Si no es un árbol, ¿entonces qué es?
If it's not a tree, then what is it?
From far away it's hard to tell whether the dark shape is a tree or something else, and un árbol means any tree at all.
Spanish vocabularyA1 · Beginner
How to say "tree" in Spanish
el árbol
nounmasculineplural: los árbolesaccent on á
"Tree" in Spanish is el árbol, stressed on the first syllable: AR-bohl. It's masculine, and the plural los árboles keeps the written accent. Many trees growing together make el bosque, the forest.
Hear "árbol" in real movie scenes
A puzzle seen from far away and a cat that isn't there. Each video starts and stops on that line.
No hay un gato en un árbol.
There's no cat in a tree.
Árbol is the tall plant with branches and leaves, and en un árbol means up in a tree. For more than one, add -es: árboles.
From Dr. House · Spanish audio
Parts of a tree, and one more
From the roots to the leaves, plus a tree for your relatives.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| la raíz, las raíces | root, roots |
| el tronco | trunk |
| la rama | branch |
| la hoja | leaf |
| el bosque | forest, woods |
| el árbol genealógico | family tree |
Tip: Hoja also means a sheet of paper, so una hoja can be a leaf or a page in your notebook.
Grammar: el árbol, los árboles
Four things to know before you use it.
Masculine, ending in -l
It's el árbol and un árbol. Many nouns that end in -l are masculine, like el papel and el hotel.Plural: add -es
árbol, árboles. A noun that ends in a consonant takes -es, and the accent on the á stays put.Why it has an accent
The stress falls on ár. Without the mark, a word ending in -l would be stressed on its last syllable.In, under, next to
en el árbol in the tree, debajo del árbol under the tree, al lado del árbol next to the tree. De and el join into del.Example sentences
Sentences from the Wordy Spanish course. Tap to listen.
El árbol es muy alto.
The tree is very tall.
Dos ramas, un árbol.
Two branches, one tree.
El árbol está en el bosque.
The tree is in the forest.
No hay un gato en un árbol.
There's no cat in a tree.
Common mistakes
Mistakes learners make with this word, and how to fix them.
✗la árbol
✓el árbol
Árbol is masculine, so it takes el and un, and adjectives end in -o: un árbol alto.
✗arbol
✓árbol
Leaving off the accent mark is a spelling mistake. It tells you to stress the first syllable.
✗los árbols
✓los árboles
After a final consonant the plural is -es, which gives the word three syllables: AR-boh-les.
Real conversation: photos from a hike
A short dialog about a day out in the woods.
After a hike, you and Santiago, someone you know, look at photos of the forest next to the castle.
¡Qué bonito! ¿Este castillo es antiguo?
How pretty! Is this castle old?
Sí, es de otra época.
Yes, it's from another era.
Los árboles son altos. ¿Vas allí a menudo?
The trees are tall. Do you go there often?
Your turn to answer
In the app you reply in Spanish for the last 2 lines.
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
Árbol sounds like Arbor Day, the holiday for planting trees. Picture yourself digging a hole for one small árbol.
Questions about "tree" in Spanish
How do you say tree in Spanish?
El árbol, with a written accent on the á. Say it AR-bohl, with the stress on the first syllable.
What is the plural of árbol?
Los árboles. Add -es and keep the accent: Los árboles son altos.
How do you say Christmas tree in Spanish?
El árbol de Navidad. Navidad is the word for Christmas, and it's written with a capital N.
How do you say family tree in Spanish?
El árbol genealógico. Like the English phrase, it's a chart of your parents, grandparents and other relatives.
