100 Essential Latin Words for Beginners (with English Translations)

Greetings & basics

16 words

English	Latin	Type
hello	salve	interjection
goodbye	vale	interjection
yes	ita	interjection
no	minime	interjection
please	quaeso	interjection
thank you	gratias	interjection
sorry	me paenitet	interjection
and	et	conjunction
but	sed	conjunction
or	aut	conjunction
because	quia	conjunction
here	hic	adverb
there	illic	adverb
always	semper	adverb
never	numquam	adverb
together	simul	adverb

People & family

14 words

English	Latin	Type
man	vir	noun
woman	mulier	noun
boy	puer	noun
girl	puella	noun
friend	amicus	noun
mother	mater	noun
father	pater	noun
brother	frater	noun
sister	soror	noun
son	filius	noun
daughter	filia	noun
husband	maritus	noun
wife	uxor	noun
parent	parens	noun

Everyday verbs

16 words

English	Latin	Type
to be	esse	verb
to have	habere	verb
to do	facere	verb
to go	ire	verb
to come	venire	verb
to eat	edere	verb
to drink	bibere	verb
to want	velle	verb
to need	egere	verb
to know	scire	verb
to speak	loqui	verb
to read	legere	verb
to write	scribere	verb
to listen	auscultare	verb
to work	laborare	verb
to buy	emere	verb

Describing words

10 words

English	Latin	Type
good	bonus	adjective
bad	malus	adjective
new	novus	adjective
old	senex	adjective
young	iuvenis	adjective
tall	procerus	adjective
short	brevis	adjective
nice	iucundus	adjective
kind	benignus	adjective
shy	timidus	adjective

Colors

8 words

English	Latin	Type
red	ruber	adjective
blue	caeruleus	adjective
green	viridis	adjective
yellow	flavus	adjective
black	niger	adjective
white	albus	adjective
orange	aurantius	adjective
purple	purpureus	adjective

Numbers

12 words

English	Latin	Type
one	unus	number
two	duo	number
three	tres	number
four	quattuor	number
five	quinque	number
six	sex	number
seven	septem	number
eight	octo	number
nine	novem	number
ten	decem	number
zero	nihil	number
twenty	viginti	number

Time

10 words

English	Latin	Type
today	hodie	adverb
tomorrow	cras	adverb
yesterday	heri	adverb
morning	mane	noun
afternoon	post meridiem	noun
evening	vesper	noun
night	nox	noun
day	dies	noun
week	hebdomas	noun
month	mensis	noun

Food & drink

10 words

English	Latin	Type
water	aqua	noun
coffee	coffea	noun
tea	thea	noun
milk	lac	noun
bread	panis	noun
cheese	caseus	noun
fruit	fructus	noun
apple	malum	noun
egg	ovum	noun
rice	oryza	noun

Home

4 words

English	Latin	Type
house	domus	noun
door	ianua	noun
window	fenestra	noun
bed	lectus	noun

Emoji: Twemoji, CC-BY 4.0

Learn these Latin words for good

Watch Your LanguageVocabulary widgets for iPhone & Apple Watch

A list is where learning starts, not where it ends. Watch Your Language puts Latin words like these on your iPhone Lock Screen and on your Apple Watch face, so you see a few every time you check the time, and it schedules the repeats so the words you keep forgetting come back more often.

You can add your own words too, from a photo, a page of notes or a spreadsheet.

Keep going with Latin

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Latin for beginners questions

What are the first Latin words to learn?

Start with the words you use every day: greetings, numbers, the days and times, food, family and a handful of verbs. For Latin that means words like salve (hello), gratias (thank you), aqua (water) and edere (to eat). The list above groups 100 of them by topic.

How is Latin written?

Latin uses the Latin alphabet, so you can read the words above without learning a new script. All of these words use plain a–z letters.

Is 100 words enough to speak Latin?

No. This is a starting set: enough to greet people, count, talk about time, name food and family, and say what you want or need. Conversation needs more words, and above all hearing and using them. Treat the list as the first step, then add words from topics you care about.

How do I remember these Latin words?

Read a few at a time, say them out loud, and come back to them on a schedule rather than once. Watch Your Language puts words like these in a widget on your iPhone Lock Screen and on your Apple Watch face, and brings back the ones you keep forgetting more often.