Build your vocabulary and learn a selection of basic Spanish words and phrases. If you are looking for Spanish lessons then we have a plethora of tutorials at the Spanish language page where you will find free videos for learning the alphabet, numbers, greetings, apologizing and Spanish listening skills for absolute beginners.

When you are more confident, you can move onto English to Spanish grammar where we have listed useful videos and information to get you started. You will learn about diacritical marks, Spanish pronunciation, nouns, masculine and feminine and the rules of stress.



Basic words for everyday conversation

Here's a list of common Spanish phrases that will help you communicate whilst travelling in Spain. Your trip will be much more enjoyable if you have a basic vocabulary and the locals will appreciate your efforts.

Yes/no
Sí/No
see/noh
Yes, please/No, thank you
Sí, por favor/No, gracias
see por fah-bor/noh grah-thyas
Please
Por favor
por fah-bor
Thank you
Gracias
grah-thyas
You're welcome
De nada
deh nah-dah
Here is/are...
Aquí está/están...
ah-kee es-tah/es-tan
Hello/Good morning
Hola/Buenos días
oh-lah/bweh-nos dee-as
Good afternoon/Good evening
Buenas tardes
bweh-nas tar-des
Goodbye
Adiós
ah-dyos
Good night
Buenas noches
bweh-nas noh-ches
How are you?
¿Cómo está?
koh-moh es-tah
Very well, thanks
Muy bien gracias
mwee byen grah-thyas
Excuse me
Disculpe
dees-kool-peh
Do you speak English?
¿Habla usted inglés?
ah-blah oo-steth een-gles
Can you help me?
¿Me puede ayudar?
¿Me puede ayudar?
I don't understand
No entiendo
noh en-tyehn-doh
I don't know
No lo sé
noh loh seh
Leave me alone
Déjeme en paz
deh-heh-meh en path
Please write it down
Por favor, escríbalo
por fah-bor es-kree-bah-loh
Sorry
Perdón
pair-don
Where?
¿Dónde?
don-deh
When?
¿Cuándo?
kwan-doh
Why?
¿Por qué?
por keh
Who?
¿Quién?
kyen
Which?
¿Cuáles?
kwal-es
Where is...?
¿Dónde está...?
don-deh es-tah
How much is it?
¿Cuánto cuesta?
kwan-toh kwes-tah
How many?
¿Cuántos?
kwan-tos
What's that?
¿Qué es eso?
keh es eh-soh
What is your name?
¿Cómo se llama usted?
koh-moh seh ya-mah oos-tehd
I'd like
Me gustaría
meh goo-stah-ree-ah
I want
Quiero
kyair-oh
I'd like it
Me gusta
me goo-stah
I don't like it
No me gusta
noh meh goo-stah
OK/Agreed
OK/De acuerdo
oh-keh/deh ah-kwair-doh
That's fine
Está bien
es-tah byen


Pronouncation (la pronunciación)

These are examples of Spanish letter combinations and the English equivalent. This list will help you pronounce a word the correct way so you can start building vocabulary.

Spanish Letter Combination
English Sound
a ah
ai ahy
au ow
o oh
e eh
ei ay
i ee
ll ye
ñ nye
qu k
rr rrrr
cc ks
ia yah
ie yeh
io yoh
u oo
ua wah
ue weh


Introduction to Spanish Pronunciation
Pronunciation
5 minutes 34 seconds lesson
SpanishPod101 have produced this useful introduction to Spanish pronunciation. The beginning of the video explains where the different dialects came from which is a great insight into the influences of the Spanish language. However, if you want to go straight into the pronunciation then skip the first 3 minutes 33 seconds (3:33) of the tutorial.
Introduction to Spanish Pronunciation
Pronunciation
3 minutes 15 seconds tutorial
This is another great video to start learning pronunciation. Alex will show how to say different letter sounds with word examples and a list of phrases.

How to say numbers in Spanish

English word Spanish word
0 = zero cero
1 = one uno
2 = two dos
3 = three Tres
4 = four cuatro
5 = five cinco
6 = six seis
7 = seven siete
8 = eight ocho
9 = nine nueve
10 = ten diez
11 = eleven once
12 = twelve doce
13 = thirteen trece
14 = fourteen catorce
15 = fifteen quince
16 = sixteen dieciséis
17 = seventeen diecisiete
18 = eighteen dieciocho
19 = nineteen diecinueve
20 = twenty veinte
21 = twenty one veintiuno
22 = twenty two veintidós
23 = twenty three veintitres
24 = twenty four veinticuatro
25 = twenty five veinticinco
26 = twenty six veintiseis
27 = twenty seven veintisiete
28 = twenty eight veintiocho
29 = twenty nine veintinueve
30 = thirty treinta
31 = thirty one treinta y uno
32 = thirty two treinta y dos
33 = thirty three treinta y tres
34 = thirty four treinta y cuatro
35 = thirty five treinta y cinco
36 = thirty six treinta y seis
37 = thirty seven treinta y siete
38 = thirty eight treinta y ocho
39 = thirty nine treinta y nueve
40 = forty cuarenta
41 = forty one cuarenta y uno
42 = forty two cuarenta y dos
43 = forty three cuarenta y tres
44 = forty four cuarenta y cuatro
45 = forty five cuarenta y cinco
46 = forty six cuarenta y seis
47 = forty seven cuarenta y siete
48 = forty eight cuarenta y ocho
49 = forty nine cuarenta y nueve
50 = fifty cincuenta
51 = fifty one cincuenta y uno
52 = fifty two cincuenta y dos
53 = fifty three cincuenta y tres
54 = fifty four cincuenta y cuatro
55 = fifty five cincuenta y cinco
56 = fifty six cincuenta y seis
57 = fifty seven cincuenta y siete
58 = fifty eight cincuenta y ocho
59 = fifty nine cincuenta y nueve
60 = sixty sesenta
61 = sixty one sesenta y uno
62 = sixty two sesenta y dos
63 = sixty three sesenta y tres
64 = sixty four sesenta y cuatro
65 = sixty five sesenta y cinco
66 = sixty six sesenta y seis
67 = sixty seven sesenta y siete
68 = sixty eight sesenta y ocho
69 = sixty nine sesenta y nueve
70 = seventy setenta
71 = seventy one setenta y uno
72 = seventy two setenta y dos
73 = seventy three setenta y tres
74 = seventy four setenta y cuatro
75 = seventy five setenta y cinco
76 = seventy six setenta y seis
77 = seventy seven setenta y siete
78 = seventy eight setenta y ocho
79 = seventy nine setenta y nueve
80 = eighty ochenta
81 = eighty one ochenta y uno
82 = eighty two ochenta y dos
83= eighty three ochenta y tres
84 = eighty four ochenta y cuatro
85 = eighty five ochenta y cinco
86 = eighty six ochenta y seis
87 = eighty seven ochenta y siete
88 = eighty eight ochenta y ocho
89 = eighty nine ochenta y nueve
90 = ninety noventa
91 = ninety one noventa y uno
92 = ninety two noventa y dos
93 = ninety three noventa y tres
94 = ninety four noventa y cuatro
95 = ninety five noventa y cinco
96 = ninety six noventa y seis
97 = ninety seven noventa y siete
98 = ninety eight noventa y ocho
99 = ninety nine noventa y nueve
100 = one hundred cien
200 = two hundred doscientos
201 = two hundred and one doscientos uno
1,000 = one thousand mil
1,000,000 = one million un millón
1,000,000,000 = one billion mil millones
the first el primero/a
the last el último/a
2nd = second segundo/a
3rd = third tercero/a
4th = fourth cuarto/a
5th = fifth quinto/a
6th = sixth sexto/a
7th = seventh séptimo/a
8th = eighth octavo/a
9th = ninth noventa/o
10th = tenth décimo/a


Measurements (las medidas)

Spanish word
English word
centimeter el centímetro (0.39 in.)
meter el metro (3.28 feet)
kilometer el kilómetro (0.621 mile)
liter el litro (1.75 pints)
gram el gramo (0.0352 oz)
kilogram el kilo(gramo) (2.20 lbs)


Learn Spanish with native speakers


You will learn Spanish faster when you listen to native speakers. These videos and lessons have been developed by Spanish speaking teachers in a fun and friendly way. You will find your ability to remember essential words improves with every lesson and your pronunciation will being to flow much more naturally. We have included speaking exercises were ever possible. Listening to conversations in real life situations that you will expect to find whilst travelling around Spanish speaking countries will be your greatest asset.

Common Spanish vocabulary


The advantage of learning the most common Spanish words first is that you will have a better chance of understanding parts of the conversations going on around you, helping you to pick up more Spanish word patterns.

To become fluent in Spanish you will need to learn around 5% of all available words which equates to 10,000 words. We can break this down into smaller steps: Learning just 100 of the most common words will enable you to understand half of the words you can expect to read in a book or online in a blog. Learn 1000 words and you will start to understand 75% of what you read.

Now consider, when you learn a word, how many words which sound similar are related?

On average, for every word you learn you will be able to work out 50 other words. Suddenly the world is a smaller place!

:)