Una persona joven, quizá.
A young person, maybe.
In a hospital hallway, someone tries to work out exactly who is meant. Joven is how you describe a person who isn't old yet.
From Dr. House · Spanish audio
Spanish vocabularyA1 · Beginner
How to say "young" in Spanish
joven
adjectivesame for he and sheplural: jóvenes
"Young" in Spanish is joven, and it keeps that form for men and women alike: un chico joven, una chica joven. The plural is jóvenes, which picks up a written accent. Used as a noun, un joven is a young man and los jóvenes are young people.
Hear "joven" in real movie scenes
A guess in a hospital and a remark at a party. Each video starts and stops on that line.
Es joven e impulsiva
She's young and impulsive.
At an evening party, an older man describes a woman to another man. The feminine impulsiva changes its ending, but joven stays exactly the same.
From La Máscara del Zorro · Spanish audio
Useful phrases with joven
Six ways to talk about age and youth.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| más joven | younger |
| el más joven de la familia | the youngest in the family |
| de joven | as a young person, when I was young |
| un joven, una joven | a young man, a young woman |
| los jóvenes | young people |
| la juventud | youth |
Tip: In Mexico, joven is also a polite way to call over a young waiter or clerk: ¡Joven, la cuenta, por favor!
Grammar: joven, jóvenes
Four points about one of the easiest adjectives in Spanish.
No feminine ending
un hombre joven, una mujer joven. Joven ends in -n, so it doesn't switch to -a.The plural adds an accent
jóvenes. The stress stays on JO, and a word with three syllables stressed like that needs the written mark.It works as a noun
el joven is the young man, la joven the young woman, and los jóvenes young people in general.Younger brother, younger sister
más joven means younger. For siblings Spanish prefers menor: mi hermana menor, my younger sister.Example sentences
Sentences from the Wordy Spanish course. Tap to listen.
La gente joven es amable.
Young people are kind.
El abogado es joven.
The lawyer is young.
Ella es joven e inexperta.
She's young and inexperienced.
Es una persona joven.
It's a young person.
Common mistakes
Mistakes learners make with this word, and how to fix them.
✗una mujer jovena
✓una mujer joven
There is no -a form. The same joven describes a woman.
✗los jovenes
✓los jóvenes
In the plural, write the accent on the first o.
✗Es joven y inexperta
✓Es joven e inexperta
Y turns into e in front of an i sound, as in inexperta.
Practice: 3 quick exercises
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How to remember it
Joven and English juvenile go back to the same Latin word for young. Spot the j-v-n in both and the meaning follows.
Questions about "young" in Spanish
How do you say young in Spanish?
Joven. It doesn't change for gender: un chico joven, una chica joven.
What is the plural of joven?
Jóvenes, with a written accent on the first o: Mis primos son jóvenes.
How do you say "young people" in Spanish?
Los jóvenes or la gente joven. Gente is singular in Spanish, so its verb is singular too.
How do you say "when I was young" in Spanish?
Cuando era joven, or the shorter de joven.
