Horarios y tipos de comidas en España
A2 Spanish luisteroefening · Spaans uit Spanje · Geschikt voor beginners
What does “la merienda” mean in Spanish?
When the speaker lists the smaller meals of the day, he lands on “la merienda” — a mid-afternoon snack eaten around six. The key detail: he says it is “casi exclusiva de los niños,” almost only for children. In Spain, picture a kid with a bread roll and a glass of milk after school, not a grown-up coffee stop.
Spoken line: “La merienda se toma a media tarde, en torno a las 18 horas. Y es casi exclusiva de los niños.” — “The afternoon snack is eaten in mid-afternoon, around 6 p.m. And it’s almost only for children.” “La merienda” is the late-afternoon snack that sits between lunch and a late Spanish dinner. The verb you’ll hear with it is “merendar” (to have an afternoon snack). - “Los niños meriendan al salir del colegio.” — The kids have their snack after school. - “¿Qué hay para merendar?” — What’s there to snack on? - “Un bocadillo y un zumo para la merienda.” — A sandwich and a juice for the afternoon snack. The “ie” in the middle sounds like the “ye” in “yes,” said quickly: meh-ree-EN-da. In the clip it’s tied to children, but adults sometimes use “merendar” too for a light coffee-and-cake stop.