The Meaning Of Hermosa (And Its Alternatives) In Spanish

In Spanish, the word hermosa can be translated to “beautiful” or “gorgeous”.

The term can apply to people (usually women, though you can use the masculine form hermoso for a man) or things.

Note, while you can use hermoso to call a man handsome, it carries a feminine connotation and is similar to calling a man “beautiful” in English.

Not necessarily wrong, but not always appropriate depending on context.

Spanish sample sentences using hermosa

Here are some sample sentences demonstrating the usage of hermosa.

Ella es una mujer hermosa.

She's a beautiful woman.

La puesta de sol en la playa era simplemente hermosa.

The sunset on the beach was simply beautiful.

Ayer vi a una chica hermosa en el parque.

Yesterday I saw a beautiful girl in the park.

La novia de mi amigo es muy hermosa y simpática.

My friend's girlfriend is very beautiful and friendly.

Alternatives to hermosa

If you’re looking for alternatives to hermosa, try these words instead.

For an extensive list, please see my list of words for beautiful in Spanish where I covered more than a dozen terms.

1. Guapa / guapo

Guapa (or guapo for men) is an ideal term if you want to call someone “cute” or “good looking”.

It’s a fairly informal term that you wouldn’t want to use to describe someone you don’t know, but you can use it as a term of endearment with friends and family.

2. Bella / Bello

Bella is basically synomymous with hermosa meaning “beautiful”. It’s also commonly used in other Romance languages like Italian and French.

Though it has the same meaning as hermosa, bella is a little more poetic in its nuance.

3. Atractiva / Atractivo

Atractiva is a safe, generic term to describe a person’s nice appearance.

It’s very neutral and can be used to call a person good looking without insinuating any kind of physical attraction on the speaker’s part.

If you want to call a woman beautiful without letting anyone assuming that you like her, call her atractiva.

4. Encantadora / Encantador

The term encantadora refers to a person’s charm, which can be either physical or just describing their personality.

This is a good alternative to hermosa if you want to talk more about a person’s charisma.

5. Rica / rico

Use this one with extra caution.

Rica can mean different things depending on what it’s applied to:

1. For money, it can mean a person is “rich”.
2. Applied to food, it means “delicious”.
3. For women (or men), it’s like calling the person “sexy” or “hot” (or “delicious” in a sexual sense).

So if you want a more lustful alternative to hermosa, use rica.

6. Linda / Lindo

Linda literally meanings “beautiful” or “pretty”. It’s a very general term that can hold different nuances depending on context and who you’re talking to.

You can use this to describe an object, as a term of endearment in Spanish with friends or family, or to describe romantic interest.

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