If you’re reading The Local Spain, the chances are that you’re an ‘extranjero’ or ‘extranjera’.
Extranjero or extranjera mean foreigner in Spanish, the former being masculine and the latter feminine.
The word can be a noun (a male foreigner is un extranjero and a female foreigner is una extranjera).
It can also be used as a noun to refer to ‘overseas’ or ‘abroad’, always in the masculine form el extranjero, such as Juan se ha ido al extranjero, ‘Juan has gone overseas’.
Extranjero/a can also be the adjective for the word ‘foreign’ (la prensa extranjera is the foreign press, or el turismo extranjero is foreign tourism).
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You may also hear Spaniards say de origen extranjero (of foreign origin) or that someone has un acento extranjero (a foreign accent).
Extranjero doesn’t have any negative connotations in Spanish, unlike the word guiri which can be derogatory depending on how it’s used.
READ MORE: Is the Spanish word ‘guiri’ (foreigner) offensive?
It also applies to all foreigners, unlike guiri which tends to refer to foreigners from northern European countries.
Synonyms of extranjero include foráneo or forastero, which do bear more resemblance to the English word ‘foreigner’ and ‘foreign’ but tend to be used far less in Spanish.
In fact, you’re only likely to hear forastero in Western movies to refer to someone who’s an outsider or stranger.
According to Spain’s Royal Academy of Language (RAE), the word extranjero derives from the Old French word estrangier (now étranger) to refer to “one who is or comes from a country of another sovereignty”.
Another related word is extranjería, a useful term for foreigners in Spain to know as it refers to the foreigners’ office in Spain.
There’s also extranjerismo, which can refer to a foreign word, phrase or custom, a foreignism.
Then there’s the colloquial expression de extranjis, which means ‘on the down low’ or ‘secretly’.
The opposite of extranjero/a in Spanish is nativo/a, autóctono/a or nacional.
Examples:
Los extranjeros están comprando muchas viviendas en España.
Foreigners are buying a lot of property in Spain.
Si quieres encontrar mejores oportunidades laborales, tienes que irte al extranjero.
If you want to find better career opportunities, you have to go abroad.
Tengo que ir a extranjería a tramitar mi tarjeta de residencia.
I have to go to the foreigners’ office to process my residency card.
