50 Most Common Spanish Adjectives [With PDF Download]

Knowing adjectives in Spanish makes expressing yourself infinitely easier. And since native speakers use them everyday, it’ll make Spanish easier to understand, too.

So in this post, you’ll learn 50 common Spanish descriptive adjectives and how to use them correctly in sentences.

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Common Spanish Adjectives You Should Know

For this post, all adjectives will be written in masculine singular. When you want to change the adjectives to the feminine, often the end of the adjective will change to -a. There are a few exceptions which you will be able to read about below.

Here is a quick overview of the most essential Spanish adjectives:

Now, here are some more useful adjectives you’re bound to find useful!

1. Abierto  — Open

Deja la puerta abierta, por favor. — Leave the door open, please.

2. Aburrido — Boring

El libro es muy útil pero aburrido. — The book is very helpful but boring. 

3. Alto — Tall

Le gustan las chicas altas. — She likes tall girls. 

4. Bajo — Short

Algunas personas son bajas. — Some people are short.

5. Barato  — Cheap

Compra ese, es más barato. — Buy that one, it’s cheaper.

6. Bueno — Good

Hacer ejercicio es muy bueno para la salud. — Exercising is very good for your health.

7. Caluroso — Hot

El día está caluroso. — The day is hot.

8. Cansado  — Tired

Dormí mal y estoy muy cansada. — I slept badly and I’m really tired.

9. Caro — Expensive

¿Salió muy caro el pasaje a Chile? — Was the ticket to Chile too expensive?

10. Cerrado — Closed

La tienda está cerrada hasta las cinco de la tarde. — The shop is closed until 5 in the afternoon.

11. Complicado — Complicated

La situación está un poco complicada, así que es difícil hablarlo. — The situation is a bit complicated, so it’s difficult to talk about it.

12. Débil — Weak

Estoy débil porque estuve enfermo la semana pasada. — I am weak because I was sick last week.

13. Delgado — Thin

Mis primos son muy delgados. — My cousins are very thin.

14. Delicioso — Delicious

Creo que la comida mexicana es la más deliciosa. — I think Mexican food is the most delicious.

15. Despierto — Awake

¿Todavía estás despierto? — Are you still awake?

16. Divertido — Fun

Juan es divertido. — Juan is fun.

17. Dulce — Sweet

Gracias, eres muy dulce. — Thanks, you’re so sweet.

Este vino está demasiado dulce. — This wine is too sweet.

18. Enfermo — Sick

No puedo salir esta noche; estoy enferma. — I can’t go out tonight, I’m sick.

19. Feliz — Happy

Me haces muy feliz. — You make me very happy.

20. Feo — Ugly

Esta camisa es muy fea. — This shirt is so ugly.

21. Frío — Cold

¡Que frío hace! — It’s so cold!

22. Fuerte — Strong

Si vas al gimnasio todos los días, te harás fuerte. — If you go to the gym everyday, you’ll get strong.

23. Gordo — Fat

Como mi cuaderno está lleno, también está gordo. — Because my notebook is full, it’s also fat.

24. Grande — Big

Tiene una sonrisa muy grande. — He has a very big smile.

25. Injusto — Unfair

¡Qué injusto! — How unfair!

26. Inteligente — Intelligent

Me encanta mi novio porque es muy inteligente. — I love my boyfriend because he’s very intelligent.

27. Justo — Fair

El juez fue justo. —The judge was fair.

28. Lento — Slow

Soy un poco lento al conducir. — I’m a little slow when driving.

29. Limpio — Clean

Me gusta que mi casa esté limpia todo el tiempo. — I like my house to be clean all the time.

30. Lindo — Pretty

¡Qué lindos son! — They’re so pretty!

31. Lleno — Full

Mi cuaderno está lleno de nuevas palabras en español. — My notebook is full of new Spanish words.

32. Loco — Crazy

El trabajo me está volviendo loco. — Work is driving me crazy.

33. Malo — Bad

Comer muchos dulces es malo para la salud. — Eating lots of sweets is bad for your health.

34. Mojado — Wet

Llovió anoche y la ropa quedó toda mojada. — It rained last night and the laundry got all wet.

35. Nuevo — New

Su vestido nuevo era caro. — Her new dress was expensive.

36. Pequeño — Small

Mi departamento es demasiado pequeño. — My apartment is too small.

37. Pobre — Poor

La chica es muy pobre. — The girl is very poor.

38. Rápido — Fast

Él es el chico más rápido de la escuela. — He is the fastest boy in school.

39. Repugnante — Disgusting

El olor que sale de la cocina es repugnante. — The smell coming from the kitchen is disgusting.

40. Rico — Rich, yum

Ella es rica. — She is rich.

¡El postre estuvo muy rico! — The dessert was so yum!

41. Salado — Savory, Salty

Prefiero la comida salada. — I prefer savory food.

42. Sano — Healthy

Hago ejercicio todos los días porque me hace sentir sana. — I exercise everyday because it makes me feel healthy.

43. Seco — Dry

El pan de esa panadería es un poco seco. — The bread from that bakery is a little dry.

44. Simple — Simple

La comida es demasiado simple para mí. — The food is too simple/bland for me.

45. Sucio — Dirty

Este carro se ve algo sucio. — This car looks a bit dirty.

46. Tonto — Stupid

¡No seas tonto! — Don’t be stupid!

47. Tranquilo — Tranquil, Calm

Tranquilo, todo estará bien. — (Be) calm, everything will be fine.

48. Triste — Sad

Todos nos sentimos tristes cuando termina la canción de Pharrell. — We all feel sad when Pharrell’s song is over.

49. Vacío — Empty

Mi vida está vacía sin él. — My life is empty without him. 

50. Viejo — Old

El reloj de mi papá es muy viejo. — My dad’s watch is very old.

If you want more help learning these adjectives, you could check out a YouTube video such as this one to have a visual element to your studies:

Spanish Adjective Grammar

Where Does an Adjective Go In a Spanish Sentence?

 Many beginners struggle to get their heads around the order of adjectives in Spanish.

But remember that unlike in English, Spanish descriptive adjectives usually go after the noun.

So instead of saying “He has beautiful blue eyes,” you say the equivalent of “He has eyes blue beautiful”: Tiene unos ojos azules preciosos.

It might sound weird at first, but once you get the idea, nouns before adjectives will come naturally to you. Check out this post for more in-depth info on the topic. 

Importance of Gender and Number

Another important thing to remember is that you need to consider whether the adjective is masculine, feminine, singular or plural. Spanish adjectives must agree with gender and number.

For example, the word lindo (pretty) can have four different forms, depending on what it’s referring to:

	Masculine	Feminine
Singular	Lindo	Linda
Plural	Lindos	Lindas

That means if you’re talking about a plural, feminine noun—like palabras (words)—you’d need the plural, feminine adjective.

¡Qué lindas palabras! (What beautiful words!)

Adjectives That Don’t Change With Gender

On top of all that, there are some adjectives that don’t change with gender. These mostly follow a pattern. As a general guideline you can remember this, plus a few common examples:

• Adjectives that end with -ista: realista (realistic), idealista (idealistic), materialista (materialistic)
• Adjectives that end with -e: grande (big), caliente (hot), interesante (interesting), inteligente (intelligent)
• Adjectives that end with -or (comparatives): mejor (better), menor (less), peor (worse)
• Adjectives that end with a consonant: gris (gray), azul (blue), marrón (brown), fácil (easy), feliz (happy)

Note that while these adjectives don’t change with gender, they do change with number, so make sure to use their plural form (realistas, grandes, mejores …) when you use them for plural words.

Of course, adjectives can behave quite differently in the wild, away from the confines of this article! To really understand how native Spanish speakers use adjectives, you may need to eavesdrop on some conversations.

Or get a program like FluentU and find tons of authentic videos for all your adjective-learning needs.

Frequently Asked Questions About Spanish Adjectives

What Are the Four Forms of Spanish Adjectives?

Adjectives in Spanish come in four forms to agree in gender and number with the nouns they modify. These forms are feminine singular, feminine plural, masculine singular and masculine plural.

For example, the adjective grande (meaning “big”) would have the forms grande (masculine singular), grandes (masculine plural), grande (feminine singular), and grandes (feminine plural), depending on the noun it modifies. Though, as mentioned above, there are some adjectives that don’t change with gender.

What Are Possessive Adjectives?

Possessive adjectives in Spanish indicate ownership or possession. They agree in gender and number with the noun they modify, and they come before the noun.

The possessive adjectives are mi (my), tu (your), su (his/her/its/your [singular, formal]), nuestro/a (our), vuestro/a (your [plural, Spain]), and su (their/your [plural, formal]). For example, mi casa means “my house” and su libro can mean “his book,” “her book,” “its book,” “your (formal) book,” or “their book.”

What Are Demonstrative Adjectives?

Demonstrative adjectives in Spanish indicate the proximity of the noun they modify in relation to the speaker. They also agree in gender and number with the noun they modify.

The demonstrative adjectives are este (this), ese (that), aquel (that over there), and their respective feminine and plural forms. For example, esta casa means “this house,” esos libros means “those books,” and aquellas flores means “those flowers over there.”

 

So, go on and be un(a) estudiante bueno/a (a good student) and learn this whole list!

It’ll be divertido (fun), simple (simple) and you’ll come across as really inteligente (intelligent) once you’re using these adjectives in your everyday Spanish life.

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)