leísmo

Leísmo is a linguistic phenomenon in Spanish in which the indirect object pronoun le is used as the direct object pronoun for masculine animate referents (typically people), instead of the standard lo (for masculine) or la (for feminine). When leísmo concerns people, it is usually called leísmo de persona. In many dialects, especially in parts of Spain (notably Castile) and some regions of Latin America, leísmo of a person is widely used and understood. The Real Academia española (RAE) recognizes leísmo de persona as a regional variant and records it as acceptable in many contexts, though it remains restricted to referents of people and to masculine gender.

Leísmo is often contrasted with laísmo and loísmo. Laísmo is the use of la as a direct object pronoun for masculine animate referents (e.g., using la for a man), which is generally considered nonstandard in most dialects. Loísmo is the use of lo as a direct object pronoun for feminine direct objects, also regarded as nonstandard in many varieties. These phenomena reflect regional variation in clitic usage and do not form a single, uniform rule across the Spanish-speaking world.

Examples illustrate the distinction. Standard: Lo vi a Juan ayer (I saw Juan yesterday). Leísmo de persona: Le vi a Juan ayer (I saw him yesterday). The choice often depends on regional norms, stylistic register, and the speaker’s community. Leísmo remains a notable case of pronoun variation within Spanish dialects.