"United States" in Spanish is Estados Unidos, with a capital on both words. You can use it with or without the article: Soy de Estados Unidos and Soy de los Estados Unidos are both correct. A person from there is estadounidense, or americano in everyday speech.
Written by Isabella García, Language Content Manager at WordyUpdated October 4, 2026
Hear "Estados Unidos" in real movie scenes
Two scenes where someone says it. Each video starts and stops on that line.
¿Quién es el presidente de los Estados Unidos en 1985?
Who's the president of the United States in 1985?
Doc tests a visitor who says he comes from the future. In a full, formal phrase like this one, Spanish often keeps los before Estados Unidos.
From Volver al futuro · Spanish audio
Su avión aterrizó en Estados Unidos, necesita ese permiso.
Your plane landed in the United States, you need that permit.
An airport official explains the rules to a traveler. Here Estados Unidos appears without los, which is how most people say it day to day.
From La terminal · Spanish audio
Estados Unidos: names and short forms
The country, its short form and the words for its people.
Spanish
English
Good to know
Estados Unidos
the United States
No article needed: Soy de Estados Unidos.
los Estados Unidos
the United States
Also correct. With los, the verb usually goes into the plural.
EE. UU.
US, USA
The written short form, with a period and a space.
estadounidense
American, from the US
The precise word. It's the same for a man and a woman.
americano, americana
American
Common in conversation. Some Latin Americans prefer estadounidense, since América is the whole continent.
norteamericano, norteamericana
North American
Also used for people from the US.
Tip: In formal writing, estadounidense is the safe choice. The dialog below uses americana and americano, the words people use in a chat.
Grammar: Estados Unidos with and without los
Four points for talking about the US.
Two capitals
Both words start with a capital: Estados Unidos. The words for its people stay lowercase: estadounidense, americano.
Singular or plural verb
Without the article, use a singular verb: Estados Unidos es grande. With los, the verb is plural: Los Estados Unidos son grandes.
Ser de and estar en
Where you come from takes ser de: Es de Estados Unidos. Where someone is now takes estar en: Está en Estados Unidos.
The short form
In writing, the name shrinks to EE. UU., with a period after each pair of letters. Out loud, say the full name.
Example sentences
Sentences from the Wordy Spanish course. Tap to listen.
Es de Estados Unidos.
He's from the United States.
Somos de Estados Unidos.
We're from the United States.
Bienvenida a los Estados Unidos.
Welcome to the United States.
No estamos en Estados Unidos.
We're not in the United States.
Common mistakes
Mistakes learners make with this word, and how to fix them.
✗Soy de estados unidos.
✓Soy de Estados Unidos.
It's the name of a country, so both words get a capital letter.
✗Estoy de Estados Unidos.
✓Soy de Estados Unidos.
Your origin doesn't change, so it takes ser.
✗Soy Americano.
✓Soy americano.
Nationalities are lowercase in Spanish, even when the country has capitals.
Real conversation: at a soccer game
A short dialog in the stands. Tap to listen.
You're in the stands at an amateur soccer game, and the fan next to you starts talking about where everyone is from.
G
¡Hola! Soy de Estados Unidos.
Hi! I'm from the United States.
You
¿De Estados Unidos? ¡Muy bien!
From the United States? Great!
G
Sí, soy americana. ¿Y tú?
Yes, I'm American. And you?
You
G
Your turn to answer
In the app you reply in Spanish for the last line.
The other 23 exercises on this topic are in the app.
How to remember it
Estados Unidos matches the English word for word: estados are states and unidos means united. Flip the order, since Spanish puts the describing word second.
Estados Unidos, with or without the article los. The written short form is EE. UU.
How do you say "I'm from the United States" in Spanish?
Soy de Estados Unidos. You can also say Soy estadounidense, or more casually Soy americano (americana for a woman).
Is it Estados Unidos or los Estados Unidos?
Either one is fine. Leave out los and the verb is singular; keep it and the verb is plural.
What does EE. UU. mean?
It's the abbreviation of Estados Unidos. Each letter is doubled because both words are plural.
Learn "United States" in Spanish from real movie scenes
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