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'Sugar-free' and 'homeless': saying '-less' and '-free' with 'sin' + noun

English builds many adjectives by adding -less or -free to a noun: sugar-free, cloudless, jobless, hopeless. Spanish has no matching ending. Instead it uses a short phrase: sin (without) followed by just the noun. A sugar-free drink is un refresco sin azúcar, a cloudless sky is un cielo sin nubes, and homeless people are personas sin hogar.

English speakers often trip up in two ways. They look for a single-word adjective that usually does not exist, or they treat the phrase like a normal adjective and try to make it agree in gender and number. The same pattern also covers some English adjectives that start with un-, such as unimportant and unprecedented.

Word list
sin azúcarB1 sugar-free un postre sin azúcar = a sugar-free dessert sin empleoB1 unemployed sin empleo = unemployed sin importanciaB1 unimportant un detalle sin importancia = an unimportant detail sin nubesB1 clear un cielo sin nubes = a cloudless sky sin saborB1 tasteless sin sabor = without taste sin trabajoB1 unemployed estar sin trabajo = to be jobless sin esfuerzoB2 effortless sin esfuerzo = effortless sin esperanzaB2 hopeless una situación sin esperanza = a hopeless situation sin límiteB2 unlimited datos sin límite = unlimited data sin autorizaciónC1 unauthorized acceso sin autorización = unauthorized access sin hogarC1 homeless las personas sin hogar = homeless people sin precedentesC1 unprecedented una crisis sin precedentes = an unprecedented crisis sin techoC1 homeless los sin techo = the homeless
How it works

The recipe is simple: sin + noun, with no article in between. The phrase goes after the noun it describes, just like most Spanish adjectives. It works in a similar way to English phrases like "a man without hope", but Spanish uses it where English would use a single adjective.

The key point is that the phrase never changes. The noun inside it stays as it is, whether the thing described is masculine, feminine, singular or plural. Sin is followed by the noun in its usual form, not by a noun that agrees with anything else in the sentence.

¿Tienen refrescos sin azúcar?
(Do you have sugar-free soft drinks?)
Ayudamos a personas sin hogar.
(We help homeless people.)

Here is a rule of thumb. When an English adjective means "without X", try sin + X first. Spanish also has a mirror pattern with con for having something: un hombre con barba (a bearded man), una profesora con experiencia (an experienced teacher).

The words
Food and weather

Sin azúcar is everywhere on menus and labels. Sin sabor describes food that tastes of nothing. For the sky, sin nubes means cloudless or clear. Similar everyday labels you will see in shops include sin alcohol and sin gluten.

Esta sopa está sin sabor, necesita sal.
(This soup is tasteless, it needs salt.)
Mañana tendremos un cielo sin nubes.
(Tomorrow we'll have a cloudless sky.)
People and their situation

Sin trabajo and sin empleo both mean unemployed or jobless. Sin empleo sounds a little more formal. Sin hogar and sin techo (literally "roofless") both mean homeless. Sin esperanza means hopeless.

Mi hermana lleva seis meses sin trabajo.
(My sister has been unemployed for six months.)
El número de jóvenes sin empleo ha bajado este año.
(The number of unemployed young people has gone down this year.)
En invierno el albergue acoge a muchas personas sin techo.
(In winter the shelter takes in many homeless people.)
Parecía una situación sin esperanza.
(It seemed like a hopeless situation.)
Abstract and formal words

Several of these match English adjectives with un- or -less: sin importancia (unimportant), sin límite (unlimited, limitless), sin esfuerzo (effortless), sin precedentes (unprecedented) and sin autorización (unauthorized).

No te preocupes, es un detalle sin importancia.
(Don't worry, it's an unimportant detail.)
El plan incluye datos sin límite.
(The plan includes unlimited data.)
Hizo un salto sin esfuerzo aparente.
(She made an apparently effortless jump.)
La ciudad vivió una ola de calor sin precedentes.
(The city went through an unprecedented heat wave.)
Está prohibido el acceso sin autorización.
(Unauthorized access is prohibited.)
Watch out
No agreement, no article

Say unas galletas sin azúcar, never sin azúcares or sin el azúcar. The noun keeps its own form.

Some nouns are plural by habit

Sin precedentes is almost always plural, and you will also see sin límites next to sin límite. The phrase still does not change to match the noun it describes.

The phrase can become a noun

In everyday speech, los sin techo means "the homeless". Here techo stays singular.

Same phrase, adverb use

Sin esfuerzo can also mean effortlessly: ganó sin esfuerzo (he won effortlessly).

Not every -less word works this way

Many have their own adjective: careless is descuidado, useless is inútil, and wireless is usually inalámbrico (sin hilos also exists). Unfinished is sin terminar, which uses a verb rather than a noun. Treat sin + noun as a very common strategy, not an automatic translation.

Summary

When an English adjective means "without something" (sugar-free, jobless, hopeless, unprecedented), Spanish usually says sin + just the noun and places it after the noun it describes: un postre sin azúcar, personas sin hogar. The phrase never agrees in gender or number and takes no article. If you want a single-word Spanish adjective, check first, because often there isn't one.