ancianos
/anθjanos/from spelling rules
In Spanish, the English phrase "elders" is translated as ancianos.
The term ancianos refers to people who are in the later stages of their life.
Which one should you use?
While ancianos refers to people in the later stages of life, mayores is a common, slightly more polite alternative used to mean "older people".
How does it change in a sentence?
The masculine singular form is anciano. The feminine singular form is anciana. The feminine plural form is ancianas.
How do you pronounce it?
/anθjanos/
Did you know?
- While ancianos is the standard word for 'elders', using abuelos (grandparents) is often a common way to affectionately refer to elderly people in a community, even if they are not biologically related to the speaker.
- The word anciano shares a Latin root with the English word 'ancient', though in Spanish it is used for living people while in English 'ancient' is usually reserved for objects or history.
- In formal contexts, such as legal documents or government programs, the term tercera edad (third age) is often preferred over ancianos to describe the elder population.
Examples in context
- Sé amable con los ancianos.Be kind to your elders.This sentence is useful for practicing how to be kind to ancianos.Tatoeba #1431529 by Shishir, translation #10461473 by DJ_Saidez
- Deberías ser amable con los ancianos.You should be kind to elders.This sentence shows how to express that one should be kind to ancianos.Tatoeba #1696679 by teskmon, translation #9169192 by DJ_Saidez
- Tal vez los ancianos de la villa intervengan para reconciliarlos.Maybe the village elders will intervene to reconcile them.This sentence demonstrates the use of ancianos when referring to village elders.Tatoeba #1854893 by marcelostockle, translation #1754520 by Djef_Messaoudi
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lucía and Daniel are walking through a park in a small town.
- Lucía¿Ves a esos ancianos sentados en el banco?Do you see those elders sitting on the bench?
- DanielSí, parecen estar disfrutando del sol.Yes, they seem to be enjoying the sun.
- LucíaDaniel, deberíamos llevarles agua si hace calor.Daniel, we should bring them water if it is hot.
- DanielEs una buena idea, Lucía.That is a good idea, Lucía.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
