¿Quién fue su profesor de Literatura?
Who was your literature teacher?
In a café, a man quizzes a woman about her old school, and profesor here means a school teacher.
From Hechizo del tiempo · Spanish audio
Spanish vocabularyA1 · Beginner
How to say "teacher" in Spanish
el profesor
nounfeminine: la profesoraplural: los profesoresalso: el maestro
"Teacher" in Spanish is el profesor, or la profesora for a woman. A teacher of young children is often el maestro or la maestra, and in Mexico students call most of their teachers maestro. In class, everyone shortens it to profe.
Hear "profesor" in real movie scenes
A question about an old teacher and a woman describing her job. Each video starts and stops on that line.
Soy profesora, es mi trabajo.
I'm a teacher, it's my job.
In a restaurant, a woman talks about her work, so the word takes the feminine -a ending.
Profesor, maestro or profe?
Four words for the person at the front of the class.
| Word | When people use it | Example |
|---|---|---|
| el profesor, la profesora | Any level, and the usual word for secondary school and university | la profesora de inglés (the English teacher) |
| el maestro, la maestra | A teacher of young children. In Mexico, most teachers | el maestro de mi hijo (my son's teacher) |
| el profe, la profe | Casual, the word students use in class | ¡Hola, profe! (Hi, teacher!) |
| el docente, la docente | Formal, in job ads and official texts | el personal docente (the teaching staff) |
Tip: A Spanish profesor can teach at a school or at a university. In English, professor is a university title only.
Grammar: el profesor, la profesora
Four points for talking about teachers and to them.
Add -a for a woman
el profesor, la profesora. Plural: los profesores, las profesoras. A mixed group of teachers is los profesores.No un with ser and a job
Soy profesor. I'm a teacher. Bring the article back when an adjective follows: Es un profesor paciente.Teacher of a subject
Join the subject with de: profesor de español, profesora de historia, maestro de música.Stress on the last syllable
Say pro-fe-SOR. In the plural the stress stays on the same syllable: pro-fe-SO-res.Example sentences
Sentences from the Wordy Spanish course. Tap to listen.
Soy profesor de español.
I'm a Spanish teacher.
El maestro es paciente.
The teacher is patient.
Soy maestro, cuarto grado.
I'm a teacher, fourth grade.
Profesora, ¿no tiene clases?
Don't you have classes, professor?
Common mistakes
Mistakes learners make with this word, and how to fix them.
✗Soy una profesora
✓Soy profesora
When you name your job after ser with nothing else added, drop un and una.
✗la profesor
✓la profesora
Nouns for people that end in -or add -a for a woman.
✗mi maestro de la universidad (in Spain)
✓mi profesor de la universidad
In Spain a maestro teaches young children. University teachers are profesores.
✗pro-FE-sor (pronunciation)
✓pro-fe-SOR
Words ending in r carry the stress on the final syllable.
Real conversation: who is the teacher?
A short dialog in the hallway of a language school.
You're standing in the language school hallway before your first Spanish class. A man steps up next to you and starts chatting.
¿Eres estudiante aquí?
Are you a student here?
Sí, ¿y tú?
Yes. How about you?
Yo no. Soy profesor... ¡de español!
Not me. I'm a teacher... of Spanish!
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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1 of 3 · Watch and choose
What do you hear in the video?
The other 31 exercises on this topic are in the app.
How to remember it
In English a maestro leads an orchestra. In Spanish a maestro leads a class of kids, and a profesor leads everyone else.
Questions about "teacher" in Spanish
How do you say teacher in Spanish?
El profesor, or la profesora if the teacher is a woman. For someone who teaches young children, el maestro and la maestra are common too.
What's the difference between profesor and maestro?
Maestro usually means a teacher of young children. Profesor fits any level and is the normal word for secondary school and university, although in Mexico people call most teachers maestro.
How do you say "I am a teacher" in Spanish?
Soy profesor, or Soy profesora if you're a woman. Spanish leaves out the article here.
What does profe mean in Spanish?
Profe is the short, friendly form of profesor and profesora. Students use it to talk to their teacher: Gracias, profe.
