Which one should you use?
While English speakers often use "American" to refer to the US, in Spanish, estadounidense is the precise and preferred term for someone from the United States to avoid confusion with the entire American continent. You may also use nacionalidad de los Estados Unidos as a more formal alternative to nacionalidad estadounidense.
Is it said differently in some regions?
The expression Ser Yanqui is an informal way to refer to someone from the United States in some Latin American countries.
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun nacionalidad is feminine, so the adjective estadounidense must agree with it. However, estadounidense is invariant for gender, meaning it remains the same whether it modifies a masculine or feminine noun.
How do you pronounce it?
/naθjonalidad estadounidense/
Did you know?
- Although estadounidense is the precise term, calling someone americano in a Spanish-speaking context may be viewed as an imperialist assumption that the 'Americas' refer only to the US.
- While estadounidense is the standard term, some speakers use norteamericano to refer to US nationality. This can cause confusion in Mexico and Canada, as they also consider themselves 'North Americans'.
- The word nacionalidad is built from the Latin nātiōnem, which originally referred to the act of being born rather than a political state.
Examples in context
- La señora Rodríguez tiene nacionalidad estadounidense.Mrs. Rodríguez has United States nationality.
- María solicitó la ciudadanía estadounidense.María applied for United States citizenship.
- Los hermanos Pérez son estadounidenses.The Pérez siblings are from the United States.
- Jorge es americano pero vive en España.Jorge is American but lives in Spain.
- Marta tiene amigos yanquis en Nueva York.Marta has Yankee friends in New York.
- Él tiene nacionalidad estadounidense.He has United States nationality.
- ¿Es necesaria la nacionalidad estadounidense para este empleo?Is United States nationality necessary for this job?
- Ella solicitó la nacionalidad estadounidense hace un año.She applied for United States nationality a year ago.
Example conversation
Lucía and Mateo are discussing a job application at a cafe.
- LucíaMateo, ¿tienes nacionalidad estadounidense?Mateo, do you have United States nationality?
- MateoNo, pero tengo la residencia permanente.No, but I have permanent residency.
- LucíaEs importante para este puesto de gobierno.It is important for this government position.
- MateoEntiendo, buscaré otro trabajo entonces.I understand, I will look for another job then.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries estadounidense, nacionalidad, CC BY-SA 4.0.
