pacientes
“pacientes” means “patient” in Spanish. It has 2 different meanings depending on context:
patient
Also: tolerant
📝 In Action
Los maestros deben ser muy pacientes con los niños pequeños.
A2Teachers must be very patient with small children.
Somos pacientes; podemos esperar nuestro turno.
A1We are patient; we can wait our turn.
Las enfermeras son muy pacientes a pesar del estrés.
B1The nurses are very patient despite the stress.
patients
📝 In Action
El hospital tiene muchos pacientes nuevos cada día.
A1The hospital has many new patients every day.
Los pacientes están esperando los resultados de las pruebas.
A2The patients are waiting for the test results.
Las doctoras dieron de alta a tres pacientes esta mañana.
B1The female doctors discharged three patients this morning.
Translate to Spanish
Words that translate to "pacientes" in Spanish:
patients→✏️ Quick Practice
Quick Quiz: pacientes
Question 1 of 2
Which sentence uses 'pacientes' as a noun (referring to people in a hospital)?
📚 More Resources
👥 Word Family▼
🎵 Rhymes▼
📚 Etymology▼
Comes from the Latin word *patiens*, which originally meant 'suffering' or 'enduring.' This is why the word applies both to people who wait calmly and people who endure sickness or medical treatment.
First recorded: 13th century
Cognates (Related words)
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Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know if 'pacientes' means the people or the quality?
Context is key! If it follows an article like 'los' or 'las' and is the main subject of a medical sentence, it's the noun (patients). If it follows a verb like 'ser' or 'estar' and describes another group of people, it's the adjective (patient/calm).
Why is 'pacientes' the same for men and women?
The singular form 'paciente' already ends in '-e'. Adjectives in Spanish that end in '-e' usually don't change their ending to match the gender of the person or thing they describe. They only change to show plural by adding '-s'.