o
“o” means “or” in Spanish. It has 3 different meanings depending on context:
or
📝 In Action
¿Quieres té o café?
A1Do you want tea or coffee?
Podemos ir al cine o al parque.
A1We can go to the movies or to the park.
No sé si es martes o miércoles.
A2I don't know if it's Tuesday or Wednesday.
either... or...
📝 In Action
O vienes conmigo o te quedas en casa.
A2Either you come with me or you stay at home.
O lo haces ahora o no lo haces nunca.
B1Either you do it now or you never do it.
Para el postre, o pides flan o pides helado.
A2For dessert, you either order flan or you order ice cream.
or so
Also: about
📝 In Action
Tardará una hora o dos.
A2It will take an hour or two.
Había diez o doce personas en la fiesta.
B1There were ten or twelve people at the party.
Compraré cinco o seis manzanas.
A2I'll buy five or six apples.
🔀 Commonly Confused With
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✏️ Quick Practice
Quick Quiz: o
Question 1 of 2
Which sentence is written correctly?
📚 More Resources
📚 Etymology▼
Comes from the Latin word 'aut', which also meant 'or'.
First recorded: Over 2000 years ago
Cognates (Related words)
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why does 'o' sometimes change to 'u'?
It's all about sound! Spanish speakers find it awkward to say two 'o' sounds back-to-back. So, when the word right after 'o' starts with an 'o' or 'ho' sound (like 'ocho' or 'Holanda'), the 'o' changes to a 'u' to make the sentence flow more smoothly. It's a small change that makes pronunciation much easier.
Is 'ó' with an accent mark a different word?
It used to be, but not anymore. In the past, people wrote 'ó' when it was between two numbers to avoid confusing it with the number zero (0), for example, '7 ó 9'. However, modern Spanish grammar rules say this accent is no longer necessary. You will now see it written simply as '7 o 9'.