estar de luto
/estaɾ de luto/from spelling rules
The English verb grieve can be translated into Spanish as estar de luto. If unsure, use estar de luto. Wiktionary also lists estar en duelo and sufrir la pérdida.
Meaning: to experience grief (verb)
Ways to say it
| Spanish | IPA |
|---|---|
| estar de luto | /estaɾ de luto/ (from spelling rules) |
| estar en duelo | /estaɾ en dwelo/ (from spelling rules) |
| sufrir la pérdida | /sufɾiɾ la peɾdida/ (from spelling rules) |
| lamentar | /lamenˈtaɾ/ |
Spanish has several ways to express the experience of grief, depending on whether you are describing a state of mourning, the act of suffering a loss or the feeling of regret. Estar de luto is commonly used to describe the period of mourning following a death. Sufrir la pérdida is a verbal phrase used to describe the act of experiencing the pain of a loss. The noun form of the concept of mourning is el luto.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase estar de luto literally means to be of mourning.
Which one should you use?
While estar de luto describes the state of grieving, lamentar is often used to express regret or to mourn a specific loss or event.
How do you pronounce it?
/estaɾ de luto/
Did you know?
- The Spanish word duelo is a homonym with two completely different origins: one comes from the Latin word for 'pain' and the other from the Latin word for 'war'.
- In many Spanish-speaking cultures, saying you are de luto is more than a description of your mood. It acts as a visible social signal that you are wearing black clothing or a black armband.
- While we often think of mourning as a personal experience, the term luto can be used collectively. You might hear it used to describe a period of mourning for an entire city or a sports team after a tragedy.
Example sentences for Spanish are not verified yet.
Example conversation
Elena and Daniel are talking about a mutual friend's loss.
- ElenaDaniel, ¿sabes si María ya regresó al trabajo?Daniel, do you know if Maria has returned to work yet?
- DanielNo, ella prefiere estar de luto en casa.No, she prefers to grieve at home.
- ElenaEs comprensible que necesite tiempo.It is understandable that she needs time.
- DanielSí, perder a un hermano es muy duro.Yes, losing a brother is very hard.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “grieve” translations and entries lamentar, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries duelo, en, estar, la, lamentar, pérdida, sufrir, CC BY-SA 4.0.
