Adjectives in Spanish

Adjectives describe nouns (people, places, things, or ideas). Adjectives usually come
after the noun they describe. Sometimes they come before the noun (see Position of
Adjectives), but they must agree in gender and quantity.

Adjective Endings
• Most adjectives have four forms: Masculine Singular, Masculine Plural,
Feminine Singular, and Feminine Plural.
• Usually, adjectives that end in “e” or in a “consonant” have the same
masculine forms and adjectives that end in “a” have feminine forms.
• Many adjectives that end in -o are used for describing nationality. These
adjectives function the same as any regular -o adjectives.

Example: el mexicano, la Mexicana, los mexicanos, las mexicanas

Use of Adjectives with the verb “Ser”

Use the verb ser (to be) with adjectives to tell someone's/something's origin, ethnicity,
nationality, profession, physical characteristics or qualities, or gender.

Examples:
El carro es azul. - The car is blue.
Los niños son norteamericanos. - The children are North American.
El drama es cómico. - The play is funny (comical).

Use of Adjectives with the verb “Estar”

Use the verb estar (to be) with adjectives to tell someone's/something's feelings,
emotions, temporary condition, or location.

Examples:
El carro está limpio. - The car is clean.
Los niños están en la América del Norte. - The children are in North America.
Pepito está aburrido. - Pepito is bored.

Position of Adjectives
Some adjectives usually come before the noun. Some may come before or after the
noun. The adjective primero almost always comes before the noun. The adjectives
bueno and malo may come before or after the noun.

Drop the final -o of primero, bueno, and malo before a masculine singular noun.
Examples:
un buen día - a good day
el primer día - the first day

1
Apply the regular endings for masculine plural and feminine singular and plural.
The adjective grande may come before or after the noun, but the meaning will be
different depending on its position. When it comes before the noun it means "great".
When it comes after the noun it means "big".

Examples:
Un gran hombre - a great man
Un hombre grande - a big man

Adjectives of color - Los Colores

The words used to express colors in Spanish can be divided into two groups: the ones
that refer to the colors themselves such as blanco, gris, verde, rojo, amarillo, azul; the
ones that refer to something else such as flower, fruit, or mineral (naranja, café, rosa)

Los colores:
amarillo - amarilla yellow
anaranjado - anaranjada orange
blanco - blanca white
morado - morada purple
negro - negra black
plateado - plateada silver
rojo - roja red
rosado - rosada pink
verde green
violeta violet
café - chocolate brown
dorado gold
gris gray
marrón brown
azul blue
azul claro light blue
azul oscuro dark blue

2
 List of Adjectives
abierto - open asombroso - astonishing
abundante - abundant aterrador - apalling
aburrido - boring atlético - athletic
activo - active atrevido - bold
afligido - afflicted ausente - absent
agradable - agreeable azulado - bluish
agradecido - grateful bajo - short (height)
alegre - joyous barato - cheap
altivo - haughty bárbaro - barbarous
alto - tall, high bellísimo - very beautiful
alumbrado - lit(up) bello - beautiful
amable - friendly bendito - blessed
amorfo - amorphous bienvenido - welcome
analógico - analog bilingüe - bilingual
anciano - elderly bonito - pretty
angélico - angelic borroso - blurry
angosto - narrow boyante - buoyant
anterior - previous brumoso - foggy
antiguo - antique bruto - brutal
antipático - mean, not nice bueno - good
antiséptico - antiseptic caliente - hot
aparte - apart calloso - callous
apenas - barely carnal - carnal
apestoso - stinky cansado - tired
aplicable - applicable caprichoso - quirky
apreciativo - appreciative carbólico - carbolic
apropiado - apppropriate cardíaco - cardiac
apto - apt cardinal - cardinal
árido - arid carísimo - very expensive
astuto - artful caro - expensive

3
centenario - centennial crespo - curly
central - central débil - weak
cerámico - ceramic decente - decent
ceremonial - ceremonial delgado - thin
ceremonioso - ceremonious delicioso - delicious
cerrado - closed desconocido - unkown
cíclico - cyclical descortés - discourteous
cívico - civic descubierto - uncovered
civilizado - civilized despreciable - despicable
claro - clear destituido - destitute
clásico - classic destructible - destructible
combustible - combustible desvanecido - dissipated
cómico - comical diestro - clever
cómodo - comfortable difícil - difficult
confundido - confused digestible - digestible
conocido - known digestivo - digestive
contento - content digital - digital
cortés - courteous digno - dignified
corto - short (length) divertido - entertaining
correcto - correct divino - divine
cuidadoso - careful dócil - docile
chapado - plated dogmático - dogmatic
chango - playful dominante - dominant
charlador - talkative dulce - sweet
chico - small dúctil - ductile
chiflado - loco duro - hard
chiquito - tiny ecléctico - eclectic
chismoso - gossipy económico - economic
chistoso - funny editorial - editorial
chocante - offensive educado - educated
chulo - cute eficaz - effective

4
efímero - ephemeral espantoso - scary
efusivo - effusive especial - special
egotista - egotistical espeso - spicy
ejecutivo - executive estupendo - stupendous
ejemplar - exemplary eventual - eventual
elegante - elegant evidente - evident
elemental - elementary excelente - excellent
elevado - elevated experto - expert
elíptico - elliptic exponencial - exponential
elocuente - eloquent exquisito - exquisite
elusivo - elusive extátcio - ecstatic
embarazada - pregnant extensivo - extensive
embarazoso - troublesome extra - extra
emocionante - exciting extranjero - foreign
emotivo - emotive extremo - extreme
encallecido - calloused fabuloso - fabulous
encantado - enchanted falso - false
encerado - waxed famoso - famous
encerrado - caged, jailed familiar - familiar
endémico - endemic fanático - fanatic
enérgico - energetic fantástico - fantastic
enfermo - sick fastidioso - fastidious
enorme - enormous fasto - auspicious
envidiable - enviable fatal - fatal
envidioso - envious favorito - favorite
errado - wrong fecho - executed(law)
escamoso - scaly federal - federal
escaso - scarce femenino - feminine
escéptico - skeptic fenomenal - phenomenal
escrito - written feliz - happy
espantado - scared feo - ugly

5
fértil - fertile glorioso - glorious
ferveroso - fervent glotón - gluttonous
férreo - iron gordo - fat
feudal - fuedal gradado - stepped
fiel - loyal gran - grand
figurado - figurative grande - big
fílmico - film grandote - very big
financiero - financial granoso - grainy
flagrante - flagrant grasoso - greasy
flexible - flexible grave - serious
flojo - loose grosero - rude
folklórico - folkloric guapo - handsome
fónico - phonic hábil - skilled
formidable - formidable hablado - spoken
franco - frank halagüeño - flattering
frío - cold hambriento - hungry
frito - fried hediondo - stinky
frívolo - frivolous helado - frozen
fuerte - strong hermético - airtight
fundido - melted hermoso - beautiful
gallardo - gallant hilarante - hilarious
gastado - worn-out histórico - historical
gelatinoso - gelatinous honesto - honest
genérico - generic horrible - horrible
generoso - generous horrífico - horrific
genético - genetic huesudo - bony
genio - genius humano - human
gentil - gentile húmedo - humid
genuino - genuine ignorante - ignorant
geológico - geological ilegal - illegal
geriátrico - geriatric ilegible - illegible

6
ilógico - illogical indigno - unworthy
iluminado - illuminated indivisible - indivisible
ilustrado - illustrated inédito - unpublished
imaginario - imaginary infantil - childish
impaciente - impatient infeccioso - infectious
impar - uneven, odd infiel - faithless
impenetrable - impenetrable injusto - unjust
imperdonable - inexcusable insensato - insane
imparcial - impartial inteligente - intelligent
importante - important interesante - interesting
improviso - unexpected inquieto - active(hyper)
imprudente - imprudent invisible - invisible
inalámbrico - wireless irritable - irritable
inatento - unattentive jabonoso - soapy
incalculable - incalculable jactancioso - boastful
incoherente - incoherent joven - young
incomestible - inedible jovial - jovial
incómodo - uncomfortable jubilado - retired
incomparable - incomparable judicial - judicial
incompatible - incompatible juguetón - playful
incompetente - incompetant juicioso - wise
incompleto - incomplete juntos - together
inconveniente - inconvenient jurado - sworn
incorrecto - incorrect justificable - justifiable
incorregible - incorrigible justificante - justifying
incorruptible - incorruptible justo - just
incrédulo - incredulous juvenil - youthful
indebido - improper labrado - wrought
indefinido - undefined lacio - limp
indecente - indecent ladino - wise
indígena - native lamentable - lamentable

7
largo - long majestuoso - majestic
larguísimo - very long maligno - evil
larval - larval malo - bad
latoso - bothersome malsano - unhealthy
lavable - washable malvado - wicked
lejano - far away mandón - bossy
lento - slow manejable - manageable
libre - free manuscrito - hand written
libre de cuidado - carefree marchito - withered
limpio - clean mareado - seasick
liso - smooth marino - marine
listo - smart, ready matoso - bushy
liviano - light mayor - older
lívido - livid mejor - better
loco - crazy menor - younger
lodoso - muddy mímico - mimic
lógico - logical mínimo - minimal
lúcido - lucid mismo - same
luminoso - luminous mojado - wet
lunático - lunatic moreno - dark-haired
llamativo - showy mucho - many
llameante - flaming mudable - changeable
llano - flat ground muerto - dead
lleno - full musical - musical
llorón - crying nebuloso - hazy
lloroso - tearful necesario - necessary
lluvioso - rainy novato - newbie
maduro - ripe nublado - cloudy
magnánimo - magnamonious nuevo - new
magnético - magnetic ocupado - busy
magnífico - magnificent optimista - optimist(ic)

8
paciente - patient perezoso - lazy
pagadero - payable perfecto - perfect
pagado - paid perjudicial - harmful
parado - standing(up) permanente - permanent
paralelo - parallel persuasivo - persuasive
parásito - parasitic pesado - heavy
parecido - alike pésimo - very bad
parejo - even, smooth piadoso - pious
particular - particular picante - spicy
pasado - by gone pintoresco - picturesque
pasajero - fleeting plácido - placid
pastoral - pastoral plano - flat, plane
paternal - fatherly plumoso - feathery
patológico - pathological pobre - poor
patriótico - patriotic pocos - few
pecoso - freckled podrido - rotten
pedagógico - pedagogic poético - poetic
pedestre - pedestrian policíaco - police related
pegajoso - sticky pomposo - pompous
pelado - peeled popular - popular
peligroso - dangerous precavido - cautious
pelirrojo - red-haired preferido - preferred
peludo - hairy preocupado - worried
penado - afflicted preparado - prepared
pendiente - pending presente - present
penoso - shameful primero - first
pensativo - pensive privado - private
peñascoso - rocky privilegiado - privileged
pequeño - small profético - prophetic
percudido - grimy puro - pure
perecedero - passing quebrado - broken

9
quemado - burnt sabroso - savory
querido - dear sagaz - canny
quieto - quiet, still sangriento - bloody
quincenal - bimonthly santificado - sanctified
rabioso - rabid seco - dry
radial - radial seguro - safe
rancio - rancid selecto - select
rápido - rapid serio - serious
razonable - reasonable simpático - nice
rebelde - rebellious sin aliento - breathless
rebosante - overflowing sólido - solid
recargable - rechargeable solo - alone
receloso - distrustful sólo - only
receptivo - receptive suave - soft
reciclable - recyclable sucio - dirty
reciente - recent tacaño - stingy
recojido - secluded todo - all
reconocido - recognized tonto - foolish
recurrente - recurring torcido - twisted
redundante - redundant transparente - transparent
reemplazable - replaceable triste - sad
refinado - refined umbroso - shady
repugnante - repugnant unánime - unanimous
resonante - resonant único - unique, only
rico - rich ventoso - windy
ridículo - ridiculous verdadero - true
robusto - robust valiente - valiant
romántico - romantic vacío - empty
ronco - hoarse varios - variety, varied
roñoso - mangy viejo - old
rubio - blond vivo - alive

10