They are used to clarify or enrich information about people, objects, animals, etc. Spanish adjectives can be a bit tricky because you not only have to memorize the vocabulary, but you have to make them agree with the noun they are describing in gender and number:
- Una casa blanca (a white house).
- Un coche blanco (a white car).
- Unas flores blancas (some white flowers).
- Unos calcetines blancos (some white socks).
💡 Have you noticed that, unlike English, in Spanish, adjectives are written behind the noun?
Let’s go step by step. First, we will learn some commonly used Spanish adjectives, and then we will learn how to use them.
The 100 Most Common Spanish Adjectives
This list presents 100 of the most commonly used descriptive adjectives in Spanish, along with their English translations. Descriptive adjectives are essential for expressing qualities, characteristics, and conditions of nouns, helping learners build richer and more precise sentences. Whether you’re a beginner or looking to reinforce your vocabulary, these adjectives form a solid foundation for everyday communication in Spanish.
| bueno (good) | malo (bad) | grande (big) | pequeño (small) |
| bonito (pretty) | feo (ugly) | rápido (fast) | lento (slow) |
| fácil (easy) | difícil (difficult) | alto (tall) | bajo (short) |
| nuevo (new) | viejo (old) | caro (expensive) | barato (cheap) |
| feliz (happy) | triste (sad) | inteligente (intelligent) | tonto (silly) |
| amable (kind) | cruel (cruel) | caliente (hot) | frío (cold) |
| limpio (clean) | sucio (dirty) | dulce (sweet) | amargo (bitter) |
| ligero (light) | pesado (heavy) | ancho (wide) | estrecho (narrow) |
| corto (short) | largo (long) | cansado (tired) | jealous (celoso) |
| ruidoso (noisy) | silencioso (quiet) | abierto (open) | cerrado (closed) |
| rico (rich) | pobre (poor) | fuerte (strong) | débil (weak) |
| seco (dry) | mojado (wet) | valiente (brave) | cobarde (cowardly) |
| moderno (modern) | antiguo (ancient) | contento (content) | enfadado (angry) |
| hermoso (beautiful) | horrible (horrible) | educado (polite) | grosero (rude) |
| sabio (wise) | ignorante (ignorant) | divertido (funny) | aburrido (boring) |
| justo (fair) | injusto (unfair) | honesto (honest) | mentiroso (liar) |
| agradable (pleasant) | desagradable (unpleasant) | sano (healthy) | enfermo (sick) |
| temprano (early) | tarde (late) | ligado (linked) | separado (separate) |
| natural (natural) | artificial (artificial) | normal (normal) | extraño (strange) |
| ocupado (busy) | libre (free) | seguro (safe) | peligroso (dangerous) |
| interesante (interesting) | irrelevante (irrelevant) | conocido (known) | desconocido (unknown) |
| famoso (famous) | común (common) | raro (rare) | pesimista (pessimistic) |
| optimista (optimistic) | realista (realistic) | eficaz (effective) | ineficaz (ineffective) |
| habitual (habitual) | ocasional (occasional) | amplio (ample) | limitado (limited) |
| creativo (creative) | rígido (rigid) | generoso (generous) | egoísta (selfish) |
✏️ Click the link if you want to practice these 100 adjectives with our interactive exercises and word games.
Adjective endings and agreement in Spanish
Now we are going to learn about how Spanish adjectives agree with the nouns they accompany. In a dictionary, adjectives are listed in the masculine singular form, and, unlike in English, their endings change depending on whether the noun being described is masculine or feminine, singular or plural. Let’s see how they work:
1. Spanish adjectives that end in «O» have four possible endings:
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- O masculine singular: el tren moderno (the modern train)
- A feminine singular: la ciudad moderna (the modern town)
- OS masculine plural: los pisos modernos (the modern flats)
- AS feminine plural: las estaciones modernas (the modern stations)
2. Adjectives that end in “E” or «A» have only two possible endings for the singular and plural:
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- E masculine singular: el momento importante (the important moment)
- E feminine singular: la victoria importante (the important victory)
- ES masculine plural: los detalles importantes (the important details)
- ES feminine plural: las fechas importantes (the important dates)
- A masculine singular: un hombre pesimista (a pessimistic man)
- A feminine singular: una mujer pesimista (a pessimistic woman)
- AS masculine plural: unos hombres pesimistas (pessimistic men)
- AS feminine plural: unas mujeres pesimistas (pessimistic women)
3. Adjectives that end in “L” add –es in the plural and have no separate feminine forms:
-
- Masculine singular: un vestido azul (the blue dress)
- Feminine singular: una falda azul (the blue skirt)
- Masculine plural: los zapatos azules (the blue shoes)
- Feminine plural: las blusas azules (the blue blouses)
4. Those that end in “ÁN”, “IN”, “ÓN” add -A in the feminine singular, -ES in the masculine plural and –AS in the feminine plural. There is no accent in the feminine or the plural:
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- ÁN masculine singular: el niño charlatán (the talkative boy)
- ANA feminine singular: la abuela charlatana (the talkative grandmother)
- ANES masculine plural: los padres charlatanes (the talkative fathers)
- ANAS feminine plural: las tías charlatanas (the talkative aunts)
5. Spanish adjectives that end in ”OR” add –A for the feminine singular, -ES for the masculine plural, and –AS for the feminine plural:
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- OR masculine singular: el Partido Conservador (The Conservative Party)
- ORA feminine singular: una política conservadora (a conservative policy)
- ORES masculine plural: los colores conservadores (conservative colors)
- ORAS feminine plural: las ideas conservadoras (conservative ideas)
However, adjectives of comparison ending in –OR: mayor (older), menor (younger), mejor (better) and peor (worse), don’t have a feminine form:
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- Mi hermana mayor (mi older sister)
6. Adjectives of nationality and region add -A for the feminine, singular, -ES for the masculine plural and –AS for the feminine plural. Unlike English, they’re not written with a capital letter (learn more about nationalities):
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- Masculine singular: el jerez español (the Spanish sherry)
- Feminine singular: la naranja española (the Spanish orange)
- Masculine plural: los quesos españoles (the Spanish cheeses)
- Feminine plural: las tortillas españolas (the Spanish omelets)
7. If the masculine singular ends in “Z”, it changes to –CES in the masculine plural:
-
- Masculine singular: el sol andaluz (The Andalusian sun)
- Masculine plural: los caballos andaluces (Andalusian horses)
8. Adjectives ending in the stressed vowels “Í” and “U” add –ES in the plural and have no separate feminine forms:
-
- Masculine singular: el clima israelí (the Israeli climate)
- Feminine singular: la fruta israelí (the Israeli fruit)
- Masculine plural: los aguacates israelíes (the Israeli avocados)
- Feminine plural: los ciudades israelíes (the Israeli cities)
9. Finally, adjectives describing more than one noun have the masculine plural ending except when both nouns are feminine:
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- Juan y Pedro son españoles
- María y Pedro son españoles
- María y Julia son españolas
Interactive exercises about Spanish adjectives
Time to practice what you have learned about Spanish adjectives’ agreement with some interactive exercises. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them in the comments section. Our team will be happy to answer them.
✅ Match the adjectives with the corresponding nouns.
✅ Answer the questions about the gender and number of adjectives.