años
/ˈaɲos/
The English word "years" is translated into Spanish as años.
años is the most common way to refer to years in Spanish. In formal legal or official settings, the word ejercicio may be used to refer to a specific year within a period.
Which one should you use?
años is the plural form, while año is the singular form. You may also encounter añitos, which is a diminutive form used to express a short period of time with an affectionate tone.
How does it change in a sentence?
The singular form of años is año.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈaɲos/
What mistakes should you avoid?
Be careful to include the tilde (~) over the 'n'. English speakers often mistakenly write anos, which means "anus" in Spanish.
Did you know?
- To describe a 'leap year', Spanish speakers use the term año bisiesto, which comes from the Latin word bisextus meaning 'twice sixth'.
- When stating their age, Spanish speakers do not say they 'are' a certain number of años, but rather that they 'have' them using the verb tener.
- The word año is used in the phrase año nuevo, but in some regions, people refer to the New Year's Eve celebration specifically as Nochevieja, meaning 'old night'.
Examples in context
- Nací hace 20 años.I was born 20 years ago.This sentence is useful for stating when you were born using años.Tatoeba #529529 by Shishir, translation #259775 by CK
- Me casé hace 8 años.I got married 8 years ago.This sentence is useful for stating when you got married using años.Tatoeba #524761 by Shishir, translation #252631 by CK
- Maduró con los años.He became more mature with the passing of the years.This sentence is useful for describing maturity gained over time using años.Tatoeba #2266068 by cueyayotl, translation #2266067 by _undertoad
- Estudié en la universidad durante cinco añosI studied at university for five years
- El informe corresponde al ejercicio fiscal 2019The report corresponds to the fiscal year 2019
- Hace un montón de añazos que no nos vemosIt's been a million years since we last saw each other
- Mi sobrina ya tiene cinco añitosMy niece is already five years old
- Fueron cinco años de intenso aprendizajeIt was five years of intense learning
- Me gradué hace dos años en la Universidad.I graduated two years ago from the University.
- Hace unos añitos me gradué de la Universidad.I graduated from University a couple of years ago.
- Celebremos el centenario de la compañía este año.Let's celebrate the company's centennial this year.
- ¡Qué impresionante! Cumplen cien añazos como compañía.How impressive! They're turning a hundred years old as a company.
- 1475 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Javier and Elena are discussing how long they have lived in the city.
- Javier¿Cuántos años llevas viviendo aquí?How many years have you lived here?
- ElenaVivo aquí desde hace cinco años.I have lived here for five years.
- Javier¡Vaya! Los años pasan muy rápido.Wow! The years pass very quickly.
- ElenaSí, el tiempo vuela.Yes, time flies.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry años, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
