What is ‘leísmo’ in Spanish?

“Leísmo” in Spanish refers to the use of the pronoun “le(s)” instead of the pronoun ”lo(s).” Along your Spanish learning journey, you may have noticed that Spanish has some differences depending on the regions in which it’s spoken. For instance, it’s easy to spot speakers from some parts of north central and central Spain (including Madrid) since they use the pronouns le and les instead of lo and los, respectively, when referring to males. In this post, we’ll discuss this feature, called leísmo, and how those who speak this way are called leístas.

For instance, leístas would say things like ¿Juan? No le conozco (meaning Juan? I don't know him), whereas non-leístas prefer ¿Juan? No lo conozco.

Even though leísmo happens mostly in parts of Spain, it also occurs in some Latin American countries (Paraguay and Ecuador). Because leísmo is a common feature in specific parts of the Spanish-speaking world, it’s useful to learn about it so you can recognize it when you hear it. Would you have to worry about speaking using leísmo? The answer is no unless you move to an area where leísmo is the norm. But even if you move to, say, Madrid, you won't have to be a leísta to blend in.

Let's look at how leístas and non-leístas use lo(s) and le(s). Ready?

As you have probably studied, it’s standard that in all Spanish-speaking countries the pronouns lo and los are used to substitute a direct object. A direct object is the person/thing that the verb acts upon (see more information on Spanish direct object pronouns here). For instance, consider this short dialogue:

• – ¿Dónde tienes el coche?
• – Lo tengo en el garage.

• – Where do you have your car?

• – I have it in the garage.

The highlighted pronoun lo refers to the direct object, el coche. The pronoun matches the direct object in gender (they are both masculine) and number (they are both singular). In this case, the direct object is a thing (“a car”). The pronoun lo can also be used to refer to people as direct objects. For instance:

• – ¿Has visto a Juan?
• – Sí, lo vi salir de la oficina a las 11.

• – Have you seen Juan?

• – Yes, I saw him leave the office at 11.

Once again, the direct object a Juan, a masculine singular noun referring to a male, is replaced by the corresponding masculine singular pronoun lo. The same applies to the masculine plural pronoun los. Consider the following examples:

• – ¿Dónde tienes el coche y la bicicleta?
• – Los tengo en el garage.

• – Where do you have your car and your bicycle?

• – I have them in the garage.

• – ¿Has visto a Juan y a Pedro?
• – Sí, los vi salir de la oficina a las 11.

• – Have you seen Juan and Pedro?

• – Yes, I saw them leave the office at 11.

Notice how the pronoun los is used to refer to objects composed of all masculine objects, people (Juan y Pedro), or mixed-gender objects (el coche y la bicicleta — the former being masculine and the latter being feminine).

Leístas use the pronouns le and les instead of lo and los respectively, but only for human direct objects. Therefore, the previous examples would look like this when spoken by a leísta:

• – ¿Has visto a Juan?
• – Sí, lo le vi salir de la oficina a las 11.

• – Have you seen Juan?

• – Yes, I saw him leave the office at 11.

• – ¿Has visto a Juan y a Pedro?
• – Sí, los les vi salir de la oficina a las 11.

• – Have you seen Juan and Pedro?

• – Yes, I saw them leave the office at 11.

• – ¿Dónde tienes el coche?
• – Lo tengo en el garage.

• – Where do you have your car?

• – I have it in the garage.

• – ¿Dónde tienes el coche y la bicicleta?
• – Los tengo en el garage.

• – Where do you have your car and your bicycle?

• – I have them in the garage.

Some leístas are also laístas and loístas. Laístas speak using laísmo, and loístas speak using loísmo. Knowing that leísmo is the substitution of lo(s) with le(s), can you guess what laísmo and loísmo would be? Right! Laístas and loístas do the opposite trick: they use la(s) and lo(s), respectively, instead of le(s) for female and male indirect objects (that refer to people).

As you may have previously learned, it’s standard in Spanish for the pronouns le and les to substitute both masculine and feminine indirect objects. The indirect object of a sentence is the recipient of the direct object. For instance:

• Le mandé un SMS. (meaning I sent her/him an SMS.)

In the previous sentence, le could refer to a female or a male. How do we know whether le refers to a male or a female? We can optionally specify who exactly le refers to using a phrase introduced by a:

• Le mandé un SMS a María. (meaning I sent María an SMS.)
• Le mandé un SMS a Juan. (meaning I sent Juan an SMS.)

The previous sentences would look like this as uttered by a laísta or loísta:

• Laísta → La mandé un SMS (a María).
• Loísta → Lo mandé un SMS (a Juan).

Just like the use of leísmo for non-human objects, laísmo and loísmo are considered non-standard and, thus, their use is discouraged.

Speakers from Spain and some Latin American countries use le and les to replace the direct object pronouns lo and los respectively. Most leístas only make the substitution in cases where the direct object is referring to people. However, although its use is discouraged, some leístas use le and les for both human and non-human objects. Some leístas are also laístas and loístas, in that they substitute female and male indirect objects with la(s) and lo(s) respectively. Laísmo and loísmo are both discouraged as well. Here’s a summary chart:

Standard Spanish

Leísta, loísta, and laísta varieties

Ready to practice? Check out this activity (it includes an answer key)!