Spanish vocabulary · Beginner
How to Say Sidewalk in Spanish: Acera
Acera · noun (feminine) · ah-SEH-rah
Sidewalk in Spanish is acera, a feminine noun referring to the paved path beside a road where people walk. This word varies significantly by region: Mexico uses banqueta, while Argentina and Uruguay prefer vereda.
Acera is pronounced ah-SEH-rah, with the stress on the second syllable. The word has three clean syllables.
Los peatones deben caminar por la acera.
Pedestrians should walk on the sidewalk.
Sidewalk in Spanish: Quick Reference
Below are the most common Spanish words for sidewalk, with pronunciation and regional usage notes.
| Spanish | English | Pronunciation | Region / Register |
|---|---|---|---|
| acera | sidewalk | ah-SEH-rah | Default, widely understood |
| banqueta | sidewalk | Mexico | |
| vereda | sidewalk | Argentina, Uruguay, and parts of South America |
How Native Speakers Use Acera
Real example sentences across three contexts you'll actually run into.
Safety instruction
Los niños no deben jugar en la calle, sino en la acera.
Children shouldn't play in the street, but on the sidewalk.
A parent giving safety advice to children.
Mexican usage
El vendedor colocó su puesto en la banqueta.
The vendor set up his stall on the sidewalk.
Describing a street vendor in Mexico using the local term.
Broken sidewalk
La vereda está rota y alguien podría tropezar.
The sidewalk is broken and someone could trip.
Reporting a hazard to local authorities in Argentina.
Avoid These Mistakes When Using Acera
Using calle for sidewalk
Incorrect: Camina por la calle, no por la carretera.
Correct: Camina por la acera, no por la carretera.
Calle means street (the road itself), while acera is the pedestrian walkway alongside the street.
Wrong gender in Mexico
Incorrect: El banqueta está sucio.
Correct: La banqueta está sucia.
Banqueta is feminine in Mexican Spanish, so it requires la and feminine adjectives like sucia.
Lock in Sidewalk 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 Acera used by native speakers
Parrot's short-form videos feature native speakers using acera in real situations. Context-based exposure beats flashcards, you hear Los peatones deben caminar por la acera. 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 Sidewalk in Spanish
- How do you say sidewalk in Spanish?
- The standard word is acera (ah-SEH-rah) in Spain and many Latin American countries, but you will hear banqueta in Mexico and vereda in Argentina and Uruguay.
- Why are there so many words for sidewalk in Spanish?
- Regional vocabulary differences are common in Spanish, and sidewalk is one of the most regionally varied everyday words because each country developed its own term independently over centuries.
- Is banqueta only used in Mexico?
- Banqueta for sidewalk is primarily a Mexican term, though it may be understood in parts of Central America as well due to cultural proximity with Mexico.