Spanish Conversation · Level 50
75 words
Spanish word
tráfico
Pronunciation
IPA/ˈtɾafiko/
Meaning
- masculine nountraffic
Example
Hay mucho tráfico en las calles a esta hora.
There is heavy traffic on the streets at this time.
More examples
En las autopistas el tráfico suele aumentar los fines de semana.
On highways traffic tends to increase on weekends.
Core concept
Flow of vehicles, people, and goods along public roads and routes.
Common phrases
tráfico fluido
free-flowing traffic
tráfico en hora punta
rush-hour traffic
tráfico matutino
morning traffic
Similar words
tránsito: Movement and passage of vehicles and people through streets and urban areas.
congestión: Concentration of vehicles on roads that makes movement very slow.
embotellamiento: Severe jam where vehicles are tightly packed and hardly move.
circulación: Ongoing movement of vehicles and bicycles along roads and intersections.
Definition in Spanish
Movimiento y paso de vehículos, personas o mercancías por vías públicas; también se usa para referirse al comercio, especialmente actividades ilegales.
Word origin
From Italian traffico via French trafic, originally meaning trade and later extended to the movement of people, vehicles and illicit commerce.
Usage tips
- Used as an uncountable noun (use mucho tráfico to stress volume); to say a traffic jam use atasco or embotellamiento, and to indicate illegal trade use tráfico de drogas or tráfico de personas.
Other meanings
- traffickingnoun
Related words
- traficartrafficverb
- traficantetraffickernoun