Spanish Phrase
Un taxi llega en cinco minutos.
Meaning
The sentence means 'A taxi will arrive in five minutes.' It uses the present tense to express a near‑future event, a common construction in everyday Spanish.
When to use
Use this phrase when you want to reassure someone that a taxi is on its way, such as at a hotel desk, airport pick‑up, or when speaking with a friend waiting for transport.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Untaxillegaencincominutos
Indefinite article (un)
Use 'un' before masculine singular nouns to indicate 'a' or 'one'.
Present tense for near future
Spanish often uses the present tense with a time expression (en + time) to talk about something that will happen soon.
Preposition 'en' + time
'En' followed by a time period means 'in' (as in 'in five minutes').
Number agreement
The numeral 'cinco' does not change; the noun 'minutos' must be plural to match the quantity.
🗨In Conversation
¿Ya viene el taxi?
Is the taxi coming yet?
Sí, un taxi llega en cinco minutos.
Yes, a taxi will arrive in five minutes.
✕Common Mistakes
Un taxi llega en cinco minuto.
The noun must be plural because the quantity is more than one.
Un taxi llega a cinco minutos.
Use 'en' to indicate 'in' a future time span; 'a' would mean 'at' a specific clock time.
Un taxi llegara en cinco minutos.
While 'llegará' (future simple) is grammatically correct, using the present tense with 'en cinco minutos' sounds more natural for a very near event.
↔Alternatives
El taxi llegará en cinco minutos.
The taxi will arrive in five minutes.
Un taxi está a punto de llegar en cinco minutos.
A taxi is about to arrive in five minutes.
En cinco minutos llega el taxi.
In five minutes the taxi arrives.
Cultural Tip
In most Spanish‑speaking countries, the present tense with a time expression (en + time) is the preferred way to talk about something happening soon, rather than the future simple. Also, 'taxi' is masculine, so the correct indefinite article is 'un', not 'una'. In some regions you might hear 'un coche' or 'un auto' instead of 'taxi', but the structure stays the same.