Skip to content

tontería

nonsense

noun tohn-teh-REE-ah Rare
Communication Speech

Origin: From tonto (foolish) + -ería, suffix denoting a foolish act or thing.

Also means

silly thing

Usage Note

Tontería covers a wide range: an absurd statement, a trivial object, or a childish action. Decir tonterías means to talk nonsense; no te preocupes, es una tontería means 'don't worry, it's nothing'. The plural tonterías is very common. The root adjective tonto/tonta (silly, stupid) is transparent. It is widely used across all Spanish-speaking regions and registers.

Examples

"Deja de decir tonterías y céntrate en el trabajo."

Natural Translation

Stop talking nonsense and focus on the work.

Explore Spanish by topic