ojos
“ojos” means “eyes” in Spanish. It has 3 different meanings depending on context:
eyes
📝 In Action
Ella tiene los ojos azules.
A1She has blue eyes.
Me duelen los ojos de tanto leer.
A2My eyes hurt from reading so much.
Abre los ojos, ya es de día.
A1Open your eyes, it's already daytime.
attention
Also: care, judgment
📝 In Action
Tengo mis ojos puestos en ti, no intentes nada.
B1I've got my eyes on you, don't try anything.
A los ojos de la ley, todos somos iguales.
B2In the eyes of the law, we are all equal.
El profesor tiene mil ojos, lo ve todo.
B1The teacher has a thousand eyes, he sees everything.
holes
Also: eyes, openings
📝 In Action
Este queso suizo tiene muchos ojos.
B2This Swiss cheese has a lot of holes (eyes).
Hay que quitarle los ojos a las patatas antes de cocinarlas.
B2You have to remove the eyes from the potatoes before cooking them.
El puente tiene tres ojos grandes para que pase el río.
C1The bridge has three large arches (eyes) for the river to pass through.
Translate to Spanish
✏️ Quick Practice
Quick Quiz: ojos
Question 1 of 2
Which sentence uses 'ojos' to mean something other than the body part?
📚 More Resources
👥 Word Family▼
🎵 Rhymes▼
📚 Etymology▼
Comes from the Latin word 'oculus', which also meant 'eye'. Many languages that grew from Latin, like French, Italian, and Portuguese, have a similar word from the same root.
First recorded: Around the 10th century
Cognates (Related words)
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why do people say 'Me duelen los ojos' instead of 'Mis ojos me duelen'?
It's a common pattern in Spanish. When talking about your own body parts, especially when something happens to them (like hurting), you use words like 'me', 'te', 'le' and the article ('los' in this case). It sounds much more natural to native speakers than using 'mis' (my).
Is 'ojos' always masculine?
Yes. The singular word 'ojo' is a masculine noun ('el ojo'), so its plural form 'ojos' is also masculine ('los ojos'). Any descriptive words you use with it must also be masculine, like 'ojos azules' (not 'azulas').