Adjectives in Spanish

In Spanish, adjectives describe nouns. Adjectives match the gender and the number of the noun. The two genders are referred to as masculine and feminine. Masculine adjectives get -o ending, and feminine adjectives get an -a ending. A few examples are shown below.

a yellow notebook - un cuaderno amarillo

a smart girl - una muchacha lista

Adjectives that end in anything but -o/-a do not get an -o or -a ending. They have the same ending, no matter the gender. Here are some examples.

the green chalkboard - la pizarra verde

the arrogant man - el hombre arrogante

A few adjectives that do not have the -o or -a ending keep their original ending in the masculine and add -a in the feminine form. The best way to remember these verbs is to memorize them. A few adjectives that follow this rule include encantador(a) and trabajador(a).

Adjectives must also match the number of the noun. If the adjective ends in a vowel, -s is added to the end. If the adjective ends in a consonant, -es is added to the end. Here are a few examples.

the intelligent dog - el perro inteligente

the intelligent dogs - los perros inteligentes

the blue chair - la silla azul

the blue chairs - la sillas azules

the pretty girl - la muchacha bonita

the pretty girls - las muchachas bonitas

Colors are very useful in Spanish. Colors follow the same format described above. Here is a list of the most commonly used colors.

Colors

amarillo (a) - yellow

anaranjado(a) - orange

azul - blue

blanco(a) - white

gris - gray

marrón - brown

morando (a) - purple

negro(a) - black

rojo(a) - red

rosado (a) - pink

verde - green

There are many adjectives that describe personality, appearance, and well-being. These adjectives follow the rules described above. Whenever the speaker says someone is a certain characteristic, two verbs are involved. Here are some sample sentences in English below.

The man is intelligent.

I am sick.

Adjectives that describe characteristics of someone's personality or permanent appearance use the verb ser. Adjectives that describe a certain temporary condition (ex. health) or temporary state of a certain appearance (ex. messy room) use estar. Here are the sample sentences below listed in Spanish.

El hombre es intelegente.

Yo estoy enferma.

These lists below state the most important adjectives in describing personality, current state, and appearance used in Spanish. These words are very important to know.

Personality

aburrido (a) - boring

agresivo (a) aggressive

amistoso (a) - friendly

animado (a) - lively

antipático (a) - unpleasant

arrogante - arrogant

atrevido(a) - daring

bueno(a) - good

cariñoso (a) - affectionate

chistoso (a) - amusing

cómico (a) - funny

compresivo (a) - understanding

cruel - cruel

destraído(a) - absent-minded

divertido (a) - fun

egoíst(a) - egoistic

elegante - elegant

emocional - emotional

encantador(a) - delightful

fiel - faithful

impaciente - impatient

inteligente - intelligent

listo(a) - smart

loco(a) - crazy

malo(a) - bad

paciente - patient

perezoso(a) - lazy

raro(a) - strange

responsable - responsible

romántico(a) - romantic

sensible - sensitive

sentimental - sentimental

serio(a) - serious

simpático (a) - nice

tanto (a) - silly/foolish

tolerante - tolerant

torpe - clumsy

trabajador(a) - hard-working

travieso (a) - mischievous

CurrentState of Physical and Mental Health

aburrido (a) - bored

alegre - happy

avergonzado(a) - embarrassed

bueno(a) - good

congestado(a) - congested

consado(a) - tired

contento(a) - content/happy

enfermo(a) - sick

flexible - flexible

furioso(a) - furious/angry

loco(a) - crazy

malo(a) - bad

mareado(a) - dizzy/nauseated

nervioso(a) - nervous

ocupado(a) - worried

perocupado (a) - worried

torpe - clumsy

triste - sad

Physical Appearance

guapo(a) - handsome

bonito(a) - pretty

feo(a) - ugly

grande - large/big

pequeño(a) - small

delgado(a) - thin

gordo(a) - fat

bello(a) - beautiful

Appearance of Places

abierto(a) - open

bello(a) - beautiful

cerrado(a) - closed

desordenado(a) - messy

grande - large/big

limpio(a) - clean

nuevo(a) - new

ordenado(a) - neat

pequeño(a) - small

sucio(a) - dirty

The list below shows some more important adjectives used in Spanish. These words are also very important to know.

Other Important Adjectives

acelerado(a) - fast/accelerated

barato(a) - inexpensive

caro(a) - expensive

casado(a) - married

clásico(a) - classical

cómodo(a) - comfortable

congelado(a) - frozen, very cold

corto (a) - short

deportivo (a) - sporting/sport-loving

difícil - difficult

elegante - elegant

fácil - easy

folklórico(a) - folkloric

fresco(a) - fresh

frito(a) - fried

fuerte - heavy (meal/food)/strong food

importante - important

interesante - interesting

largo (a) - long

ligero(a) - light (food)/not heavy

moderno(a) - modern

pasado(a) - past/last

pesado(a) - boring/difficult

puro(a) - clean/pure

rápido(a) - fast

soltero (a) - single

terrible - terrible