descendientes
/desθendjentes/from spelling rules
The English phrase "descendants" is translated into Spanish as descendientes.
Which one should you use?
descendientes is the plural form and is used for both masculine and feminine descendants.
How does it change in a sentence?
The singular form of the word is descendiente.
How do you pronounce it?
/desθendjentes/
Did you know?
- In common speech, Spanish users rarely say soy un descendiente de to describe their heritage, preferring the phrase tengo ascendencia or simply soy de origen.
- The plural descendientes is a 'gender-neutral' plural in Spanish because the singular descendiente ends in 'e', making it one of the few nouns that does not change form for masculine and feminine subjects.
- While descendientes refers to biological offspring, Spanish speakers often use the word estirpe to describe the prestige or noble qualities inherited by descendants of a particular family line.
Examples in context
- Hay que borrar completamente la historia de la humanidad, porque todos somos descendientes de violadores y asesinos, ya que estos últimos tienen, lógicamente, más descendientes que sus víctimas.We must completely erase the history of humanity, because we're all descendants of rapists and killers, seeing as they, naturally, have more descendants than their victims.This sentence shows how to use descendientes when discussing the historical lineage of humanity.Tatoeba #10560534 by Shishir, translation #10560576 by DJ_Saidez
- Nuestros descendientes llegarán tarde o temprano, como raza, a la condición de conciencia cósmica, al igual que, hace mucho tiempo, nuestros antepasados pasaron de la conciencia simple a la autoconciencia.Our descendants will sooner or later reach, as a race, the condition of cosmic consciousness, just as, long ago, our ancestors passed from simple consciousness into self-consciousness.This sentence uses descendientes in a context regarding the future evolution of a race.Tatoeba #3467328 by carlosalberto, translation #3467312 by carlosalberto
- Los descubrimientos del científico han influenciado a su posteridad en innumerables formas.The scientist's discoveries have influenced his descendants in countless ways.
- Los hijos del difunto tienen derechos hereditarios sobre la propiedad.The children of the deceased have inheritance rights over the property.
- La descendencia de esa familia es muy numerosa.The descendants/offspring of that family are very numerous.
- Muchos descendientes de la familia viven en España.Many descendants of the family live in Spain.
Example conversation
Elena and Daniel are looking at an old family tree.
- ElenaMira cuántos descendientes tenemos en la familia.Look at how many descendants we have in the family.
- DanielEs increíble ver cómo ha crecido el grupo.It is incredible to see how the group has grown.
- ElenaEspero que nuestros descendientes valoren esta historia.I hope our descendants value this history.
- DanielSeguro que lo harán, Elena.I am sure they will, Elena.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
