Basic Spanish vocabulary words
[with Audio]

Welcome to this thematically-organized list of basic Spanish vocabulary words.

To help your pronunciation, you can click on any of the Spanish vocabulary words throughout this list to hear an audio recording.

I. Fundamentos Esenciales y Cotidianos (Core & Everyday Essentials)

1. Saludos y Frases Básicas (Greetings & Basic Phrases):

2. Información Personal y Presentaciones (Personal Information & Introductions):

A fundamental concept in Spanish is that all nouns have a grammatical gender, either masculine or feminine. This isn't necessarily tied to biological gender; for example, el libro (the book) is masculine, while la mesa (the table) is feminine.

Learning the gender along with the noun is crucial because it affects articles (like el/la) and adjectives, which must agree with the noun's gender. While there are patterns (e.g., nouns ending in -o are often masculine, -a often feminine), exceptions exist, making memorization important.

Pronombres (Pronouns)

Spanish distinguishes between formal (usted) and informal (tú) ways of saying "you" in the singular. Tú is used with friends, family, children, and people you know well. Usted shows respect and is used with strangers, older people, or in professional settings, impacting verb conjugations.

For plural "you," Spain primarily uses vosotros (informal) and ustedes (formal), while Latin America generally uses ustedes for both formal and informal situations.

3. Números y Contar (Numbers & Counting):

Números Cardinales (Cardinal numbers)

Números Ordinales (Ordinal numbers)

Cantidades (Quantities & Amounts)

Forming plurals of nouns in Spanish is generally straightforward. If a noun ends in a vowel, you typically add -s (e.g., libro → libros, silla → sillas). If it ends in a consonant, you add -es (e.g., árbol → árboles, ciudad → ciudades). Nouns ending in -z change the -z to -c before adding -es (e.g., lápiz → lápices). Remember that articles and adjectives must also change to match the plural noun.

Operaciones Matemáticas Básicas (Basic math operations)

4. Tiempo y Calendario (Time & Calendar):

An important and simple rule to remember is that days of the week (e.g., lunes, martes) and months of the year (e.g., enero, febrero) are not capitalized in Spanish, unless they begin a sentence. This is a common difference from English grammar. So, you would write hoy es martes, 5 de enero (today is Tuesday, January 5th).

Decir la Hora (Telling time)

Expresiones de Tiempo (Time expressions)

5. Colores y Formas (Colors & Shapes):

Colores Básicos (Basic colors)

Tonos (Shades)

Formas Básicas (Basic shapes)

Spanish nouns are almost always accompanied by articles. Definite articles (el, la, los, las – meaning "the") refer to specific nouns, agreeing in gender and number (el libro, las mesas). Indefinite articles (un, una, unos, unas – meaning "a/an" or "some") are for non-specific nouns, also agreeing in gender and number (un perro, unas flores). Mastering these is key to forming correct phrases.

II. Personas y Relaciones (People & Relationships)

6. Familia y Relaciones (Family & Relationships):

Familia Inmediata (Immediate family)

Familia Extendida (Extended family)

Estado Civil (Relationship status)

Términos de Amistad (Friendship terms)

7. Describir Personas (Describing People):

Apariencia Física (Physical appearance)

Rasgos de Personalidad (Personality traits)

Grupos de Edad (Age groups)

8. Emociones y Sentimientos (Emotions & Feelings):

Emociones Básicas (Basic emotions)

Estados de Ánimo (States of being)

III. A Tu Alrededor: Lugares y Cosas (Around You: Places & Things)

9. Hogar y Tareas Domésticas (Home & Household):

Tipos de Vivienda (Types of dwellings)

Habitaciones (Rooms)

Muebles (Furniture)

Objetos y Electrodomésticos (Household items & Appliances)

Tareas Domésticas (Household chores)

10. Ciudad y Vida Urbana (City & Urban Life):

Lugares en la Ciudad (Places in the city)

Edificios y Estructuras (Buildings & Structures)

Servicios Públicos (Public services)

11. Naturaleza y Medio Ambiente (Nature & Environment):

Accidentes Geográficos (Landforms)

Plantas (Plants)

Elementos Naturales (Natural elements)

Términos Ambientales (Environmental terms)

12. Tiempo y Clima (Weather & Climate):

Condiciones (Conditions)

Fenómenos Naturales (Natural phenomena)

Términos de Pronóstico (Forecasting terms)

13. Animales (Animals):

Mascotas (Pets)

Animales de Granja (Farm animals)

Animales Salvajes (Wild animals)

Insectos (Insects & Bugs)

Partes de Animales (Animal parts)

IV. Actividades Diarias y Necesidades (Daily Activities & Needs)

14. Comida y Bebida (Food & Drink):

Frutas (Fruits)

Verduras (Vegetables)

Carnes y Aves (Meats & Poultry)

Lácteos y Granos (Dairy & Grains)

Bebidas (Beverages)

Comidas (Meals)

Términos de Cocina (Cooking terms)

Vajilla y Cubiertos (Tableware & Utensils)

Comer Fuera (Eating out)

As you learn Spanish, you'll encounter vocabulary variations across different Spanish-speaking countries and even regions. For example, "potato" is papa in most of Latin America but patata in Spain. While the core vocabulary is largely the same, being aware of these regionalisms is helpful, especially when interacting with speakers from diverse backgrounds. Don't worry about memorizing all variations initially, but be open to encountering them.

15. Ropa y Accesorios (Clothing & Accessories):

Prendas de Vestir (Garments)

Calzado (Footwear)

Accesorios (Accessories)

Describir Ropa (Describing clothes)

16. Partes del Cuerpo y Salud (Body Parts & Health):

Partes Externas del Cuerpo (External body parts)

Órganos Internos (Internal organs)

Sentidos (Senses)

Dolencias Comunes (Common ailments)

Términos Médicos (Medical terms)

Higiene (Hygiene)

17. Compras y Dinero (Shopping & Money):

Tipos de Tiendas (Types of shops)

Acciones de Compra (Shopping actions)

Dinero y Moneda (Money & Currency)

18. Transporte y Viajes (Transportation & Travel):

Medios de Transporte (Modes of transport)

Terminología de Viaje (Travel terminology)

Direcciones (Directions)

V. Trabajo, Estudio y Ocio (Work, Study & Leisure)

19. Trabajo y Profesiones (Work & Professions):

Profesiones (Job titles)

Vocabulario Laboral (Workplace vocabulary)

Herramientas y Equipos (Tools & Equipment)

20. Educación (Education):

Lugares de Aprendizaje (Places of learning)

Personas en la Educación (People in education)

Asignaturas Escolares (School subjects)

Términos Académicos (Academic terms)

Objetos del Aula (Classroom objects)

21. Deportes, Aficiones y Ocio (Sports, Hobbies & Leisure):

Deportes Comunes (Common sports)

Aficiones y Actividades (Hobbies & Activities)

Equipamiento (Equipment)

Lugares de Ocio (Places for leisure)

22. Arte y Cultura (Arts & Culture):

Música (Music)

Artes Visuales (Visual Arts)

Artes Escénicas (Performing Arts)

Literatura (Literature)

While Spanish sentence structure can be flexible, a common basic order is Subject-Verb-Object (SVO), similar to English: Yo como una manzana (I eat an apple). However, Spanish often omits subject pronouns (like yo, tú) if the verb conjugation makes the subject clear (e.g., Como una manzana). Adjectives typically follow the noun they modify (la manzana roja - the red apple), which is a frequent point of practice for learners.

VI. Bloques de Construcción del Lenguaje (Cruciales para Formar Frases) (Language Building Blocks)

23. Verbos Comunes (Acciones y Estados) (Common Verbs - Actions & States):

The verbs listed here are in their infinitive form (e.g., comer - to eat). In Spanish, verbs change their endings (conjugate) to match the subject (I, you, he/she, etc.) and tense (present, past, future). For instance, comer becomes yo como (I eat), tú comes (you eat). Learning common conjugation patterns for regular -ar, -er, and -ir verbs, alongside key irregular verbs, is essential for communication.

Two crucial verbs, ser and estar, both mean "to be" but are not interchangeable. Ser describes inherent qualities, identity, origin, and time (e.g., Soy alto - I am tall). Estar indicates temporary states, location, emotions, and conditions (e.g., Estoy cansado - I am tired; El libro está en la mesa - The book is on the table). Distinguishing their uses is fundamental to speaking Spanish correctly.

Ser/Estar (Being)

Tener (Having)

Hacer (Doing/Making)

Movimiento (Movement)

Sentidos (Senses)

Comunicación (Communication)

Pensar/Sentir (Thinking/Feeling)

The verb gustar (to like) functions differently from its English equivalent. Instead of "I like something," the Spanish structure is akin to "Something is pleasing to me." Thus, Me gusta el libro literally translates to "The book is pleasing to me." The item liked is the grammatical subject, and the person liking it is an indirect object (e.g., me, te, le). If plural items are liked, gustar becomes gustan (e.g., Me gustan los libros).

Acciones Generales (General actions)

24. Adjetivos Comunes (Palabras Descriptivas) (Common Adjectives - Describing Words):

Adjectives in Spanish must "agree" in both gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural) with the nouns they describe. For a masculine singular noun like el libro (book), you'd use rojo (red) – el libro rojo. For plural libros, it's los libros rojos. A feminine noun la mesa (table) takes roja – la mesa roja, and plural las mesas rojas. Adjectives ending in -e or a consonant often have one form for both genders but still change for plural (e.g., verde → verdes).

Cualidades (Qualities)

Tamaño/Dimensión (Size/Dimension)

Condición (Condition)

Velocidad/Intensidad (Speed/Intensity)

Opinión/Importancia (Opinion/Importance)

25. Adverbios Comunes (Modifican Verbos/Adjetivos) (Common Adverbs - Modifying Verbs/Adjectives):

Modo (Manner)

Frecuencia (Frequency)

Grado (Degree)

Lugar (Place)

Tiempo (Time)

26. Preposiciones y Conjunciones (Palabras de Enlace) (Prepositions & Conjunctions - Connecting Words):

Preposiciones de Lugar (Prepositions of place)

Preposiciones de Tiempo (Prepositions of time)

Preposiciones de Movimiento (Prepositions of movement)

Conjunciones (Conjunctions)

27. Palabras Interrogativas (Question Words):

Forming basic yes/no questions in Spanish can be as simple as raising your intonation at the end of a statement (e.g., ¿Estudias español? - Do you study Spanish?). You can also invert the subject and verb (e.g., ¿Estudia usted español?). For questions using interrogative words like qué (what), the question word typically comes first, followed by the verb (e.g., ¿Qué comes? - What are you eating?). Remember the opening (¿) and closing (?) question marks.