Spanish vocabulary · Beginner

Married in Spanish: Casado, Casada, and Related Wedding Vocabulary

Casado/Casada · adjective / past participle · kah-SAH-doh / kah-SAH-dah

Married in Spanish is casado for a man and casada for a woman. The word is the past participle of casarse (to get married). When describing the state, use estar casado/a (not ser). Matrimonio is the noun for marriage as an institution, and desposado/a is a formal or literary synonym.

kah-SAH-doh for the masculine form, kah-SAH-dah for the feminine. Stress falls on the second syllable in both cases.

Mi hermana está casada desde hace cinco años.

My sister has been married for five years.

Married in Spanish: Quick Reference

Below are the most common Spanish words for married, with pronunciation and regional usage notes.

SpanishEnglishPronunciationRegion / Register
casado/casadamarriedkah-SAH-doh / kah-SAH-dahDefault, widely understood
matrimoniomarrieduniversal (the institution of marriage)
desposado/desposadamarriedformal or literary (wed)

How Native Speakers Use Casado/Casada

Real example sentences across three contexts you'll actually run into.

Marital status

¿Estás casado o soltero?

Are you married or single?

Use estar (not ser) with casado to describe current marital status. Soltero/a means single.

Getting married

Nos casamos el próximo verano en la playa.

We're getting married next summer on the beach.

Casarse is the reflexive verb for getting married. It takes the preposition con when specifying with whom: casarse con alguien.

Marriage as institution

Llevan veinte años de matrimonio y siguen muy felices.

They've been in their marriage for twenty years and are still very happy.

Matrimonio is the noun referring to marriage as an institution or the wedding ceremony itself.

Avoid These Mistakes When Using Casado/Casada

Using ser instead of estar

Incorrect: Ella es casada.

Correct: Ella está casada.

Marital status in standard Spanish uses estar, not ser. Estar casado/a indicates a current state. While some regions accept ser casado/a colloquially, estar is the universally correct choice.

Forgetting gender agreement

Incorrect: Mi madre está casado con mi padre.

Correct: Mi madre está casada con mi padre.

Casado must agree with the subject's gender. Since madre is feminine, the adjective must be casada.

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Why word lists alone don't stick

Memorizing a translation feels productive, but most learners forget 70% of what they studied within 48 hours. Vocabulary needs spaced repetition AND real-world exposure to transfer to long-term memory.

See Casado/Casada used by native speakers

Parrot's short-form videos feature native speakers using casado/casada in real situations. Context-based exposure beats flashcards, you hear Mi hermana está casada desde hace cinco años. while watching someone live the moment, connecting meaning, sound, and rhythm at once.

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Common Questions About Married in Spanish

How do you say 'I am married' in Spanish?
A man says estoy casado, and a woman says estoy casada. Always use the verb estar for marital status. To specify your spouse, add con: estoy casado con María.
What is the difference between casado and matrimonio?
Casado/casada is the adjective meaning married, describing a person's status. Matrimonio is the noun for marriage — the institution, bond, or ceremony. You can also use matrimonio informally to refer to a married couple: ese matrimonio vive en mi edificio.
How do you say wedding in Spanish?
Wedding is boda. Matrimonio can also mean the wedding ceremony, but boda is far more common in everyday speech. A wedding invitation is una invitación de boda.