It’s that time of the week when we navigate the different uses of a pair of similar-looking Spanish nouns with different genders, endings and meanings. Enter puerto (masculine) and puerta (feminine).
Starting with puerta (feminine) you can listen to how it’s pronounced here:
You probably encountered una puerta early on in your Spanish studies. Perhaps going through it opened up a whole new world of Latin culture for you… Yes, una puerta is a door, whether to a building, room, vehicle, piece of furniture or to something more figurative:
Abrió la puerta del lavabo.
She opened the toilet door.
Cerré la puerta.
I shut the door.
La puerta que daba a la calle estaba cerrada.
The door onto the street was locked.
Llamó varias veces a la puerta sin obtener respuesta.
He knocked at the door/rang the doorbell several times but there was no answer.
Se trata de un automóvil de cinco puertas, con cinco velocidades.
It’s a five-door, five-gear car.
No quieren cerrar la puerta a posibles soluciones.
They don’t want to close the door to possible solutions.
In the context of a garden, an outside space or a city wall, we usually translate una puerta as a gate:
Abrieron las puertas del parque.
They opened the park gates.
la puerta del jardín
the garden gate
la enorme puerta de hierro y bronce
the enormous iron and bronze gate
Una puerta is also an opening through which you pass to go in or out of somewhere. When talking about a building or a room, it’s a door(way), while in the context of an outside space or a city wall, it’s a gate(way):
Alex apareció en la puerta del cuarto.
Alex appeared in the doorway (of the room).
In sport, la puerta means the same as la portería: it’s one of two oblong frames at either end of a pitch (and which consist of posts on either side and a crossbar) into which you aim the ball – the goal:
Marcó un gol en propia puerta en el partido contra Francia.
He scored a home goal in the match against France.
Turning to puerto (masculine) you can listen to how it’s pronounced here:
You’re likely to find un puerto either on the coast or at the edge of a river or lake. It’s where vessels load and unload their cargoes as well as the town or city this happens in. What is it? Un puerto is a port or harbour:
Cuando llegué al puerto de Nueva York no me esperaba nadie.
When I reached the port of New York there was no one there waiting for me.
Tocábamos puerto cada dos meses o así, para repostar combustible.
We would put into port every two months or thereabouts, to refuel.
un pequeño puerto pesquero
a little fishing port or harbour
Cené en una taberna del puerto.
I had supper at a harbour bar.
Su yate está amarrado en el puerto deportivo de Tarragona.
Their yacht is moored at the Tarragona marina.
Moving away from the water, you’ll also find un puerto in the mountains, where it’s a route that provides access to the other side of a mountain range or ridge – a pass:
en lo alto del puerto de Salau
at the top of the Salau pass
Alrededor de Briançon se sitúan gran parte de los puertos de montaña más importantes de los Alpes.
Many of the main Alpine passes are located around Briançon.
Un puerto is also a socket on a computer or other electronic device into which you can plug a peripheral device – a port:
El usuario solo debe conectar el monitor del ordenador al puerto serie del PC.
The user just needs to connect the computer monitor to the PC serial port.
QUIZ TIME
How many of the underlined Spanish words connected with doors do you know or can you guess?
Oyó claramente el ruido de la llave en la cerradura y la puerta abriéndose.
Empujé la puerta con cuidado para impedir que crujieran los goznes.
Descorrió el cerrojo de la puerta.
Ella permaneció inmóvil, con la mano aferrada al pomo de la puerta.
Con extrema delicadeza Julia movió el picaporte y abrió la puerta.
una gruesa puerta con pasador de hierro
Antes de abrir la puerta, observe por la mirilla quién llama; si es un desconocido, entreabra la puerta con la cadena de seguridad echada.
las puertas correderas del armario
La puerta cede al fin; salen retorcidos los tornillos de las bisagras.
Contempla el espectáculo con la boca abierta por el ojo de la cerradura.
ANSWERS
Oyó el ruido de la llave en la cerradura y la puerta abriéndose.
He heard the sound of the key in the lock and the door opening.
Empujé la puerta con cuidado para impedir que crujieran los goznes.
I pushed the door carefully to prevent the hinges from creaking.
Descorrió el cerrojo de la puerta.
He drew back the bolt on the door.
Ella permaneció inmóvil, con la mano aferrada al pomo de la puerta.
She stood still, with her hand gripping the doorknob.
Con extrema delicadeza Julia movió el picaporte y abrió la puerta.
Very carefully, Julia slid back the bolt and opened the door.
una gruesa puerta con pasador de hierro
a solid door with an iron bolt
Antes de abrir la puerta, observe por la mirilla quién llama; si es un desconocido, entreabra la puerta con la cadena de seguridad echada.
Before opening the door, look through the peephole to see who’s there; if it’s a stranger, open the door a crack with the safety chain on.
las puertas correderas del armario
the sliding doors of the wardrobe/cupboard
La puerta cede al fin; salen retorcidos los tornillos de las bisagras.
The door eventually gives way, with the screws coming out of the hinges all twisted.
Contempla el espectáculo con la boca abierta por el ojo de la cerradura.
Open-mouthed, she watches the scene through the keyhole.
To open the door on more similar-looking Spanish nouns with different endings, genders and meanings, come back next week.
