100 Essential Spanish Words for Beginners (with English Translations)

Greetings & basics

16 words

English	Spanish	Type
hello	hola	interjection
goodbye	adiós	interjection
yes	sí	interjection
no	no	interjection
please	por favor	interjection
thank you	gracias	interjection
sorry	lo siento	interjection
and	y	conjunction
but	pero	conjunction
or	o	conjunction
because	porque	conjunction
here	aquí	adverb
there	allí	adverb
always	siempre	adverb
never	nunca	adverb
together	juntos	adverb

People & family

14 words

English	Spanish	Type
man	hombre	noun
woman	mujer	noun
boy	chico	noun
girl	niña	noun
friend	amigo	noun
mother	madre	noun
father	padre	noun
brother	hermano	noun
sister	hermana	noun
son	hijo	noun
daughter	hija	noun
child	niño	noun
husband	marido	noun
wife	esposa	noun

Everyday verbs

16 words

English	Spanish	Type
to be	ser	verb
to have	tener	verb
to do	hacer	verb
to go	ir	verb
to come	venir	verb
to eat	comer	verb
to drink	beber	verb
to want	querer	verb
to need	necesitar	verb
to know	saber	verb
to speak	hablar	verb
to read	leer	verb
to write	escribir	verb
to listen	escuchar	verb
to work	trabajar	verb
to buy	comprar	verb

Describing words

10 words

English	Spanish	Type
good	bueno	adjective
bad	malo	adjective
new	nuevo	adjective
old	viejo	adjective
young	joven	adjective
tall	alto	adjective
short	bajo	adjective
nice	agradable	adjective
kind	amable	adjective
shy	tímido	adjective

Colors

8 words

English	Spanish	Type
red	rojo	adjective
blue	azul	adjective
green	verde	adjective
yellow	amarillo	adjective
black	negro	adjective
white	blanco	adjective
orange	naranja	adjective
purple	morado	adjective

Numbers

12 words

English	Spanish	Type
one	uno	number
two	dos	number
three	tres	number
four	cuatro	number
five	cinco	number
six	seis	number
seven	siete	number
eight	ocho	number
nine	nueve	number
ten	diez	number
zero	cero	number
twenty	veinte	number

Time

10 words

English	Spanish	Type
today	hoy	adverb
tomorrow	mañana	adverb
yesterday	ayer	adverb
afternoon	tarde	noun
evening	noche	noun
day	día	noun
week	semana	noun
month	mes	noun
year	año	noun
hour	hora	noun

Food & drink

10 words

English	Spanish	Type
water	agua	noun
coffee	café	noun
tea	té	noun
milk	leche	noun
bread	pan	noun
cheese	queso	noun
fruit	fruta	noun
apple	manzana	noun
egg	huevo	noun
rice	arroz	noun

Home

4 words

English	Spanish	Type
house	casa	noun
door	puerta	noun
window	ventana	noun
bed	cama	noun

Emoji: Twemoji, CC-BY 4.0

Learn these Spanish 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 Spanish 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 Spanish

Spanish vocabulary by topicLonger word lists, one topic at a time Spanish quizTest yourself on what you have learned Spanish vocabulary testFind your level How long does Spanish take to learn?A realistic plan

Spanish for beginners questions

What are the first Spanish 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 Spanish that means words like hola (hello), gracias (thank you), agua (water) and comer (to eat). The list above groups 100 of them by topic.

How is Spanish written?

Spanish uses the Latin alphabet, so you can read the words above without learning a new script. 12 of the 100 words contain a letter or mark outside plain a–z, so learn those alongside the spelling.

Is 100 words enough to speak Spanish?

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 Spanish 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.