el mayor
/el maʝoɾ/from spelling rules
The English phrase "oldest" is translated into Spanish as el mayor.
el mayor is used to describe someone who is the greatest in age or seniority. It is the standard way to refer to the eldest among siblings and family members.
Meaning: greatest in age or seniority (adj)
Which one should you use?
While el mayor describes seniority, you should distinguish it from el más viejo. In Spanish, using el más viejo to describe a person can sound blunt or imply that they are worn out or decrepit. Use el mayor instead to denote age in a respectful way.
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase must agree in gender with the person you are referring to. Use la mayor when the oldest person is female. If you want to specify the group that the person is the oldest in, use the preposition de after the phrase, such as el mayor de…
How do you pronounce it?
/el maʝoɾ/
Did you know?
- The phrase de mayor is used by children in Spanish to say 'when I grow up', shifting the meaning from 'the oldest' to a future state of adulthood.
- In Spanish, mayor can also be used to describe a city, a building or a square, such as the Plaza Mayor, to indicate that it is the main or most important one.
- The word mayor is actually a comparative form, meaning 'greater'. It is a direct descendant of the Latin maior, which is the same root used to form the English word 'major'.
Examples in context
- Él es el mayor.He's the oldest.This sentence is useful for identifying someone as the oldest.Tatoeba #1077063 by Shishir, translation #6537500 by AlanF_US
- Es el mayor de mi grupo.He's the oldest of my group.This sentence is useful for specifying that someone is the oldest within a particular group.Tatoeba #5494184 by baudelaire, translation #5514025 by Mar1L
- ¿Qué edad tiene el mayor?What is the age of the oldest?This sentence is useful for asking about the age of the oldest person.Tatoeba #1555822 by marcelostockle, translation #619873 by ulyssemc1
- Lucia es la mayor de mis hermanas.Lucia is the oldest of my sisters.
- ¡Tú eres el más viejo de todos nosotros!You are the oldest among all of us!
- El templo más antiguo de la ciudad fue construido en el siglo XV.The oldest temple in the city was built in the 15th century.
- 4 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Javier and María are looking at an old family photograph.
- Javier¿Quién es el mayor de la foto?Who is the oldest in the photo?
- MaríaEs tu abuelo, Javier.It is your grandfather, Javier.
- JavierÉl era el mayor de sus hermanos.He was the oldest of his siblings.
- MaríaSí, siempre fue el más responsable.Yes, he was always the most responsible.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries el, mayor, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
