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Let’s learn a bunch of new adjectives in Spanish, including the words for “dangerous”, “sweet”, “boring”, “open”. and “closed”.
Es mi favorito.
Intro: Join us on a rigorous, step-by-step journey to fluency. I’m Timothy and this is LearnCraft Spanish.
Today we’re going to learn a bunch of new adjectives, and we’ll start with some simple ones, the words for “closed” and “open”. The word for “open” is abierto, which we’ve already learned as the participle of Abrir. So for example:
The window is open.
La ventana está abierta.
The opposite is cerrado. This is related to the word cerradura, which we learned as the noun for “lock”. So for example:
I can’t, the door is closed.
No puedo, la puerta está cerrada.
Let’s practice these words.
The park is closed now.
El parque está cerrado ahora.
Buy it now that the place is open.
Cómpralo ahora que el lugar está abierto.
I think the window is closed.
Creo que la ventana está cerrada.
We can go there, it’ll be open for lunch.
Podemos ir ahí, estará abierto para el almuerzo.
Next, let’s learn a few adjectives you can use to describe someone’s current state, such as how they’re doing. We’ll begin with the word for “awake”, which is despierto, spelled d-e-s-p-i-e-r-t-o. Despierto. For example:
He’s awake, but with his eyes closed.
Está despierto, pero con los ojos cerrados.
The word for “tired” is cansado. For example:
I don’t know why I always feel so tired(f).
No sé por qué siempre me siento tan cansada.
You can even use this in an idiom similar to what we do in English to say that you’re tired “of” something, using de. For example:
We’re tired of these things.
Estamos cansados de estas cosas.
However, note that to say that you’re “tired” as in “sleepy”, you’re more likely to use the noun sueño, which is “sleepiness”. For example:
I’m sleepy; it’s time to go to bed.
Tengo sueño; es hora de ir a la cama.
The word for “busy” or “occupied” is ocupado. For example:
I’m sorry, she’s busy now.
Lo siento, ella está ocupada ahora.
Note that when this word means “busy”, you’ll specifically use this for a person who is busy, not for circumstances that are crowded, such as a busy street or even a busy day; there are other terms for those things, but ocupado is common specifically for a person who has a lot to do or isn’t available.
Next, the word for “bored” is aburrido. For example:
I’m bored(f), let’s do something else.
Estoy aburrida, hagamos algo más.
Let’s practice despierto, cansado, ocupado, and aburrido.
He is busy with that object.
Está ocupado con ese objeto.
(Formal) Open the door please, I’m tired(f).
Abra la puerta por favor, estoy cansada.
He’s still awake, but really tired.
Aún está despierto, pero muy cansado.
(Formal) Bring the thing you want to sell.
Traiga lo que quiere vender.
I don’t have time to be bored(f), because I’m busy(f).
No tengo tiempo para estar aburrida, porque estoy ocupada.
I can’t stay awake(f) if I’m so bored(f).
No puedo seguir despierta si estoy tan aburrida.
All right, next let’s learn some adjectives you can use to describe something. And actually, our first one is aburrido, which can mean “boring”. For example:
This game is very boring.
Este juego es muy aburrido.
So in English, we have different words for “bored”, to describe a person, and “boring”, to describe something that might make a person bored. But in Spanish, something else happens: To talk about being bored, you use Estar plus the adjective aburrido. But to describe something as boring, you’ll use Ser plus the adjective aburrido. This is a great example of an adjective that changes meaning based on whether it’s used along with Ser or Estar.
Another adjective that’s used along with Ser is favorito, which means “favorite”. For example:
This game is my favorite!
¡Este juego es mi favorito!
And next we have the word for “wrong”, which is equivocado. That’s quite a mouthful, a five-syllable adjective. It’s spelled e-q-u-i-v-o-c-a-d-o. Equivocado. So for example:
Yikes, this is the wrong house!
¡Ay, esta es la casa equivocada!
Think of this word as the opposite of correcto. Here’s an example that uses both words.
It was in the wrong box, but I put it in the right one.
Estaba en la caja equivocada, pero lo puse en la correcta.
You can also use this word along with Estar to say that someone is wrong. It’s sort of the opposite of using tener razón. For example:
No, you’re wrong(f), that’s not her house.
No, estás equivocada, esa no es su casa.
Let’s practice aburrido, favorito, and equivocado.
This is the wrong building.
Este es el edificio equivocado.
He is bored and wants to go to his favorite place.
Está aburrido y quiere ir a su lugar favorito.
You’re wrong, the school is still open.
Estás equivocado, la escuela aún está abierta.
Did you bring something to play? I’m bored.
¿Trajiste algo para jugar? Estoy aburrido.
This is the wrong cat, it’s not my favorite.
Este es el gato equivocado, no es mi favorito.
All right, next let’s learn some adjectives you can use to describe a person in a nice way. The word for “kind” is amable. For example:
I liked your boyfriend, he’s very kind.
Me gustó tu novio, es muy amable.
This word is often translated as “nice”. But the word “nice” in English can mean an enormous number of things; often we simply use it to mean “good” in general, for example “what a nice room” or “that was a nice movie”. The word amable more specifically means “nice” or “kind” or “friendly”, referring to a person.
Here’s a context where amable might be used with por.
You’re very nice for saying that!
¡Eres muy amable por decir eso!
Literally “You’re very nice because of saying that.”
Another useful word is inteligente, which means “smart” or “intelligent”. For example:
His son is only five, but is very smart.
Su hijo sólo tiene cinco años, pero es muy inteligente.
Of course, we’ve already learned that listo can mean “smart” or “clever”. The word inteligente is a bit more specific in referring to someone as specifically “smart” or “intelligent”.
Let’s practice amable and inteligente.
She is kind and smart.
Ella es amable e inteligente.
I brought this game because I heard you’re smart.
Traje este juego porque escuché que eres inteligente.
I want them to be nice and open the door.
Quiero que sean amables y abran la puerta.
We have just six more adjectives to learn, and rather than describing a person, they’re all very general-purpose. Three are positive and three are negative, and we’ll start with the positive ones. The word necesario means “necessary”. For example:
It was very hard, but necessary.
Fue muy duro, pero necesario.
The word dulce means “sweet”. For example:
I feel like eating something sweet.
Tengo ganas de comer algo dulce.
Just like in English, this word can also refer more abstractly to a sweet action or a sweet person. For example:
What he did was very sweet.
Lo que hizo fue muy dulce.
Now, if you’re talking about food and you want to describe it as good-tasting, but not necessarily sweet, the extremely common general term for this is rico. For example:
How yummy! I love the food you make.
¡Qué rico! Me encanta la comida que haces.
Now, rico literally means “rich”, and it can be used in all the same ways that we use the word “rich” in English, such as “wealthy” to describe a person or “fatty” to describe a food. But the most common use, by far, is simply to mean “yummy” or “tasty”. Here’s another example:
The dinner was very yummy.
La cena fue muy rica.
Let’s practice necesario, dulce, and rico.
What he bought wasn’t necessary.
Lo que compró no era necesario.
This is really sweet and yummy.
Esto es muy dulce y rico.
I don’t think it’s necessary for it to be so sweet.
No creo que sea necesario que sea tan dulce.
Bring something yummy for dinner!
¡Trae algo rico para la cena!
He wants me to bring something else next time.
Quiere que yo traiga algo más la próxima vez.
All right, our last three adjectives are words you can use to describe something negatively. The word horrible means “horrible”. This is spelled just like the English word, though the H is silent. Horrible. And just like the English word, it’s basically a synonym for terrible. For example:
That was horrible, I would never watch it again.
Eso fue horrible, nunca lo volvería a ver.
The word for “dangerous” is peligroso. It’s clearly related to the noun for “danger”, which is peligro. So for example:
They say it’s a very dangerous city.
Dicen que es una ciudad muy peligrosa.
And then our last word is falso. This word means “false” or “fake”, basically a general-purpose opposite of verdadero. Here are a couple of examples:
What he said was false.
Lo que dijo fue falso.
I thought that it was genuine, but it was fake.
Creía que era verdadero, pero era falso.
Let’s practice horrible, peligroso, and falso.
I’ll bring a fake phone.
Traeré un teléfono falso.
It’s dangerous to use the fork that way.
Es peligroso usar el tenedor así.
What he said is false and that’s horrible.
Lo que dijo es falso y eso es horrible.
(Plural) Don’t bring a fake one, it’s dangerous.
No traigan uno falso, es peligroso.
It’s horrible that you have to use a lock for this.
Es horrible que tengas que usar una cerradura para esto.
For more practice with any of this, feel free to dig deeper at LCSPodcast.com/238. Or if you’re ready, let’s go on to today’s final quiz.
You always buy boring computer games.
Siempre compras juegos de computadora aburridos.
This is the wrong plate for dinner.
Este es el plato equivocado para la cena.
She’s smart, because she has brought a watch.
Ella es inteligente, porque ha traído un reloj.
You don’t have to bring breakfast, but you’re nice for saying it.
No tienes que traer el desayuno, pero eres amable por decirlo.
He doesn’t want me to open it, because it’s dangerous.
No quiere que yo lo abra, porque es peligroso.
I’m still awake(f), but this is horrible because I’m bored(f).
Aún estoy despierta, pero esto es horrible porque estoy aburrida.
This is the wrong building, it’s closed.
Este es el edificio equivocado, está cerrado.
This is necessary or it’ll be dangerous for us.
Esto es necesario o será peligroso para nosotros.
That’s false, she isn’t tired.
Eso es falso, ella no está cansada.
That place is boring; it’s always closed.
Ese lugar es aburrido; siempre está cerrado.
This looks really yummy; give me a spoon.
Esto parece muy rico, dame una cuchara.
He’s bringing the keys so that she opens the door.
Él trae las llaves para que ella abra la puerta.
They are fake friends and I’m tired(f) of this.
Ellos son amigos falsos y estoy cansada de esto.
I bought something sweet for after lunch.
Compré algo dulce para después del almuerzo.
I don’t think it’s necessary that they bring a knife; the box is already open.
No creo que sea necesario que traigan un cuchillo, la caja ya está abierta.
You’re very kind because you always bring me gifts.
Eres muy amable porque siempre me traes regalos.
Why did he have to buy the wrong game?
¿Por qué tuvo que comprar el juego equivocado?
He brought a box that was open.
Trajo una caja que estaba abierta.
His favorite movie is horrible.
Su película favorita es horrible.
He always buys things online when he’s bored.
Siempre compra cosas en línea cuando está aburrido.
I want her to bring me food while I’m awake(f).
Quiero que me traiga comida mientras estoy despierta.
This is my favorite cat, because it’s very smart.
Este es mi gato favorito, porque es muy inteligente.
(Plural) Open the door! I’m in a hurry and I’m busy(f).
¡Abran la puerta! Tengo prisa y estoy ocupada.
He can’t open the building, because he’s busy at work.
No puede abrir el edificio, porque está ocupado en el trabajo.
I always bring food when he opens this place.
Siempre traigo comida cuando él abre este lugar.
Open the fake box!
¡Abre la caja falsa!
For more practice with all of this, go to LCSPodcast.com/238.
In tomorrow’s episode, we’ll learn a bunch of new nouns for places, including the words for “restaurant”, “library”, and “shop”.
This show is brought to you by LearnCraftSpanish.com. The Spanish voice in this episode was our coach Ximena Lama-Rondón. Our music was performed by the Seattle Marimba Quartet, and I’m Timothy, encouraging you to do the hard work of learning Spanish. Acquiring a second language is one of the most fulfilling things you can do, so start your fluency journey today at LCSPodcast.com.