How to Say ‘Us’ in Spanish | The Forms People Mix Up

You’ll see “us” in English and think, “Cool, one word.” Spanish isn’t that tidy. The idea stays the same, but the form changes with the job the word is doing in the sentence. Once you spot that job, the right Spanish choice falls into place.

This article gives you the Spanish forms for “us,” shows where they go in a sentence, and points out the mix-ups that make learners sound off. You’ll get plenty of clean, copy-ready lines you can reuse in class, homework, or real chats.

What “Us” Can Mean In English

In English, “us” can play a few roles. Most of the time it’s an object: “They saw us.” It can be an indirect object: “She told us.” It can show reflexive meaning: “We hurt ourselves,” which Spanish often expresses with a form that still looks like “us.” And sometimes English uses “us” after a preposition: “with us,” “between us,” “for us.”

Spanish uses different forms for these roles. The good news: you don’t need to memorize a hundred random pieces. You need a small set of forms and a simple decision path.

The Main Spanish Word For “Us”: Nos

Nos is the workhorse. It means “us” as an unstressed object pronoun. It can mean “us” as a direct object, “us” as an indirect object, or “us” in reflexive uses with “we.” Context tells you which one you’re dealing with.

Nos As A Direct Object

Use nos when “us” receives the action of the verb.

• They see us. → Nos ven.
• He invited us. → Nos invitó.
• Don’t call us. → No nos llames.

Nos As An Indirect Object

Use nos when “us” is the recipient of something: a message, a gift, a chance, a favor.

• She told us the truth. → Nos dijo la verdad.
• They sent us an email. → Nos enviaron un correo.
• Can you help us? → ¿Nos puedes ayudar?

Nos With Reflexive And “We” Actions

Spanish uses reflexive pronouns a lot. When English says “we … ourselves,” Spanish often uses nos.

• We got up late. → Nos levantamos tarde.
• We got lost. → Nos perdimos.
• We’re getting ready. → Nos estamos preparando.

How to Say ‘Us’ in Spanish In Real Sentences

Here’s the move: decide if you need the short pronoun (nos) or the longer form (nosotros/nosotras). In daily sentences with a verb, nos wins most of the time.

Try these pairs and notice what stays steady: nos sits close to the verb, and the verb carries the tense.

• They’re waiting for us. → Nos están esperando.
• They waited for us. → Nos esperaron.
• They will wait for us. → Nos van a esperar.

Spanish often keeps pronouns tight. When there’s one conjugated verb, nos goes right before it. When there are two verbs (a conjugated verb + an infinitive or gerund), you usually get two clean options: place nos before the conjugated verb, or attach it to the end of the second verb.

• They’re going to call us. → Nos van a llamar. / Van a llamarnos.
• She’s watching us. → Nos está mirando. / Está mirándonos.
• We have to explain it to them. → Tenemos que explicárselo. / Se lo tenemos que explicar.

That last line shows something else: Spanish can stack pronouns. When you have “it” plus “to us,” the order shifts. You’ll see nos combined with lo, la, los, las, or se.

Choosing Between Nos And Nosotros

So when do you use nosotros or nosotras if nos does so much? Think of the longer form as the “stressed” version. It often shows up after a preposition, or when you want extra emphasis and clarity.

After many prepositions, Spanish uses the longer form, not nos.

• with us → con nosotros / con nosotras
• without us → sin nosotros / sin nosotras
• between us → entre nosotros / entre nosotras
• for us → para nosotros / para nosotras

You can add a nosotros/a nosotras to point the finger at “us” when the sentence might be unclear, or when you want contrast.

• They invited us (not them). → Nos invitaron a nosotros.
• They gave us the seats. → Nos dieron los asientos a nosotros.

That emphasis is optional. In plain speech, Nos invitaron already works.

Common “Us” Forms And When To Use Them

The table below is a simple map of the common ways English uses “us” and the Spanish form that usually matches.

English Use Of “Us”	Spanish Form	Sample Line
Direct object (they saw us)	nos	Nos vieron.
Indirect object (she told us)	nos	Nos contó la verdad.
Reflexive with “we” (we hurt ourselves)	nos	Nos lastimamos.
Reciprocal (we saw each other)	nos	Nos vimos ayer.
After prepositions (with us, without us)	nosotros/nosotras	Ven con nosotros.
Emphasis (us, not them)	a nosotros/a nosotras	Nos eligieron a nosotros.
Object of “according to”	según nosotros/según nosotras	Según nosotros, está bien.
After “among” / “between”	entre nosotros/entre nosotras	Entre nosotros, no pasa nada.

Gender Choices: Nosotros Vs Nosotras

Nosotros is masculine or mixed-group. Nosotras is feminine when the group is all women. In lots of daily settings, mixed groups default to nosotros. If you’re speaking about a group of women, nosotras fits better.

These forms matter most after prepositions and in emphasis phrases. With nos, you don’t change anything for gender.

Where “Nos” Goes: Placement Rules That Save You

Pronoun placement is where many learners freeze. If you remember a few patterns, you’ll place “us” correctly without overthinking.

One Conjugated Verb

Put nos right before the conjugated verb.

• They know us. → Nos conocen.
• They don’t know us. → No nos conocen.
• They never listen to us. → Nunca nos escuchan.

Two-Verb Phrases

With a conjugated verb plus an infinitive or gerund, you can place nos before the first verb or attach it to the second verb. Both options are standard.

• We’re going to see you. → Te vamos a ver. / Vamos a verte.
• They want to help us. → Nos quieren ayudar. / Quieren ayudarnos.
• She’s explaining it to us. → Nos lo está explicando. / Está explicándonoslo.

Affirmative Commands

With a positive command, attach the pronoun to the end.

• Tell us! → ¡Dinos!
• Show us. → Muéstranos.
• Send it to us. → Envíanoslo.

Accent marks often appear when you attach pronouns, to keep the stress right. That’s normal.

Negative Commands

With a negative command, place nos before the verb.

• Don’t tell us. → No nos digas.
• Don’t show us. → No nos muestres.

Pronoun Placement Cheat Sheet

This table groups the most common placement patterns for “us” so you can spot the structure and write the Spanish line with less effort.

Sentence Pattern	Where “Nos” Goes	Sample Line
Conjugated verb	Before the verb	Nos llaman.
Negative sentence	After no, before the verb	No nos llaman.
Two verbs (infinitive)	Before 1st verb or attached to 2nd	Nos van a ver. / Van a vernos.
Two verbs (gerund)	Before 1st verb or attached to gerund	Nos están mirando. / Están mirándonos.
Positive command	Attached to the command	Ayúdanos.
Negative command	Before the command verb	No nos ayudes.
With another pronoun	Object pronouns stack before the verb	Nos lo dieron.

Se Nos: When Something Happens To Us

You’ll often hear se nos in Spanish. It shows that something happened and it affected us, often by accident or outside our control. English tends to say “we forgot” or “we dropped it.”

• We forgot the location. → Se nos olvidó la dirección.
• We dropped the keys. → Se nos cayeron las llaves.
• Our phone broke. → Se nos rompió el teléfono.
• We’re running late. → Se nos hizo tarde.

A Nosotros Nos: Emphasis Without Changing The Meaning

Sometimes Spanish uses both the long form and nos in the same sentence: A nosotros nos… It’s a way to point to “us” with extra clarity, often when you’re comparing groups or answering a question.

• We like this movie. → A nosotros nos gusta esta película.
• They don’t understand us. → A nosotros no nos entienden.
• They gave us the last table. → A nosotros nos dieron la última mesa.

You can skip the a nosotros part in casual speech. Keep it when you want contrast or when the listener might be unsure who you mean.

Lines People Say All The Time With “Us”

If you want Spanish that sounds natural, learn a small set of reusable chunks. They’ll carry you through lots of situations.

• Call us later. → Llámanos más tarde.
• Text us. → Envíanos un mensaje.
• Don’t leave us here. → No nos dejes aquí.
• Wait for us. → Espéranos.
• Stay with us. → Quédate con nosotros. / Quédate con nosotras.
• It’s between us. → Es entre nosotros. / Es entre nosotras.
• They’re talking about us. → Están hablando de nosotros. / … de nosotras.

Mistakes That Make “Us” Sound Wrong

Using Nosotros As A Verb Object

You might be tempted to say Ellos vieron nosotros. That’s not how Spanish works. As a verb object, you want nos: Nos vieron.

Forgetting The Preposition Rule

After a preposition, nos is usually not the right pick. Say con nosotros, not con nos, if you want a standard form that works across settings.

Mixing Up Le/Les With Nos

English doesn’t separate “to him” and “to us” in the same way Spanish does. If the meaning is “to us,” use nos. Save le/les for “to him/her” or “to them.”

Skipping The Accent In Commands

When you attach nos to a command, an accent mark may appear: dinos, muéstranos, espéranos. If you leave it out, readers can still get the meaning, but the spelling is off.

A Simple Practice Drill

Take each English line and write it in Spanish two ways when you can: once with nos before the first verb, and once attached to the infinitive or gerund.

1. They’re going to invite us.
2. She’s calling us right now.
3. Don’t tell us yet.
4. Stay with us.
5. They sent it to us.

Check your work by asking one question each time: “Is ‘us’ tied to a verb, or is it after a preposition?” If it’s tied to a verb, nos is your starting point.

If you want a self-check, compare your lines to these common options:

• Nos van a invitar. / Van a invitarnos.
• Nos está llamando ahora. / Está llamándonos ahora.
• No nos digas todavía.
• Quédate con nosotros. / Quédate con nosotras.
• Nos lo enviaron.