The Animated Book
of SpanishGrammar Reference

Spanish Adjectives

Adapted from The Animated Book of Spanish, an interactive Spanish grammar book.

Spanish adjectives match the noun they describe, in gender and number. They usually go after the noun: un coche rojo is “a red car.”
Masculine
  • el coche rojothe red car
  • los coches rojosthe red cars
Feminine
  • la casa rojathe red house
  • las casas rojasthe red houses
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Adjectives ending in ‑o: four forms

Adjectives ending in ‑o have four forms. Change the ‑o to ‑a for feminine, and add ‑s for plural.

The four forms of adjectives ending in -o
masculinefeminineSingularPlural
tallalto (masculine)alta (feminine)altos (masculine)altas (feminine)
newnuevo (masculine)nueva (feminine)nuevos (masculine)nuevas (feminine)
prettybonito (masculine)bonita (feminine)bonitos (masculine)bonitas (feminine)
smallpequeño (masculine)pequeña (feminine)pequeños (masculine)pequeñas (feminine)
  1. Masculine
    Mi hermano es muy alto.

    My brother is very tall.

    Feminine
    Mi hermana es muy alta.

    My sister is very tall.

  2. Masculine
    Tenemos un coche nuevo.

    We have a new car.

    Feminine
    Tenemos una casa nueva.

    We have a new house.

  3. Masculine
    Los chicos son simpáticos.

    The boys are nice.

    Feminine
    Las chicas son simpáticas.

    The girls are nice.

Adjectives ending in ‑e or a consonant: two forms

Most adjectives that don't end in ‑o are the same for masculine and feminine. They only change for plural, following the same rules as plural nouns.

Adjectives with the same masculine and feminine forms
bothSingularPlural
biggrande (masculine and feminine)grandes (masculine and feminine)
intelligentinteligente (masculine and feminine)inteligentes (masculine and feminine)
easyfácil (masculine and feminine)fáciles (masculine and feminine)
blueazul (masculine and feminine)azules (masculine and feminine)
happyfeliz (masculine and feminine)felices (masculine and feminine)
  1. Masculine
    Mi hermano es muy inteligente.

    My brother is very intelligent.

    Feminine
    Mi hermana es muy inteligente.

    My sister is very intelligent.

  2. Masculine
    El examen fue fácil.

    The exam was easy.

    Feminine
    La pregunta fue fácil.

    The question was easy.

  3. Masculine
    Los niños están felices.

    The boys are happy.

    Feminine
    Las niñas están felices.

    The girls are happy.

Nationalities and ‑or: add ‑a

Two groups end in a consonant but still have a feminine form: adjectives of nationality, and adjectives ending in ‑or. Add ‑a for the feminine. Watch the accent: it disappears when the word gets longer.

Adjectives of nationality and adjectives ending in -or
masculinefeminineSingularPlural
Spanishespañol (masculine)española (feminine)españoles (masculine)españolas (feminine)
Englishinglés (masculine)inglesa (feminine)ingleses (masculine)inglesas (feminine)
Germanalemán (masculine)alemana (feminine)alemanes (masculine)alemanas (feminine)
hardworkingtrabajador (masculine)trabajadora (feminine)trabajadores (masculine)trabajadoras (feminine)

Describing a mixed group

When one adjective describes a masculine and a feminine noun together, use the masculine plural.

  • El coche y la moto son nuevos.

    The car and the motorcycle are new.

  • Mis hermanos y mis hermanas son altos.

    My brothers and sisters are tall.

  • Compré una falda y un abrigo negros.

    I bought a black skirt and coat.

Where adjectives go

Most adjectives go after the noun, the opposite of English:

  • Englisha red car
    Spanishun coche rojo
  • Englishan interesting book
    Spanishun libro interesante
  • Englishthe white houses
    Spanishlas casas blancas

Adjectives of number and quantity go before the noun, just like in English:

  • Englishtwo dogs
    Spanishdos perros
  • Englishfew people
    Spanishpocas personas
  • Englishanother day
    Spanishotro día

  • Tengo muchos amigos en Madrid.

    I have a lot of friends in Madrid.

  • Hay poca gente en la playa.

    There are few people at the beach.

  • ¿Quieres otro café?

    Do you want another coffee?

Buen, mal, gran: shortened forms

A few adjectives can also go before the noun, and a few of those get shorter there. Bueno and malo drop the ‑o before a masculine singular noun. Grande becomes gran before any singular noun.

  • un chico bueno
    ,
    un buen chico
    a good boy
  • un día malo
    ,
    un mal día
    a bad day
  • un amigo grandea big friend
    ,
    un gran amigoa great friend

Four more always shorten before a masculine singular noun. Alguno and ninguno gain an accent when they do:

  • primerofirst
    ,
    el primer díathe first day
  • tercerothird
    ,
    el tercer pisothe third floor
  • algunosome, any
    ,
    algún díasomeday
  • ningunono, none
    ,
    ningún problemano problem

Position changes the meaning

A handful of adjectives mean one thing after the noun, and something more figurative before it.

  • un amigo viejoan elderly friend
    ,
    un viejo amigoa longtime friend
  • una mujer pobrea poor (not rich) woman
    ,
    una pobre mujeran unfortunate woman
  • un coche nuevoa brand-new car
    ,
    un nuevo cochea new (different) car
  • una ciudad grandea big city
    ,
    una gran ciudada great city
  • un hijo únicoan only child
    ,
    el único hijothe only son

Lo + adjective

Lo + a masculine adjective turns it into an idea: the good thing, the important thing. English often says the … part or what's ….

  • Lo bueno es que no llueve.

    The good thing is that it’s not raining.

  • Lo importante es participar.

    What matters is taking part.

  • Lo mejor de Madrid es la comida.

    The best thing about Madrid is the food.

Lo is Spanish's neuter article. For its other uses, like lo que, see the neuter article.

Common mistakes English speakers make

  1. Putting the adjective before the noun

    Incorrect:Tengo un rojo coche.
    Correct:Tengo un coche rojo.

    Most adjectives go after the noun in Spanish.

  2. Forgetting to make the adjective agree

    Incorrect:Las casas son blanco.
    Correct:Las casas son blancas.

    The adjective matches the noun: feminine and plural here.

  3. Adding ‑a to an adjective ending in ‑e

    Incorrect:Mi hermana es muy inteligenta.
    Correct:Mi hermana es muy inteligente.

    Adjectives ending in ‑e are the same for masculine and feminine.

  4. Using buen before a feminine noun

    Incorrect:Es una buen idea.
    Correct:Es una buena idea.

    Only the masculine singular shortens to buen.

  5. Capitalizing nationalities

    Incorrect:Mi amigo es Español.
    Correct:Mi amigo es español.

    Nationalities are lowercase in Spanish.

Questions about Spanish adjectives

Do adjectives go before or after the noun in Spanish?

Usually after: un coche rojo ("a red car"). Adjectives of number and quantity (mucho, poco, otro, dos) go before, and a few common adjectives like bueno and malo often do too. Some adjectives, like grande and viejo, change meaning depending on where they go.

Do all Spanish adjectives change for gender?

No. Adjectives ending in -o have four forms (alto, alta, altos, altas), but most adjectives ending in -e or a consonant have the same form for masculine and feminine and only change for plural: grande, grandes; fácil, fáciles.

What is the difference between buen and bueno?

They're the same word. Bueno shortens to buen right before a masculine singular noun: un buen día, but un día bueno. The feminine never shortens: una buena idea.

What is the difference between un gran hombre and un hombre grande?

Before the noun, grande shortens to gran and means "great": un gran hombre is a great man. After the noun, it means "big": un hombre grande is a big man.

Are nationalities capitalized in Spanish?

No. Adjectives of nationality, and the languages, are lowercase: un chico español, hablo inglés. Only the country names are capitalized: España, Inglaterra.

Next upNumbersCounting from 0 to a million, cien vs ciento, un vs uno, and ordinals, with audio.

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