Roca grande, Japón.
Big rock, Japan.
In a Japanese rock garden he points out what each stone stands for, and grande follows the noun, which is the usual order.
From El Karate Kid 4 · Spanish audio
Spanish vocabularyA1 · Beginner
How to say "big" in Spanish
grande
adjectiveone form for both gendersplural: grandesshort form: gran
"Big" in Spanish is grande. One form covers masculine and feminine nouns, un perro grande and una mesa grande, and the plural is grandes. In front of a singular noun it shrinks to gran and usually means great: un gran amigo.
Hear "grande" in real movie scenes
One singular, one plural. Each video starts and stops on that line.
¿Los perros son grandes?
Are the dogs big?
The question is about more than one dog, so the adjective picks up the plural ending: grandes.
From 9-1-1 · Spanish audio
Grande, gran, mayor or enorme?
Size, importance and age each have their own word or position.
| Spanish | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| grande | big, after the noun | una casa grande (a big house) |
| gran | great, before a singular noun | un gran día (a great day) |
| más grande | bigger | Mi cuarto es más grande. (My room is bigger.) |
| mayor | older, for people | mi hermana mayor (my older sister) |
| enorme | huge | una ciudad enorme (a huge city) |
Tip: Un hombre grande is a big man. Un gran hombre is a great man. Only the position of the word changes.
Grammar: grande, grandes, gran
Four things to know before you describe something big.
Same word for el and la
un objeto grande, una mesa grande. The final -e stays put whatever the gender of the noun.Plural with -s
los perros grandes, las ventanas grandes. The ending follows the number of things you describe.Gran goes in front
Before a singular noun, use gran: una gran idea, un gran problema. In the plural it's grandes again: grandes amigos.Stress the first syllable
Say GRAHN-deh, with a quick tapped r after the g. The final e is short and clear, never silent.Example sentences
Sentences from the Wordy Spanish course. Tap to listen.
La mesa es grande.
The table is big.
Las ventanas son grandes.
The windows are big.
¿Los perros son grandes?
Are the dogs big?
Sí, y son grandes.
Yes, and they're big.
Common mistakes
Mistakes learners make with this word, and how to fix them.
✗una mesa granda
✓una mesa grande
Granda doesn't exist. Grande ends in -e, and that ending works with feminine nouns as well.
✗un grande amigo
✓un gran amigo
In front of a singular noun, drop the -de and say gran.
✗las ventanas grande
✓las ventanas grandes
Plural noun, plural adjective. Add the -s to grande as well.
Practice: 3 quick exercises
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1 of 3 · Watch and choose
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The other 30 exercises on this topic are in the app.
How to remember it
Grande looks like grand. Think of a grand piano, the biggest piano in the room.
Questions about "big" in Spanish
How do you say big in Spanish?
Grande. You use it with masculine and feminine nouns alike, and with a plural noun it becomes grandes.
What's the difference between grande and gran?
Gran is the short form that goes before a singular noun, and it usually means great: un gran día. Grande after the noun talks about size: una casa grande.
How do you say "very big" in Spanish?
Muy grande. For something huge, say enorme: una ciudad enorme.
How do you say bigger in Spanish?
Más grande: Mi cuarto es más grande. For people, mayor means older: mi hermana mayor.
