Spanish Word of the Day: Inglés (English)

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Around 20% of the world’s population speaks English either as a native or as a second language. The Spanish word for English is inglés and comes from the Old French word angleis, the name for one of the tribes (the Angles) which invaded the United Kingdom in the 5th century.

Latin American pronunciation 

European pronunciation

ingles

As well as being a masculine noun referring to the English language (idioma) itself, inglés/a is also a noun meaning Englishman / Englishwoman and takes the following definite and indefinite articles:

  • el inglés = the Englishman
  • los ingleses = the Englishmen, the English (in general)
  • la inglesa = the Englishwoman
  • las inglesas = the Englishwomen
  • un inglés = an Englishman
  • unos ingleses = some Englishmen
  • una inglesa = an Englishwoman
  • unas inglesas = some Englishwomen

You will notice that the rules for capitalisation in Spanish are different to those in English. In Spanish, only proper nouns like the names of places and people will have a capital letter in a sentence. A common noun like inglés will not.

For example, if you were talking about the country Inglaterra (England), it would always have a capital letter.

The names of languages are not capitalised unless they are also a subject of study in class.

A los ingleses les encanta hacer cola.

The English love to queue.

Latin American pronunciation 
European pronunciation
Man holding flag of UK. Patriot and supporter of Great Britain.

As well as being a noun, inglés/a can also be used as an adjective to describe something related to or coming from the country England. There are quite a few derivatives in Spanish following this theme:

  • té inglés = English Breakfast tea
  • llave inglesa = adjustable wrench
  • ir a la inglesa = to go Dutch (Chile)
  • a la inglesa = rare steak (Mexico)
  • montar a la inglesa = to ride side saddle
  • cerveza inglesa = ale
  • comillas inglesas = inverted commas
  • semana inglesa = five day working week
  • humor inglés = satirical type of humour typical of the English
  • sal inglesa = Epsom salt

Las inglesas tomaron té inglés para desayunar.

The Englishwomen had English Breakfast tea for breakfast.

Latin American pronunciation 
European pronunciation

Did you know that…?

In addition to using inglés/a as an adjective for describing things related to the English language, a common alternative is británico/a (British).

Be very careful not to mix up the word inglés with the similar looking word ingle which means groin!

About The Author

Joanna Houseman

Photo of author

Thanks to family connections and work opportunities, Joanna has a lifelong affiliation with Spain and has been learning the Spanish language since the age of 12. Following university, Joanna spent a year living and working in Barcelona where her level of spoken Spanish was elevated to new levels (and she also dabbled in a little Catalan). Upon returning to the UK, she spent another year working for a Madrid based company whilst living in London, liaising every day with the factory in Spain. Joanna and her family then decided to up roots and move to Andalucía where they lived and worked for 12 years, fully integrated into Spanish village life and supporting the ex-pat community with their language challenges. Now living in Wales, Joanna has kept her connections to her village in Spain and returns as often as possible.

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