el cliente
nounCEFR B2High frequency
What does “el cliente” mean in English?
client, customer
client, customer (el cliente clave/estratégico — person or organisation with whom an ongoing business relationship exists)
Example sentences
Debemos asegurarnos de que el cliente recibe una respuesta formal y detallada en menos de veinticuatro horas.
We must ensure that the client receives a formal and detailed response within twenty-four hours.
Tenemos que fidelizar a nuestros clientes actuales antes de destinar recursos a captar nuevos.
We need to retain our existing clients before allocating resources to acquiring new ones.
El cliente ha solicitado una reunión urgente para revisar los términos del acuerdo antes de la firma.
The client has requested an urgent meeting to review the terms of the agreement before signing.
How to use it
El cliente (feminine: la clienta; collective: la clientela) means 'the client' or 'the customer'. At B2, the skill is distinguishing service registers: client vs. customer relationships and using professional collocations: atender a un cliente (to serve/attend to a client), fidelizar a un cliente (to retain a client), captar clientes (to acquire clients), cliente clave / cliente estratégico (key/strategic client). Register: neutral; core business vocabulary at all professional levels.
Common mistake
Cliente vs. consumidor: el cliente is someone you have an ongoing business relationship with (B2B or B2C service client); el consumidor is the end user of a product (consumer — more marketing/statistical term). In professional-correspondence contexts, always use cliente when referring to an individual or business you work with. Also: feminine form la clienta is used for individual female clients; la clientela refers to the customer base collectively.