Spanish vocabulary · Beginner
Important in Spanish: Importante
Importante · adjective · eem-pohr-TAHN-teh
Importante is the Spanish adjective for important, one of the most frequently used descriptors in both casual and formal speech. As a true cognate of the English word, it is immediately recognizable to English speakers and retains the same core meaning of significant or consequential. The construction es importante que triggers the subjunctive mood, making this word a natural gateway into one of Spanish grammar's most distinctive features.
Importante carries its stress on the penultimate syllable: eem-pohr-TAHN-teh. The word ends with a soft eh sound that should not be swallowed, as it carries the gender-neutral ending -e.
Es importante que estudies para el examen de mañana.
It's important that you study for tomorrow's exam.
Important in Spanish: Quick Reference
Below are the most common Spanish words for important, with pronunciation and regional usage notes.
| Spanish | English | Pronunciation | Region / Register |
|---|---|---|---|
| importante | important | eem-pohr-TAHN-teh | Default, widely understood |
| relevante | important | emphasizes relevance rather than significance | |
| trascendental | important | formal, for momentous or far-reaching matters |
How Native Speakers Use Importante
Real example sentences across three contexts you'll actually run into.
Subjunctive trigger
Es importante que llegues temprano a la reunión.
It's important that you arrive early to the meeting.
Es importante que requires the subjunctive verb form.
Describing significance
Esta decisión es la más importante de mi carrera profesional.
This decision is the most important of my professional career.
Superlative form using la más importante.
Everyday emphasis
Lo importante es que todos estén sanos y contentos.
The important thing is that everyone is healthy and happy.
Lo importante nominalizes the adjective to mean 'the important thing.'
Avoid These Mistakes When Using Importante
Gender change attempt
Incorrect: Es una fecha importanta para la empresa.
Correct: Es una fecha importante para la empresa.
Importante ends in -e and does not change form for masculine or feminine nouns; it remains importante regardless of the gender of the noun it modifies.
Indicative after es importante que
Incorrect: Es importante que vienes a la cena.
Correct: Es importante que vengas a la cena.
The expression es importante que expresses a value judgment about an action, which requires the subjunctive mood in the following clause — vengas instead of vienes.
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See Importante used by native speakers
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Common Questions About Important in Spanish
- Does 'importante' change for masculine and feminine?
- Importante is an invariable adjective that keeps the same form for both genders, since it ends in -e rather than -o or -a. The only change it undergoes is number: importante for singular and importantes for plural, regardless of the noun's gender.
- Why does 'es importante que' require the subjunctive?
- Expressions of necessity, importance, and value judgments in Spanish trigger the subjunctive because they frame the following action as desired or recommended rather than factual. Since es importante que expresses what should happen rather than what does happen, the subjunctive captures that sense of unrealized intention.
- What are some synonyms for 'importante' in Spanish?
- Common alternatives include relevante (relevant), significativo (significant), trascendental (momentous), fundamental (fundamental), and crucial (crucial). Each carries a slightly different shade of emphasis, with trascendental and crucial reserved for the most weighty matters, and relevante suggesting pertinence to a specific topic.