estudiante
/estuˈdjante/
The Spanish word estudiante means student.
estudiante is the most common and straightforward translation for the English word student.
How does it change in a sentence?
The word estudiante is common to both masculine and feminine genders. You only change the article to indicate the gender, such as el estudiante for a male student or la estudiante for a female student. To form the plural, use estudiantes.
How do you pronounce it?
/estuˈdjante/
Did you know?
- While estudiante is a common word, using it to address someone directly as 'student' can sound surprisingly condescending or overly formal in many Spanish-speaking cultures. It is much more natural to use their name or a different social title.
- The synonym alumno comes from the Latin word for 'nourished child', reflecting an ancient view of the teacher as someone who feeds the student's mind.
- The word estudiante shares an ancient root with the English word 'study'. Both trace back to the Proto-Indo-European root *(s)tewd-, which originally meant to push or pound.
Examples in context
- Soy un estudiante de español.I am a Spanish student.
- Ella es una estudiante muy aplicada.She is a very hardworking student.
- ¿Eres estudiante en esta universidad?Are you a student at this university?
Example conversation
Two people are talking at a local library.
- DanielHola María, ¿eres estudiante aquí?Hello María, are you a student here?
- MaríaSí, soy estudiante de medicina.Yes, I am a medical student.
- DanielYo también soy estudiante, pero de arte.I am also a student, but of art.
- María¡Qué bien, Daniel!That's great, Daniel!
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry estudiante, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries estudiante, CC BY-SA 4.0.
