El farolillo es nuevo.

to be

Breakdown of El farolillo es nuevo.

• nuevo: new
• el farolillo: the paper lantern

Questions & Answers about El farolillo es nuevo.

Why is it el and not la?

Because farolillo is a masculine singular noun in Spanish, so it takes the masculine singular definite article el.

A good way to tell here is the ending: farolillo ends in -o, which is often masculine in Spanish. That is not a perfect rule, but it works in this case.

So:

• el farolillo = the lantern
• not la farolillo

What does farolillo mean exactly?

Farolillo is a noun meaning a small lantern or little lamp/lantern, depending on context.

It comes from farol (lantern) plus the diminutive ending -illo, which often adds the idea of smallness. In Spain, farolillo can also refer to the decorative lanterns often seen at fairs or festivals.

So the word is not just a random vocabulary item: it is built like this:

• farol = lantern
• farolillo = small lantern / little lantern

Why does the sentence use es?