personaje principal
/peɾsonaxe pɾinθipal/from spelling rules
The English phrase "main character" is translated into Spanish as personaje principal.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of personaje, meaning character and principal, meaning main or principal.
How does it change in a sentence?
To make the phrase plural, both the noun and the adjective must change to their plural forms, resulting in personajes principales. While personaje principal is gender-neutral regarding the role, la protagonista is a common way to refer specifically to a female main character.
How do you pronounce it?
/peɾsonaxe pɾinθipal/
Did you know?
- The word personaje shares a root with the English word 'person' through the Latin persona, which originally meant a theatrical mask.
- The phrase personaje principal is often replaced in casual conversation by el prota, a shortened slang version of protagonista.
- In some contexts, calling someone a personajillo (the diminutive of personaje) implies they are an insignificant or unimportant character.
Examples in context
- El personaje principal es un hombre cuyo nombre no conocemos.The main character is a man whose name we do not know.This sentence shows how to use personaje principal to describe a man whose name is unknown.Tatoeba #706437 by hayastan, translation #706873 by papabear
- Pamela estaba estupefacta cuando Tom le contó cómo unos escritores malvados dictaban sus vidas, ¡pero la sorprendió incluso más descubrir que ella ni siquiera era un personaje principal en ese universo!Pamela was pretty shocked when Tom told her about how their lives were being dictated by evil writers, but was even more surprised when she found out she wasn't even a main character in that universe!This sentence illustrates the use of personaje principal within a larger narrative context.Tatoeba #10203962 by Shishir, translation #10203545 by espamatics
- La autora llamó a su personaje principal su héroe.The author called her main character her hero.This sentence demonstrates how an author might refer to their personaje principal as a hero.Tatoeba #4450310 by mervert1, translation #4442983 by mervert1
- El libro tiene un protagonista interesanteThe book has an interesting main character
- La película cuenta con un personaje principal muy carismáticoThe movie features a very charismatic main character
- El prota de esa serie es realmente divertidoThe main character of that TV series is really funny
- Pedro es el protagonista de esta novela.Pedro is the main character of this novel.
- Me encanta el prota de esa serie, es supercarismático.I love the main character of that TV series, they are super charismatic.
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lucía and Javier are discussing a movie they just watched.
- Lucía¿Te gustó el personaje principal de la película?Did you like the main character of the movie?
- JavierNo, me pareció muy aburrido.No, I found him very boring.
- LucíaA mí me gustó más el personaje principal.I liked the main character more.
- JavierTienes razón, Lucía, actuó muy bien.You're right, Lucía, he acted very well.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
