Ways to say it
| Spanish | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| jubilación | /xubilaˈθjon/ /xubilaˈsjon/ |
feminine |
| retirada | /retiˈɾada/ | feminine |
The term refers to the act of retiring from work or the state of being retired. When discussing specific concepts, you can use the phrase plan de jubilación for retirement plan and edad de jubilación for retirement age. Related to this state, pensión is the word for pension. If you are in a legal or bureaucratic context, you might encounter the formal expression cese de actividad, which means cessation of activity.
Which one should you use?
Use jubilación when referring specifically to professional retirement or the state of no longer working due to age. In contrast, retirada refers to a physical withdrawal, such as a military retreat or a person withdrawing from a situation, rather than the professional status of being retired.
How does it change in a sentence?
To describe a person as being retired, use the adjective jubilado for a man or jubilada for a woman. To express the act of a person retiring from their job, use the reflexive verb jubilarse. Both jubilación and retirada are feminine nouns.
How do you pronounce it?
/xubilaˈθjon/
Did you know?
- The Spanish word jubilación comes from the Latin 'iubilatio', which refers to a shout of joy or a song of celebration. This suggests that retirement is linguistically framed as a joyful exclamation.
- Because retirada is so strongly associated with military defeat, using it to describe a professional exit can accidentally imply that the person was forced out or failed.
Examples in context
- ¿Cuáles son tus planes para la jubilación?What are your retirement plans?This example is useful for asking about retirement plans using jubilación.Tatoeba #6861943 by arh, translation #6861812 by CK
- Por supuesto, muchos ciudadanos de la tercera edad son felices con la jubilación.Of course, many senior citizens are happy with retirement.This example is useful for discussing the happiness of senior citizens regarding jubilación.Tatoeba #1235072 by marcelostockle, translation #30527 by CK
- Después de haber sido declarado inocente, el pepino asesino pasó a una bien merecida jubilación en España.After being proven innocent, the killer cucumber went into a well deserved retirement in Spain.This example is useful for describing someone entering a well-deserved jubilación using jubilación.Tatoeba #10021226 by manufrutos, translation #931750 by sacredceltic
- Estoy planeando mi jubilación.I am planning my retirement
- Anunció su retiro.He announced his retirement
- Ella alcanzó la edad de jubilación y le siguió el cese de actividad.She reached retirement age and her cessation of activity followed
- ¿Cuándo piensas jubilarte?When do you plan to retire?
- Mis padres dejaron de trabajar después de alcanzar la edad de jubilación.My parents stopped working after reaching the retirement age
- Después de muchos años de trabajo duro, finalmente alcanzó su jubilación bien merecida.After many years of hard work, she finally achieved her well-deserved retirement
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Sofía and Javier are talking about their future goals.
- SofíaYa estoy ahorrando dinero para mi jubilación.I am already saving money for my retirement.
- JavierEs una buena idea, Sofía.That is a good idea, Sofía.
- Sofía¿Tú ya pensaste en tu jubilación, Javier?Have you thought about your retirement yet, Javier?
- JavierTodavía falta mucho tiempo para eso.There is still a long time until then.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “retirement” translations and entries jubilación, retirada, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries jubilación, retirada, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
