siglo
/ˈsiɡlo/masculine
The Spanish word for 'century' is siglo. Wiktionary also lists centuria.
Meaning: period of 100 years (noun)
Ways to say it
| Spanish | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| siglo | /ˈsiɡlo/ | masculine |
| centuria | /θenˈtuɾja/ /senˈtuɾja/ |
feminine |
The word is used to refer to a period of 100 years. When you want to name a specific century, place the word siglo before a Roman numeral, such as siglo XIX for the 19th century.
Which one should you use?
While both siglo and centuria mean 'century', centuria is a literary term and is much less common in everyday speech than siglo.
How does it change in a sentence?
The plural form of siglo is siglos.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈsiɡlo/
Did you know?
- The root of siglo is shared with the English word 'secular', which refers to things of the world rather than the spiritual realm.
- The word siglo comes from the Latin saeculum, which originally meant the span of a single human life rather than a fixed number of years.
- The word centuria is not only literary but is also the term used to describe a specific unit of one hundred soldiers in the ancient Roman army.
Examples in context
- Un siglo tiene cien años.A century is one hundred years.This sentence is useful for defining the length of a siglo.Tatoeba #1059967 by hayastan, translation #73105 by CM
- Él nació en el siglo XIX.He was born in the 19th century.This sentence shows how to use siglo when mentioning a specific historical period.Tatoeba #1298533 by hayastan, translation #288401 by CK
- El siglo XXI comenzó en 2001.The 21st century began in 2001.This sentence demonstrates using siglo with a Roman numeral to identify a century.Tatoeba #10021082 by Shishir, translation #13649490 by araneo
- El Siglo XX fue testigo de numerosos avances tecnológicos.The 20th century witnessed numerous technological advancements.
- 107 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lucía and Mateo are visiting a history museum.
- LucíaEsta pintura es del siglo diecisiete.This painting is from the seventeenth century.
- MateoParece muy antigua para este siglo.It seems very old for this century.
- LucíaSí, el estilo cambió mucho en ese siglo.Yes, the style changed a lot in that century.
- MateoEs increíble cómo ha pasado el tiempo.It is incredible how time has passed.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “century” translations and entries siglo, centuria, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
