What does “culo de la botella” mean in Spanish?
Objetos en un minibar: botellas, vasos y alcohol
A1 Spanish listening practice · Rioplatense Spanish · Picked for people who know a little
In Spanish, the bottom of a bottle is its culo, literally “ass.” When the speaker points and says “el culo de la botella,” she’s not being crude. In everyday Spanish, culo labels the rounded base of any container. The same logic gives you culo de pan (the heel of a loaf), culo de copa (bottom of a wine glass), and culo de vaso (bottom of a tumbler).
It’s vivid body-part vocabulary that English packages more politely as “base” or “bottom.” Spanish runs the same metaphor across many objects: boca (mouth) for a bottle’s opening, cuello (neck) for the narrow part. Body parts are the productive metaphor for object anatomy.
How common are the words?
How common are the words in this A1 Spanish listening practice video?
How common in written Spanish
How common in spoken Spanish
Harder words in this video
These words are harder than A1. Here is what they mean.
Source: wordfreq 3.1.1 (general) · SUBTLEX-ESP 2011 (spoken). These numbers are close, not perfect.
- ▸In Spanish-speaking kitchens, bars, and bakeries. Every day
- ▸When a friend serves wine: “viene del culo de la botella”
- ▸At a bakery: “¿Te llevás el culo del pan?”. Heel of the loaf
- ▸In cooking YouTube about culo del sartén. Where browned bits collect
- ▸In casual conversation comparing glassware (culo de copa vs culo de vaso)