los
/los/
los is the Spanish plural masculine definite article meaning "the".
los is used to refer to specific people or things in the plural. It must always agree in both gender and number with the noun it refers to.
Which one should you use?
Use los when referring to a group of masculine nouns or a mixed-gender group that contains at least one male. This distinguishes it from las, which is the feminine plural counterpart.
How does it change in a sentence?
los is the masculine plural form of the definite article. Its masculine singular counterpart is el, while its feminine plural counterpart is las.
How do you pronounce it?
/los/
Did you know?
- In Spanish, using los to describe a mixed-gender group is a grammatical rule that can lead to social debate. Some modern speakers use the inclusive les instead to avoid the default masculine form.
- The word los descends from the Latin word 'illos', which was the accusative plural form of 'ille', meaning 'that one'.
- The word los can function as both a definite article meaning 'the' and a direct object pronoun meaning 'them'.
Examples in context
- Tengo familia en Los Ángeles.I have family in Los Angeles.This sentence shows the use of los within a proper noun (Los Angeles).Tatoeba #1068516 by Shishir, translation #1061394 by CN
- No me voy a ir a Los Ángeles.I won't go to Los Angeles.Tatoeba #8820582 by arh, translation #9189137 by DJ_Saidez
- No me voy a mudar a Los Ángeles.I won't move to Los Angeles.Tatoeba #8820579 by arh, translation #9189138 by DJ_Saidez
- Los estudiantesThe students
- Los librosThe books
- Los perrosThe dogs
- 15 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lucía and Daniel are at a cafe looking at a menu.
- LucíaLos platos de hoy son muy buenos.Today's dishes are very good.
- Daniel¿Cuáles son los más populares?Which ones are the most popular?
- LucíaLos tacos de carne son excelentes.The meat tacos are excellent.
- DanielPerfecto, pediré los tacos.Perfect, I will order the tacos.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry los, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries los, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
