Hola y bienvenidos a la clase de español.
Hoy vamos a hablar de ocupaciones y nacionalidades.  Today we’ll talk about occupations and nationalities.
Nationalities and Discussing Nationality
This list includes Spain and the Latin American countries.
List of Nationalities in Spanish
Country | Nationality – Male | Nationality – Female |
Argentina | Argentino | Argentina |
Bolivia | Boliviano | Boliviana |
Brazil | Brasileño | Brasileño |
Chile | Chileno | Chilena |
Colombia | Colombiano | Colombiana |
Costa Rica | Costarricense | Costarricense |
Cuba | Cubano | Cubana |
Ecuador | Ecuatoriano | Ecuatoriana |
El Salvador | Salvadoreño | Salvadoreña |
Guatemala | Guatemalteco | Guatemalteca |
Hoduras | Hondureño | Hondureña |
México | Mexicano | Mexicana |
Nicaragua | Nicaragüense | Nicaragüense |
Panamá | Panameño | Panameña |
Paraguay | Paraguayo | Paraguaya |
Perú | Peruano | Peruana |
Puerto Rico | Puertorriqueño | Puertorriqueña |
Republica Dominicana | Dominicano | Dominicana |
Spain (España) | Español | Española |
Uruguay | Uruguayo | Uruguaya |
Venezuela | Venezolano | Venezolana |
A few other countries..
Country | Nationality – Male | Nationality – Female |
Britain | Británico | Británica |
Canada | Canadiense | Canadiense |
China | Chino | China |
France | Francés | Francesa |
United States | Estadounidense | Estadounidense |
How to ask and answer about Nationality
¿De dónde eres? | Where are you from? (informal) |
¿De dónde es ud.? | Where are you from? (formal) |
¿Cuál es tu nacionalidad? | What is your nationality? (informal) |
¿Cuál es su nacionalidad? | What is your nationality? (formal) |
Soy de Bolivia | I am from Bolivia |
Soy boliviano/ a | I am Bolivian |
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Gender of NounsÂ
In Spanish, nouns are considered to be either masculine or feminine. Often, when a noun ends in “o†it is masculine and, when it ends in “aâ€, it is feminine. But this is a very loose generalisation and there are MANY exceptions.
A nationality is considered an adjective, describing a person. Adjectives agree with nouns in gender and number. (We’ll go more into that in a future lesson)
Since nationalities are adjectives, they must change to agree with the person(s) being described.
Ejemplos:
Eduardo es colombiano.
Carla es colombiana.
Eduaro y Carla son colombianos.
Note: In Spanish the nationality is written with a common letter when it is NOT at the start of a new sentence.
Practice:
In Spanish, say “My name is (name). I am (nationality)”
Me llamo… Soy….
Remember to adjust the nationality according to your chosen gender.
Las Profesiones
Remember in Spanish, nouns are either masculine or feminine. When giving your profession, you must either use the masculine or feminine form depending on your gender.
List of Occupations in Spanish
Profession | Male | Female |
Actor | El actor | La actriz |
Artist | El artista | La artista |
Business(wo)man | El Hombre de negocios | La Mujer de negocios |
Chef | El chef/ jefe de cocina | La chef/ jefa de cocina |
Doctor | El médico | La médica |
Engineer | El ingeniero | La ingeniera |
Fire(wo)man | El bombero | La bombera |
Journalist | El periodista | La periodista |
Lawyer | El abogado | La abogada |
Librarian | El bibilotecario | La bibilotecaria |
Manager | El gerente | La gerente |
Nurse | El enfermero | La enfermera |
Plumber | El plomero | La plomera |
Police | El policÃa | La policÃa |
Scientist | El cientÃfico | La cientÃfica |
Secretary | El secretario | La secretaria |
Singer | El cantante | La cantante |
Student | El estudiante / El alumno | La estudiante / La alumna |
Waiter | El mesero / camarero | La mesera / camarera |
Writer | El escritor | La escritora |
Note: some of the professions (example cantante and policÃa) use the same word for both the male and female forms. The definite article (el/ la) indicates the gender of the person.
When asked ¿Cuál es tu profesión? or ¿Cuál es tu ocupación?
You should respond
Soy profesor (male)
I am a teacher
Soy profesora (female)
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Note: Even though in English we say “I am a teacher”, in Spanish the “a” is not used.
Soy un carpintero. X
Soy carpintero. √  (I am a carpenter)
It is incorrect to say “Soy un carpintero”
Practice Exercise with Worksheet
I’ve included a worksheet for you to practice the vocabulary and grammar learnt over the last few lessons. You already learnt how to give your age and birth date. Today you learnt how to say your profession and nationality. Download the worksheet and put your knowledge into practice!
Spanish Exercise: ID Card Fill in the Blanks
Leave a note in the comments to let me know how you did.
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Such a helpful post!! I really need to get back to my Spanish lessons. For some reasons the “Where are you from?” /”What are you?” question variations were always hard for me to keep straight!
I’m glad you enjoyed and found it useful Dani!! I find my students often mix up trying to say their nationality and country. I hope you do get back to practicing. 🙂
Another great and helpful lesson! Keep up the wonderful work with these posts, Kim!
Thanks for the encouragement Diana. Soon be back at it! 🙂
I look forward to your presence on here once again! 💙💙
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