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"Batería" is a noun which is often translated as "battery", and "pila" is a noun which is also often translated as "battery". Learn more about the difference between "batería" and "pila" below.
la batería(
bah
-
teh
-
ree
-
ah
)A feminine noun is almost always used with feminine articles and adjectives (e.g., la mujer bonita, la luna llena).
2. (automobile)
a. battery
Dejé las luces prendidas y mi coche se quedó sin batería.I left the lights on and my car battery went dead.
3. (music)
b. drum kit
Carlos está ahorrando para comprarse una nueva batería.Carlos is saving up to buy himself a new drum kit.
c. percussion instruments (in an orchestra)
La batería compone la mayor parte de la orquesta.The percussion instruments compose the majority of the orchestra.
4. (artillery)
5. (theater)
a. footlights
En los teatros modernos, una batería ilumina a los actores en escena.In modern theaters, footlights illuminate the actors on stage.
6. (farming)
7. (series)
a. battery
Nuestra psicóloga utiliza una batería de exámenes para evaluar la atención de los alumnos.Our psychologist uses a battery of tests to evaluate students' attention.
a. set
Cuando se casaron, les regalamos una batería de cocina.We gave them a kitchen set when they got married.
This means that the noun can be masculine or feminine, depending on the gender of the noun it refers to (e.g., el doctor, la doctora).
a. drummer
La banda está buscando a un nuevo batería y un guitarrista.The band is looking for a new drummer and a new guitar player.
la pila(
pee
-
lah
)A feminine noun is almost always used with feminine articles and adjectives (e.g., la mujer bonita, la luna llena).
a. sink
Necesité una hora para fregar todos los platos de la pila.It took me an hour to wash all the dishes in the sink.
b. basin (of fountain)
Unos niños rompieron la pila de la fuente de la plaza.Some kids broke the basin of the fountain in the square.
c. fountain (public water source) (South America)
Regionalism used in South America: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela
La mujer llenó dos cubos de agua en la pila.The woman filled two buckets of water at the fountain.
3. (religious)
4. (heap)
5. (colloquial) (large amount)
A word or phrase that is commonly used in conversational speech (e.g., skinny, grandma).
a. loads (colloquial)
A word or phrase that is commonly used in conversational speech (e.g., skinny, grandma).
Recibió una pila de correos electrónicos de todas partes del mundo.He received loads of emails from all over the world.
b. a ton (colloquial)
A word or phrase that is commonly used in conversational speech (e.g., skinny, grandma).
El profesor de matemáticas siempre nos da una pila de deberes.The math teacher always gives us a ton of homework.
a. pile
Las pilas del puente son de hormigón armado.The piles of the bridge are made of reinforced concrete.
7. (computing)
a. stack
No entiendo la diferencia entre las pilas y las colas.I don't understand the difference between stacks and queues.
