"This" in Spanish

Quick Answer

this = este, esta, esto, así, tan, así de

This can be a tricky word to translate into Spanish. First, you need to identify whether you need a demonstrative pronoun, a demonstrative adjective, or an adverb. And then, if you’re dealing with a pronoun or an adjective, you need to identify the gender of the noun you’re referring to in order to use the correct form of this in Spanish.

Sounds difficult, doesn’t it? No need to worry! Just read on, and we’ll explain how to translate this in Spanish in each context.

This as a Pronoun

Let’s start with the most basic information. A pronoun is a word that replaces a noun or noun phrase. When we use a pronoun, we don't have to keep repeating the same noun over again.

This as a pronoun can be:

Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
este	esta	esto

Read more about demonstrative pronouns in Spanish in this article.

If you're referring to a masculine noun, use este.

examples
¿No prefieres a un carro usado? Este es demasiado costoso. Wouldn’t you prefer a used car? This one is too expensive.

In this case, we use the masculine demonstrative pronoun este to replace the masculine noun carro.

If you're referring to a feminine noun, use esta.

examples
La bufanda que elegiste era de mi abuela. Lleva esta mejor, por favor. The scarf you chose belonged to my grandma. Please wear this one instead.

In this case, we use the feminine demonstrative pronoun esta to replace the feminine noun bufanda.

If you're making a general statement, or referring to an abstract idea or an unidentified noun, use esto.

examples
Esto no tiene por qué ser malo. Igual van a aprender una lección importante. This doesn't have to be a bad thing. Maybe they're going to learn an important lesson.

In this case, we use the neuter demonstrative pronoun esto to refer to an abstract concept.

What’s a neuter demonstrative pronoun? Read more in this article

This as an Adjective

This can also be used as an adjective. It uses the same forms as this as a pronoun, but it doesn't have a neuter form.

Masculine	Feminine
este	esta

When we use este and esta as adjectives, we are specifying exactly which object we are referring to. Check out how we use this as an adjective in these sentences:

examples
No quiero ir a este restaurante. No tienen opciones para veganos. I don’t want to go to this restaurant. They don’t have options for vegans.

We use the masculine demonstrative adjective este because it modifies the masculine noun restaurante.

examples
Nacho regaló esta planta a su madre. ¿A qué es bonita? Nacho gave this plant to his mom. Isn’t it pretty?

We use the feminine demonstrative adjective esta because it modifies the feminine noun planta.

Learn more about demonstrative adjectives in Spanish and take our interactive lessons on demonstrative adjectives and pronouns here!

Once upon a time—well, actually, before 2010—the demonstrative adjectives and pronouns este and esta were written with a tilde(accent mark). However, in 2010, the Real Academia Española(Royal Spanish Academy) changed the rules, and they are no longer written with a tilde!

Other Translations of This

There are a few other ways to translate this into Spanish. For example, this can be translated as:

Spanish	English
así	like this, this way
tan	this as in very
así de	this as in very

Let's take a look at how we can use así, tan, and así de in context:

examples
Tienes que escribir la dirección así. You have to write the address like this.
No debes poner la música tan alta. Los vecinos se van a quejar. You shouldn’t have the music this loud. The neighbors are going to complain.
Tanía siempre ha sido así de simpática. Me encanta trabajar con ella. Tanía has always been this nice. I love working with her!