Bethany es un caballo.
Bethany is a horse.
The line tells you what kind of animal Bethany is, using es un, the pattern for naming any animal.
Spanish vocabularyA1 · Beginner
How to say "horse" in Spanish
el caballo
nounmasculineplural: los caballosfemale: la yegua
"Horse" in Spanish is el caballo, said kah-BAH-yoh because the ll sounds like a y. A female horse has its own word, la yegua, and to ride is montar a caballo.
Hear "caballo" in a real movie scene
One scene that names an animal. The video starts and stops on that line.
Caballo, yegua, potro: horse words
Six words and phrases for the stable, the farm and the trail.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| el caballo | horse, male horse |
| la yegua | mare, female horse |
| el potro | foal, young horse |
| el poni | pony |
| montar a caballo | to ride a horse |
| a caballo | on horseback |
Tip: On a chessboard, the knight is called el caballo too.
Grammar: el caballo, los caballos
Four points for talking about horses.
Masculine, with a separate word for mares
el caballo, los caballos. A female horse is la yegua. Changing the ending to -a doesn't work here.Describe it after the noun
un caballo blanco, una yegua negra, los caballos rápidos. Colors and sizes follow the animal.Riding and on horseback
montar a caballo means to ride, with no article: Me gusta montar a caballo. A caballo alone means on horseback.Whose horse
Use de, and de + el becomes del: el caballo del vecino, the neighbor's horse.Example sentences
Sentences from the Wordy Spanish course. Tap to listen.
Es un caballo muy bonito.
It's a very pretty horse.
Es un caballo muy grande.
It's a very big horse.
El caballo de la imagen es muy bonito.
The horse in the picture is very pretty.
Mi caballo tiró una herradura.
My horse threw a shoe.
Common mistakes
Mistakes learners make with this word, and how to fix them.
✗una caballo
✓un caballo
Caballo is masculine, so the article is un or el.
✗la caballa (meaning a female horse)
✓la yegua
La caballa is a fish, the mackerel. Mares have a word of their own.
✗el cabello (meaning horse)
✓el caballo
With an e in the middle, cabello means hair.
Real conversation: behind the fence
A short dialog on a country road. Tap to listen.
You're walking down a country road with your friend Clara when something moves behind a fence.
Oye, ¿qué es esto?
Hey, what's this?
Es un caballo.
It's a horse.
¡Muy bien! Aquí hay muchos.
Right! There are lots of them around here.
Your turn to answer Clara
In the app you reply in Spanish for the last line.
Continue the conversation in WordyPractice: 3 quick exercises
Free, and you don't need an account.
1 of 3 · Watch and choose
What do you hear in the video?
The other 23 exercises on this topic are in the app.
How to remember it
Picture an old horse-drawn cab waiting at the curb. The first sound of caballo is the cab, and the horse is pulling it.
Questions about "horse" in Spanish
How do you say horse in Spanish?
El caballo. A mare is la yegua, and a foal is el potro.
How do you pronounce caballo?
Say kah-BAH-yoh. The double l is one sound, close to the English y, and the stress falls on the middle syllable.
How do you say "to ride a horse" in Spanish?
Montar a caballo: Me gusta montar a caballo. The verb cabalgar also exists, but it sounds more literary.
