No Filter: 17 Pure, Perfect Ways to Say “Beautiful” in Spanish
If you’re familiar with the Spanish language, you’re no stranger to beauty.
After all, Spanish is a tremendously beautiful language—it’s no wonder that it’s often associated with romance.
Some would even say that it’s one of the most beautiful languages in the world.
While your ultimate goal is no doubt to speak Spanish beautifully, until you get there you can at least learn how to say “beautiful” in Spanish.
It’s a step in the right direction.
Spanish has a number of different words that can be used to mean “beautiful.” With so many options, it can be hard to decide which word to use in which context.
But with these 17 lovely Spanish words for “beautiful,” you’ll always have the perfect word for any situation.
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Why Learn Spanish Words for “Beautiful”?
Learning Spanish words for “beautiful” will allow you to lavish praise on someone or something. “Beautiful” is a positive word whether you’re talking about a person or the weather, so having plenty of words for “beautiful” will allow you to pile on the compliments. And everyone loves compliments.
Additionally, learning Spanish words for “beautiful” will help you to woo someone. Spanish words for “beautiful” can certainly round out your Spanish pick-up lines and romantic words and phrases. Even people who don’t speak Spanish are often impressed by Spanish, so learning some key words can help you win over anyone you might be interested in.
Finally, learning Spanish words for “beautiful” will allow you to have vivid descriptors for any situation. “For Dummies” emphasizes the importance of adjectives in writing in the lesson “Adding Adjectives to Make Your Writing More Descriptive.” Adjectives are important. It’s good to start with common Spanish adjectives, but as your language skills get more advanced, you’ll want to have more precise vocabulary.
How to Make Any Descriptor More Effusive
Regardless of how many vocabulary words you know, sometimes you just can’t find a word that’s effusive enough. Luckily, there’s a way to make adjectives more effusive.
Adding -ísimo or -ísima to the end of the word makes it a superlative, which is a more effusive word. For instance, bueno (good) becomes buenísimo (very good). This can make any beautiful word that much more beautiful.
Of course, this is better suited to some words, as it sounds awkward on the ends of certain descriptors. Learn more about Spanish superlatives with SpanishDict’s helpful lesson.
No Filter: 17 Pure, Perfect Ways to Say “Beautiful” in Spanish
1. Bello/a
Bello/bella quite literally means “beautiful.” However, it can also be used similarly to “lovely.”
Bello/bella can be used to describe people, places or things, so you can whip it out whenever you think anyone or anything is beautiful.
2. Hermoso/a
While hermoso/hermosa also means “beautiful,” it’s a bit more flexible than bello/bella.
Hermoso/hermosa can also mean “handsome,” “gorgeous,” “noble” or “nice.” Colloquially, it can even mean “plump.”
Like bello/bella, hermoso/hermosa can be used to describe people, places or things.
3. Bonito/a
Bonito/bonita can mean “beautiful,” but it’s most often used like the English word “pretty.” However, it can also mean “lovely” or “nice.”
In Latin America, bonito can be an adverb to describe an action. In this case, it means “well” or “nicely.”
If you see bonito on a menu, though, proceed with caution, since it can also be a noun for a fish similar to tuna.
In short, the adjective bonito/bonita can describe a person, place or thing. In Latin America, the adverb bonito can commonly be used to describe an action.
4. Lindo/a
Lindo/linda is another term that can be used to mean “beautiful,” but it’s usually used like “pretty,” “lovely,” “nice,” “cute,” “excellent” or “first-rate.” It can be used to describe people, places or things.
Like bonito, in Latin America lindo can act as an adverb to describe actions as “well” or “nicely” (for instance, someone might paint well or draw nicely).
5. Radiante
Radiante can mean “beautiful” like the English word “radiant.” It can also mean “splendid” or “joyful.”
Radiante can be used to describe people, places or things.
6. Guapo/a
Guapo/guapa is used like “handsome” or “good-looking.” It’s usually used to describe people.
Outside of this meaning, though, guapo/guapa can be used in several other contexts. It can be used as a noun that means “brave person,” and it also has a wide variety of regional meanings.
For instance, in Spain, it can be used to describe anything (including things and places) that looks nice or it can be used to mean “cool” or even “pal.”
In Latin America, it can mean “gutsy,” but it can also mean “bully” or “braggart.”
In Central America, guapo can refer to a male movie lead.
7. Atractivo/a
Atractivo/atractiva literally means “attractive.” As an adjective, it can be used to describe people, places or things that are good-looking or appealing.
As a noun, atractivo can mean “attractiveness,” “attraction,” “charm” or “appeal.”
8. Precioso/a
Precioso/preciosa is used like “gorgeous” or “lovely,” but it can also mean “valuable” or “precious.”
Precioso/preciosa can be used to describe people, places and things.
9. Mono/a
If you’ve studied Spanish in school, your first thought when you hear mono/mona is probably “monkey.” If you’ve been to Spain before, then the definition of “cute” may come to mind. It does have both these meanings, and it can mean “lovely” or “pretty” as well.
Use mono/mona wisely. Not only can it mean “lovely,” “pretty,” “cute” and “monkey,” but it also has a plethora of other possible meanings.
As a noun, it can mean “jumpsuit,” “joker” (in a deck of cards) and “withdrawal” (from drugs).
In Latin America, it can mean “yellow,” and in Colombia, it can be used to mean “blonde.”
10. Agradable
Agradable translates to “agreeable” or “pleasant.”
Agradable can be used like “beautiful” to describe places and things. While it can also be used to describe people, its meaning is more purely “agreeable” or “pleasant” in this context.
11. Bueno/a
As any Spanish speaker will tell you, the most common meaning of bueno/buena is “good.”
However, bueno/buena can also be used colloquially to describe an attractive person with the verb estar. When used in this way, bueno/buena has a slightly raunchier connotation—sort of like “sexy” or “hot.”
If you use it with ser to describe a person, then it means that they’re “good” in terms of character.
12. Sexy/sexi
This one should be easy to remember. Sexy/sexi means “sexy.” This word is derived directly from English. The spelling may vary since sexy is the exact English spelling and sexi is an attempt to make it more Spanish.
While sexy/sexi is most often used to describe a person, it can also be used to describe things like movies or clothing. Additionally, it can be used as a noun meaning “sex appeal.”
13. Estupendo/a
Estupendo/estupenda means “stupendous,” “great” or “marvelous.” It can be less literally used to describe things like the weather and places as being “beautiful.”
Estupendo/estupenda can be used to describe people, but in this case, you’d be using the literal definition and not “beautiful.”
14. Magnífico/a
Magnífico/magnífica literally means “magnificent” or “wonderful.”
Like estupendo/estupenda, magnífico/magnífica can be used like “beautiful” to describe things, the weather and places. However, when magnífico/magnífica is used to describe people it means “magnificent” or “wonderful,” not “beautiful.”
15. Espléndido/a
Espléndido/espléndida is the equivalent of “splendid.” It can also mean “generous.”
Like estupendo/estupenda and magnífico/magnífica, espléndido/espléndida can be used more like “beautiful” when describing things (like weather or food) or places. When describing a person, it means “splendid” or “generous,” not “beautiful.”
16. Delicioso/a
Delicioso/deliciosa usually means “delicious,” but it can also mean “lovely,” “charming” or “delightful.”
When used to describe food, it usually means “delicious,” but the other meanings apply when describing people, places or things.
17. Rico/a
While rico/rica usually means “rich” (in wealth or flavor) or “delicious.”
However, rico/rica can also mean “cute,” and in Latin America, it can also mean “lovely.” When it means “cute” or “lovely,” it’s usually being used to describe people, but it can also describe places or things.
In certain contexts, rico/rica means “rich” or “wealthy,” and when paired with estar to describe a person it gets closer in meaning to “sexy.”
With these attractive, appealing and splendid vocabulary words, you’ll always have the word you need to describe something beautiful.
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
