Same thing, eight ways to say it
How to say “an apartment” in Spanish — country by country
The dictionary word is apartamento — DLE headword; understood everywhere, but the everyday word splits three ways: piso (Spain), departamento (Mexico, Peru, Chile, Argentina), apartamento (Colombia, Caribbean, Uruguay). DAMER has no apartamento entry and its departamento entry only carries territorial-division senses, so those two are not cited for the housing sense. Here is what you'll actually hear in eight cities, with the source for every cell.
What people actually say
| Where | They say | Also · notes |
|---|---|---|
| Argentina Buenos Aires | departamento | Also: depto (abbrev., unsourced) apartamento is not said. |
| Chile Santiago | departamento | Also: depa (colloquial; only seen in a search snippet attributed to DUECh, not verified) |
| Colombia Medellín | apartamento | Also: apto. (written abbrev.) departamento is understood; Bogotá is the same (Saúl Ortega, Bogotá, uses apartamento). |
| Dominican Republic Santo Domingo | not sourced yet | No lexicographic entry or Dominican native testimony found. Only indirect evidence: a real Santo Domingo address posted on WordReference reads «Calle Arena, Apartamento 102, Edificio C-IV... Santo Domingo, Distrito Nacional» (official register, not testimony). From Santo Domingo? Tell us what you say. |
| Spain Madrid | piso | Also: apartamento (= small flat, studio) departamento is not used for housing. |
| Mexico Mexico City | departamento | Also: apartamento (heard); depa (colloquial, unsourced) piso is NOT used for the dwelling. |
| Peru Lima | departamento | Also: depa (colloquial, unsourced) |
| Puerto Rico San Juan | apartamento |
Grey = the pan-Hispanic dictionary word is what people really say there. Blank = we couldn't source it yet.
Watch out
- piso means floor/storey everywhere; only in Spain is it the normal word for the dwelling. Bilma (Mexico): «We do not use piso» (WR 265226). Saúl Ortega (Colombia) treats piso as a flat occupying a whole storey (WR 3431353). [1][2]
- departamento = an administrative region (province) in Colombia, Peru, Uruguay, Guatemala: DAMER departamento lists only territorial senses for Co, Pe, Bo / Ar / Ur; duvija (Uruguay): «'departamento' es en lo que se divide el país (Uruguay tiene 19 departamentos)» (WR 1923049). In Uruguay the flat is apartamento, so AR and UY differ (Moritzchen, WR 262506). [1][2][3]
- apartamento in Spain implies a small flat (Argi, Miguel On Ojj citing DLE «Esp. Piso pequeño para vivir», WR 3431353), whereas in Colombia/PR it is size-neutral (ika_verde, Colombia: used for «una vivienda de un edificio de varias viviendas, que generalmente tienen 3 dormitorios», WR 1923049). [1][2]
- Colombia/Mexico: both apartamento and departamento are heard (boyaco, Bilma); the Say column gives the one each poster calls predominant.
- Colloquial clipping depa (MX/PE/CL): widely claimed but no acceptable source found (only a search snippet attributing it to DUECh, which could not be opened). Treat as unsourced.
Hear it in the city
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Start speaking — freeSources
Every cell above is backed by human-authored lexicography or a native speaker who says where they're from — ASALE's Diccionario de americanismos, El Colegio de México's Diccionario del español de México, the Tesoro lexicográfico del español de Puerto Rico, the Peruvian Academy's DiPerú, and country-stated posts on language forums. Nothing here comes from a model's recall. Spot a mistake? Tell us — corrections from native speakers go straight in.
- Argentina — departamento
- WordReference · joseluisblanco (Argentina):
En Argentina se utiliza departamento
↗ - WordReference · Ushuaia (castellano rioplatense):
en castellano rioplatense, francamente, no decimos apartamento. Sí tenemos departamentos
↗ - WordReference · Moritzchen:
En Argentina, departamento. En Uruguay, apartamento
↗ - Chile — departamento
- WordReference · gvergara (Chile), quoted by Lurrezko:
en Chile tampoco decimos apartamento, sino departamento
↗ - WordReference · fsabroso (Perú):
En Perú y Chile es 'departamento'
↗ - Colombia — apartamento
- WordReference · boyaco (Colombia):
en colombia predomina apartamento, pero seguro que todos han oido departamento tambien
↗ - WordReference · oa2169 (Colombia):
Apartamento decimos en Colombia
↗ - WordReference · Saúl Ortega (Bogotá):
En la mayoría de edificios residenciales de Bogotá hay más de un apartamento por piso
↗ - Dominican Republic —
- WordReference · posted Santo Domingo address (not testimony):
Calle Arena, Apartamento 102, Edificio C-IV... Santo Domingo, Distrito Nacional
↗ - Spain — piso
- WordReference · Holes (Spain):
En España vivimos en 'pisos', casi nunca decimos 'apartamento' o 'departamento'
↗ - WordReference · Argi (Spain):
en España usamos 'piso', pero cuando este es de dimensiones reducidas también... 'apartamento'
↗ - WordReference · Manuel Herman (Spain):
el 'piso' (vivienda en un bloque de edificios)
↗ - Mexico — departamento
- DEM (COLMEX):
Cada una de las secciones de un edificio destinadas para vivienda: departamento amueblado, departamento de soltero
↗ - WordReference · oso (Mexico):
En México decimos 'departamento'
↗ - WordReference · Bilma (Mexico):
In Mexico we also use departamento and apartamento. We do not use piso
↗ - Peru — departamento
- WordReference · fsabroso (Perú):
En Perú y Chile es 'departamento'; Coincido con fsabroso (ERASMO_GALENO, Perú)
↗ - Castellano Actual (Univ. de Piura):
en gran parte de América se prefiere el término departamento
↗ - Puerto Rico — apartamento
- Tesoro PR:
Piso. Vivienda unifamiliar que, junto a otras similares, se encuentra en un edificio... Anglicismo adaptado, usual.
↗
Where we're less sure
- DO: UNVERIFIED — no source at all beyond a Santo Domingo street address using «Apartamento». Needs a Dominican.
- CL: one Chilean poster (gvergara) plus a Peruvian poster's claim; DUECh not consulted directly. Have a santiaguino confirm departamento and whether depa is everyday.
- MX: CDMX vs rest — Janis Joplin (northern Mexico) also says «Por esta parte de México lo común es departamento» (WR 1923049), so no regional split found; still worth a chilango check on how common apartamento is.
- ES: piso vs apartamento size nuance is native-attested; fine.
- DLE returned 403 to every fetch; DLE wording (dle.rae.es) is cited via search snippets only.