Mi hermana está embarazada.

Spanish uses estar for states and conditions, and pregnancy is treated as a state/condition, not a permanent characteristic.

So:

• Mi hermana está embarazada = correct
• Mi hermana es embarazada = incorrect

A good rule of thumb is:

• ser = identity, essence, what something is
• estar = condition, situation, how someone is

Embarazada means pregnant, not embarrassed.

This is a very common false friend for English speakers.

Compare:

• embarazada = pregnant
• avergonzada = embarrassed
• estar avergonzada = to be embarrassed

So Mi hermana está embarazada does not mean My sister is embarrassed.

Because it agrees with hermana, which is a feminine singular noun.

In Spanish, many adjectives change form to match the gender and number of the noun they describe:

• embarazada = feminine singular
• embarazado = masculine singular
• embarazadas = feminine plural
• embarazados = masculine plural or mixed plural

Since hermana is feminine singular, embarazada must also be feminine singular.

Spanish often omits subject pronouns because the verb form already gives enough information.

Here, está can mean:

• he is
• she is
• it is
• you are (formal)

But because the subject mi hermana is already stated, there is no need to add ella.

So:

• Mi hermana está embarazada = natural
• Ella está embarazada = also possible, but only if the context makes clear who ella is
• Mi hermana ella está embarazada = generally unnecessary and sounds awkward unless used for emphasis

The accent mark shows where the stress goes: es-TÁ.

It also helps distinguish está from esta:

• está = is
• esta = this (feminine), as in esta casa

So the accent is important both for pronunciation and meaning.

In standard Peninsular Spanish, it is approximately:

Mi ehr-MAH-na es-TA em-ba-ra-THA-da

A few notes:

• Mi sounds like mee
• hermana: the h is silent
• está: stress on the last syllable
• z in embarazada is often pronounced like th in think in much of Spain

In many parts of Latin America, that z would sound like an s instead.

Because mi does not change for gender.

So:

• mi hermano = my brother
• mi hermana = my sister

It only changes for number:

• mi hermana = my sister
• mis hermanas = my sisters

Yes, but it is less neutral.

The normal, straightforward order is:

• Mi hermana está embarazada

You might say:

• Está embarazada mi hermana

for emphasis, contrast, or in certain contexts, but it sounds more marked. For a learner, the first version is the safest and most natural.

Grammatically, embarazada is the feminine form and matches a feminine noun like hermana.

The masculine form is embarazado. In ordinary real-world use, pregnancy is usually described with the feminine form because it refers to a woman:

• Mi hermana está embarazada

You mainly need to know that the adjective changes form to match the noun grammatically.

Yes. Another word is encinta, which also means pregnant.

For example:

• Mi hermana está encinta

But embarazada is the most common and everyday word. Encinta can sound more formal, literary, or old-fashioned depending on context.

Yes. Está embarazada means she is currently pregnant.

Because it uses estar, it refers to her present condition or state. It does not mean this is some permanent characteristic of your sister; it describes her current situation.

Normally, when you want to say someone is pregnant, you use estar:

• Mi hermana está embarazada

You may see embarazada used after nouns in longer phrases, for example:

• una mujer embarazada = a pregnant woman

But in a full sentence saying someone is pregnant, estar is the normal verb.

The sentence breaks down like this:

• Mi = my
• hermana = sister
• está = is
• embarazada = pregnant

So the structure is:

possessive + noun + verb + adjective

More specifically:

• Mi hermana = subject noun phrase
• está = 3rd person singular of estar
• embarazada = adjective describing the subject

You would make both the noun and the adjective plural, and also change the verb:

• Mis hermanas están embarazadas

Changes:

• mi → mis
• hermana → hermanas
• está → están
• embarazada → embarazadas

This shows the usual Spanish agreement pattern very clearly.