él
/ˈel/
The Spanish word for the English pronoun "he" is él.
Meaning: personal pronoun "he" (pron)
How does it change in a sentence?
In Spanish, the pronoun él is often omitted because the verb conjugation already indicates the subject.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈel/
Did you know?
- If you were to accidentally omit the accent mark on él, you might change a sentence from 'He eats' to 'The eats', which is nonsensical.
- The Spanish él actually comes from the Latin word ille, which literally meant 'that one' rather than 'he'.
- In Spanish, using él too frequently in a paragraph can sound repetitive or unnaturally insistent to a native speaker.
Examples in context
- Él me lo dio.He gave it to me.This sentence shows how to use él as the subject of a sentence regarding giving something.Tatoeba #700329 by Shishir, translation #297511 by CK
- Él es la ley.He is the law.This sentence shows how to use él to identify someone with a title or role.Tatoeba #1133075 by cueyayotl, translation #1133021 by bluepie88
- Él es mi tío.He is my uncle.This sentence shows how to use él to identify a family relationship.Tatoeba #1249591 by Shishir, translation #297898 by CK
- Él es un buen médico.He is a good doctor.
- ¿Dónde está él?Where is he?
- 9899 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Sofía and Mateo are talking about a new coworker.
- Sofía¿Quién es el chico nuevo?Who is the new guy?
- MateoÉl se llama Juan.His name is Juan.
- Sofía¿Él habla inglés?Does he speak English?
- MateoSí, él vivió en Londres.Yes, he lived in London.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “he” translations and entries él, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries él, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
