joven

Joven is a Spanish word with multiple related uses, primarily as an adjective and as a noun referring to youth. As an adjective, it describes someone or something that is not old or is in the early stage of life, for example, un joven hombre or una mujer joven. It can also describe things associated with youth, such as cultura joven or moda joven. When used as an adjective, joven agrees with gender and number: singular forms are joven (masculine) and joven/ jovena? No, joven is invariable in gender in the feminine form la joven; plural forms are los jóvenes and las jóvenes.

As a noun, joven denotes a person who is young, typically a child, teenager, or young adult, depending on context. The plural noun is jóvenes, used for both masculine and feminine groups. The term is common in demographic, sociological, and cultural contexts, such as discussing the “generación joven” or policies aimed at jóvenes workers or estudiantes. In formal statistics, the term is often used to designate a specific age range; organizations vary, but it commonly includes late adolescence to early adulthood (for example, roughly 15 to 29 years in many datasets).

Etymology traces joven to Latin iuvenis, meaning young, with the modern Spanish form developing through Old Spanish. Related terms include juventud (youth, the period of life) and juvenil (relating to youth). In related Iberian languages, cognates appear with similar meanings, such as portuguese jovem/jovem.

Overall, joven functions as a core descriptor of youth in Spanish, applicable to people, cultures, and demographic categories.