Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): En la videollamada, es mejor usar los auriculares. - In the video call, it is better to use headphones.

En la videollamada literally means “in/on the video call” and is very natural in Spanish when you’re talking about a specific call that both speaker and listener know about (for example, “the Zoom call we’re going to have”).

En la videollamada = “on the video call (that we’re talking about)”
En una videollamada = “on a video call (in general / any video call)”

Both are grammatically correct; the choice depends on whether you mean a specific call (la) or video calls in general (una / plural: en videollamadas).

You can also say:

Durante la videollamada = “during the video call”

This is also correct and common. En la videollamada focuses more on the “context/situation” of the call; durante focuses more on time (“while the call is happening”). In many contexts, they’re interchangeable.

Why is it es mejor usar and not es mejor que usas or es mejor que uses?

Spanish has two common structures after es mejor:

Es mejor + infinitive
- Es mejor usar los auriculares.
- Literally: “It is better to use headphones.”
- General recommendation, impersonal, neutral, very common.
Es mejor que + subjunctive
- Es mejor que uses los auriculares.
- Literally: “It is better that you use headphones.”
- A bit more directed at a specific person (you/he/she/they), and uses the subjunctive (uses).

Es mejor que usas is incorrect; after es mejor que, you need the subjunctive, so it must be uses, not usas.

In your sentence, es mejor usar is chosen because it’s a general, impersonal recommendation: “When you’re on a video call, it’s better to use headphones (in general).”

Why is there no word for “it” in es mejor usar los auriculares?

English needs a dummy subject “it”:

It is better to use headphones.

Spanish often uses impersonal structures without a subject pronoun. Es mejor usar los auriculares literally is just:

Es mejor = “Is better”
usar los auriculares = “to use headphones”

Spanish doesn’t need a word for “it” here; the structure es + adjective + infinitive is automatically understood as a general statement:

Es importante estudiar. – “It’s important to study.”
Es necesario llegar temprano. – “It’s necessary to arrive early.”

So the missing “it” is built into the structure and not expressed by a word.

Could the word order be Es mejor usar los auriculares en la videollamada? Is that more natural?

Yes, absolutely. Both are correct:

En la videollamada, es mejor usar los auriculares.
Es mejor usar los auriculares en la videollamada.

The second one (without the initial prepositional phrase) may sound slightly more neutral and common in everyday speech, but starting with En la videollamada is also completely natural, especially in written language, instructions, or when you want to set the context first.

So this is mainly a stylistic choice, not a grammar issue.

Why is it la videollamada and not something like por videollamada or en videollamadas?

Different prepositions change the nuance:

En la videollamada – “on the video call” (specific occasion/situation)
Por videollamada – “by video call / via video call” (the medium or channel, like “by phone”)
- Te atiendo por videollamada. – “I will attend to you via video call.”

If the idea is “During/on the video call we’re talking about, it’s better to use headphones,” en la videollamada is perfect.

If you wanted a general rule for all calls, you might say:

En las videollamadas, es mejor usar auriculares. – “In video calls, it’s better to use headphones (in general).”

What’s the difference between auriculares, cascos, and audífonos? Which is best for Spain?

All three can refer to headphones/earphones, but usage varies by region:

Auriculares
- Widely understood in Spain and Latin America.
- Neutral term for headphones or earphones (anything you put on/in your ears to listen).
Cascos (Spain)
- Very common informal word in Spain for headphones, especially the over-ear type.
- In Latin America, cascos is usually not used with this meaning.
Audífonos
- Very common in many Latin American countries.
- In Spain, audífonos more often means hearing aids for people with hearing loss.

In Spain, if you want to be safe and neutral, auriculares is an excellent choice. Cascos is also very common and natural in everyday speech there.

So you could also hear in Spain:

En la videollamada, es mejor usar cascos.

Why are auriculares plural? Could I say el auricular?

Auriculares is usually plural because headphones/earphones normally have two parts, one for each ear. This is similar to English: we say headphones or earphones (plural).

los auriculares = headphones/earphones
unos auriculares = a (pair of) headphones/earphones

El auricular does exist, but it usually refers to:

The handset of an old landline phone (the piece you hold to your ear), or
A single earpiece in some contexts.

For modern headphones, you almost always use the plural auriculares in Spain.

Why is the definite article los used: usar los auriculares instead of just usar auriculares?

Both are possible, but the nuance is slightly different:

usar los auriculares
- Often implies specific headphones already known to both speaker and listener.
- Example: “Use the headphones (that we have here / that we talked about).”
usar auriculares
- More general: “use headphones” (not a specific pair).

In context, los auriculares can also sound like “headphones in general” (especially if you’re talking about a typical situation), so it’s not strictly limited to a particular physical pair; it’s very natural either way.

You could say:

En la videollamada, es mejor usar auriculares. – also correct and natural.
Using los makes the sentence feel slightly more concrete and is very common in instructions or recommendations.

Why is it usar and not llevar or ponerse with auriculares?

Spanish has several verbs related to wearing/using things, each with a different focus:

usar – “to use”
- Focuses on the function: you are using them for their purpose.
- Es mejor usar los auriculares. – It’s better to use headphones.
llevar (puestos) – “to wear / have on”
- Focuses on the state of having them on your head/ears.
- En la videollamada, es mejor llevar auriculares.
ponerse – “to put on (oneself)”
- Focuses on the action of putting them on.
- Antes de la videollamada, es mejor ponerse los auriculares.

In your sentence, usar fits well because the recommendation is about using headphones as a practice, not about the moment of putting them on.

Is videollamada always written as one word? Could I write video llamada or video-llamada?

The standard, correct spelling is videollamada (one word, double l).

Spanish often combines video- with another noun into one word:

videollamada – video call
videocámara – video camera
videoconferencia – videoconference

Forms like video llamada or video-llamada are non-standard and should be avoided in formal writing. In everyday digital texts you might see them, but videollamada is the recommended spelling.

How is the ll in videollamada pronounced in Spain? Is it different from Latin America?

In most of Spain, the ll sound in videollamada is pronounced the same as y:

videollamada ≈ vi-de-yo-ma-da (very roughly in English approximation)

This is called yeísmo and is now standard in most of Spain and much of Latin America.

Only in some areas (for example, parts of Argentina, Uruguay, and some rural regions elsewhere) is ll pronounced differently (like a [ʒ] or [ʃ] sound). For learning Spanish from Spain, you can safely pronounce ll like the English y in “yes”.

Is the sentence formal, informal, or neutral? Would it be okay in a work email?

The sentence En la videollamada, es mejor usar los auriculares. is neutral and appropriate in both formal and informal settings. It’s clear, polite, and direct.

For a very formal work email, you might slightly expand it:

Durante la videollamada, es recomendable usar auriculares para mejorar la calidad del sonido.
(“During the video call, it is advisable to use headphones to improve sound quality.”)

But your original sentence is already perfectly acceptable in a professional context.