What does “la cebra” mean in Colombian Spanish?
Paseo en bici por Bogotá con narración sencilla
A1 Spanish listening practice · Mexican Spanish · Curated for beginners
Latin American Spanish, including Colombian, calls a pedestrian crosswalk la cebra (“the zebra”). The name comes from the painted black-and-white stripes that look like a zebra’s coat. Spain prefers the longer paso de cebra (“zebra crossing”) or paso de peatones. American English borrowed the same image less directly: zebra crossings exist mostly in Britain and the Commonwealth, while Americans say “crosswalk.” The Colombian short form la cebra makes for a quick, vivid word that learners pick up fast.
In this clip, a Bogotá bike rider narrates a city ride: “Ahora cruzamos la calle por la cebra” (“Now we cross the street at the zebra”).
Vocabulary frequency
How common is the vocabulary in this A1 Spanish listening practice listening practice?
General Spanish frequency
Spoken Spanish frequency
Words above this video’s level
Quick glosses for vocabulary that goes beyond this video’s A1 level.
Source: wordfreq 3.1.1 (general) · SUBTLEX-ESP 2011 (spoken). Buckets approximate; exact ranks not stored.
- ▸In Latin American driver’s-ed and traffic-school content
- ▸In Colombian children’s books about walking to school
- ▸In Latin American street-safety public-service announcements
- ▸In Latin American sitcoms about city life
- ▸In Spanish-language Google Maps and navigation apps