"Building" in Spanish is el edificio, and the plural is los edificios. It covers any building, from an apartment block to an office tower or a hospital. Put the stress on the third syllable: eh-dee-FEE-syoh.
Written by Isabella García, Language Content Manager at WordyUpdated October 4, 2026
Hear "edificio" in a real movie scene
One scene where someone says it. The video starts and stops on that line.
No hay edificio, no existe.
There's no building. It doesn't exist.
The photo showed something standing here, but on site there's only an empty lot. No hay edificio, with no article, says there isn't any building at all.
From The Office · Spanish audio
Words for buildings and floors
Six words you'll need in any city.
Spanish
English
el edificio de oficinas
office building
el edificio de apartamentos
apartment building
el rascacielos
skyscraper
la planta baja
ground floor
el piso, la planta
floor, story
el ascensor
elevator
Tip: In Spain la planta baja is street level and el primer piso is one floor up, the way British English counts floors.
Grammar: el edificio, los edificios
Four points for talking about buildings.
Masculine
el edificio, un edificio, los edificios. Adjectives agree with it: un edificio muy antiguo.
What kind: use de
Spanish describes the type or size with de: un edificio de oficinas, un edificio de diez pisos.
Hay and no hay
Hay un edificio nuevo says one exists. In the negative, un usually drops: No hay edificio.
Stress on -fi-
Four syllables: eh-dee-FEE-syoh. In most of Spain the c sounds like th: eh-dee-FEE-thyoh.
Example sentences
Sentences from the Wordy Spanish course. Tap to listen.
Es un edificio muy antiguo.
It's a very old building.
No, es un edificio.
No, it's a building.
Sam, es el mismo edificio.
Sam, it's the same building.
Están en el edificio.
They're in the building.
Common mistakes
Mistakes learners make with this word, and how to fix them.
✗la edificio
✓el edificio
Edificio ends in -o and takes el.
✗edifício
✓edificio
No accent mark. The stress lands on -fi- by the normal rule.
✗en el primer piso (meaning street level, in Spain)
✓en la planta baja
In Spain the primer piso is one floor above the street.
Practice: 3 quick exercises
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How to remember it
Edificio looks like English edifice, a grand word for a building. In Spanish it's the plain, everyday word.
El edificio, said eh-dee-FEE-syoh. More than one are los edificios.
Is edificio masculine or feminine?
Masculine: el edificio, un edificio moderno, los edificios altos.
How do you say apartment building in Spanish?
El edificio de apartamentos. In Spain you'll also hear el bloque de pisos.
How do you say skyscraper in Spanish?
El rascacielos, from rascar, to scratch, and cielos, skies. The plural looks the same: los rascacielos.
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