soltero
/solˈteɾo/
The Spanish word for unmarried is soltero.
soltero is the standard way to say 'single' in a social or relationship context.
Meaning: having no husband or wife (adj)
How does it change in a sentence?
The adjective must agree in gender with the person being described: use the feminine form soltera for women. For groups, use the masculine plural solteros to describe a group of unmarried men or a mixed-gender group and use the feminine plural solteras for a group consisting only of unmarried women.
How do you pronounce it?
/solˈteɾo/
Did you know?
- In some Spanish-speaking contexts, if a person is described as soltero empedernido, it means they are a 'hopeless single person' who has no intention of ever marrying.
- The word soltero comes from the Latin sōlitārius, which means 'lonely'.
- Unlike the English word 'single', which can describe a single object or a person, soltero is strictly reserved for human relationship status.
Examples in context
- Tom es soltero.Tom is unmarried.Tatoeba #1324741 by hayastan, translation #1024790 by CK
- Ricardo es soltero.Ricardo is unmarried.
- Maria es soltera.Maria is unmarried.
- Carolina se describe como no casada.Carolina describes herself as unmarried.
- Pablo es un solterón empedernido.Pablo is an eternal bachelor.
- Carlos está libre y disfruta de su soltería.Carlos is free and enjoys being unmarried.
- Lucía sigue sola a pesar de sus 40 años.Lucia is still unmarried despite being 40 years old.
- Él todavía es soltero.He is still unmarried.
- Mi hermano es soltero y muy feliz.My brother is unmarried and very happy.
- 2 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are talking about a mutual friend's relationship status at a cafe.
- Alejandro¿Juan es soltero actualmente?Is Juan currently unmarried?
- SofíaSí, él es soltero.Yes, he is unmarried.
- AlejandroQué extraño, pensé que tenía novia.That's strange, I thought he had a girlfriend.
- SofíaNo, él prefiere estar solo ahora.No, he prefers being alone right now.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “unmarried” translations and entries soltero, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries soltero, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
