Two more related Spanish words are here to show off their differences in usage. These are the close cousins prima and primo.
Starting with prima, you can listen to how it’s pronounced here:
Primas often have financial implications for your wallet, since una prima may be an extra sum of money an employee receives as a reward or incentive – a bonus:
No recibirá ninguna prima por el año 2026.
She won’t receive any bonus for 2026.
un impuesto del 90% a las primas que reciban los banqueros
a 90% tax on bankers’ bonuses
Alternatively, una prima may be an unusually high price you have to be prepared to pay for something if you want it – a premium:
Muchos compradores pagan una prima por los caballos bayos y negros.
Many buyers will pay a premium for black and bay horses.
Una prima can also be an amount you need to pay to an insurer for insurance cover over a given period – a premium:
un seguro a prima fija
a fixed-premium insurance policy
La prima es el costo del seguro o aportación económica que ha de pagar un asegurado a una compañía aseguradora por la transferencia del riesgo.
The premium is the cost of the insurance or the payment the insured has to make to an insurance company for the transfer of risk.
Moving on (at least partly) to primo, you can listen to its pronunciation here:
Your primo (masculine) is the son of your uncle or aunt, while your prima (feminine) is the daughter of your uncle or aunt. However, whichever the gender, they’re your cousin:
Cuando murió, legó la casa a su primo.
When he died, he left the house to his cousin.
La prima de Ana es arquitecta.
Ana’s cousin is an architect.
Sus padres eran primos.
Her parents were cousins.
Like their English counterpart, primo and prima can be used in expressions to express different kinds of cousin relationship:
Son primos lejanos.
They’re distant cousins.
Era prima hermana de Marco.
She was a first cousin of Marco’s.
Se casó con su prima segunda Magdalena.
He married his second cousin Magdalena.
DID YOU KNOW?
Another expression with the same meaning as primo hermano/prima hermana is primo carnal/prima carnal:
Sus abuelos eran primos carnales.
Their grandparents were first cousins.
QUIZ TIME
Primo is also used as an adjective. If you don’t know this already, see if you can work out the meanings of número primo and materia prima from the following examples:
- Todos los números primos por encima de 5 terminan con el dígito 1, 3, 7 o 9.
- El número 2 es el único contraejemplo de la proposición ‘todos los números primos son impares’.
- La materia prima, el petróleo crudo, se entrega en barcos especiales.
- el desarrollo del uso de materias primas y energías renovables
- Los precios de las materias primas siguen aumentando.
- Los bambúes también se utilizan como materia prima en la artesanía local.
ANSWERS
Número primo = prime number
Materia prima = raw material
- Todos los números primos por encima de 5 terminan con el dígito 1, 3, 7 o 9.
All prime numbers above 5 end with the digit 1, 3, 7 or 9.
- El número 2 es el único contraejemplo de la proposición ‘todos los números primos son impares’.
Number 2 is the only counterexample to the proposition ‘all prime numbers are uneven’.
- La materia prima, el petróleo crudo, se entrega en barcos especiales.
The raw material, crude oil, is delivered on special boats.
- Los precios de las materias primas siguen aumentando.
The prices of raw materials keep going up.
- El bambú también se utiliza como materia prima en la artesanía local.
Bamboo is also used as a raw material in local crafts.
To sort out the relationships, similarities and differences between some more similar-looking Spanish words, join us again next week.
