Spanish vocabulary · Beginner
How to Say Plate in Spanish: Plato
Plato · noun (masculine) · PLAH-toh
Plate in Spanish is plato, a masculine noun referring to a dish for eating or a course of a meal.
Plato is PLAH-toh, two syllables with stress on PLAH.
Pon los platos limpios en la mesa, por favor.
Put the clean plates on the table, please.
Plate in Spanish: Quick Reference
Below are the most common Spanish words for plate, with pronunciation and regional usage notes.
| Spanish | English | Pronunciation | Region / Register |
|---|---|---|---|
| plato | plate | PLAH-toh | Default, widely understood |
| placa | plate | license plate or metal plate |
How Native Speakers Use Plato
Real example sentences across three contexts you'll actually run into.
Setting the table
Necesitamos seis platos para la cena de esta noche.
We need six plates for dinner tonight.
Household task.
Restaurant course
¿Qué vas a pedir de primer plato?
What are you ordering as a first course?
Plato meaning course of a meal.
Washing dishes
Es tu turno de fregar los platos esta noche.
It's your turn to wash the plates tonight.
Chores.
Avoid These Mistakes When Using Plato
Confusing plato with plata
Incorrect: La plata está sobre la mesa. (meaning plate)
Correct: El plato está sobre la mesa.
Plato is plate; plata is silver or money in colloquial Spanish.
Using plato for license plate
Incorrect: El plato del coche es ABC-123.
Correct: La placa del coche es ABC-123.
License plate is placa, not plato.
Lock in Plate Vocabulary with the Parrot Method
Why word lists alone don't stick
Memorizing a translation feels productive, but most learners forget 70% of what they studied within 48 hours. Vocabulary needs spaced repetition AND real-world exposure to transfer to long-term memory.
See Plato used by native speakers
Parrot's short-form videos feature native speakers using plato in real situations. Context-based exposure beats flashcards, you hear Pon los platos limpios en la mesa, por favor. while watching someone live the moment, connecting meaning, sound, and rhythm at once.
Save, review, repeat, stay consistent
Tap any word to save it. Parrot's spaced-repetition system surfaces it right before you'd forget, no manual flashcard creation. The watch, parrot back, save, review cycle turns recognition into fluency at 2.7x the speed of traditional study.
Common Questions About Plate in Spanish
- How do you say plate in Spanish?
- Plate is plato (PLAH-toh), which also means dish or course—so primer plato is first course and plato principal is main course.
- What is the difference between plato and platillo?
- Platillo is a small plate or saucer, and in Mexican Spanish it also means a dish in the culinary sense (un platillo típico = a typical dish).
- How do you say do the dishes in Spanish?
- The common expression is fregar los platos or lavar los platos, both meaning to wash the dishes.