Skip to content

arenal

sandy area

noun ah-reh-NAHL Rare
Animals & Nature Geography

Origin: From arena (sand) + the collective suffix -al, denoting a place full of something.

Also means

sandpit

Usage Note

Arenal denotes a large expanse of sandy terrain — a sandy plain, a beach sandbank, or a sandy pit. It is masculine (el arenal) and forms its plural regularly as arenales. The suffix -al is productive in Spanish for place names (pinar = pine grove, cafetal = coffee plantation), a pattern worth recognising. El Arenal is also a famous bull-ring district in Seville.

Examples

"Caminaron por el arenal bajo el sol."

Natural Translation

They walked across the sandy plain under the sun.

Free starter pack

Building your Spanish vocabulary?

Get the 100 most common Spanish words as a free PDF — one email, no spam.

Explore Spanish by topic