500 Most Useful Spanish Vocabulary Words for Beginners

Learning a new language can be an overwhelming task as there are thousands of words, phrases, and sentences to learn before becoming a fluent speaker. Do you feel overwhelmed by the amount of websites that give you thousands of words to memorize? Well, look no further because we are here to give our curated list of the 500 most useful Spanish vocabulary words to kickstart your Spanish learning journey.

Whether you are interested to learn Spanish as a second language or want to pick up some basic Spanish vocabulary before traveling, all are welcome to come learn with us!👩🏻‍🏫

Why Learn Spanish?

Learning a new language is always a fun and rewarding experience, however it can also be very beneficial to open new opportunities. According to an article on Babbel, there are about 20 countries where Spanish is the official language as well as countries like the United States. There are approximately 450 million people whose native language is Spanish and about around 75 million that speak it as a second language. This means that Spanish is the second most spoken language and third most studied language in the world. Learning to speak Spanish your next language means that you make create future job opportunities or even an opportunity to make new friends.

Why Learn Spanish Vocabulary?

While in order to learn a new language vocabulary wouldn’t be the only thing you would focus on, it is a great place to start. According to an article written by BBC, a native speaker of a language would know approximately 15,000 to 20,000 words which seems like an impossible feat. However, the article goes on to explain that you can still learn to effectively communicate on a day-to-day basis if you learn the 800 to 1000 most used words. This list contains the most common Spanish vocabulary that should help kickstart your learning, but, of course, there is no quick shortcut to becoming a more fluent speaker without some help. Link up with one of our amazing tutors here!

Before You Begin – Quick Study Tips

5 Study Tips for Memorizing Vocabulary

1. Write it out its meaning ✏️. Pen to paper is usually the best method for long-term memory, but you can also use flashcard making programs like Quizlet or Cram.com.
2. Speak it out loud 🗣. It might be good to look take a look at a Spanish pronunciation guide video before beginning.
3. Try and contextualize 💭 the word through making a sentence or two with the word.
4. Group together words that are used to together or have similar meanings.
5. Quiz yourself. Small quizzes are a great way to challenge yourself. A great way to incentivize yourself is to give yourself small rewards for getting perfect scores 💯.

Need more tips for studying Spanish? Check out this article on: How to Learn Spanish On Your Own: 6 Simple Steps

Self Introductions

Spanish	English
me llamo	my name is
mi nombre es	my name is
soy	i’m
¿cómo te llamas?	what is your name
(yo) soy de…	I am from

Pronouns

Spanish	English
Yo	I
tú	You (Informal)
usted	You (Formal)
ella	She
él	He
nosotros/nosotras	We
ustedes	You all
ellos	They
ellas	They (Females)

Greetings and Salutations

Spanish	English
hola	Hello
adiós; chao	Good Bye
hasta luego	See you later
hasta mañana	See you tomorrow
¡hasta luego!	See you soon!
¡tenga un buen día!	Have a good day!
buenos días	Good Morning
buenas tardes	Good Afternoon
buenas noches	Good Night
¿cómo está usted?	How are you? (Formal)
¿cómo estás?	How are you? (Informal)
¿qué haces?	What are you doing?
¿qué pasa?	What’s happening?

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Typical Responses

Spanish	English
sí	yes
no	no
¿y tú?	and you?
muy bien	Great; very good
así, así	so, so
mal	bad
como siempre	As always
¿entiende(s)?	do you understand?
no entiendo	I don’t understand
no hablo español	I don’t speak Spanish
no (lo) sé	I don’t know
gracias	Thank you
¡de nada!	You’re welcome or No Problem
por favor	Please
¡lo siento!	Sorry
salud	Bless you
¡disculpe!; ¡perdon!	Excuse me!

Family

Spanish	English
la madre; la mamá	Mother; Mom
el padre; el papá	Father; Dad
la hermana	Daughter
el hermano	Son
la hija	Sister
el hijo	Brother
la familia cercana	Immediate family
el abuelo	Grandfather
la abuela	Grandmother
el nieto	Grandson
la nieta	Granddaughter
el tío	Uncle
la tía	Aunt
el primo	Cousin (Male)
la prima	Cousin (Female)
mis parientes	My relatives

Age

Spanish	English
(yo) tengo … años	I am… years old.
viejo/a	old
joven	young
de mediana edad	middle-aged
juvenil	youthful/ youth

Basic Numbers

Spanish	English
cero	Zero
uno	One
dos	Two
tres	Three
cuatro	Four
cinco	Five
seis	Six
siete	Seven
ocho	Eight
neuve	Nine
diez	Ten

Holidays and Special Events

Spanish	English
el cumpleaños	Birthday
la boda	Wedding
la fiesta	Party
la navidad	Christmas
el año nuevo	New Years
el día de acción de gracias	Thanksgiving
la pascua	Easter
el día de san valentín	Valentine’s Day
el día de la madre	Mother’s Day
el día del padre	Father’s Day
el día de la independencia	Independence Day

Celebratory Words

Spanish	English
¡felicitaciones!	Congratulations
¡feliz cumpleaños!	Happy Birthday
¡bienvenidos! / ¡bienvenidas!	Welcome!
salud!	Cheers!
¡feliz navidad!	Merry Christmas
¡Bravo!	Well done!

Days of the Week

Spanish	English
Domingo	Sunday
Lunes	Monday
Martes	Tuesday
Miércoles	Wednesday
Jueves	Thursday
Viernes	Friday
Sabado	Saturday

Months

Spanish	English
Enero	January
Febrero	February
Marzo	March
Abril	April
Mayo	May
Junio	June
Julio	July
Agosto	August
Septiembre	September
Octubre	October
Noviembre	November
Diciembre	December

Time Words

Spanish	English
hoy	Today
ayer	Yesterday
mañana	Tomorrow
el pasado mañana	Day after tomorrw
el día	Day
la semana	Week
el mes	Month
el año	Year
la hora	Hour
el minuto	Minute
los segundos	Seconds
mañana	Morning
la tarde	Afternoon
la noche	Night

Colors

Spanish	English
blanco	white
negro	black
gris	grey
rojo	red
rosado	pink
morado; púrpura	purple
anaranjado	orange
amarillo	yellow
azul	blue
verde	gree
marrón; café	brown

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📢 Heads up! 📢 The list are going to get longer from this point on. This is a good place to take a quick stretch break.

Weather and Seasons

Spanish	English
la temperatura	The temperature
el pronóstico	The forecast
el clima	The weather
el frío	The cold
el calor	The heat
el sol	The sun
las nubes	The clouds
la lluvia	The rain
la neblina	The mist
la llovizna	The drizzle
la niebla	The fog
la tormenta	The storm
la nieve	The snow
el hielo	The ice
el granizo	The hail
la brisa	The breeze
el viento	The wind
el trueno	The thunder
el rayo	The lightning
la humedad	The humidity
llover	To rain
lloviznar	To drizzle
diluviar	To pour down
granizar	To hail
nevar	To snow
las estaciones	The seasons
el invierno	Winter
la primavera	Spring
el verano	Summer
el otoño	Fall

Action Verbs

Spanish	English
empezar	To start
seguir	To follow
abrir	To open
cerrar	To close
cantar	To sing
buscar	To search
esconder	To hide
encontrar	To find
destruir	To destroy
esperar	To wait
faltar	To miss
hacer	To do
intentar	To try
llamar	To call
llevar	To take
llorar	To cry
luchar	To fight
mentir	To lie
odiar	To hate
gritar	To shout
amar	To love
recibir	To receive
reconocer	To recognize
perdonar	To forgive
reír	To laugh
sonreír	To smile
abrazar	To hug
soñar	To dream
robar	To steal
salvar	To save
vivir	To live
ver	To see
mirar	To look
escuchar	To hear
tocar	To touch
agarrar	To grab

Travel Related

Spanish	English
ir	to go
salir	to leave
parar	to stop
partir	to depart
viajar	to travel
volver	to return
el viaje	trip
el equipaje	bags
la salida	exit
la llegada	arrival
el avión	airplane
los documentos de identidad	id papers
el billete de avión	boarding pass
el coche	airline hostess
la bicicleta	car
la motocicleta	bicycle
el permiso de conducir	motorcycle
echar gasolina	driver’s license
dependiente de gas	to get gas
el tren	train
revisor(a)	train conductor
el metro/subte	subway
el autobús	bus
el barco	ship
taxista	taxi driver
el hotel	hotel
porter(a)	doorman
hostia	hostess
botones	bellhop
¡buen viaje!	Have a good trip!

Parts of the Body

Spanish	English
la cabeza	head
le frente	forehead
la garganta	throat
la barbilla	chin
la lengua	tongue
el cuello	neck
los dientes	teeth
la boca	mouth
los labios	lips
la mejilla; el cachete	cheek
la nariz	nose
las cejas	eyebrows
las pestañas	eyelashes
el pelo	hair
la barba	beard
el bigote	mustache
el hombro	shoulders
la espalda	back
el vientre	stomach
la cintura	waist
el ombligo	belly button
la cadera	hip
el brazo	arm
el codo	elbow
la muñeca	wrist
los dedos	fingers
el pugar	thumb
la pierna	leg
el muslo	thigh
la rodilla	knee
la pantorrilla	calf
las nalgas	buttocks
el pie	foot
el tobillo	ankle
el talón	heel
los dedos de los pies	toes
la piel	skin

Food and Eating Related

Spanish	English
el desayuno	breakfast
el almuerzo	lunch
la cena	dinner
el tentempié	snack
gusto	taste
sabor	flavor
probar	try
sabroso	tasty
delicioso	delicious
perfecto	perfect
apetitoso	appetizing
agrio; agria	sour
picante	spicy
salada; salado	salty
dulce	sweet
dulzón	sugary
soso	bland
tengo hambre	I’m hungry
tengo sed	I’m thirsty
cocinar	To cook
la comida	food
las verduras	vegetables
las frutas	fruits
el postre	dessert
las bebidas	drinks
la cerveza	beer
el refresco	soda
el té	tea
el té helado	iced tea
el café	coffee
la leche	milk
el agua	water
el jugo	juice
el batido	milkshake
el vaso	glass
la copa	cup
el tenedor	fork
la cuchara	spoon
el cuchillo	knife
la servilleta	napkin

Description Words

Spanish	English
Distancia	Distance
abierto/a	open
ancho/a	wide
estrencho/a	narrow
lejano/a	far
cercano/a	close
Personalidad y emociones	Personality and Emotions
alegre	joyful
gracioso/a	funny
serio/a	serious
tímido/a	shy
valiente	brave
loco/a	crazy
contento/a	content
feliz	happy
preocupado/a	worried
nervioso/a	nervous
tranquilo/a	tranquil
calmado/a	calm
emocionado/a	excited
Pelo	Hair
largo/a	long
corto/a	short
liso/a	curly
ondulado/a	wavy
castaño/a	brown
rubio/a	blonde
pelirrojo/a	red
negro/a	black
canoso/a	grey
abundante	thick
fino/a	thin
escalado/a	layered
teñido/a	dyed
saludable	healthy
claro/a	light
encrespado/a	frizzy
brillante	shiny
calvo/a	bald
Talla	Size
granda	big
pequeño/a	small
enorme	huge
flaco/a	skinny
alto/a	tall
bajo/a	short
Apariencia	Appearance
hermoso/a	beautiful
guapo/a	handsome
feo/a	ugly
lindo/a	cute
bonita	pretty
poco atractivo/a	plain
promedio/a	average
atractivo/a	attractive

Location Words

Spanish	English
dentro de	inside of
encima de/ sobre	on top of
debajo de	underneath of
delante de	in front of
detrás de	behind
entre	between
en	in/ on / at
fuera de	outside of
arriba de	above
en medio de	in the middle of
cerca de	close to
lejos de	far from
al lado de	next to
alrededor de	around
a la izquierda de	to the left of
a la derecha de	to the right of
estar	to be
colocar	to place
ubicar	to position
poner	to put
situar	to place
aquí, acá	here
ahí	there
allí	there
allá	over there
el este	east
el norte	north
el oeste	west
el sur	south

Home Related

Spanish	English
la casa	home; house
la habitación	bedroom
el comedor	living room
la cocina	kitchen
el baño	bathroom
el pasillo	hallway
el jardín	yard, garden
el garaje	garage
la puerta	the door
el armario	the wardrobe
el ordenador	the computer
el cama	the bed
las sábanas	bedding
el espejo	the mirror
el sillón	armchair
la estantería	the shelf
la ventana	the window
las cortinas	the curtains
la mesa	the table
la silla	the chair
la alfombra	the carpet/ rug
la lámpara	the lamp
el suelo	the ground
el techo	the ceiling
la pasta de dientes	toothpaste
el cepillo de dientes	toothbrush
el jabón	soap
el secador de pelo	hair dryer
el champú	shampoo
el cepillo	brush
el papel higiénco	toilet paper
la toalla	towel
la bolsa de basura	trash bag
el cubo de basura	trash can
el cesto de la ropa sucia	laundry basket
la navaja de afeitar	razor
la crema de afeitar	shaving cream
el enjuague bucal	mouthwash
el cepillo de pelo	hair brush
el peine	comb
el limpiandor facial	facial cleanser
la balanza	scale
el pañuelo de papel	tissue
la alfombra de baño	bath mat
la ducha	shower
el fregadero	sink
el inodoro	toilet
el grifo	faucet
arriba	upstairs
abajo	downstairs
Ia planta	the plant
las flores	the flowers
el cuadro	the painting

Transition Words

Spanish	English
Tiempo y lugar	Time and Place
en primer lugar	firstly
para comenzar	to start
antes	before
después	after
al final	at the end
mientras tanto	meanwhile
Añade Una Idea	To Add an Idea
además	additionally
aparte de	apart from
asimismo	at the same time
también	also
de igual manera	in the same way
Comparar y Contrastar	Compare and Contrast
pero	but
sin embargo	however
no obstante	nevertheless
por otro lado	on the other hand
aunque	even though
a pesar de	depsite

Shopping Related

Spanish	English
para ir de compras	to go shopping
cuánto cuesta esto	How much is this?
dependiente/a	shop assistant
caja	checkout
rebajas	sales
ocasión	bargain
recibo	receipt
probadores	dressing room
tamaño	size
tienda de ropa	clothing store
zapatería	shoe store
librería	bookstore
almacén	department store
supermercado	supermarket
joyería	jeweler
juguetería	toy store
tendero/a	shopkeeper
dinero	money
cajero/a	cashier

Medical Emergency

Spanish	English
la ambulancia	ambulance
la aseguradora	insurance carrier
la clínica	clinic
la farmacia	pharmacy
el hospital	hospital
la salade espera	waiting room
la salade operaciones	operating room
tengo dolor	I am in pain

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Master the Spanish language

Congratulations and well done or should I say ¡Bien hecho! Hopefully you made it to the end and you now feel that you know more Spanish than you did yesterday. Of course your language learning journey does not end here for this is just the beginning. As mentioned before, learning a new language can be a difficult task solo, but thankfully, here at AmazingTalker, we have many great and experienced tutors to boost your language ability. Connect with one TODAY!

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