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Spanish Words for Beginners

The first 69 words to learn in Spanish, in six short steps, with pronunciation. Practice right here.

Step 1 of 6

Basic Spanish greetings and polite words

Start with the words you'll use every day: hola, gracias, por favor and adiós. In Spanish the h is always silent, so hola sounds like OH-lah.

Whole phrases like buenos días and ¿cómo estás? are on the common Spanish phrases page.

  • holahello · OH-lah
  • adiósgoodbye · ah-DYOHS
  • graciasthank you · GRAH-syahs
  • por favorplease · por fah-BOR
  • síyes · SEE
  • nono · NOH
  • perdónsorry, excuse me · pehr-DOHN
  • bienvenidowelcome · byen-beh-NEE-doh
  • el señorsir, Mr. · el seh-NYOR
  • la señorama'am, Mrs. · lah seh-NYOH-rah

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Spanish words for beginners: the full list

Every word on this page with its pronunciation, and how it changes.

Quick answer: hello is hola, goodbye is adiós, thank you is gracias, please is por favor, yes is sí, no is no, sorry, excuse me is perdón, welcome is bienvenido, sir, Mr. is el señor, and ma'am, Mrs. is la señora.

Basic Spanish greetings and polite words

EnglishSpanishSay itChanges to
helloholaOH-lahThe h is silent.
goodbyeadiósah-DYOHSChao is the casual goodbye in much of Latin America.
thank yougraciasGRAH-syahsMuchas gracias, thank you very much. The answer is de nada.
pleasepor favorpor fah-BOR
yessíSEEKeep the accent: si without it means if.
nonoNOHAlso not, before the verb: no sé, I don't know.
sorry, excuse meperdónpehr-DOHNLo siento for a real apology.
welcomebienvenidobyen-beh-NEE-dohbienvenida · bienvenidos · bienvenidas
sir, Mr.el señorel seh-NYORSeñor García, Mr. García.
ma'am, Mrs.la señoralah seh-NYOH-rahSeñorita for a young woman.

Spanish question words

EnglishSpanishSay itChanges to
what?quéKEH¿Qué es esto?, what is this?
who?quiénKYENQuiénes for more than one person.
how?cómoKOH-moh¿Cómo estás?, how are you?
where?dóndeDOHN-deh¿Dónde está el baño?, where is the bathroom?
when?cuándoKWAHN-doh
how much?cuántoKWAHN-toh¿Cuánto cuesta?, how much is it? Cuántos for how many.
why?por quépor KEHPorque, one word with no accent, means because.
which?cuálKWAHL¿Cuál es tu nombre?, what is your name?

Spanish words for people and family

EnglishSpanishSay itChanges to
IyoYOH
you (informal)túTOOFor friends and family. Tu without an accent means your.
you (formal)ustedoos-TEHDFor strangers and polite situations.
boyel niñoel NEE-nyohLos niños, children.
girlla niñalah NEE-nyah
friendel amigoel ah-MEE-gohLa amiga for a woman.
familyla familialah fah-MEE-lyah
motherla madrelah MAH-drehMamá is the everyday word: mi mamá.
fatherel padreel PAH-drehPapá is the everyday word. Write the accent: papa is a potato.
brotherel hermanoel ehr-MAH-nohThe h is silent.
sisterla hermanalah ehr-MAH-nah

Basic Spanish nouns for everyday things

EnglishSpanishSay itChanges to
housela casalah KAH-sahEn casa, at home.
waterel aguael AH-gwahFeminine, but el agua: el agua fría.
foodla comidalah koh-MEE-dahAlso a meal.
breadel panel PAHN
coffeeel caféel kah-FEH
moneyel dineroel dee-NEH-rohPlata in much of Latin America.
phoneel teléfonoel teh-LEH-foh-nohA cell phone is el celular, or el móvil in Spain.
carel carroel KAH-rrohCarro in Mexico and Colombia, coche in Spain, auto in Argentina and Chile.
bookel libroel LEE-broh
streetla callelah KAH-yeh
schoolla escuelalah ehs-KWEH-lah
bathroomel bañoel BAH-nyoh
dayel díael DEE-ahMasculine, though it ends in -a: buenos días.
nightla nochelah NOH-chehBuenas noches, good night.

Basic Spanish verbs for beginners

EnglishSpanishSay itChanges to
to be (what something is)serSEHRsoy · eres · es. For who or what something is: soy Ana.
to be (how or where)estarehs-TARestoy · estás · está. For how and where: estoy bien, está aquí.
to havetenerteh-NEHRtengo · tienes · tiene. Also for age: tengo 30 años.
to goirEERvoy · vas · va
to wantquererkeh-REHRquiero · quieres · quiere
to likegustargoos-TARme gusta · te gusta · le gusta. Me gusta el café, I like coffee.
to eatcomerkoh-MEHRcomo · comes · come
to drinkbeberbeh-BEHRbebo · bebes · bebe. Tomar is common in Latin America: tomar café.
to speakhablarah-BLARhablo · hablas · habla. ¿Hablas inglés?, do you speak English?
to livevivirbee-BEERvivo · vives · vive
to worktrabajartrah-bah-HARtrabajo · trabajas · trabaja
to neednecesitarneh-seh-see-TARnecesito · necesitas · necesita
to understandentenderen-ten-DEHRentiendo · entiendes · entiende. No entiendo, I don't understand.
to learnaprenderah-pren-DEHRaprendo · aprendes · aprende
to sleepdormirdor-MEERduermo · duermes · duerme

Easy Spanish adjectives for beginners

EnglishSpanishSay itChanges to
goodbuenoBWEH-nohbuena · buenos · buenas. Buen before a masculine noun: un buen día.
badmaloMAH-lohmala · malos · malas. Mal before a masculine noun: un mal día.
biggrandeGRAHN-dehgrandes
smallpequeñopeh-KEH-nyohpequeña · pequeños · pequeñas
prettybonitoboh-NEE-tohbonita · bonitos · bonitas. Lindo is common in Latin America.
hotcalientekah-LYEN-tehcalientes. For the weather, say hace calor.
coldfríoFREE-ohfría · fríos · frías. For the weather, say hace frío.
easyfácilFAH-seelfáciles
difficultdifícildee-FEE-seeldifíciles
happyfelizfeh-LEESfelices
tiredcansadokahn-SAH-dohcansada · cansados · cansadas
Chart of 69 Spanish words for beginners with English meanings, from hola (hello) to cansado (tired)
Chart of 69 Spanish words for beginners with English meanings, from hola (hello) to cansado (tired). Download the chart · Printable worksheet · Save to Pinterest

Questions about spanish words for beginners

What Spanish words should I learn first?

Start with hola, gracias, por favor, sí and no, the question words (qué, dónde, cuánto), and the verbs ser, estar, tener and ir.

How many words does a beginner need in Spanish?

Around 500 words are enough for simple everyday conversations, and 1,000 cover most of what you hear day to day.

How do you say please and thank you in Spanish?

Please is por favor and thank you is gracias. The answer to gracias is de nada, you're welcome.

What is the difference between tú and usted?

Tú is for friends, family and people your age; usted is for strangers, older people and polite situations.

Why do Spanish question words have accents?

The accent marks a question: ¿qué? is what, que is that; ¿por qué? is why, porque is because.

Is Spanish easy for English speakers?

It's one of the easiest languages for English speakers: it's written as it sounds and shares many words with English, like familia, café and teléfono.

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