A person pointing to a mysterious, glowing box on a table, questioning what it is.

esto

/ESS-toh/

PronounA1

this?referring to an object, idea, or situation

Also:this thing?emphasizing it's an object,this matter?referring to a situation

📝 In Action

¿Qué es esto?

What is this?

Esto es para ti.

This is for you.

No entiendo esto.

I don't understand this.

Todo esto me parece muy extraño.

All of this seems very strange to me.

Related Words

Antonyms

eso (that (thing/idea))
aquello (that (thing/idea) over there)

Common Collocations

por esto – because of this / for this reason
con esto – with this
además de esto – besides this / in addition to this

Idioms & Expressions

y esto y lo otro – and this and that; etcetera

💡 Grammar Points

The 'Gender-Neutral' Pointer Word

'Esto' is special because it doesn't have a gender. You use it to talk about ideas, situations, or objects when you don't know or don't need to mention if they are masculine or feminine.

❌ Common Pitfalls

Mixing up 'esto', 'este', and 'esta'

Mistake: "Me gusta esto libro."

Correction: Me gusta este libro. Use 'este' for masculine things ('libro') and 'esta' for feminine things ('casa'). Use 'esto' only when it stands alone, not describing another word.

⭐ Usage Tips

Referring to a Whole Idea

A great way to use 'esto' is to refer to something someone just said. If a friend tells you a long story, you can simply say, 'Esto es increíble' (This is incredible) to refer to the whole situation.

✏️ Quick Practice

💡 Quick Quiz: esto

Question 1 of 2

You see a strange object on the ground and don't know what it is. You point and ask your friend: '¿Qué es ____?'

📚 More Resources

Word Family

este(this (masculine)) - adjective/pronoun

esta(this (feminine)) - adjective/pronoun

estos(these (masculine)) - adjective/pronoun

estas(these (feminine)) - adjective/pronoun

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the difference between 'esto', 'eso', and 'aquello'?

They all refer to things or ideas, but it depends on distance. 'Esto' is for something close to you (this). 'Eso' is for something a bit further away, maybe closer to the person you're talking to (that). 'Aquello' is for something far away from both of you (that over there).

Can I ever say 'esto coche'?

No, never. 'Esto' is a pronoun, which means it stands alone and replaces a noun. When you want to describe a noun like 'coche' (which is masculine), you must use the matching form 'este': 'este coche'.