La báscula pesa el paquete.

The scale weighs the parcel.

Breakdown of La báscula pesa el paquete.

• el paquete: the package
• la báscula: the parcel scale
• pesar: to weigh a parcel

Questions & Answers about La báscula pesa el paquete.

What does báscula mean here? Is it a common word in Latin America?

Here, báscula means scale or weighing scale.

In Latin America, báscula is widely understood, but the exact word people prefer can vary by country and by type of scale. You may also hear balanza.

A rough guide:

• la báscula: often a weighing scale, especially a practical machine for measuring weight
• la balanza: also scale, and sometimes more like a balance

In everyday speech, both can be correct depending on the region and situation.

Why is it la báscula but el paquete?

Because Spanish nouns have grammatical gender.

• báscula is feminine, so it takes la
• paquete is masculine, so it takes el

So:

• la báscula
• el paquete

This gender does not mean the objects are literally female or male. It is just part of how Spanish grammar works, and you usually need to learn the noun together with its article.

What does pesa mean here?