The 31 Most Common Spanish Adjectives

Hey there fellow Spanish learner! Welcome to this Acquire The Language lesson about the 31 most common Spanish Adjectives. In this article we will explore how adjectives generally work, and when there are exceptions to the rules.

If you already know when adjectives come after nouns, just skip to the bottom and you’ll have the list of adjectives to learn from.

Intro: How Adjectives Work In Spanish

Adjectives work in Spanish in a little bit of a different way, normally in Spanish, we throw the adjective after the noun, however, this can change.

So whereas most people say “Es un carro rojo” (It’s a car red) they would also say “ha sido un buen día” (It has been a good day). So... What’s the rule?

The Rule - Putting The Adjective Before The Noun

In Spanish, the placement of adjectives before or after nouns can convey different shades of meaning and nuances. The general rule is that adjectives typically come after the noun they modify.

However, there are certain situations where adjectives come before nouns, and these cases often involve the emphasis or special qualities the speaker wants to convey.

Here are some reasons why adjectives might come before nouns in Spanish:

Emphasis: Placing an adjective before the noun can emphasize the quality or characteristic being described. For example, "un hermoso día" (a beautiful day) emphasizes the beauty of the day.

Subjective Judgment: When expressing subjective opinions or judgments, adjectives tend to come before nouns. For instance, "un buen libro" (a good book) reflects the speaker's judgment about the book's quality.

Special Qualities: Certain adjectives are commonly placed before nouns because they convey inherent or special qualities. Examples include "viejo" (old), "joven" (young), "nuevo" (new), and "mismo" (same).

Size and Shape: Adjectives that describe size or shape are often placed before nouns. For instance, "gran casa" (big house) or "pequeña caja" (small box).

Limiting Adjectives: Certain adjectives that limit or quantify the noun that comes before it. For instance, "pocos amigos" (few friends) or "varias opciones" (several options).

Adjectives of Emotion: Adjectives expressing emotions or feelings can come before nouns for emphasis. For instance, "gran alegría" (great joy) or "profunda tristeza" (profound sadness).

The 31 Most Common Spanish Verbs

Conclusion: Most Common Spanish Adjectives

In this article, we discussed how (normally) in Spanish we throw the adjective after the nouns - for example, “Carro rojo” (Car red).

However, there are many times in day-to-day speech when we change the order. In some scenarios, it just sounds better like that, in some situations it's done to emphasize the adjective being used.

In any case, it's good to know when, and why to do it. I hope this tiny article helped you out, if you have any article suggestions shoot me a comment or an email letting me know!

Want to see the most common verbs in Spanish? Click here

Have a wonderful day/evening/night amigo/a.

Hasta luego, Ben.