El rey está desprotegido.
The king is unprotected.
In chess and on the battlefield alike, the king is the piece that matters most, so an unprotected king means the game is over.
From Un par nada ejemplar · Spanish audio
Spanish vocabularyA1 · Beginner
How to say "king" in Spanish
el rey
nounmasculineplural: los reyesqueen: la reina
"King" in Spanish is el rey, one syllable that sounds like "ray" with a rolled r. The plural is los reyes, and a queen is la reina. In Spain, los Reyes also means the Three Kings, who bring children presents on January 6.
Hear "rey" in real movie scenes
A king in danger and a king the crowd cheers. Each video starts and stops on that line.
¡Larga vida al Rey!
Long live the king!
The crowd pours into the street to cheer the ruler everyone has been waiting for. After a, the article el merges into al.
From Robin Hood · Spanish audio
Royal words in Spanish
The family around el rey, plus the kings who bring presents.
| Spanish | English | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| el rey | king | Also the king in chess and in a deck of cards. |
| la reina | queen | A separate word, plural las reinas. |
| los reyes | the kings; the king and queen | A royal couple is los reyes as well. |
| el príncipe, la princesa | prince, princess | el príncipe azul is Prince Charming. |
| los Reyes Magos | the Three Kings, the Three Wise Men | They bring presents on January 6 in Spain and several Latin American countries. |
| el roscón de Reyes | ring-shaped cake for January 6 | Its name in Spain. In Mexico it's la rosca de Reyes. |
Tip: In Spain, children who misbehave are told the Three Kings will leave them carbón, coal, instead of presents. Shops even sell sugar coal for the joke.
Grammar: el rey, los reyes
Four points about the king and his article.
Plural adds -es
el rey becomes los reyes. The y now sits between two vowels and sounds like the y in yes: REH-yes.Al rey
When a person is the object, Spanish adds a, and a plus el turns into al: Conozco al rey.Kings or a royal couple
los reyes can mean several kings, or the king and the queen together. Context tells you which.Small title, capital name
Spanish spelling writes the title in lowercase and the name with a capital: el rey Felipe, la reina Isabel.Example sentences
Sentences from the Wordy Spanish course. Tap to listen.
Llegan los reyes.
The kings are arriving.
El rey todavía está aquí.
The king is still here.
Yo conozco al Rey.
I know the king.
Son los reyes de la escuela.
They're the kings of the school.
Common mistakes
Mistakes learners make with this word, and how to fix them.
✗los reys
✓los reyes
Nouns ending in -y add -es in the plural.
✗Conozco el rey
✓Conozco al rey
The king is a person, so he takes the personal a, and a plus el becomes al.
✗la rey (meaning queen)
✓la reina
Rey is always masculine. The queen has her own word.
Real conversation: the night of the Three Kings
A short chat with a neighbor on the stairs.
You bump into your neighbor Tomás on the stairs, and the talk turns to January 5.
¿Qué haces el cinco de enero?
What are you doing on January 5?
Pues, llegan los reyes.
Well, the Three Kings are coming.
¡Claro! ¿Y el seis por la mañana?
Of course! And on the morning of the 6th?
Your turn to answer
In the app you reply in Spanish for the last 2 lines.
Continue the conversation in WordyPractice: 3 quick exercises
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What do you hear in the video?
The other 21 exercises on this topic are in the app.
How to remember it
Rey sounds like ray. Picture a king whose gold crown sends rays of light across the room.
Questions about "king" in Spanish
How do you say king in Spanish?
El rey, plural los reyes. It's a single syllable.
How do you say queen in Spanish?
La reina, plural las reinas. Los reyes can refer to a king and queen together.
What are los Reyes Magos?
The Three Kings, also called the Three Wise Men. In Spain they bring children presents on the night of January 5, and January 6 is el Día de Reyes.
How do you pronounce rey?
Like English ray, but start with a rolled r. In the plural reyes it becomes two syllables: REH-yes.
