Spanish Phrase
Trabajan con hardware.
Meaning
The sentence means ‘They work with hardware’, referring to people who handle physical computer components or electronic devices. In Spanish the word ‘hardware’ is a technical loanword, so the phrase is most common in professional or tech‑savvy contexts.
When to use
Use this phrase when you want to describe the daily tasks of a team, a department, or a group of technicians that deals with physical equipment – for example, in a meeting about IT infrastructure, a job interview, or a casual conversation about a tech project.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Trabajanconhardware.
Trabajar (3ª pl. presente)
‘Trabajan’ is the third‑person plural present indicative of ‘trabajar’, meaning ‘they work’.
Preposición ‘con’
‘Con’ introduces the instrument or means, equivalent to English ‘with’.
Loanword ‘hardware’
‘Hardware’ is an English loanword used in Spanish tech jargon; it is masculine (el hardware) and pronounced with a Spanish phonology.
🗨In Conversation
¿Qué tipo de proyectos hacen en la empresa?
What kind of projects do they do at the company?
Trabajan con hardware.
They work with hardware.
✕Common Mistakes
Trabajan en hardware.
The preposition ‘en’ means ‘in/at’, not ‘with’. Use ‘con’ to indicate the instrument.
Trabajan con el hardware.
When ‘hardware’ follows a preposition, the article is usually omitted.
Trabajan con hardware.
If you are speaking about a single person, use ‘trabaja’ (3ª sing.).
↔Alternatives
Se dedican al hardware.
They are dedicated to hardware.
Manejan hardware.
They handle hardware.
Trabajan con equipos de hardware.
They work with hardware equipment.
Cultural Tip
In Spanish‑speaking tech circles, English loanwords like ‘hardware’, ‘software’, and ‘router’ are perfectly normal. If you need a more native‑speaker feel, you can replace ‘hardware’ with ‘equipos’ or ‘componentes’ (e.g., ‘Trabajan con equipos’). Keep the preposition ‘con’; using ‘en’ would change the meaning to ‘they work *in* hardware’, which sounds odd.