50 Descriptive Spanish Phrases [With Sentence Examples!]

An adjective is a phrase that describes a noun. Examples in English:

• I’m studying an attention-grabbing e book.
• Elephants are large.
• I purchased a pink automotive.

Spanish adjectives work the identical approach, with simply a few variations from English, which I’ll elaborate extra on later on this submit.

By studying a couple of core Spanish phrases, you may get by high-quality in customary day by day conversations. On the subject of adjectives.

These are the ten widespread Spanish adjectives you want to be taught:

• bueno/a – “good”
• malo/a – “dangerous”
• grande – “large”
• pequeño/a – “small”
• difícil – “tough”
• fácil – “simple”
• caro/a – “costly”
• barato/a – “low-cost”
• común – “widespread”
• nuevo/a – “new”

In case you’re solely going to take one factor away from this submit, let it’s this record! You too can obtain it or Pin it with this infographic:

Bueno and malo imply “good” and “dangerous” respectively:

• El libro es bueno. – “The e book is sweet.”
• La película es mala. – “The movie is dangerous.”

There are a few issues to bear in mind about these two adjectives.

Initially, once they come earlier than a masculine singular noun, they drop the ultimate “o”. (A couple of different adjectives do that as nicely, as you’ll see later on this article).

• Un buen libro – “a very good e book”
• Un mal libro – “a nasty e book”

Secondly, the that means adjustments barely relying on whether or not you utilize these adjectives with ser or estar.

With individuals, for those who use bueno and malo with ser, it means “good” or “dangerous” within the sense of their ethical character. In case you use estar, you’re speaking about their look.

• Él es bueno/malo. – “He’s a very good/dangerous individual.”
• Él está bueno. – “He’s handsome.”

With meals, ser bueno/malo implies that the meals is sweet high quality and wholesome. Estar bueno/malo implies that it tastes good – though it may not be wholesome!

• Esta hamburguesa está muy buena, pero no es buena – “This burger tastes good, but it surely’s not good-quality/wholesome.”

Yet one more factor: bueno can be generally used as a filler phrase, just like how we are saying “nicely” or “so” in English.

Don’t fear! Not all Spanish adjectives are as difficult as bueno or malo. Let’s proceed:

Grande means “large”:

• Tu casa es muy grande. – “Your home may be very large.”

Like bueno and malo, this adjective has a barely completely different that means when it’s positioned earlier than or after a noun. When positioned after the noun, grande means “large” within the bodily sense. When earlier than the noun, it means “large” by way of standing or significance – a greater translation is perhaps “nice” or, nicely, “grand”.

Additionally word that earlier than a noun of both gender, grande will get shortened to gran.

• Un hombre grande – “an enormous man”
• Un gran hombre – “an ideal man”

This will appear complicated, however there’s one wonderful thing about grande: It’s the identical for each masculine and female nouns!

• Una caja grande – “an enormous field”
• Un perro grande – “an enormous canine”

Pequeño means “small”:

• Vive en una casa pequeña. – “He/she lives in a small home.”
• Una manzana pequeña – “a small apple”

Be rápido/a this phrase means “quick” or “fast”:

• Usain Bolt es la persona más rápida del mundo. – “Usain Bolt is the quickest individual on the earth.”
• ¿Tienes un carro rápido? – “Do you may have a quick automotive?”

Are you as sluggish as a lentil? Lento (“sluggish”) is the alternative of rápido.

• Sea paciente, es un proceso lento. – “Be affected person, it’s a sluggish course of.”
• Las tortugas son lentas. – “Tortoises are sluggish.”

• Lo compraría si no fuera tan caro. – “I’d purchase it if it wasn’t so costly.”
• ¿Vives en una casa cara? – “Do you reside in an costly home?”

• Me gusta mucho el precio. ¡Qué barato! – “I like the worth rather a lot. How low-cost!”
• Una botella de su vino más barato, por favor. – “A bottle of your most cost-effective wine, please.”

Seco means “dry”. You may see a hint of it within the English phrase de_sic_cated.

• Será un verano seco. – “It’ll be a dry summer time.”
• Ponte esta ropa seca. – “Put these dry garments on.”

• Mis zapatos están mojados. – “My footwear are moist.”
• La sala aún está mojada. – “The room continues to be moist.”

That is an simple phrase to recollect – fácil means “simple”. It’s a cousin of English phrases like “facile” and “facility”.

• ¡Español es fácil! – “Spanish is straightforward!”
• No hay soluciones fáciles. – “There aren’t simple solutions.”

It’s not difícil to guess what this phrase means – it’s “tough”:

• ¡El español no es difícil! – “Spanish isn’t tough!”
• Es difícil dar otro ejemplo. – “It’s tough to offer one other instance.”

Keep in mind that accent: not like the English phrase “tough”, the stress in difícil falls on the second syllable, not the primary.

Joven means “younger”. Within the plural type, it’s worthwhile to add an accent on the o:

• Ella es muy joven. – “She’s very younger.”
• Ellos son muy jóvenes. – “They’re very younger.”

Viejo means “outdated”. Use it for individuals or issues:

• Soy un hombre viejo. – “I’m an outdated man.”
• Tengo que comprar un nuevo ordenador, el mío es demasiado viejo. – “I’ve to purchase a brand new laptop, mine is just too outdated.”

Viejo can subtly change its that means relying on whether or not it goes earlier than or after the noun:

• un viejo amigo – “an outdated buddy” (you’ve identified one another for a very long time)
• un amigo viejo – “an outdated buddy” (she or he is superior in age)

Nuevo means “new”. Like viejo, its that means adjustments subtly relying on the phrase order. When it goes after the noun, it means “new” within the sense of “model new” – it’s simply been made. When it’s earlier than the noun, it means “new” within the sense of “newly acquired”.

• Ella compró un nuevo carro. – “She purchased a brand new automotive.” (The automotive could also be used, but it surely’s newly in her possession.)
• El carro nuevo tiene aire acondicionado. – “The brand new automotive has air-conditioning.” (The automotive is model new.)

Alto means “excessive” or “tall”:

• Un edificio alto – “a tall constructing”
• Una tasa alta – “a excessive price”
• Es un hombre alto. – “He’s a tall man.”
• Subir una montaña alta. – “To climb a excessive mountain.”

Bonus truth: Alto is written on cease indicators in Mexico and most different Spanish-speaking international locations in Central America. It comes from the German phrase halt, which implies “cease” (or “halt”, clearly) in English.

• Los Países Bajos – “The Low Nations (i.e. the Netherlands)”
• Tocar las notas bajas – “to play the low notes”

It additionally means “quick”, within the sense of somebody’s peak:

• Bruno Mars es muy bajo. – “Bruno Mars may be very quick.”

Corto is the extra basic phrase for “quick”. Whereas bajo is used when speaking about peak, corto is used for distances.

• Un viaje corto – “a brief journey “
• Una historia corta – “a brief story”

Be careful – this phrase is a false cognate. It doesn’t imply “giant”, it means “lengthy”! It may be used for lengths of measurement, time or distance:

• Ese es un cuchillo largo. – “That may be a lengthy knife.”
• La reunión fue demasiado larga. – “The assembly was too lengthy.”
• La Carretera Transcanadiense es una de las autopistas más largas del mundo. – “The Trans-Canada Freeway is without doubt one of the longest highways on the earth.”

I hope you’re not aburrido/a with this record. This adjective means bored – or it could actually imply boring, relying on whether or not you utilize ser or estar.

• Juan es una persona muy aburrida. – “Juan is a really boring individual.”
• Estoy muy aburrido. – “I’m very bored.”

Vivo can imply “alive” or “residing”:

• El rey está vivo. – “The king is alive.”
• Ella es la persona viva más vieja del mundo. – “She is the oldest residing individual on the earth.”

Use the time period en vivo to check with a TV programme being broadcast “dwell”.

Muerto means “useless”:

• Zed está muerto. – “Zed’s useless.”

Discover that I didn’t write Zed es muerto. This adjective makes use of estar, not ser. Estar is meant for use for non permanent states, however for those who ask me, being useless is fairly everlasting!

I’m afraid that that is simply a type of exceptions to the ser/estar rule that you simply’ll must be taught. A great way to recollect it’s to notice that each vivo and muerto use the identical verb – and vivo (“alive”) is unquestionably a brief state, so it makes use of estar. That means muerto does, too.

Listo is one other instance of an adjective that adjustments its that means while you use ser vs estar. With estar, it means prepared:

• Estoy listo para firmar el contrato. – “I’m able to signal the contract.”

However with ser, it means “sensible”:

• Ella es muy lista! – “She’s very sensible!”

In case you’re inteligente, you may determine that this phrase means “clever”. It’s an alternative choice to listo.

• Eres la persona más inteligente que haya conocido. – “You’re the neatest individual I’ve ever met.”

Pobre means “poor”. When it comes after the noun, it means “financially poor”. When it’s earlier than the noun, it means “unlucky” or “deprived”, resembling within the English sentence “you poor factor!”

• Bolivia es un país pobre. – “Bolivia is a poor nation.”
• ¡Deja de asustar a este pobre niño! – “Cease scaring this poor youngster!”

• Invoice Gates es muy rico. – “Invoice Gates may be very wealthy.”

You too can use it to explain meals:

• ¡Que rica es esta comida! – “This meals is so wealthy/tasty/nice!”

Are you able to guess what this común phrase means? That’s proper: “widespread”. It might additionally imply “shared”.

• Es una enfermedad común. – “It’s a standard sickness.”
• Tenemos una responsabilidad común. – “We’ve got a standard/shared accountability.”

Within the plural type, drop the accent from the “u”:

• Tenemos valores comunes. – “We’ve got shared/widespread values.”

This phrase means what you’d guess it means: “uncommon”. It might additionally imply “unusual” or “bizarre”.

• En raras ocasiones – “on uncommon events”
• Es raro conducir por la izquierda. – “It’s bizarre to drive on the left.”

This phrase has some útil-ity – it means “helpful”:

• Es una herramienta útil. – “It’s a great tool.”
• Esta opción es útil. – “This feature is helpful.”

An necessary phrase if you wish to flirt! This adjective means “lovely” or “handsome”, and will be utilized to males or ladies.

• Podría ser muy guapo si quisiera. – “He/she could possibly be very lovely if he/she needed.”
• ¡Qué guapa estás! – “You’re so lovely!”

The other of guapo, this phrase means “ugly”.

• Él es feo. – “He’s ugly.”
• Cinderella tiene dos hermanastras feas. – “Cinderella has two ugly step-sisters.”

Feliz is expounded to the English phrase (and woman’s title) “Felicity”.

• Tú me haces feliz. – “You make me joyful.”
• Los animales no parecen felices. – “The animals don’t look joyful.”

• Cuando estoy triste, lloro. – “Once I’m unhappy, I cry.”
• Estaba pensando de cosas tristes. – “I used to be enthusiastic about unhappy issues.”

Pesado means “heavy”. In case you’re speaking about weight, it’s extra widespread to make use of the verb pesar, “to weigh”:

• El piano pesa mucho. – “The piano weighs rather a lot.”
• El piano es pesado. – “The piano is heavy.” (not mistaken, however unusual)

You too can describe an individual as pesado. This implies the individual is “boring”, “gloomy”, or “annoying”. Consider Marvin the Paranoid Android from The Hitchhiker’s Information to the Galaxy:

• Marvin es pesado. – “Marvin is gloomy/a downer.”

Are you in a tranquil state of affairs? This phrase means calm or quiet:

• Estaba tranquilo en la casa. – “It was quiet in the home.”

Tranquilo may also be used as an interjection. It’s like saying “settle down” or “don’t fear” in English.

• Tranquilo, todo irá bien. – “Don’t fear, every thing might be okay.”

• No lo hice porque no parecía importante. – “I didn’t do it as a result of it didn’t appear necessary.”
• Olvidé los partes importantes. – “I forgot the necessary elements.”

This adjective has a faint resemblance to the English phrase “drive” – or “forte”, as in, “talking Spanish is one in all my fortes”. So it needs to be simple to do not forget that it means “sturdy”.

• Arnold es fuerte. – “Arnold is robust.”
• El chile ha tenido una fuerte influencia en la cocina del Sudeste Asiático. – “The chili pepper has had a powerful affect on Southeast Asian delicacies.”

In case you’re debilitated, you’re “weak” – and that’s what débil means:

• Mi physician me dijo que tengo una corazón débil. – “My physician advised me I’ve a weak coronary heart.”
• Él es muy débil. – “He’s very weak.”

Abierto means “open”:

• La puerta está abierta. – “The door is open.”

You need to use abierto to explain an individual, which is rather like calling somebody “open” in English – it means they’re sociable, pleasant, agreeable:

• Ana es una persona muy abierta. – “Ana is a really open individual.”

• Está cerrado porque olvidé abrirlo. – “It’s closed as a result of I forgot to open it.”
• Perdona, pero la cocina está cerrada. – “Sorry, however the kitchen is closed.”

I hope that every one these adjectives aren’t making you cansado/a (“drained”):

• Estoy cansada, he trabajado mucho. – “I’m drained, I’ve been working exhausting.”
• Está cansado de luchar. – “He’s uninterested in preventing.”

• Si no estoy despierta, despiértame. – “If I’m not awake, wake me up.”
• Los dos están despiertos. – “Each of them are awake.”

You may recognise this phrase from the title of the track Livin’ La Vida Loca – it means “loopy”:

• Cree en cosas locas. – “He/she believes in loopy issues.”
• El mundo se está volviendo loco. – “The world’s going loopy.”

(P.S. Have you ever heard in regards to the Mexican practice killer? He had _loco-_motives… I’ll present myself out.)

• No tengo una camisa limpia. – “I don’t have a clear shirt.”
• Quiero dejarlo todo limpio. – “I need to go away all of it clear.”

• Su pañal está sucio. – “His/her diaper is soiled.”
• Tienes una mente sucia. – “You’ve got a grimy thoughts.”

Let’s wrap it up with a number of the commonest adjectives you’ll want to explain colors. Initially, rojo, which implies “pink”:

• Mi coche es roja. – “My automotive is pink.”
• El árbitro está mostrando una tarjeta roja. – “The referee is displaying a pink card.”

In case you converse Portuguese, watch out for the false buddy! The Portuguese phrase roxo means not “pink” however “purple.” (The proper translation of rojo into Portuguese is vermelho.)

Just like the English phrase “azure”, azul means “blue”:

• Tengo ojos azules. – “I’ve blue eyes.”
• ¿Por qué es el cielo azul? – “Why is the sky blue?”

Verde resembles the English phrase “verdure”, which implies “lush inexperienced vegetation”. So after all, verde means “inexperienced”:

• El césped es verde. – “The grass (or garden) is inexperienced.”
• No compres esas manzanas, aún están verdes. – “Don’t purchase these apples, they’re nonetheless unripe.”

Like in English, you may say that somebody is verde de envidia – “resentful”. A chiste verde – actually, “inexperienced joke” – means a “soiled joke”.

Is that this the best way to Amarillo? This phrase means “yellow”:

• Me puse una camiseta amarilla. – “I placed on a yellow shirt.”
• Veo un letrero amarillo. – “I see a yellow signal.”

Similar to in English, naranja will be each a noun and an adjective in Spanish. The noun una naranja refers back to the fruit.

Enjoyable truth: in English, the color “orange” was named after the fruit, not the opposite approach round. (Beforehand, the color was referred to as “reddish-yellow” or “yellowish-red”, or one thing like that). The identical is true for the phrase naranja in Spanish.

Observe that, due to this adjective’s bizarre origins, it doesn’t change its ending for quantity or gender. Masculine or female, singular or plural, it’s all the time “naranja”:

• Zanahorias son naranja. – “Carrots are orange.”
• Esta es una caja naranja. – “That is an orange field.”
• El libro naranja – “the orange e book”

One other enjoyable truth: whereas the noun naranja means the fruit, the noun naranjo means the tree on which naranjas develop.

As you most likely know, each noun in Spanish has a gender – both masculine or female. When describing a noun with an adjective, the adjective should agree with the noun in quantity and gender.

“Settlement” implies that the ending of the adjective should be altered relying on the noun’s gender, and on whether or not the noun is singular or plural. For instance:

• El libro rojo – the pink e book (masculine)
• Los libros rojos – the pink books (masculine plural)
• La pared roja – the pink wall (female)
• Las paredes rojas – the pink partitions (female plural)

Discover how the ending of rojo (“pink”) adjustments to match the gender and variety of the noun it describes. Let’s briefly cowl the methods through which an adjective ending may change.

(As for remembering which gender the noun has, bear in mind the cardinal rule: it’s the phrases which have the genders, not the objects they describe).

In Spanish dictionaries, adjectives are often given of their masculine singular type. Within the above instance, that’s rojo. So while you see me speaking about “adjectives which finish in o“, for instance, I imply adjectives whose masculine singular type ends in “o”.

Most Spanish adjectives finish in o, and comply with the above sample (pequeño means “small”):

• masculine singular: -o (pequeño)
• female singular: -a (pequeña)
• masculine plural: -os (pequeños)
• female plural: -as (pequeñas)

If a Spanish adjective ends with e or ista, then it’s the identical for each genders. But it surely nonetheless wants an “s” within the plural. Excelente means “wonderful” and realista means “sensible”:

• masculine singular: excelente, realista
• female singular: excelente, realista
• masculine plural: excelentes, realistas
• female plural: excelentes, realistas

If it ends with a consonant, you then add “-es” within the plural. If that consonant is z, it’s essential to change it to a c.

Débil means “weak” and feliz means “joyful”:

• masculine singular: débil, feliz
• female singular: débil, feliz
• masculine plural: débiles, felices
• female plural: débiles, felices

In English, the adjective virtually all the time goes earlier than the noun. We are saying “a pink automotive”, not “a automotive pink”. (Two notable exceptions to this rule: a “courtroom martial” and the “surgeon basic”.)

In Spanish adjectives often go after the noun:

• Estoy leyendo un libro interesante. – “I’m studying an attention-grabbing e book.”
• _Los elefantes son grandes. – “The elephants are large.”
• _Compré una coche roja. – “I purchased a pink automotive.”

There are some exceptions, as we’ll see within the examples beneath. However typically: if unsure, put the adjective after the noun.

Keep in mind that Spanish has two phrases for “to be”. Ser is used for everlasting qualities whereas estar is used for non permanent states.

It’s often apparent whether or not to make use of ser or estar with a given adjective. For instance, you’d say soy inglés (“I’m English”) however estoy enfadado (“I’m offended”).

Nevertheless, some adjectives change their that means relying on whether or not they’re used with ser or estar:

• Ella está aburrida. – “She’s bored.”
• Ella es aburrida. – “She’s boring.”
• Él está orgulloso. – “He’s proud.”
• Él es orgulloso. – “He’s smug.”

Now that you’ve a very good newbie’s record of adjectives, take a look at a few of these posts to get deeper into the language:

Benny Lewis

Founder, Fluent in 3 Months

Enjoyable-loving Irish man, full-time globe trotter and worldwide bestselling creator. Benny believes the very best strategy to language studying is to talk from day one.

Speaks: Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Esperanto, Mandarin Chinese language, American Signal Language, Dutch, Irish

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