Love-Spanish.com: “Medio” Is A Fraction, Isn't It?

Thursday 15 January 2015

“Medio” Is A Fraction, Isn't It?

Introduction

This post is about Spanish fractions^*in general, and fraction medio in particular.

SCENARIO

Imagine you are with a relative, a friend or a work colleague who at the time is reading a newspaper.

At some point, the other person puts the paper aside and says: a "medio” is a fraction, isn't it?

In Spanish, the other person could choose to say:

Un medio es una fracción, ¿verdad?

OUR TIP

Answering this question should be straightforward. In fact a yes/ no answer may be sufficient. However your answer will be more informative if you say something about the word “medio”. It is worth remembering that in this context, “medio” could be a noun or an adjective.

Considering “medio” as a noun, you could asy:

Sí, un medio equivale a la fracción 1/2 (“un medio” equals the fraction 1/2);

Alternatively, you could consider it an adjective and give some practical examples of “medio” as an adjective, such as:

Sí, y medio kilo es la mitad de un kilo (yes, and“medio kilo” is half a kilo);
Sí, y medio litro es la mitad de un litro (yes, and“medio litro” is half a litre);
Sí, y medio metro es la mitad de un metro (yes, and “medio metro” is half a metre);
Sí, y medio kilómetro es la mitad de un kilómetro (yes, and “medio kilómetro” is half a kilómetre);
Sí, y media docena es la mitad de una docena (yes, and “media docena” is half a dozen);
Sí, y media pulgada es la mitad de una pulgada (yes, and “media pulgada” is half an inch);
Sí, y media milla es la mitad de una milla (yes, and “media milla” is half an mile);
Sí, y media hora es la mitad de una hora (yes, and “media hora” is half an an hour);

Notes

See more on the word “medio”

See more on the word “media”

Now you should practise answering the question:

Un medio es una fracción, ¿verdad?

*See some commonly used Spanish fractions below

*Spanish Fractions

A list of commonly used Spanish fractions is shown in Table 1 below:

English	Noun	Adjective
one/ a half	un medio	medio media la mitad
one/ a third	un tercio	la tercera* (parte)*
one/ a quarter	un cuarto	la cuarta* (parte)*
one/ a fifth	un quinto	la quinta* (parte)*
one/ a sixth	un sexto	la sexta* (parte)*
one/ a seventh	un séptimo	la séptima* (parte)*
one/ a eight	un octavo	la octava* (parte)*
one/ a ninth	un noveno	la novena* (parte)*
one/a tenth	un décimo	la décima* (parte)*
one/a eleventh	un onceavo	la onceava* (parte)* la undécima* (parte)*
one/a twelfth	un doceavo	la doceava* (parte)* la duodécima* (parte)*
one/a thirteenth	un treceavo	la treceava* (parte)*
one/ a fourteenth	un catorceavo	la catorceava* (parte)*
one/ a fifteenth	un quinceavo	la quinceava* (parte)*
one/ a sixteenth	un dieciseisavo	la dieciseisava* (parte)*
one/a seventeenth	un diecisieteavo	la diecisieteava* (parte)*
one/ a eighteenth	un dieciochoavo	la dieciochoava* (parte)*
one/ a nineteenth	un diecinueveavo	la diecinueveava* (parte)*
one/ a twentieth	un veinteavo	la veinteava* (parte)*
one/ a hundredth	un centésimo una centésima	la centésima* (parte)*
one/ a thousandth	un milésimo una milésima	la milésima* (parte)*
one/ a millionth	un millonésimo una millonésima	la millonésima* (parte)*

Table 1 – Spanish Fractions

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Thursday 15 January 2015

“Medio” Is A Fraction, Isn't It?

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