How do you say “the” in Spanish? Beginner learners are often surprised that there are four options: el, la, los, and las. Both un and una mean “a” in Spanish, and unos and unas mean “some.”
Articles like these are among the most common words in the Spanish language. Even if you only know a few basic Spanish phrases, you’re probably already using articles in Spanish. Learn more about articles and how to use them, including when to include or omit the article in Spanish compared to English.
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What is un artículo (an article) in Spanish?
Los artículos (articles) in Spanish are short, common words like el/la/los/las (the), un/una (a/an), and unos/unas (some). They precede nouns in a phrase or sentence and give information, such as whether the noun is specific or general.
Articles in Spanish are considered a specific type of determinante (determiner) in Spanish. They follow Spanish grammar classifications such as:
- masculino (masculine)
- feminino (feminine)
- singular (singular)
- plural (plural)
- definido (definite)
- indefinido (indefinite)
Learn the patterns of Spanish articles and you’ll also unlock a confident understanding of grammar concepts that extend to other Spanish parts of speech.
List of definite articles in Spanish
Los artículos definidos (definite articles) all translate to “the” in Spanish. You’ll recognize them in names of places such as Las Vegas (the meadows), Los Angeles (the angels), La Mesa (the table), and El Salvador (the savior).
| Spanish Definite Article | Gender and Number |
| el | masculine singular |
| la | feminine singular |
| los | masculine plural |
| las | feminine plural |
How to use Spanish definite articles
Definite articles in Spanish are the right choice when the Spanish nouns that follow are specific and known. If you say la pelota (the ball), you aren’t just talking about “any” ball, you are referring to a known, specific ball.
- ¿Quién tiene la pelota? = Who has the ball?
Spanish nouns are either masculine or feminine. The articles el and los are masculine, and la and las are feminine. It’s helpful for learners to see nouns with their corresponding articles to learn the noun gender at the same time.
- El niño tiene la pelota. = The boy has the ball.
Los and Las are plural articles. If the noun is plural, the article will also be.
- ¿Quién tiene los libros? = Who has the books?
- Las niñas tienen los libros. = The girls have the books.
The article el contracts with the Spanish prepositions de (of/from) and a (to), forming del (of them/from the) or al (to the).
- Octubre es el décimo mes del año. = October is the tenth month of the year.
- Él se va del aeropuerto.= He is leaving (from) the airport.
- Mañana nosotros iremos al supermercado. = Tomorrow we will go to the grocery store.
- ¿Quieren ir al partido? = Do they want to go to the game?
List of indefinite articles in Spanish
Los artículos indefinidos (indefinite articles) in Spanish are un/una (a or an), and unos/unas (some). They fall into the same four categories of gender and number.
| Spanish Indefinite Article | Gender and Number |
| un | masculine singular |
| una | feminine singular |
| unos | masculine plural |
| unas | feminine plural |
How to use Spanish indefinite articles
Indefinite articles in Spanish are the right choice when the noun that follows is unspecified or you’re referring to the general idea of that noun. In this example, it doesn’t matter which book the girl is reading, you’re just asking if it’s “a” book.
- ¿Ella lee un libro? = Is she reading a book?
The indefinite article will match the noun according to Spanish gender rules.
- un abrigo = a coat
- una camisa = a shirt
Note that while the English word “a” changes to “an” in front of a vowel, both could translate to either un or una in Spanish, as this is determined by the gender of the noun.
- Es un periódico. = It’s a newspaper.
- Es una bicicleta. = It’s a bicycle.
- Es un huevo. = It’s an egg.
- Es una manzana. = It’s an apple.
Both un and una have corresponding plural forms, usually translating to “some” in English.
- Mañana te compraré unos jeans nuevos. = Tomorrow I will buy you some new jeans.
- Vi unas montañas hermosas. = I saw some beautiful mountains.
Comparing definite and indefinite articles in Spanish
As you’ve seen above, definite articles mean “the” whereas indefinite articles mean “a/an” or “some.” It’s helpful to see these at work side-by-side to master the difference between definite and indefinite articles in Spanish.
- ¿Tienes un lápiz? = Do you have a pencil?
- ¿Tienes el lápiz? = Do you have the pencil?
In the first case, it could be any pencil, but in the second example, it sounds like you have a specific pencil in mind.
- Estamos buscando unos boletos. = We’re looking for some tickets.
- ¿Tienes los boletos? = Do you have the tickets?
In the first case, any tickets are an option, but in the second, the speaker has already purchased specific tickets.
Sometimes the nuance is less obvious, but it changes the meaning slightly.
- Tenemos un partido mañana. = We have a game tomorrow.
- Tenemos el partido mañana. = We have the game tomorrow.
When to omit or include Spanish articles
Spanish and English both use articles as determinantes (determiners), but the languages differ in when articles are included or omitted.
Las profesiones (professions)
To refer to a profession after the verb ser (to be), the article isn’t used in Spanish.
- Él es médico. = He is a doctor.
- Ella es doctora. = She is a doctor.
- ¿Usted es médico? = Are you a doctor?
- Yo no soy médico. = I am not a doctor.
However, if you use a Spanish adjective to modify the profession, you’ll include the article in Spanish.
- Es una buena maestra. = She is a good teacher.
- Es un doctor famoso. = He is a famous doctor.
The article is only usually omitted after the verb ser (to be), whereas it’s included in other structures.
- Él es mesero en un restaurante. = He is a waiter in a restaurant.
- El mesero nos trae café. = The waiter brings us coffee.
- Un mesero respondió a mis preguntas. = A waiter answered my questions.
Los días de la semana (days of the week)
The Spanish days of the week use masculine articles when they are included.
To refer to every instance of a particular day, use the article in Spanish.
- Él mira un programa de fútbol todos los domingos por la tarde. = He watches a soccer game every Sunday afternoon.
- Estudio los sábados y descanso los viernes. = I study on Saturdays and rest on Fridays.
The expressions “last/next + (day of week)” use the masculine singular definite article el.
- Compré un periódico el domingo pasado. = I bought a newspaper last Sunday.
- Voy a comprar un periódico el domingo que viene. = I’m going to buy a newspaper next Sunday.
Omit the article if referring to today, a specific day, or as a calendar heading.
- domingo = Sunday
- Este día es domingo. = This day is Sunday.
- Hoy es domingo. Están caminando por el parque. = Today is Sunday. They are walking through the park.
Titles and names
It’s common practice to include the article in front of titles or honorifics, as well as family names.
- Mi maestra es la Señora Li. = My teacher is Mrs. Li.
- Este es el Señor Gonzalez. = This is Mr. Gonzalez.
- Todos respetaron al doctor Gajwani por su duro trabajo. = Everyone respected Doctor Gajwani for his hard work.
- Los Ruiz se van de vacaciones este mes. = The Ruiz family is going on vacation this month.
To play sports/games/instruments
Use articles in Spanish more often than English in phrases that discuss sports, games, and instruments. Choose from jugar a (to play a sport/game) and tocar (to play an instrument).
- ¿Quieres jugar al fútbol esta tarde? = Do you want to play soccer this afternoon?
- Cuando era niña, no podía tocar el piano muy bien. = When I was a girl, I couldn’t play piano very well.
General concepts and subjects
Spanish is much more likely than English to include the definite article when referring to abstract ideas or concepts.
- Me interesa la ciencia. = I’m interested in Science.
- Creen que las matemáticas son interesantes. = They believe that Math is interesting.
- El amor es más importante que el dinero. = Love is more important than money.
- La justicia y la libertad son valores importantes. = Justice and freedom are important values.
The Spanish definite article lo
Spanish has one other definite article. Lo (+ adjective) is used in front of an adjective to form an abstract noun. Unlike other Spanish articles, it’s neutral in grammatical gender. English translations of lo will vary.
- Lo importante es que es seguro. = The important thing is that it’s safe.
- Lo bueno es que tienes más tiempo. = The good thing is that you have more time.
- Voy a hacer lo posible. = I will do what’s possible.
This use of the word lo as a definite article is distinct from when lo is used as a Spanish pronoun in these examples:
- Lo conocí hace tres meses. = I met him three months ago.
- ¿Quién lo escribió? = Who wrote it?
Key takeaways
Articles in Spanish are key parts of speech that precede nouns in a sentence and give you quite a bit of information.
- Definite articles el/la/los/las mean “the” and refer to nouns that are specific and/or known.
- Indefinite articles un/una mean “a” and unos/unas mean “some.” They refer to nouns that are general and/or unknown.
- They match the noun in both gender and in number.
- Spanish and English differ in when to include or omit the article in a sentence.
Learn more about Spanish articles through meaningful contexts and many more examples with Rosetta Stone’s Dynamic Immersion method of learning Spanish.
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