el más grande
/el mas ɡɾande/from spelling rules
In Spanish, 'largest' is translated as el más grande.
El más grande is the superlative form used to describe a person or thing with the greatest size.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is constructed literally as the most big, which is the standard way to form the superlative in Spanish.
Which one should you use?
While el más grande refers to physical size, el mayor is often used to mean 'the eldest' when referring to people.
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase must agree in gender and number with the noun it describes. Use la más grande for feminine singular nouns, los más grandes for masculine plural nouns and las más grandes for feminine plural nouns.
How do you pronounce it?
/el mas ɡɾande/
Did you know?
- Although el más grande is used for physical size, if you call a person el más grande in many contexts, you are actually complimenting them as being 'the greatest' or 'the best' rather than just physically large.
- The word más comes from the Latin magis, which is also the root for the English word 'master'.
- The word grande can be transformed into grandioso to shift the meaning from being simply large to being magnificent or impressive.
Examples in context
- Este es el más grande.This is the largest.This sentence demonstrates the use of el más grande to identify a single subject.Tatoeba #10010178 by manufrutos, translation #6357402 by CK
- Es el más grande del mundo.It's the largest in the world.This sentence shows how to use el más grande when comparing something to the entire world.Tatoeba #1686522 by Shishir, translation #1671763 by Spamster
- El hombre es, si no el más grande, sin duda el más peligroso de los animales salvajes. Él mata por placer.Man, if he is not the largest, is certainly the most dangerous of ferocious animals. He kills for pleasure.This sentence uses el más grande to compare a human to other wild animals.Tatoeba #1937716 by Shishir, translation #1929134 by Scott
- la casa más grandeThe largest house
- el edificio más grande de todosThe largest building of all
Example conversation
Sofía and Daniel are looking at different sized boxes in a store.
- SofíaDaniel, ¿cuál quieres tú?Daniel, which one do you want?
- DanielQuiero el más grande para mis libros.I want the largest one for my books.
- SofíaEste es el más grande que queda.This is the largest one left.
- DanielPerfecto, me llevo este.Perfect, I'll take this one.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries el, grande, más, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
