mayúsculas
/maˈʝuskulas/
In Spanish, the term for uppercase letters (caps) is mayúsculas.
The term refers to uppercase or capital letters used in writing.
What does it mean word for word?
The word mayúsculas comes from the adjective mayúscula, which means 'large' or 'great' in size.
Which one should you use?
Mayúsculas refers to uppercase letters, whereas the opposite term is minúsculas, which refers to lowercase letters.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In some Latin American countries, such as Mexico, the informal term cachucha is used to refer to caps (headwear). For a specific baseball cap, use gorra de béisbol.
How does it change in a sentence?
To express that something is written 'in caps' or 'in uppercase', use the prepositional phrase en mayúsculas.
How do you pronounce it?
/maˈʝuskulas/
Did you know?
- The word mayúscula shares a root with mayo, the month of May, as both derive from the Latin 'maius', meaning 'larger'.
- In Spanish, names of months and days of the week are written in minúsculas unless they appear at the start of a sentence.
- If you ask for a capucha in a Spanish-speaking country, you will be given a hood rather than a cap.
Examples in context
- Por favor, ¿me puedes traer mi gorra?Please, can you bring me my cap?
- ¡Me encanta tu gorrita nueva!I love your new cap!
- Voy a ponerme mi cachucha para protegerme del sol.I'm going to wear my cap to protect myself from the sun.
- Escribe tu nombre en mayúsculas.Write your name in capital letters.
- Escribe siempre con mayúsculas.Always write in uppercase.
- El nombre propio lleva mayúsculas.The proper noun uses uppercase letters.
- No olvides las mayúsculas al inicio.Don't forget the capital letters at the beginning.
Example conversation
Sofía and Daniel are working on a shared document.
- SofíaDaniel, el título debe estar en mayúsculas.Daniel, the title must be in caps.
- DanielTienes razón, voy a cambiarlo ahora.You're right, I'll change it now.
- SofíaGracias, así se ve más profesional.Thanks, it looks more professional that way.
- DanielListo, ya puse todo en mayúsculas.Done, I already put everything in caps.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry mayúsculas, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
