accidente
/aɡθiˈdente/masculine
The Spanish word for accident is accidente.
accidente is a masculine noun used to describe an unexpected event that has negative consequences. While you can use accidente generally, if you are specifically referring to a car crash, it is more common to use accidente de tráfico or accidente de tránsito.
Meaning: unexpected event with negative consequences (noun)
Which one should you use?
To describe a minor incident or a mishap, you can use percance. If you want to informally express that an accident was particularly significant or serious, you can use accidentazo.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In some Latin American countries, such as Mexico and Argentina, the term siniestro is used to describe a serious accident or disaster.
How does it change in a sentence?
accidente is a masculine noun.
How do you pronounce it?
/aɡθiˈdente/
Did you know?
- In Spanish, the word accidente is also used in grammar to describe the 'inflections' of a word, such as gender or number.
- The word accidente can be used to describe a geographical feature, such as an accidente geográfico like a mountain or a valley.
- In certain legal contexts in Spain, a siniestro refers specifically to the 'event' of the accident, while daños refers to the resulting damages.
Examples in context
- No vi el accidente.I didn't see the accident.Tatoeba #8889023 by escudo119, translation #4062852 by CK
- No fue un accidente.It wasn't an accident.Tatoeba #1686439 by Shishir, translation #1676693 by Spamster
- Nada es un accidente.Nothing is an accident.Tatoeba #11885520 by Eremon, translation #5747344 by CM
- Lamentamos informarle que ha habido un accidente en la carretera.We regret to inform you that there has been an accident on the road.
- Por favor, notifique cualquier accidente a su supervisor de inmediato.Please report any accidents to your supervisor immediately.
- Anoche presencié un accidentazo en la autopista. Espero que todos estén bien.Last night, I witnessed a huge accident on the highway. I hope everyone is alright.
- Tienes que tener cuidado al andar en bicicleta. Podrías sufrir un accidentazo.You have to be careful when riding a bike. You could have a major accident.
- El siniestro vial ocurrido ayer dejó varias personas heridas.The car accident yesterday left several people injured.
- Una explosión en la fábrica provocó un siniestro de grandes dimensiones.An explosion in the factory caused a major disaster.
- Hubo un choque múltiple en la rotonda durante la hora pico.There was a multiple collision at the roundabout during rush hour.
- Tuve un pequeño choque con una moto mientras estacionaba el coche.I had a minor crash with a motorcycle while parking the car.
- 523 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lucía and Daniel are talking about a car crash they saw.
- Lucía¿Viste el accidente de hoy?Did you see the accident today?
- DanielSí, fue un accidente horrible.Yes, it was a horrible accident.
- LucíaDaniel, ¿estás bien?Daniel, are you okay?
- DanielSí, Lucía, estoy bien.Yes, Lucía, I am fine.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “accident” translations and entries accidente, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
