What does it mean word for word?
In the phrase el perro, el is the masculine singular definite article meaning "the" and perro is the masculine singular noun for "dog".
Which one should you use?
While el perro is the standard term, you may use other forms depending on the dog's gender or characteristics. Use la perra to specify that the dog is female. You can also use el perrito to affectionately refer to a male dog, la perrita to affectionately refer to a female dog or el perrote to affectionately refer to large dogs to convey their size and strength.
Is it said differently in some regions?
el chucho is a familiar term used to refer to a dog in some regions, particularly in Latin America.
How does it change in a sentence?
To change the number or gender, use these forms: los perros for the plural "the dogs", las perras for a group of only female dogs and la perra to specify a single female dog.
Did you know?
- Calling someone a perro in some Spanish-speaking cultures can describe a man who is promiscuous or a 'dog' in the romantic sense.
- In some contexts, perra is used as an insult to describe a person, mirroring how 'bitch' is used in English.
- While perro is the standard word for 'dog', it originally had a pejorative meaning similar to 'cur' and eventually replaced the more formal Latin word can.
Examples in context
- El perro es mío.The dog is mine.This sentence is useful for showing ownership of el perro.Tatoeba #508664 by Shishir, translation #493294 by CM
- El perro es rojo.The dog is red.This sentence is useful for describing the color of el perro.Tatoeba #1170929 by marcelostockle, translation #3354603 by LanguageExpert
- El perro es suyo.The dog is his.This sentence is useful for indicating that el perro belongs to him.Tatoeba #2038359 by Shishir, translation #1828438 by Amastan
- Mi perraMy dog
- ¿Cómo se llama tu perro?What's your dog's name?
- 234 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Mateo and María are walking in a park.
- MateoMira, el perro es muy grande.Look, the dog is very big.
- MaríaSí, es un perro muy bonito.Yes, he is a very pretty dog.
- Mateo¿Es el perro de tu vecino?Is the dog your neighbor's?
- MaríaNo, no es suyo.No, it is not his.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries el, perro, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
