How the list works
- Verbs appear once, as the infinitive. Ser stands for soy, eres, es, somos, and son; ir stands for voy, va, and vamos. The table gives the present-tense forms you will hear most.
- Gender and plural forms count as one word. El / la covers los and las; este / esta covers estos and estas; bueno / buena covers buenos and buenas.
- Haber mostly appears as hay, "there is" or "there are": Hay un problema (There’s a problem), Hay dos bancos (There are two banks).
- Latin American Spanish is the default. Ustedes is "you" for any group; Spain also uses vosotros for friends and family, which is not listed here.
The small words do the most work
Articles, prepositions, and pronouns fill most of the top of the list. They rarely translate one-for-one, so learn them in short phrases:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| la casa de Ana | Ana’s house (the house of Ana) |
| Vamos al parque. | We’re going to the park. (a + el = al) |
| Salgo del trabajo. | I’m leaving work. (de + el = del) |
| Gracias por todo. | Thanks for everything. |
| Es para ti. | It’s for you. |
| Te quiero. | I love you. (te comes before the verb) |
Por and para both translate as "for". Para points to a goal or recipient (para ti, for you); por gives a reason, an exchange, or a route (gracias por, thanks for; por el parque, through the park).
Two verbs for "to be", two for "there is" and "have"
- Ser says what something is: identity, origin, profession, lasting traits. Soy de Chile (I’m from Chile), Es doctora (She’s a doctor).
- Estar says where something is or how it is right now. Estoy cansado (I’m tired), Está en casa (He’s at home).
- Hay means "there is" or "there are" and never changes for plurals. Tener means "to have" and also covers age and many feelings: Tengo veinte años (I’m twenty, literally "I have twenty years"), Tengo hambre (I’m hungry).
Accent marks that change the word
Several of the most common words come in pairs that differ only by a written accent. They sound the same or nearly so; the accented one is usually stressed in speech, and the accent tells them apart in writing.
| Without accent | With accent |
|---|---|
| el (the): el libro | él (he): él lee |
| tu (your): tu casa | tú (you): tú hablas |
| mi (my): mi casa | mí (me, after a preposition): para mí |
| si (if): si puedes | sí (yes): sí, claro |
| se (himself, herself): se llama | sé (I know): no sé |
| que (that): creo que sí | qué (what): ¿qué pasa? |
| como (like, as): como tú | cómo (how): ¿cómo estás? |
Question words carry the accent in direct and indirect questions: ¿Dónde está? (Where is it?) and No sé dónde está (I don’t know where it is). To type these letters, see Spanish accents.
Learn them in phrases
Common words stick best inside phrases you can use straight away:
- Me llamo… My name is…
- ¿Cómo se dice…? How do you say…?
- No sé. I don’t know.
- Tengo que irme. I have to go.
- ¿Qué pasa? What’s happening? What’s up?
- Ya no. Not anymore.
Read the example column aloud; the Spanish alphabet explains each letter’s sound. For ready-made greetings and survival phrases, see common Spanish phrases.