oficial
/ofiˈθjal/
The Spanish word for officer is oficial.
oficial is used as a respectful term of address for an officer, particularly a police officer. While you can use oficial on its own, it is more precise to use oficial de policía if you want to specify that the person is a police officer. Note that oficial can also function as an adjective meaning "official".
Meaning: a respectful term of address for an officer, especially a police officer (noun)
Which one should you use?
The word oficial can serve two roles: it can refer to the person (an officer) or act as an adjective (official).
How does it change in a sentence?
The word oficial is used for both masculine and feminine officers. To form the plural, use oficiales.
How do you pronounce it?
/ofiˈθjal/
Did you know?
- Outside of law enforcement, oficial can refer to a skilled tradesperson or a journeyman who has completed an apprenticeship but is not yet a master.
- In some Latin American countries, using the word oficial to address a stranger might sound overly formal or even slightly sarcastic if not used in a professional setting.
- While oficial is a direct translation, in many Spanish-speaking countries, people actually address a police officer as agente or even policía rather than using the title oficial.
Examples in context
- Soy oficial de policía.I'm a police officer.This sentence is useful for stating your profession using oficial.Tatoeba #2090155 by Shishir, translation #1934826 by Spamster
- Tom fue mi oficial al mando.Tom was my commanding officer.This sentence shows how to describe a commanding officer using oficial.Tatoeba #5070091 by albrusgher, translation #2958568 by CK
- El oficial alentó a sus hombres.The officer encouraged his men.This sentence demonstrates the use of oficial in a descriptive context.Tatoeba #1467849 by marcelostockle, translation #1008569 by makarov
- Disculpe, oficial, ¿puede ayudarme?Excuse me, officer, can you help me?
- Buenos días, agente, ¿hay algún problema?Good morning, officer, is there a problem?
- La Agente Gómez está en servicio.Officer Gómez is on duty.
- Permiso, comandante, ¿puede darme instrucciones?Permission, captain, can you give me instructions?
- Oye, policía, ¿qué está pasando aquí?Hey, officer, what's happening here?
- ¡Guardia! Necesito ayuda aquí.Officer! I need help here.
- 10 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
A police officer stops a driver for a traffic violation.
- MateoBuenos días, oficial.Good morning, officer.
- Elena¿Puede mostrarme su licencia, Mateo?Can you show me your license, Mateo?
- MateoAquí tiene, oficial.Here it is, officer.
- ElenaGracias, Elena revisará los documentos.Thank you, Elena will check the documents.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry oficial, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
