Ways to say it
| Spanish | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| esos | /ˈesos/ | masculine, plural |
| aquesos | /akesos/ (from spelling rules) | masculine, plural, poetic |
| esas | /ˈesas/ | feminine, plural |
| aquesas | /akesas/ (from spelling rules) | feminine, plural |
| aquellos | /aˈkeʝos/ | masculine, plural |
| aquellas | /aˈkeʝas/ | feminine, plural |
| tales | /tales/ (from spelling rules) | plural |
| ésos | /ˈesos/ | masculine, neuter, plural, singular |
| ésas | /ˈesas/ | feminine, plural |
| aquéllos | /aˈkeʝos/ | masculine, neuter, plural, singular |
| aquéllas | /aˈkeʝas/ | feminine, plural |
Spanish uses two levels of distance: esos/esas (near the listener) and aquellos/aquellas (far from everyone). Use aquellos/aquellas for things that are far away from both the speaker and the listener.
Which one should you use?
Use esos for masculine plural and esas for feminine plural when the objects are near the listener. Use aquellos for masculine plural and aquellas for feminine plural when the objects are farther away from both the speaker and the listener. Additionally, the forms aquesos and aquesas are poetic versions of the masculine and feminine plural forms, respectively.
Related words
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈesos/
When do people say it?
In informal speech, including the word allí (there) with esos or esas adds emphasis and points directly to the objects or people being referred to.
Did you know?
- The forms esos and esas trace their ancestry back to the Latin word ipse, which meant 'self' or 'the very one'.
- In certain regions, pointing with the chin or a slight lip movement is a common non-verbal gesture that accompanies the use of esos to identify people.
- The distance indicated by aquellos is not just physical but can be temporal, used to refer to 'those' days or years in the distant past.
Examples in context
- Es uno de esos.It's one of those.This sentence shows how to use esos to identify one of a group.Tatoeba #4779045 by alegarvid, translation #3168214 by CK
- Esos son mis CDs.Those are my CDs.This sentence demonstrates how to use esos as a determiner for a noun.Tatoeba #1213961 by marcelostockle, translation #67003 by CK
- Ésos se ven bien.Those look good.This sentence shows the use of the accented form ésos as a pronoun.Tatoeba #9001596 by arh, translation #6954911 by Eccles17
- Esos libros son muy interesantes.Those books are very interesting.
- Esas sillas son cómodas.Those chairs are comfortable.
- Aquellos carros son muy caros.Those cars are very expensive.
- Aquellas flores son hermosas.Those flowers are beautiful.
- 595 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lucía and Alejandro are looking at some books in a store.
- LucíaEsos libros son muy caros.Those books are very expensive.
- AlejandroSí, pero esos son de buena calidad.Yes, but those are high quality.
- Lucía¿Prefieres esos de color azul?Do you prefer those blue ones?
- AlejandroNo, prefiero estos.No, I prefer these.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “those” translations and entries esos, aquesos, esas, aquesas, aquellos, aquellas, tales, ésos, ésas, aquéllos, aquéllas, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries esas, esos, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
