How to Say ‘About five minutes’ in Mexican Spanish
Como a cinco minutos
KOH-moh ah SEEN-koh mee-NOO-tohs
[KOH-moh ah SEEN-koh mee-NOO-tohs]
💬 Usage Tip: In Mexico, [como] in [como a cinco minutos] means "about" or "roughly," not "like" in the English sense. You'll hear the same thing in [como a dos cuadras].
Phrase Breakdown
Como
[KOH-moh]
about / approximately
In this context, como means about or approximately, not like or as.
Está como a diez minutos de aquí.
It is about ten minutes from here.
a
[ah]
at / to
Here it helps express an approximate distance or time, as in a cinco minutos.
Estamos a dos cuadras del mercado.
We are two blocks from the market.
cinco
[SEEN-koh]
five
The number five.
Faltan cinco minutos para salir.
There are five minutes left before leaving.
minutos
[mee-NOO-tohs]
minutes
Plural of minuto, used to measure time.
Espere unos minutos aquí.
Wait here for a few minutes.
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