órdenes
“órdenes” means “orders” in Spanish. It has 2 different meanings depending on context:
orders
Also: commands, instructions
📝 In Action
Los soldados siguieron las órdenes sin dudar.
B1The soldiers followed the orders without hesitation.
Mi jefa me dio órdenes claras para el proyecto.
A2My boss gave me clear orders for the project.
Estoy a sus órdenes.
B1I am at your service/command.
orders
Also: requests, purchase orders
📝 In Action
El restaurante está procesando muchas órdenes esta noche.
B1The restaurant is processing a lot of orders tonight.
Recibí un correo de confirmación para mis órdenes en línea.
B1I received a confirmation email for my online orders.
Tenemos que enviar todas las órdenes antes del viernes.
B2We have to ship all the orders before Friday.
Translate to Spanish
✏️ Quick Practice
Quick Quiz: órdenes
Question 1 of 1
Which sentence uses 'órdenes' to mean 'commands'?
📚 More Resources
👥 Word Family▼
🎵 Rhymes▼
📚 Etymology▼
'Órdenes' comes from the Latin word 'ordo' (genitive 'ordinis'), which meant a row, series, or arrangement. This idea of 'things in their proper place' evolved to mean both a command (putting things in a hierarchical order) and a request for goods (arranging for something to be delivered).
First recorded: Around the 10th century (in its singular form 'orden').
Cognates (Related words)
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is 'orden' masculine or feminine? I've seen 'el orden' and 'la orden'.
Great question! It depends on the meaning. 'El orden' (masculine) refers to tidiness, sequence, or the general order of things, like 'el orden de los eventos' (the order of events). 'La orden' (feminine) refers to a command or a purchase request. Its plural is always feminine: 'las órdenes'.
Why does 'órdenes' have an accent mark when 'orden' does not?
This is to keep the pronunciation consistent. In Spanish, the stress naturally falls on the second-to-last syllable. In 'orden', the stress is on 'or-', which is correct. When you add '-es' to make it plural ('ordenes'), the natural stress would shift to '-de-'. The accent mark on 'órdenes' tells you to keep the stress on the first syllable, 'ór-', just like in the singular form.