"Ellos están preocupados hoy."

Translation: They are worried today.

[Christian959511]

Can't "preocupado" also mean busy or preoccupied? When I took Spanish in school, that's how we learned it.

[elizadeux]

Ocupado means busy, but preocupado is worried.

http://www.wordreference.com/es/en/translation.asp?spen=ocupado

http://www.wordreference.com/es/en/translation.asp?spen=preocupado

[Christophe734494]

It literally means to have your mind preoccupied (which is what worrying is)

[JasmineSBe2]

Both are correct I believe

[GDpFUa]

I translated it as, "They are anxious today" and was marked wrong. It seems to me "anxious" should be an accepted translation of preocupados. Is there a different word in Spanish that more directly conveys the idea of being anxious?

[Majklo_Blic]

Well, you have the choice of "ansioso/a" or "nervioso/a". Just like "anxious" and "nervous" in English, the difference for the most part is a matter of degree.

You can also use the expression "tener ansiedad", to have anxiety. A lot of the things which you are in English (hungry, tired, afraid, etc.) are things that you have in Spanish.

[KATERINAP-0-]

The house and Spanish here

[jlady58]

I thought it was a reflexive verb - preocuparse. Hence, should'nt it be Ellos se están preocupados hoy?

[jlady58]

Never mind. I just realized preocupados is the adjective in the sentence, not the verb.

[TWPXzem4]

'Ellos' still sounds like 'ellas' on the regular speed recording

[Doug134044]

The speaker is not working. I can't repeat it if there is no sound.