What does abuelo in Spanish mean?

What is the meaning of the word abuelo in Spanish? The article explains the full meaning, pronunciation along with bilingual examples and instructions on how to use abuelo in Spanish.

The word abuelo in Spanish means grandfather, old man, old geezer, forefathers, maternal grandfather, paternal grandfather, step grandfather, great uncle. To learn more, please see the details below.

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Meaning of the word abuelo

grandfather

nombre masculino, nombre femenino (grado de parentesco) (male grandparent)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Félix heredó el carácter de su padre y la inteligencia de su abuelo materno.
Félix inherited his father's character and his maternal grandfather's intelligence.

old man

nombre masculino, nombre femenino (coloquial (persona anciana) (male)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Han atropellado a un abuelo que cruzaba sin mirar.
They knocked down an old man who was crossing the street without looking.

old geezer

nombre masculino, nombre femenino (peyorativo, coloquial (persona envejecida) (UK: aged male, colloquial)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
El esposo de Miriam está hecho un abuelo: tiene 40 años y está lleno de achaques.
Her husband has turned into an old geezer. He's 40 and is full of aches and pains.

forefathers

nombre masculino plural (antepasados, mayores)

(plural noun: Noun always used in plural form--for example, "jeans," "scissors.")
Nuestros abuelos nos dejaron como herencia nuestro espíritu laborioso.
Our forefathers passed down their hardworking spirit to us.

maternal grandfather

locución nominal con flexión de género (del lado materno) (male)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Mi abuelo materno me regaló este libro hace veinte años.
My maternal grandfather gave me this book twenty years ago.

paternal grandfather

locución nominal con flexión de género (del lado paterno) (male)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
La abuela paterna de Carlos está en el hospital.
Carlos' paternal grandfather is in hospital.

step grandfather

locución nominal con flexión de género (coloquial (sin consanguinidad) (male)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Como mis abuelos murieron antes que yo naciera, la mejor amiga de mi madre fue mi abuela postiza.
Since my grandparents passed away before I was born, my father's best friend was my step grandfather.

great uncle

locución nominal con flexión de género (hermano del abuelo, hermana de la abuela) (male)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Mi tío abuelo Carlos es el hermano de mi abuela.
My great uncle Carlos is my grandmother's brother.

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So now that you know more about the meaning of abuelo in Spanish, you can learn how to use them through selected examples and how to read them. And remember to learn the related words that we suggest. Our website is constantly updating with new words and new examples so you can look up the meanings of other words you don't know in Spanish.

Do you know about Spanish

Spanish (español), also known as Castilla, is a language of the Iberian-Romance group of the Romance languages, and the 4th most common language in the world according to Some sources, while others list it as a 2nd or 3rd most common language. It is the mother tongue of about 352 million people, and is spoken by 417 million people when adding its speakers as a language. sub (estimated in 1999). Spanish and Portuguese have very similar grammar and vocabulary; The number of similar vocabulary of these two languages is up to 89%. Spanish is the primary language of 20 countries around the world. It is estimated that the total number of speakers of Spanish is between 470 and 500 million, making it the second most widely spoken language in the world by number of native speakers.