Spanish word of the week: grande

This week’s Spanish word of the week is grande.

Grande is an adjective that means big, large or great.

To hear how grande is pronounced, you can click the icon below:  

El traje te está grande. That suit is too big for you.

disponible en talla pequeña, mediana y grande available in small, medium and large

In the sense of big or large, grande normally follows the noun:

Me estresan las ciudades grandes. I find big cities very stressful.

dos maletas grandes y una más pequeña two large suitcases and a smaller one

Although it precedes the noun in the context of a general, subjective comment:

Es un gran problema.  It’s a big problem.

In the sense of great, it goes before the noun and in this case, if the noun in singular it is shortened to gran:

Son grandes amigos. They are great friends. 

Gran Bretaña  Great Britain

Es un gran actor. He is a great actor.

Compare the following phrases:

un gran hombre a great man

un hombre grande a big man

Come back next week to read about our next Spanish word of the week!