A Massive List of Spanish Adjectives and How To Use Them
Are you improving in your Spanish fluency, but still struggling to describe people accurately?
This is a normal stage in most students’ Spanish-learning process. You may have mastered the grammar rules, but are still short in vocabulary.
I’m here to help you solve that!
Keep reading to learn what adjectives are and how to use them—discover a massive list of the most common, popular, and basic Spanish adjectives right ahead!
Table of Contents:
- Brief Introduction to Spanish Adjectives
- Massive List of Adjectives
- Adjectives That Start With e
- Adjectives That Start with l
- Adjectives That Start With n
- Adjectives That Start With r
- Practice These Adjectives and Improve Your Spanish Today
Brief Introduction to Spanish Adjectives
Adjectives are one of the 9 parts of speech and are usually known as “descriptive words,” since they describe nouns and give important information about the characteristics of nouns.
An important difference with English adjectives is that in Spanish adjectives “must agree in gender and number with nouns.”
Read A Comprehensive Guide to Spanish Adjectives to learn more about how these descriptive words are used to describe people and things.
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How To Use Adjectives in Spanish
In Spanish, besides number (singular or plural) as in English, nouns are gendered.
This means that every noun is either masculine or feminine, and adjectives should reflect that. That’s why you have up to 4 different ways any adjective can be expressed in a sentence.
Let’s see this using the adjective alto (tall) with the four different combinations of gender and number:
El hombre es alto.
The man is tall.
Los hombres son altos.
The men are tall.
La mujer es alta.
The woman is tall.
Las mujeres son altas.
The women are tall.
Notice how in English the adjective tall never changes, while in Spanish you have four different variations of the same adjective.
Just keep in mind that not all adjectives change to adapt to gender and they keep the same form for both feminine and masculine nouns.
Read this article for a more thorough understanding on how to use adjectives.
Massive List of Adjectives
Without further ado, here you have a massive list of some of the most common and popular Spanish adjectives, divided into categories to make your study of them quite easier.
Spanish Adjectives To Describe a Person
Let’s start with adjectives that you can use to describe someone.
Personality Adjectives
You can describe a person talking about its personality or about its physical traits. Use these descriptive words in Spanish to talk about the personality of a person.
They’re divided into positive and negative adjectives.
Positive Adjectives | Examples |
amablekind | Tu papá es muy amable.Your dad is very kind. |
amigablefriendly | José es muy amigable.José is very friendly. |
creativo(a)creative | Picasso era un artista muy creativo. Picasso was a very creative artist. |
divertido(a)funny | Carla es muy divertida.Carla is very funny. |
generoso(a)generous | Tu mamá es muy generosa conmigo.Your mom is very generous with me. |
hábilskilled | Ronaldo es muy hábil con el balón. Ronaldo is very skilled with the football. |
honesto(a)honest | El presidente es honesto. The president is honest. |
inteligenteintelligent | Einstein era muy inteligente. Einstein was very intelligent. |
modesto(a)humble | Rodrigo es un chico modesto.Rodrigo is a humble boy. |
puntualpunctual | Yo siempre soy muy puntual. I’m always very punctual. |
responsableresponsible | Tu hermana es más responsable que tú.Your sister is more responsible than you. |
simpático(a)nice | Mónica es muy simpática.Monica is very nice. |
talentoso(a)talented | Erika es una chica talentosa.Erika is a talented girl. |
valientebrave | Antonio se cree muy valiente.Antonio thinks he’s very brave. |
Negative Adjectives | Examples |
aburrido(a)boring | Esa película es aburrida. That movie is boring. |
celoso(a)jealous | Su novia es muy celosa.His girlfriend is very jealous. |
cínico(a)cynical | Me he vuelto un poco cínico con los años.I’ve become a little cynical with age. |
descuidado(a)careless | Jorge es descuidado con sus estudios.Jorge is careless with his studies. |
deshonesto(a)dishonest | No seas deshonesto conmigo.Don’t be dishonest with me. |
egoístaselfish | Mi hermana menor es muy egoísta.My little sister is very selfish. |
grosero(a)rude | Tu amigo es muy grosero conmigo.Your friend is very rude to me. |
impulsivo(a)impulsive | No me gusta ser tan impulsivo.I don’t like being so impulsive. |
malhumorado(a)bad-tempered | El profesor de historia es malhumorado.The teacher of History is bad-tempered. |
mentiroso(a)liar | El personaje principal es mentiroso.The main character is a liar. |
molesto(a)annoying | Mi hermano mayor es muy molesto.My big brother is very annoying. |
perezoso(a)lazy | Los domingos soy muy perezoso.On Sundays I’m very lazy. |
tacaño(a)stingy | Martha es muy tacaña.Martha is very stingy. |
terco(a)stubborn | ¡Qué terco es tu tío!How stubborn is your uncle! |
Physical Traits
The following list of Spanish adjectives focuses on the physical traits of people.
Adjectives | Examples |
alto(a)tall | Mi hermano es muy alto. My brother is very tall. |
bajo(a)Short | María es baja. Maria is short. |
calvo(a)bald | Mi papá se quedó calvo hace años.My dad went bald years ago. |
delgado(a)slim, thin | Te veo más delgado.I see you thinner. |
feo(a)ugly | ¡Que feo es tu hermano!How ugly is your brother! |
flaco(a)skinny | Esa modelo está muy flaca.That model is quite skinny. |
gordo(a)fat | Me estoy poniendo muy gordo.I’m getting too fat. |
guapo(a)handsome, beautiful | Brad Pitt es el actor más guapo de su generación.Brad Pitt is the most handsome actor of his generation. |
lindo(a)cute | Es un bebé muy lindo.She’s a very cute baby. |
moreno(a)brunette | Salma Hayek es una morena hermosa.Salma Hayek is a beautiful brunette. |
pálido(a)pale | Carlos está enfermo, se ve muy pálido.Carlos is sick, he looks very pale. |
pelirrojo(a)redhead | En Irlanda hay muchas chicas pelirrojas.In Ireland there are a lot of redhead girls. |
rechoncho(a)chubby | Yo era un bebé rechoncho.I was a chubby baby. |
rubio(a)blonde | La mayoría de los suecos son rubios.Most Swedish people are blonde. |
Funny Adjectives
Now, a list of funny adjectives to lighten the mood a little bit.
Adjectives | Examples |
alborotado(a)messy, unruly | Tienes el pelo todo alborotado.Your hair is all messy. |
aterciopelado(a)velvety | Tu camisa tiene una textura aterciopelada. Your shirt has a velvety feeling. |
blandenguesofty | Carlos es un blandengue.Carlos is a softy. |
debilucho(a)weak | Toño es un debilucho.Tony is weak. |
desconchinflado(a)damaged, broken | Mi coche está desconchinflado.My car is broken. |
lampiño(a)hairless | A Miguel nunca le creció la barba, es lampiño.Miguel never grew a beard, he’s hairless. |
escurridizo(a)slippery | Cuidado que el piso está escurridizo.Careful, as the floor is slippery. |
espeluznantehorrifying | Vimos una película espeluznante.We watched a horrifying movie. |
friolero(a), friolento(a)to be cold, chilly | María es muy friolenta.Maria is very cold. |
guapérrimo(a)extremely handsome | Mi novio está guapérrimo.My boyfriend is extremely handsome. |
jocoso(a)jocular | Te estás poniendo muy jocoso.You’re getting too jocular. |
papanatasfool | Tu primo es un papanatas.Your cousin is a fool. |
pegajoso(a)sticky | Pisé un chicle y mis zapatos están pegajosos.I stomped on a chewy gum and my shoes are sticky. |
pelelewimp | Tu amigo es un pelele.Your friend is a wimp. |
Adjectives That Start With a
Find in this section a series of adjectives that begin with the letter “a.”
Adjectives | Examples |
adorablelovely | Tu hijo es adorable.Your son is lovely. |
ágilagile | Lio Messi es muy ágil.Lio Messi is very agile. |
agrio(a)sour | Te salió muy agria esta salsa. This sauce is very sour. |
alegrejoyful | Mi novio es alegre.My boyfriend is joyful. |
altanero(a)haughty | Juan es muy altanero.Juan is quite haughty. |
amargo(a)bitter | No me gusta la cerveza porque es muy amarga.I don’t like beer because it’s too bitter. |
amenazadorthreatening | Me habló en un tono amenazador.He talked to me with a threatening tone. |
ancho(a)wide | El camino es suficientemente ancho.The path is wide enough. |
antiguo(a)ancient | Esta iglesia es muy antigua.This church is ancient. |
antipático(a)unfriendly | Tu tío es antipático.Your uncle is unfriendly. |
arrugado(a)wrinkled | Tu camisa está arrugada.Your shirt is wrinkled. |
áspero(a)rough | La madera de esta mesa está muy áspera.The wood of this table is very rough. |
aterciopelado(a)velvety | Tu camisa tiene una textura aterciopelada. Your shirt has a velvety feeling. |
audazbold | Tomaste una decisión audaz.You took a bold decisión. |
Adjectives That Start With e
Now it’s time to learn Spanish adjectives that start with the letter “e.”
Adjectives | Examples |
efímero(a)short-lived, ephemeral | El alivio fue efímero.The relief was short-lived. |
egocéntrico(a)egocentric | Eres muy egocéntrico.You’re very egocentric. |
eleganteelegant | Este hotel es muy elegante.This hotel is very elegant. |
entusiastaenthusiastic | Miguel es muy entusiasta.Miguel is very enthusiastic. |
equivocado(a)wrong | Tu hermano está equivocado.Your brother is wrong. |
espontáneo(a)spontaneous | Fue una reacción espontánea.It was a spontaneous reaction. |
estrecho(a)narrow | La ventana es muy estrecha.The window is quite narrow. |
exacto(a)exact | El precio exacto es 10 dólares.The exact price is 10 dollars. |
extrovertido(a)extroverted | Mi novia es muy extrovertida.My girlfriend is very extroverted. |
Adjectives That Start with l
Now, a list of Spanish adjectives that start with the letter “L.”
Adjectives | Examples |
largo(a)long | Esta mesa es muy larga.This table is very long. |
lejano(a)far, distant | Hace mucho tiempo en una galaxia muy lejana.Long time ago in a far away galaxy. |
lento(a)slow | Las tortugas son muy lentas.Turtles are very slow. |
librefree | Soy un hombre libre.I’m a free man. |
limpio(a)clean | Tu casa está muy limpia.Your house is very clean. |
liso(a)smooth | Tienes la piel muy lisa.You have smooth skin. |
listo(a)clever | Luis es muy listo.Luis is very clever. |
liviano(a)light | Tu teléfono es muy liviano.Your phone is very light. |
loco(a)crazy | Tu amiga está loca.Your friend is crazy. |
Adjectives That Start With n
Find below a list of Spanish adjectives that start with the letter “n.”
Adjectives | Examples |
naturalnatural | Me gusta la comida natural.I like natural food. |
necesario(a)necessary, needed | Tu ayuda es muy necesaria.Your help is very necessary. |
necio(a)foolish | ¡No seas necio!Don’t be foolish! |
normalnormal | Nuestra vida es muy normal.Our life is very normal. |
negativo(a)negative | Tu amiga es muy negativa.Your friend is very negative. |
nervioso(a)nervous | Estoy muy nervioso por mi entrevista.I’m very nervous for my interview. |
nocivo(a)harmful | Fumar es nocivo para tu salud.Smoking is harmful for your health. |
nocturnonightly, nocturnal | Los búhos son animales nocturnos.Owls are nocturnal animals. |
nuevo(a)new | ¿Te gusta mi coche nuevo?Do you like my new car? |
Adjectives That Start With r
Now, a list of Spanish adjectives that start with the letter “r.”
Adjectives | Examples |
racistaracist | No es bueno ser racista.It isn’t good to be racist. |
rápido(a)fast, quick | Flash es el superhéroe más rápido.Flash is the fastest superhero. |
raro(a)rare, weird | Emilio es un tipo raro.Emilio is a weird guy. |
recienterecent | La herida es muy reciente.The injury is very recent. |
reflexivo(a)reflexive | El profesor es muy reflexivo.The teacher is very reflexive. |
rico(a)rich, tasty | Bill Gates es muy rico.Bill Gates is very rich. |
romántico(a)romantic | Tu amiga es muy romántica.Your friend is very romantic. |
roto(a)broken | Mi pierna está rota.My leg is broken. |
ruidoso(a)noisy | Mis vecinos son muy ruidosos.My neighbors are very noisy. |
Practice These Adjectives and Improve Your Spanish Today
There you have it, a massive list of basic Spanish adjectives that cover a little bit of everything. Practice them in and try to introduce them in your Spanish conversations to continue improving your Spanish.
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