How to Say "vital" in Spanish
The most common Spanish word for “vital” is “esencial” — use 'esencial' when referring to something that is fundamentally necessary for existence or functioning, often related to life or basic needs..
esencial
eh-sen-SYAL/e.senˈsjal/
Examples
El agua potable es esencial para la vida humana.
Drinking water is essential for human life.
La comunicación es una parte esencial de cualquier relación.
Communication is an essential part of any relationship.
Este documento contiene la información esencial que necesitamos.
This document contains the essential information we need.
Adjective Placement
Like most descriptive adjectives, 'esencial' usually goes after the noun it describes, as in 'una parte esencial'.
One Form for All
Since 'esencial' ends in '-l', it is one of the adjectives that does not change form for masculine or feminine nouns. Use 'esencial' for both genders!
Creating a Feminine Form
Mistake: “La tarea es esenciala.”
Correction: La tarea es esencial. (The form 'esencial' works for both 'el' and 'la' nouns.)
vital
/vee-TAHL//biˈtal/
Examples
La enfermera revisó los signos vitales del paciente.
The nurse checked the patient's vital signs.
El corazón cumple una función vital en el cuerpo humano.
The heart fulfills a vital function in the human body.
Context Clues
When 'vital' is used with medical or biological words (like 'signos' or 'funciones'), it usually refers to the actual processes needed for living, not just abstract importance.
clave
KLAH-veh/ˈklaβe/
Examples
La honestidad es un valor clave en nuestra familia.
Honesty is a key value in our family.
Identificamos los puntos claves de la negociación.
We identified the crucial points of the negotiation.
The Invariable Adjective
When 'clave' is used as an adjective (meaning key/crucial), it does not change its form to match the gender (masculine/feminine) or number (singular/plural) of the noun it describes. It always stays 'clave'.
crucial
/kroo-syahl//kɾuˈθjal/
Examples
Este es un momento crucial para nuestra familia.
This is a crucial moment for our family.
Tu ayuda fue crucial para terminar el proyecto.
Your help was crucial for finishing the project.
Tomaron una decisión crucial que cambió todo.
They made a crucial decision that changed everything.
One Form for All
This word stays the same whether you are describing a masculine or feminine noun. You don't need to change the ending to 'a'!
Making it plural
Mistake: “dos momentos crucial”
Correction: dos momentos cruciales. Words ending in 'l' need 'es' to become plural.
vitales
/bee-TAH-lehs//biˈtales/
Examples
Los médicos revisaron sus constantes vitales.
The doctors checked their vital signs.
Estos cambios son vitales para el futuro de la empresa.
These changes are essential for the future of the company.
One Form for All
This word is a 'gender-neutral' adjective. It doesn't matter if you are describing men, women, or objects; it stays 'vitales' for all plural things.
Making it Plural
Since the singular word 'vital' ends in a consonant (l), we add '-es' to make it plural: vital → vitales.
Don't change the ending for gender
Mistake: “órganos vitalos”
Correction: órganos vitales. Even though 'órganos' is masculine, 'vitales' doesn't end in 'o' or 'a', so it doesn't change for gender.
crítico
Examples
El paciente fue ingresado en estado crítico.
The patient was admitted in critical condition.
preciosa
preh-SYOH-sah/pɾeˈθjosa/
Examples
Ella perdió una oportunidad preciosa por llegar tarde.
She lost a precious opportunity because she arrived late.
Esta documentación es preciosa para el éxito del proyecto.
This documentation is vital/precious for the success of the project.
Vital vs. Essential vs. Critical
Related Translations
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