gente
“gente” means “people” in Spanish. It has 3 different meanings depending on context:
people
Also: crowd, folk
📝 In Action
Hay mucha gente en la playa hoy.
A1There are a lot of people at the beach today.
La gente de aquí es muy amable.
A2The people from here are very kind.
No me importa lo que piense la gente.
B1I don't care what people think.
family, kin
Also: folks, people
📝 In Action
En Navidad, siempre voy a ver a mi gente.
B1At Christmas, I always go to see my family/people.
Es una persona que cuida mucho a su gente.
B2He/She is a person who takes great care of his/her people.
peoples
Also: nations, types of people
📝 In Action
El libro describe las costumbres de las gentes de la antigüedad.
C1The book describes the customs of the peoples of antiquity.
Es un lugar donde conviven gentes de todo el mundo.
C1It is a place where peoples from all over the world coexist.
Translate to Spanish
✏️ Quick Practice
Quick Quiz: gente
Question 1 of 2
Which sentence is grammatically correct in Spanish?
📚 More Resources
👥 Word Family▼
📚 Etymology▼
Comes from the Latin word 'gens' (genitive 'gentis'), which meant 'clan' or 'tribe'—a group of families descending from a common ancestor. Over time, its meaning broadened to refer to people in general.
First recorded: Around the 10th century
Cognates (Related words)
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Frequently Asked Questions
What's the real difference between 'gente' and 'personas'?
Think of 'gente' as an uncountable group, like 'water' or 'sand'. You talk about 'the people' as one big concept. 'Personas' is for countable individuals. You use it when you could put a number in front of it: 'tres personas', 'diez personas'.
Can I ever say 'una gente'?
No, you can't say 'una gente' to mean 'one person'. For that, you would always use 'una persona'. 'Gente' is a collective noun and isn't used with numbers like that.