adulto
/ah-DOOL-toh/
adult
As a noun, adulto means an adult or grown-up person.
📝 In Action
Necesitas ser un adulto para firmar este contrato.
A1You need to be an adult to sign this contract.
La entrada para los adultos cuesta diez euros.
A1The ticket for the adults costs ten euros.
Cuando era niño, pensaba que ser adulto era fácil.
A2When I was a child, I thought being a grown-up was easy.
💡 Grammar Points
Gender Matching for Nouns
Remember that 'adulto' is masculine, used for men or when talking about a group that includes both men and women. If you are specifically talking about a woman, you must use 'adulta'.
❌ Common Pitfalls
Confusing Noun and Adjective
Mistake: "Using 'adulto' to describe a feminine noun without changing the ending (e.g., 'una mujer adulto')."
Correction: The adjective must match the noun: 'una mujer adulta' (a grown-up woman).
⭐ Usage Tips
Referring to People
When used as a noun, 'adulto' is often accompanied by the article 'el' or 'un' (e.g., 'un adulto' or 'el adulto').
As an adjective, adulto describes something related to maturity or grown-ups, like a fully matured tree.
adulto(adjective)
adult
?related to maturity or grown-ups
mature
?describing an attitude or behavior
,grown-up
?describing content or themes
📝 In Action
Este programa tiene contenido adulto, no es para niños.
A2This program has adult content; it is not for children.
Ella tomó una decisión muy adulta sobre su futuro.
B1She made a very mature decision about her future.
Necesitamos tener una conversación adulta sobre este problema.
B2We need to have a grown-up conversation about this problem.
💡 Grammar Points
Adjective Agreement
As an adjective, 'adulto' must change its ending to match the thing it describes in number (singular/plural) and gender (masculine/feminine). For example: 'temas adultos' (adult topics, plural masculine) or 'actitud adulta' (adult attitude, singular feminine).
⭐ Usage Tips
Placement
Like most Spanish descriptive words, 'adulto' usually comes after the noun it describes (e.g., 'una decisión adulta').
✏️ Quick Practice
💡 Quick Quiz: adulto
Question 1 of 1
Which sentence correctly uses 'adulto' as an adjective?
📚 More Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I say 'adulthood'?
You use the related noun 'la adultez' (feminine) to mean the state or period of being an adult.
If I am talking about a group of people, should I use 'adultos' or 'adultas'?
If the group is all women, use 'adultas.' If the group is all men, or if it is a mixed group of men and women, use the masculine plural form, 'adultos'.