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¿Cómo se puede decir "to have a meal" en español (eg 'I have 3 meals every day')?

"Comer/tener/hacer una comida"?

No puedo encontrarlo en Word Reference y no estoy seguro si la traducción de Google ("tener una comida") es correcta.

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For

I have three meals every day

You can say

Hago tres comidas diarias

See this article from Spain in which the dietary benefit of making three meals a day is objected

 Las sociedad avanzadas se han acostumbrado a hacer tres comidas al día.

Note that this form is often used with nutritional or dietary purposes, a more straightforward way —as pointed already— would be to simply say:

Como tres veces al dia / Como tres comidas diariamente

For what you also ask tener una comida is not correct in that intend, but it is used to mean that you are either invited or hosting a meal with friends or other people.

Esta noche tengo una comida con amigos

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  • Una pequeña puntualización, si es por la noche, es raro decir una comida. Es más natural decir "una cena". En ese contexto se usa "comida" si es al mediodía.
    – RubioRic
    Oct 9, 2019 at 5:51
  • Hacer comida means to make food, to cook, and not really to have a meal, to have some food. For example tengo que hacer la comida para mañana would mean "I have to cook for tomorrow" or "I have to make food for tomorrow".
    – Vladimir Nul
    Oct 9, 2019 at 7:17
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    @VladimirNul I don't agree with you. "Hago tres comidas al día" does not imply that you elaborate the food. It depends on the context. For example in "Hago dieta", you are not making no-food. In relation with "dieta", you can perfectly say "Estoy siguiendo una dieta especial, ahora hago cinco comidas al día" meaning that you have five meals per day. You may or may not cook them.
    – RubioRic
    Oct 9, 2019 at 9:31
  • @RubioRic seguramente hay variaciones regionales, soy de Argentina, donde llamar cena a una comida con amigos tiene una implicancia demasiado formal
    – ipp
    Oct 9, 2019 at 13:49
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    Para hacer claro cuando me refiero al acto de cocinar, prefiero decir Hago de comer tres veces al día o Cocino tres veces al día porque de ésta forma queda claro que no es comer tres veces sino cocinar tres veces.
    – psosuna
    Oct 9, 2019 at 18:10
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The answer by @user2325442 is certainly a precise translation of "I have three meals a day" -- but I would like to add that 99.9% of the time, the way this sentence would be expressed in Spanish is

Como tres veces al día.

Backtranslating, we get I eat three times per day.

This is the functional translation of "I have three meals a day."

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Como se puede decir "to have a meal" en español (eg I have 3 meals every day)? "comer/tener/hacer una comida" ? I cannot find it in Word Reference and I am not sure if the Google Translation ("tener una comida") is correct.

"Tener una comida" would very likely mean (at least in european variant) an appointment to have lunch with other people, possibly business related. Don't use it like that.

As this points out, "como tres veces al día" is perfectly acceptable.

As this points out, "hago tres comidas diarias" is even better (at least for european variant).

Another alternative, acceptable in european variant, would be "me/te/se/nos/os hago/haces/hace/hacemos/hacéis/hacen de comer tres veces al día". You would hear this very likely in Andalusia, southernmost Spain, as a fully interchangeable variant of "hago tres comidas diarias", when the food is being cooked at home by someone.

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  • 2
    Please, colleagues and friends, let's provide feedback when downvoting, especially when it's a new participant.
    – aparente001
    Oct 10, 2019 at 4:45
  • I appreciate your concern, but native newcomers don't... really need this kind of support! ;) At least not me.
    – 23419
    Oct 10, 2019 at 5:51
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    Well, it's considered courteous to explain downvotes in general. Not just newcomers.
    – aparente001
    Oct 10, 2019 at 6:03
  • I also find very exhausting trying to fight with the software's rules rather than simply accepting or rejecting them. :/
    – 23419
    Oct 10, 2019 at 6:07

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