La costa oeste descartada.
The west coast is ruled out.
In the command room, the left side of the map goes dark first, because that's the west. Oeste keeps its form after the feminine costa.
From El núcleo · Spanish audio
Spanish vocabularyA1 · Beginner
How to say "west" in Spanish
el oeste
nounmasculinelowercasethree syllables
"West" in Spanish is el oeste, three syllables: oh-ES-teh. Say en el oeste for "in the west" and al oeste for "to the west". After a noun it never changes: la costa oeste, the west coast.
Hear "oeste" in real movie scenes
A map going dark and a soldier's letter. Each video starts and stops on that line.
del este y del oeste
from the east and from the west
A letter puts two directions side by side, and each time de plus el merges into del.
From Tiempos de gloria · Spanish audio
West in useful phrases
Six ways to point west, from maps to movies.
| Spanish | English | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| en el oeste | in the west | La costa está en el oeste. |
| al oeste de | west of | al oeste de Madrid |
| la costa oeste | the west coast | Oeste stays the same after any noun. |
| occidental | western | The adjective: Europa occidental (Western Europe). |
| el salvaje oeste | the Wild West | Also called el Lejano Oeste. |
| una película del oeste | a western | The usual name for a cowboy movie. |
Tip: The four directions are el norte, el sur, el este and el oeste, all masculine and all lowercase.
Grammar: el oeste
Four points for giving directions.
Masculine and lowercase
el oeste, like el norte and el sur. Write it with a small o in the middle of a sentence.En el oeste or al oeste
en el oeste says where something is: Vivo en el oeste. al oeste gives the direction: Vamos al oeste.West of a place
Add de: al oeste de la ciudad. After a noun, oeste works like a label and never takes -a or -s: el lado oeste.Three separate syllables
Say oh-ES-teh. The o and the e don't blend, so give each one its own beat.Example sentences
Sentences from the Wordy Spanish course. Tap to listen.
Por la tarde hay mucho viento en el oeste.
In the afternoon it's very windy in the west.
La costa está en el oeste.
The coast is in the west.
Hay una nube en el oeste.
There's a cloud in the west.
Esto no es el salvaje oeste.
This isn't the Wild West.
Common mistakes
Mistakes learners make with this word, and how to fix them.
✗la oeste
✓el oeste
Every compass point is masculine, oeste included.
✗la costa oesta
✓la costa oeste
After a noun, oeste doesn't agree. It keeps its -e ending.
✗WES-teh (pronunciation)
✓oh-ES-teh
The word opens with a full o. Skip it and you're left with este, which means east.
Real conversation: at the lookout
A short dialog about mountains on the horizon. Tap to listen.
You're at a lookout point with a friend, and there are mountains in the distance.
Mira, allí hay muchas montañas.
Look, there are lots of mountains over there.
¿Es la más alta de América?
Is that the highest one in the Americas?
No, la más alta está en el oeste.
No, the highest one is in the west.
Your turn to answer
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How to remember it
Oeste is este (east) with an o in front. Picture the sun crossing the sky from este and landing in o-este.
Questions about "west" in Spanish
How do you say west in Spanish?
El oeste, pronounced oh-ES-teh. The other directions are el norte, el sur and el este.
How do you say "west coast" in Spanish?
La costa oeste. Oeste doesn't change after a feminine noun.
How do you say western in Spanish?
The adjective is occidental: Europa occidental. A cowboy movie is una película del oeste.
How do you say "the Wild West" in Spanish?
El salvaje oeste, or el Lejano Oeste, which literally means the Far West.
