Which one should you use?
While eres sospechoso is the direct way to say "you're suspicious," you might use qué sospechoso if you want to say "how suspicious" or "that's sus" as an exclamation rather than accusing a person directly.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
The phrase eres sospechoso is the standard, grammatically correct way to say "you are suspicious" and is suitable for more formal or standard contexts than the English slang "sus". For a formal setting, you can use Usted es sospechoso/a. In informal settings, you can use Eres sospechoso/a or the more casual Siento que estás actuando raro to say "I feel like you're acting weird".
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Mexico, you might hear Eres bien sospechoso/a to mean "You're really suspicious". In Argentina, Sos re sospechoso/a is used to say "You're really sus".
How does it change in a sentence?
If you are addressing a female, the adjective must change to the feminine form sospechosa.
How do you pronounce it?
/eɾes sospetʃoso/
Did you know?
- In Argentina, the phrase sos re sospechoso replaces eres with sos, a regional conjugation known as voseo that replaces the standard form used in Spain and Mexico.
- The word eres is a linguistic fossil that actually comes from the Latin future tense word for 'you will be' rather than the present tense.
- The suffix -oso in sospechoso is a common Spanish tool to turn nouns or verbs into adjectives meaning 'full of'. It is the equivalent of the English suffix '-ous' as in 'joyous'.
Example conversation
Maria and Javier are playing a social deduction game.
- MaríaJavier, eres sospechoso.Javier, you're sus.
- JavierYo no hice nada, María.I didn't do anything, Maria.
- MaríaTú estabas en el pasillo.You were in the hallway.
- Javier¡Eso no prueba nada!That doesn't prove anything!
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries eres, sospechoso, CC BY-SA 4.0.
