufas, brasas o barbacoas.

Word origin

From Latin ligna (plural of lignum), affected by the gn → ñ sound shift in Spanish that produced leña meaning pieces of wood for burning.

Usage tips

  • Speakers often qualify it as 'leña seca' (dry firewood) when quality matters, because wet wood smokes and burns poorly.

Related words

  • leñerawoodshednoun

Word lists with this word