What is the difference between poco and un poco in Spanish? Can you say una poca in Spanish? 🙌

In today’s blog post, we’re going to answer all these questions and talk about how to use poco or un poco in your Spanish conversations. One thing to keep in mind is that both poco and un poco are used when talking about quantities, the amount of something, or measuring an action (poco vino – little wine; pocos profesores – few teachers.) Think about the English equivalents of “little,” “a little” and “few.”

Tip: Learn how to use un, uno, and una in Spanish (think about un poco vs. una poca) and what it means for an article to match a noun’s gender and number.

What does poco mean in Spanish?

Poco can be both an adjective or an adverb depending on the context: if it’s before a noun or after a verb. And it means “little,” “few,” “not many” or “not much.” Let’s take a few examples:

• Nos queda muy poco vino para los invitados. – We have very little wine left for the guests.
• Pocos profesores dejan huella en sus alumnos como el señor Rodrigo. – Few teachers make an impression on their students like Mr. Rodrigo.
• Pocas personas asistieron al funeral. – Not many people went to the funeral.

Is there anything that stands out to you? Maybe you noticed that sometimes I used poco, other times pocas, or pocos. If poco stands before a noun, then there is agreement with that noun in number and gender. Also, we use poco as an adjective to talk about the amount of something. Both poco and un poco can stand before a noun.

When poco is an adjective, there is agreement with the noun in gender (feminine/masculine) and number (singular/plural):

• (Un) Poco + masculine singular noun: poco vino (in Spanish, vino is a masculine noun, el vino)
• (Una) Poca + feminine singular noun: poca comida (in Spanish comida is a feminine noun, la comida)
• (Unos) Pocos + masculine plural noun: pocos profesores (el profesor, los profesores)
• (Unas) Pocas + feminine plural noun: pocas personas (la persona, las personas)

What does un poco mean in Spanish?

Un poco, una poca, unos pocas or unas pocas mean “a little,” “a little bit,” “a few” or “a bit.” In Spanish, un poco is a phrase, while poco is an adjective or adverb. The main difference between poco and un poco is the usage of the indefinite article (un, una, unos, and unas). If you use un poco before a noun, you have to match the indefinite article (un) and the adjective (poco) with the noun’s gender and number.

You can also use poco or un poco after a verb for expressing frequency (measuring an action) or intensity. In this case, poco is an adverb. And you don’t have to match it with any noun in gender or number because there is no noun to agree with.

Let’s see some phrases with un poco in Spanish:

• Ha sobrado un poco. Lo podemos cenar esta noche. – There’s a bit left. We can have it for dinner tonight.
• ¿Le pones azúcar al café? Solo ponle un poco. – Do you want sugar in your coffee? Just add a little.
• ¿Todavía te duele la cabeza? Un poco, pero ya me siento mejor. – Does your head still hurt? A little bit, but I’m feeling better now.

You can also use un poco de: un poco de comida (a bit of food) un poco de dinero (a bit of money), and so on. When you say un poco de + something, you don’t have the agreement with the noun: poca ensalada (little salad) vs. un poco de ensalada (a bit of salad.)

We add de (un poco de agua) to express “a bit of something.” Because it is invariable in the singular, it will not change to una poca de + feminine noun. The correct form is un poco de + masculine/feminine singular noun. When it comes to plural nouns, you drop the de: unos pocos/unas pocas + masculine/feminine plural noun.

Countable nouns vs. noncountable nouns

As an adjective, poco can stand before a countable or noncountable noun. Countable nouns refer to things that can be counted. For example, casa (house), móvil (cellphone), niño (child). Uncountable nouns, also called partitive nouns, refer to things that can’t be counted. For example, consideración (thoughtfulness), justicia (justice), café (coffee). Some nouns can be both countable and uncountable depending on how they are used. You can read more about Spanish uncountable nouns here.

Poco (“little”) is an adjective if it stands before a noun, and an adverb if it stands after a verb. Un poco (“a little”) is a phrase, and can also stand before a noun or after a verb. When placed (both poco and un poco) before a noun, there’s agreement with the noun in gender and number.

Hope you better understand the differences between poco and un poco. If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments below. You can also book a free consultation with me.