Palabra Lexi · common words in Spanish

How to say "suitcase" in Spanish

"Suitcase" in Spanish is maleta, pronounced mah-LEH-tah (stress on the syllable in capitals). It is a feminine noun (la maleta, plural las maletas).

Pronunciation is spelled out in English, one syllable at a time, with the stressed syllable in capitals. The speaker button uses your browser's built-in Spanish voice. Gender and plural: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.

How to pronounce maleta

Maleta is pronounced mah-LEH-tah, in IPA /maˈleta/. Maleta has three syllables, mah-LEH-tah, with the stress on the second. There is no written accent because the word follows the basic rule: words ending in a vowel, -n or -s are stressed on the second-to-last syllable.

Listen: normal and slow speed, in your browser's Spanish voice. IPA: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.

Is maleta masculine or feminine?

Maleta is feminine, so it takes la (the) and una (a): la maleta. The plural is las maletas. That fits the usual pattern: most nouns ending in -a are feminine.

Example sentences

Mi maleta es pesada
my suitcase is heavy

Mi maleta es azul.
My suitcase is blue.

Mi maleta es muy grande.
My suitcase is very big.

"Suitcase" in Spain and Latin America

Regional words and roots: Diccionario de la lengua española (RAE). Spanish varies by region, so treat these as the most common patterns, not strict rules.

How to remember maleta

maleta [mah-LEH-tah] sounds like the English “mallet, ah”. Picture this:

You close the suitcase with a mallet — ah! — it swallowed the whole wardrobe.

A sound-alike plus a vivid scene is the keyword method, a well-studied way to learn vocabulary. How it works.

Practice maleta

Two quick games, right here: no sign-up, nothing is sent anywhere.