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The 100 most common Spanish words

Just 100 words carry a surprising amount of any language. Here are the 100 most frequent Spanish words, each with its English translation and a natural example sentence — the fastest, highest-leverage place to start building a Spanish vocabulary.

  1. de preposition · A1
    of / from / about
    El coche es de María. — The car is María's.
  2. que conjunction · A1
    that / which / who / than
    El coche que compré es rojo. — The car that I bought is red.
  3. no adverb · A1
    no / not
    No tengo hambre. — I am not hungry.
  4. a preposition · A1
    to / at / by
    Voy a Madrid mañana. — I am going to Madrid tomorrow.
  5. la article / pronoun · A1
    the / her / it
    La puerta está abierta. — The door is open.
  6. el article · A1
    the
    El perro está en el jardín. — The dog is in the garden.
  7. y conjunction · A1
    and
    Tengo un hermano y dos hermanas. — I have one brother and two sisters.
  8. es verb · A1
    is
    El coche es rojo. — The car is red.
  9. en preposition · A1
    in / on / at / by
    Vivo en Madrid. — I live in Madrid.
  10. lo pronoun · neuter · A1
    it / him / the (neuter)
    No lo puedo creer. — I can't believe it.
  11. un article · A1
    a / an / one
    Quiero un café, por favor. — I want a coffee, please.
  12. por preposition · A1
    for / by / through / because of
    Paseamos por la playa al atardecer. — We walked along the beach at sunset.
  13. qué pronoun · A1
    what / how
    ¿Qué hora es? — What time is it?
  14. me pronoun · A1
    me / myself / to me
    Él me dio las llaves. — He gave me the keys.
  15. una article · A1
    a / an / one
    Tengo una hermana mayor. — I have an older sister.
  16. los article / pronoun · A1
    the / them
    Me gustan los perros. — I like the dogs.
  17. se pronoun · A1
    himself / herself / itself / themselves / each other / one
    El pájaro se lava en la fuente. — The bird washes itself in the fountain.
  18. te pronoun · A1
    you / to you / yourself
    Yo te llamo más tarde. — I will call you later.
  19. con preposition · A1
    with
    Quiero ir al cine con mis amigos. — I want to go to the movies with my friends.
  20. para preposition · A1
    for / in order to / to
    Este regalo es para mi madre. — This gift is for my mother.
  21. está verb · A1
    is / is located / is feeling
    ¿Dónde está el baño? — Where is the bathroom?
  22. mi adjective · A1
    my
    Ésta es mi hermana mayor. — This is my older sister.
  23. pero conjunction · A1
    but / yet
    Me gusta, pero es muy caro. — I like it, but it's very expensive.
  24. sí adverb · A1
    yes / oneself
    ¿Sí o no? — Yes or no?
  25. si conjunction · A1
    if / whether
    Avísame si necesitas ayuda. — Let me know if you need help.
  26. bien adverb · A1
    well / fine / okay
    Todo va a salir bien. — Everything is going to turn out fine.
  27. eso pronoun · A1
    that / that thing
    ¿Qué es eso que tienes en la mano? — What is that you have in your hand?
  28. su adjective · A1
    his / her / its / your (formal) / their
    ¿Dónde está su pasaporte? — Where is your passport?
  29. las article / pronoun · A1
    the / them
    Me gustan las flores. — I like the flowers.
  30. yo pronoun · A1
    I
    Yo no sé nada de eso. — I don't know anything about that.
  31. del preposition · A1
    of the / from the
    Vengo del supermercado. — I am coming from the supermarket.
  32. como conjunction · A1
    like / as / since
    Canta como un pájaro. — She sings like a bird.
  33. aquí adverb · A1
    here
    Ven aquí ahora mismo. — Come here right now.
  34. tu adjective · A1
    your (informal)
    ¿Dónde está tu coche? — Where is your car?
  35. al contraction · A1
    to the / at the / upon
    Voy al supermercado a comprar leche. — I am going to the supermarket to buy milk.
  36. más adverb · A1
    more / plus / most
    Quiero un poco más de café. — I want a little more coffee.
  37. le pronoun · A1
    to him / to her / to you (formal)
    No le digas nada. — Don't tell him anything.
  38. esto pronoun · A1
    this / this thing / this matter
    ¿Qué es esto? — What is this?
  39. todo adjective · A1
    all / everything / whole / every
    ¿Todo bien? — Is everything good?
  40. ya adverb · A1
    already / now / soon
    ¿Ya terminaste tu tarea? — Did you finish your homework already?
  41. estoy verb · A1
    I am
    ¡Estoy muy feliz hoy! — I am very happy today!
  42. ahora adverb · A1
    now / right now / nowadays
    ¿Qué estás haciendo ahora? — What are you doing now?
  43. muy adverb · A1
    very
    Estoy muy cansado hoy. — I am very tired today.
  44. ha verb · A1
    has
    ¿Qué ha pasado? — What has happened?
  45. esta adjective · A1
    this / this one
    Me gusta mucho esta canción. — I really like this song.
  46. así adverb · A1
    like this / like that / so
    No me mires así. — Don't look at me like that.
  47. vamos verb · A1
    we go / let's go / come on
    Nosotros vamos a la playa este fin de semana. — We are going to the beach this weekend.
  48. algo pronoun / adverb · A1
    something / somewhat / a little
    ¿Quieres algo de beber? — Do you want something to drink?
  49. hay verb · A1
    there is / there are
    ¿Hay leche en la nevera? — Is there milk in the fridge?
  50. bueno adjective · A1
    good / fine / well
    El pastel de chocolate está muy bueno. — The chocolate cake is very good.
  51. tengo verb · A1
    I have / I am (age, physical states)
    Tengo dos hermanos mayores. — I have two older brothers.
  52. él pronoun · A1
    he / him
    ¿Dónde está él? — Where is he?
  53. cuando conjunction · A1
    when / whenever
    Te aviso cuando esté listo. — I'll let you know when it's ready.
  54. estás verb · A1
    you are
    ¿Dónde estás ahora mismo? — Where are you right now?
  55. sé verb · A1
    I know / be (command)
    No sé qué hacer con este problema. — I don't know what to do with this problem.
  56. tú pronoun · A1
    you (singular informal)
    ¿Y tú qué opinas? — And what do you think?
  57. nos pronoun · A1
    us / to us / ourselves / each other
    Ellos nos invitaron a la fiesta. — They invited us to the party.
  58. nada pronoun · A1
    nothing / anything / not at all
    No tengo nada en los bolsillos. — I don't have anything in my pockets.
  59. cómo adverb · A1
    how / what / pardon
    ¿Cómo se hace esta receta? — How do you make this recipe?
  60. este adjective / pronoun · A1
    this / um / east
    Quiero comprar este libro. — I want to buy this book.
  61. o conjunction · A1
    or / either
    ¿Quieres agua o jugo? — Do you want water or juice?
  62. he verb · A1
    I have (auxiliary)
    Yo no he dicho nada. — I have not said anything.
  63. ser verb · A1
    to be
    Soy estudiante de la universidad. — I am a university student.
  64. tiene verb · A1
    he has / she has / it has / you have
    Ella tiene un coche nuevo. — She has a new car.
  65. puedo verb · A1
    I can / I am able to / May I
    ¿Puedo ir al baño? — Can I go to the bathroom?
  66. ella pronoun · A1
    she / her / it (feminine)
    ¿Dónde está ella? — Where is she?
  67. quiero verb · A1
    I want / I love
    Yo no quiero ir a la fiesta. — I don't want to go to the party.
  68. hacer verb · A1
    to do / to make
    ¿Qué vas a hacer hoy? — What are you going to do today?
  69. fue verb · A1
    was / went
    La película fue un éxito total. — The movie was a total success.
  70. gracias interjection / noun · feminine · A1
    thank you / thanks
    ¡Muchas gracias por el regalo! — Thank you very much for the gift!
  71. vez noun · feminine · A1
    time / instance / occasion
    Solo fui a España una vez. — I only went to Spain one time.
  72. era verb · A1
    I was / he was / she was / it was / era
    Cuando era niño, jugaba en la calle. — When I was a boy, I used to play in the street.
  73. soy verb · A1
    I am
    Yo soy tu padre. — I am your father.
  74. sólo adverb · A1
    only / just
    Sólo tengo cinco minutos. — I only have five minutes.
  75. todos pronoun / adjective · A1
    all / everyone / every
    ¡Hola a todos! — Hello everyone!
  76. porque conjunction · A1
    because
    Lo hago porque quiero. — I do it because I want to.
  77. son verb · A1
    they are / you (plural) are
    Ellos son mis hermanos. — They are my brothers.
  78. tienes verb · A1
    you have / you've got
    ¿Tienes las llaves del coche? — Do you have the car keys?
  79. creo verb · A1
    I think / I believe
    Creo que va a llover esta tarde. — I think it's going to rain this afternoon.
  80. voy verb · A1
    I go / I am going
    Hoy no voy al trabajo porque estoy enfermo. — I am not going to work today because I am sick.
  81. sabes verb · A1
    you know / do you know
    ¿Sabes a qué hora empieza la película? — Do you know what time the movie starts?
  82. estaba verb · A1
    I was / he was / she was / it was
    Yo estaba muy cansado ayer. — I was very tired yesterday.
  83. puede verb · A1
    can / is able to / may
    ¿Puede hablar más despacio, por favor? — Can you speak more slowly, please?
  84. eres verb · A1
    you are
    ¿Eres estudiante o trabajas? — Are you a student or do you work?
  85. ese adjective / pronoun · A1
    that / that one
    ¿De quién es ese coche? — Whose car is that?
  86. usted pronoun · A1
    you (formal)
    ¿Usted necesita ayuda con las maletas? — Do you need help with the suitcases?
  87. entonces adverb · A1
    then / so
    ¿Entonces no vas a venir a la cena? — So you're not coming to dinner?
  88. hola interjection · A1
    hello / hi
    ¡Hola! ¿Cómo estás? — Hi! How are you?
  89. solo adjective / adverb · A1
    alone / only / just
    ¿Vives solo o con tu familia? — Do you live alone or with your family?
  90. verdad noun · feminine · A1
    truth / right
    Dime la verdad, ¿qué pasó? — Tell me the truth, what happened?
  91. casa noun · feminine · A1
    house / home
    Mi casa tiene tres habitaciones. — My house has three bedrooms.
  92. tan adverb · A1
    so / as / such a
    ¿Por qué estás tan cansado? — Why are you so tired?
  93. quién pronoun · A1
    who / whom
    ¿Quién dejó la puerta abierta? — Who left the door open?
  94. sus adjective · A1
    his / her / its / your (formal) / their
    Ellos olvidaron sus llaves. — They forgot their keys.
  95. tiempo noun · masculine · A1
    time / weather
    ¿Qué tiempo hace hoy en Madrid? — What is the weather like today in Madrid?
  96. dos numeral · A1
    two
    Tengo dos hermanos mayores. — I have two older brothers.
  97. esa adjective / pronoun · A1
    that / that one
    ¿De quién es esa mochila? — Whose backpack is that?
  98. nunca adverb · A1
    never
    Nunca he estado en España. — I have never been to Spain.
  99. dónde adverb · A1
    where
    ¿Dónde está el baño? — Where is the bathroom?
  100. va verb · A1
    goes / is going
    ¿A dónde va este tren? — Where does this train go?

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