Nationality Adjectives | Spanish (Latin America) Grammar

Nationality adjectives in Spanish work like other adjectives — they agree with the noun they describe. But they have a couple of quirks worth knowing: some consonant-ending nationalities add -a for the feminine, and none of them are capitalized.

Regular Four-Form Nationalities

Nationalities that end in -o follow the standard four-form pattern.

Masculine	Feminine	Masc. pl.	Fem. pl.	Meaning
chileno	chilena	chilenos	chilenas	Chilean
argentino	argentina	argentinos	argentinas	Argentinian
mexicano	mexicana	mexicanos	mexicanas	Mexican
colombiano	colombiana	colombianos	colombianas	Colombian
peruano	peruana	peruanos	peruanas	Peruvian
boliviano	boliviana	bolivianos	bolivianas	Bolivian

Mi amiga es colombiana.

My friend is Colombian.

Los músicos argentinos están de gira.

The Argentinian musicians are on tour.

Consonant-Ending Nationalities: Add -a

Nationalities ending in a consonant are a key exception to the usual rule. They normally have four forms — they add -a in the feminine, even though most consonant-ending adjectives don't.

Masculine	Feminine	Masc. pl.	Fem. pl.	Meaning
español	española	españoles	españolas	Spanish
alemán	alemana	alemanes	alemanas	German
inglés	inglesa	ingleses	inglesas	English
francés	francesa	franceses	francesas	French
portugués	portuguesa	portugueses	portuguesas	Portuguese
japonés	japonesa	japoneses	japonesas	Japanese

Juan es francés y su esposa es francesa.

Juan is French and his wife is French.

Estudio literatura alemana.

I study German literature.

The Accent Mark Disappears

Notice how the written accent drops off when you add the -a or -es ending. That's because the stress stays on the same syllable, but now the word no longer needs the accent to mark it.

inglés → inglesa, ingleses, inglesas
alemán → alemana, alemanes, alemanas
japonés → japonesa, japoneses, japonesas

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A handy rule: if the masculine singular ends in a stressed vowel plus -s or -n, it carries an accent. Add any ending, and the stress naturally falls on the right syllable, so the accent disappears.

Nationalities Ending in -e: Two Forms

Nationalities that end in -e work like other two-form adjectives. Same form for masculine and feminine, plural with -s.

Singular	Plural	Meaning
canadiense	canadienses	Canadian
estadounidense	estadounidenses	from the U.S.
nicaragüense	nicaragüenses	Nicaraguan
costarricense	costarricenses	Costa Rican

Tengo dos amigas canadienses.

I have two Canadian (female) friends.

Es una película estadounidense.

It's an American movie.

Invariable Nationality-Like Forms

A few nationalities don't change at all because they end in -i (often a stressed -í):

iraní, marroquí, israelí, pakistaní, hindú

Es una familia iraní.

It's an Iranian family.

The plural is often formed with -es (iraníes) or just -s (iranís) depending on the style.

No Capitalization

Unlike in English, nationality adjectives and language names are not capitalized in Spanish. Neither are the names of religions, days, or months.

Hablo español, inglés y un poco de francés.

I speak Spanish, English, and a little French.

Los mexicanos celebran el cinco de mayo.

Mexicans celebrate the fifth of May.

But country names themselves are capitalized: México, España, Francia, Argentina.

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The same word can work as both the nationality adjective and the name of the language: el español means "Spanish" (the language), and an amigo español is a Spanish friend. Context tells you which one is which.

A Quick Contrast

Conocí a un estudiante japonés y a una estudiante japonesa.

I met a Japanese (male) student and a Japanese (female) student.