How do you say "He is old" in Spanish? "él es mayor", "él es anciano" or "él es viejo"?
How do you say "He is old" in Spanish? "él es mayor", "él es anciano" or "él es viejo"? What are the differences among the three words?
7 Answers
Es anciano. --He is very elderly. This is suitable for official use, such as articles about maltreatment of the elderly. ( personas de edad avanzada)
Viejo -- a more flexible and sometimes even affectionate description. Mi viejo marido, my old man. I've seem 'Mi vieja' used about the mother of a grown-up person in a Chilean book and it apperaed affectionate. Viejo is also used about things and animals.
Es mayor. He is a grown-up.
There is probably more to this and I look forward to reading other replies.
Just a quick tip for adjective placement:
Mi viejo amigo = my old friend (he's been my friend for a long time).
Mi amigo viejo = my old friend (he's old in years).
Anciano is a respectful way of referring to a senior citizen / elderly person. I think this word is fairly formal.
Mayor can carry several meanings...
Hermano mayor - Older brother
Una persona mayor - An elderly person
Gente mayor de edad - A person of age, e.g. legal drinking age.
Viejo/Vieja can refer to an old man/woman, but be careful because used incorrectly it can come across as very disrespectful.
No puedo con ese viejo / I can't deal with that old man
Viejo/Vieja can also refer to your significant other.
Mi vieja no me deja en paz / My old lady (wife) won't leave me alone
Vieja - Can be generically used to refer to a woman.
Oye Juan, mira esa vieja, esta bien buena / Hey Juan, check that girl out, she's smoking hot
Guys, it should be understood that most women will take offense at being called a vieja in that context.
Vieja combined with the right (wrong?) tone of voice and attitude has a real sting to it.
You can refer to me in any way you choose ," Viejo, anciano, meyor, jubilado,
as long as you preface it with ,-
G'Day mate dgwanna drink?
Good question Joygogo, I have put together a little lesson that I hope will help.
Feel free to offer any feedback or suggestions on the lesson.
Hola, Kiwi-Girl,
Thank you very much for writing such a good lesson on "how to say old in Spanish" for all of us. I read it through and learned a lot from your example sentences. And even the photos you posted are great, too. For example, I learned a sentence from the first picture: "Dime sin mentir--¿cuantos años tienes?" How about collecting more pictures with Spanish sentences on them for your next lesson so that beginners like me can learn something from photos or posters?
Besides, I learned a new verb contar(to count) and a new adverb apenas(hardly, barely) from the following two sentences.
(1) Ella contaba solo con 17 años. She was just 17 years old.
(2) Ella contaba apenas con 17 años. She was barely 17 years old.
I have a suggestion. Would you please extend your example sentences (1), (2), (3), (4), (5) by adding "when...." or any other proper words to make them sound more complete? Take the example of sentence (1). She was just 17 years old when her parents died.
(3) ¿Cuántos años tenía usted? How old were you?
(4) (Yo) tenía veinte uno años. I was twenty one (years old).
(5) ¿Qué edad tenía él? How old was he?
Well, might it be a typo in the fourth example sentence you give?
Él tiene treinta y un año. He is thirty one years old. (un --> uno)
Once again, I would like to say "Muchas gracias" to you for what you have done for helping us to learn Spanish well. You are a lovely angel!
Best wishes,
Joy
viejo
