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OVNI looks strange at first sight, but it’s one of those acronyms that became a normal everyday word. In Spanish, OVNI stands for Objeto Volador No Identificado — literally Unidentified Flying Object (UFO in English).
What’s interesting is that Spanish isn’t the only language to use OVNI. French, Italian, Portuguese, and Catalán all built the same word from their own versions of “Objeto/Objet Volador/Voador Non Identificado.” So if you say “OVNI” in Mexico, Madrid, Rome, Paris, or Rio de Janeiro, people will know what you’re talking about.
OVNI vocabulary you should know
Here is a table of words connected to OVNI in Spanish, with English meanings. Some of them also exist in other Romance languages in similar form.
| Spanish word or phrase | English meaning | Note |
|---|---|---|
| el OVNI (Objeto Volador No Identificado). Plural: los OVNIs. | UFO (Unidentified Flying Object) | Standard acronym; used in news and everyday talk. |
| la Tierra | Earth | Our planet. |
| platillo volador | flying saucer | Very common popular term in Mexico and Latin America. |
| extraterrestre | extraterrestrial / alien | General word for beings from outside Earth. |
| Marte | Mars | The Red Planet. |
| marciano | Martian | Sometimes used jokingly to mean alien in general. |
| abducción | abduction | Term for alleged alien kidnapping of humans. |
| nave espacial | spaceship | Can be alien or human (NASA, SpaceX, etc.). |
| nave nodriza | mothership | Giant spaceship that carries or launches smaller ships. |
| el avistamiento | sighting | Usually, a UFO sighting. |
| aterrizaje, aterrizar | landing | For OVNIs or aircrafts. |
| investigador de OVNIs | UFO researcher | People who study UFOs. |
| ufología | ufology | Study of UFOs. |
| avistamiento | sighting | When someone sees an OVNI. |
| luces en el cielo | lights in the sky | Popular description of UFO sightings. |
OVNI across Romance languages
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Spanish: OVNI (Objeto Volador No Identificado)
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French: OVNI (Objet Volant Non Identifié)
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Italian: OVNI (Oggetto Volante Non Identificato)
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Portuguese: OVNI (Objeto Voador Não Identificado)
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Catalán: OVNI (Objet Volant Non Identifié)
- Romanian: OZN (Obiect Zburător Neidentificat) – a small variation with “Z” for Zburător (flying).
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Notice how similar they are for the most part, with just small differences in spelling.
Even if you don’t believe in little green men, OVNI is a useful word to know. It’s short, international, and appears in newspapers, TV, and even jokes. And remember: in English we usually say UFO, but in Spanish the everyday word is OVNI.
In Mexico, the subject of OVNIs has two famous names. One is Jaime Maussan, a journalist and UFO researcher who became well known on TV for presenting alleged sightings, interviews, and documentaries about extraterrestrial life. Another key figure, a generation earlier, was Pedro Ferriz Santacruz, a respected journalist who in the 1960s hosted the program Un Mundo Nos Vigila (A World is Watching Us), one of the first serious shows in Latin America to discuss UFOs. Together, they made the word OVNI part of everyday culture.
