How to Say "near" in Spanish
The most common Spanish word for “near” is “cerca” — use 'cerca' when indicating that something is located at a short distance from the speaker or a reference point, functioning like 'nearby' or 'close by'..
cerca
/SER-ka//ˈseɾ.ka/
Examples
El parque está muy cerca de aquí.
The park is very close to here.
El supermercado está cerca.
The supermarket is nearby.
Mi oficina está cerca de mi casa.
My office is near my house.
No te preocupes, vivimos muy cerca.
Don't worry, we live very close.
Cerca vs. Cerca de
Use 'cerca' by itself to mean 'nearby'. Use 'cerca de' when you're saying something is near another specific thing. Example: 'El café está cerca' (The café is nearby) vs. 'El café está cerca de la oficina' (The café is near the office).
Adverb vs. Adjective
Mistake: “Mi casa está cercana.”
Correction: Mi casa está cerca. 'Cerca' describes *where* the house is (an adverb), not *what kind* of house it is. Use the adjective 'cercano/a' to describe a noun directly, like 'un pueblo cercano' (a nearby town).
cercano
sehr-KAH-noh/seɾˈkano/
Examples
Tenemos una tienda cercana que vende pan fresco.
We have a nearby shop that sells fresh bread.
La farmacia está cercana, solo a dos minutos.
The pharmacy is nearby, only two minutes away.
Vivimos en pueblos cercanos, pero nunca nos habíamos conocido.
We live in nearby towns, but we had never met.
Adjective Agreement
Like many Spanish adjectives, 'cercano' must match the thing it describes. Use 'cercana' for feminine things (la casa), 'cercanos' for plural masculine, and 'cercanas' for plural feminine.
Adverb vs. Adjective
Related Translations
Learn Spanish with Inklingo
Interactive stories, personalized learning, and more.