Spanish relationship vocabulary: soltero, casado, follamigo and more!

February 8, 2022

Hey y’all!

Today I’ve got some Spanish relationship vocabulary to share with you.

Quick note, in case you haven’t been around lately…

I’m teaching a bit of Spanish these days, over on YouTube.

It’s just a fun project I’m doing, to distract myself from my real (online) job – and possibly grow my influence on the interwebs.

At the time of writing, Valentine’s Day is coming up. And you might be thinking about your relationship status with your crush, spouse or significant other.

If said crush, etc is Spanish (or generally Spanish-speaking), you just might need some vocabulary to talk about the situation and its implications.

So, let’s do this…

Spanish vocabulary to talk about relationships

Here’s the video, if you want to check out the list of words you’ll find that underneath…

Okay, so, here’s the list of vocabulary. There’s a bit more explanation and context in the video, so you should definitely watch that. Also, head by my channel to like and subscribe… thanks!

Types of relationships in Spanish

These words will give you some idea of how to talk about the different relationship statuses.

amigos = friends

novio = boyfriend

novia = girlfriend

mi pareja = my partner / significant other (gender neutral)

mi chico / mi chica = my boyfriend / my girlfriend (more casually)

amigos con derecho a roce = friends with benefits

follamigos = fuckbuddies

marido = husband

mujer = wife (and also, woman)

esposo / esposa = husband / wife (but not very common these days, at least in Spain)

amante = lover

media naranja / alma gemela = soul mate

crush / amor platónico = crush (the person)

dating in spain
Lovers in Barcelona. Photo by the author.

Relationship verbs in Spanish

Here are some verbs to talk about moving your relationship forward, or ending it.

I guess one day I’ll get around to explaining reflexive verbs and how they work. Just know, for now, that the “se” at the end means they’re reflexive.

casarse = to get married

separarse = to split up (a married couple)

divorciarse = to get divorced

estar saliendo con alguien = to be going out with someone

dejarse con alguien = to break up with someone

acostarse con alguien = sleep with someone

Of course, there are a few other ways to talk about sleeping with someone in Spanish, but we’ll do them another time. Mirando pa’ Cuenca, anyone?

Adjectives to talk about relationships in Spanish

We use these adjectives with “ser” or “estar”, which is a long story in itself. Apparently they’re somewhat interchangeable, so this is just how I’ve heard them most often.

estar soltero = to be single

estar casado = to be married

estar divorciado = to be divorced

ser viudo = to be a widower

ser viuda = to be a widow

The ser / estar thing is probably a bit complicated, because in theory it’s “estar” for temporary things, but then “Pepe está muerto” is about as permanent as a situation can be… and it’s with “estar”.

Anyway, I haven’t looked at the rules for a proper use of ser and estar since I was a teenager. Maybe I’ll get to that in a future lesson.

Anyway, that’s about all I’ve got for today…

Wanna learn more Spanish?

You should! And luckily, I’ve got a couple more articles here on the web. For example, Spanish proverbs, some profanity, and Christmas vocabulary.

And maybe you could check out my podcast as well. It’s called Spain to Go, and it’s pretty good.

Also, if you’re into the cultural aspects, have a look at my articles about why you should date a foreigner, or dating Spanish girls or even sex in Spain.

Nada más por hoy.

I hope you have a great day out there, whatever it is you’re doing.

Unrelatedly yours,

Daniel AKA Mr Chorizo.

P.S. The other day a woman came up to me in a café and said “MR CHORIZO!” First time that’s happened to me out in the wild. Anyway, it’s an honor to meet people who have enjoyed the blog. So if you see me out there, say hi. ¡Hasta la próxima!

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About the Author Daniel

How did I end up in Spain? Why am I still here almost 20 years later? Excellent questions. With no good answer... Anyway, at some point I became a blogger, bestselling author and contributor to Lonely Planet. So there's that. Drop me a line, I'm happy to hear from you.

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