Sí, dos o tres semanas.
Yes, two or three weeks.
When you don't know the exact number, o lets you offer two possibilities instead of one.
From Enemigo íntimo · Spanish audio
Spanish vocabularyA1 · Beginner
How to say "or" in Spanish
o
conjunctionone letteru before an o sound
"Or" in Spanish is o, a single pure vowel: ¿Sí o no? Before a word that starts with an o sound, it changes to u: uno u otro, mujer u hombre.
Hear "o" in real scenes
A rough number and a hard choice. Each video starts and stops on that line.
¿Sí o no?
Yes or no?
The sharpest kind of choice: one answer or the other, with no middle ground.
From DOC · Spanish audio
O, u, ni: words for choices
The basic word, its spelling change and the phrases you'll hear around it.
| Spanish | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| o | or | ¿Café o té? |
| u | or, before an o sound | minutos u horas (minutes or hours) |
| o... o... | either... or... | O vienes o te quedas. (Either you come or you stay.) |
| ni... ni... | neither... nor... | No quiero ni café ni té. (I want neither coffee nor tea.) |
| ¿o no? | or not? right? | Vienes, ¿o no? (You're coming, aren't you?) |
| o sea | I mean, in other words | A filler you'll hear all the time in conversation. |
Tip: Between numbers, write o with no accent mark: 3 o 4. Older texts show 3 ó 4, but current spelling rules dropped that accent.
Grammar: using o
Four rules for a one-letter word.
O becomes u
Before a word that starts with o or ho, use u: plata u oro, mujer u hombre. This keeps two o sounds from merging.Two-way questions
Put o between the options: ¿Té o café? The answer picks one of them: Té, por favor.Either... or
Use o before both options to make the choice stronger: O hoy o mañana. Either today or tomorrow.After no, use ni
In a negative sentence, "or" usually becomes ni: No tengo hermanos ni primos. I don't have brothers or cousins.Example sentences
Sentences from the Wordy Spanish course. Tap to listen.
¿Sí o no?
Yes or no?
¿México o Estados Unidos?
Mexico or the United States?
¿Muslo o pechuga?
Thigh or breast?
¿El teléfono o el móvil?
The phone or the cell?
Common mistakes
Mistakes learners make with this word, and how to fix them.
✗uno o otro
✓uno u otro
When the next word begins with an o sound, swap o for u.
✗No quiero café o té
✓No quiero café ni té
Once the sentence is negative, Spanish joins the options with ni.
✗3 ó 4 (in writing)
✓3 o 4
The accent mark on o between digits is no longer part of standard spelling.
Real conversation: staying in touch
A short dialog on the last day of class. Tap to listen.
It's the last day of your language course, and your classmate Fernando wants your contact details so you can stay in touch.
¡Oye! ¿Tu móvil o tu correo?
Hey! Your cell number or your email?
Vale, mi móvil.
Okay, my cell.
¡Genial! ¿Y el número?
Great! And the number?
Your turn to answer Fernando
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 32 exercises on this topic are in the app.
How to remember it
Take the English word or, drop the r, and you're left with the Spanish word: o.
Questions about "or" in Spanish
How do you say or in Spanish?
O, as in ¿Sí o no? In front of a word beginning with an o sound, it turns into u.
When do you use u instead of o?
Before words that start with o or ho, such as otro, ocho or hombre: uno u otro. Everywhere else, use o.
How do you say "either... or" in Spanish?
O... o..., with o in front of each option: O lo compras o no. Either you buy it or you don't.
How do you pronounce o in Spanish?
As one short, pure vowel. Keep your lips still, without the glide at the end of English "oh".
