Updated on January 28, 2024 by Lou Mac
There are more than 93,000 words in the Spanish language, but luckily you only need to learn about 2,000 of these words to become fluent.
There are however words you’ll hear a lot more than others, and these are the ones you should focus on when you start learning Spanish – because it means you’ll learn much faster.
In this post you’ll learn the most common Spanish words you need to learn as a beginner, why being specific with your learning is important, and a few study techniques to remember all the words you’re going to learn.
For a downloadable list of these words along with other tips and advice for learning Spanish, our Beginner’s Guide to Self-Learning Spanish could be a real asset for you.
Most Common Spanish Verbs
Remember that each verb can take on many forms through conjugation, but the best way to learn what the verb means is first by learning the infinitive form.
- Ser — to be
- Estar — to be
- Tener — to have
- Hacer — to make/do
- Ir — to go
- Saber — to know
- Poder — to be able to, can
- Poner — to put
- Querer — to want
- Haber — to have, to be
- Comer — to eat
- Hablar — to speak
- Tomar — to take, to have
- Decir — to say, to tell
- Ver — to see, to watch
- Vivir — to live
- Necesitar — to need
- Quedar — to stay, to meet
- Venir — to come
- Dar — to give
Spanish Words for People
- Mujer (f) — woman
- Hombre (m) — man
- Chica/chico (f/m) — girl/boy
- Amiga/o (f/m) — friend
- Persona (f) — person
- Familia (f) — family
- Mamá (f) — mum
- Papá (m) — dad
- Hermana (f) — sister
- Hermano (m) — brother
- Tía (f) — aunt
- Tío (m) — uncle
Spanish Words for Places
- Aquí — here
- Allí — there
- Lugar (m) — place
- Tienda (f) — shop
- Baño (m) — bathroom
- Ciudad (f) — city
- País (m) — country
Time-Related Spanish Words
- Una vez — once
- Hoy — today
- Mañana — tomorrow
- La mañana — morning
- Ayer — yesterday
- Hora (f) — hour, time
- Año (m) — year
- Día (m) — day
- Semana (f) — week
- Antes — before
- Después — after
- Tiempo (m) — time or weather
Adjectives and Adverbs in Spanish
- Todo — all, every
- Más — more
- Menos — less
- Muy — very
- Mucho — a lot
- Otro — other
- Casi — almost
- Mismo — same
- Así — like this
- También — also, too
- Hasta — until, even
- Grande — large
- Pequeño — small
- Bien — well
- Poco — a little bit
- Siempre — always
- Nunca — never
- Cada — each
- Nuevo — new
- Bueno — good
- Mal — bad
- Lejos — far
- Cerca — near
- Hermosa — beautiful
- Feo — ugly
- Difícil — difficult
- Fácil — easy
Spanish Question Words
- Quién — who
- Qué — what
- Dónde — where
- Por qué — why
- Cómo — how
Conjunctions and Connectors in Spanish
- Que — that, which
- Como — like, as
- Pero — but
- Porque — because
- Entonces — so, then
- Aunque — although
- Mientras — while
Other Important Spanish Words
- Cosa (f) — thing
- Nada — nothing
- Algo — something
- Este/esto/esta — this or this one
- Ese/eso/esa — that or that one
- Casa (f) — house
- Coche, auto, carro (m) — car
- Idioma (m) — language
- Agua (f) — water
- Comida (f) — food
Tips for Learning Spanish Words
Don’t Attempt to Learn Every Single Word
As a new Spanish learner, it can be really tempting to note down and try to learn every single word you come across.
However it’s just not practical to learn every single word you can.
This is most likely why your progress feels slow when you learn through apps like Duolingo, or in traditional Spanish classes: you learn too many words which aren’t fully relevant to you as a beginner.
Instead, you want to focus on words that are either:
a) Extremely common
b) Relevant to you
Learning the extremely common Spanish words and phrases, though it makes sense, is actually often overlooked! You might want to jump into learning long phrases or uncommon words, but you should really start by focusing on the basic building blocks of the language: common words that will come up time and time again (like these essential greetings).
Learn Spanish Words Relevant to You
Something that you may have not considered is that you should also be learning vocabulary that is relevant to you and your situation: This is because you’re more likely to come across these words!
Let’s say you want to learn Spanish for a trip to Chile. Learning phrases like “the cat drinks milk” on Duolingo isn’t really going to be much help.
Or if you’re learning Spanish to make friends, there’s no point in learning the names of every vegetable, even though they may be classed as “basic” Spanish.
For example, I’m a nurse from New Zealand, so I learnt vocabulary around nursing and how to explain my job, and also about how to describe what New Zealand is like.
Learning the most common words and ignoring specialized or advanced words will speed up your learning, as you’re not wasting time learning things you will rarely need (or need at all, when you’re a beginner)!
How to Memorize All These Spanish Words
While it’s great to see a list of all these important Spanish words you need to know, actually learning them is another story.
Don’t fall into the trap of list-reading to memorize new words—it can be helpful in some circumstances, but it’s not the most efficient way of memorizing a static list of almost one hundred words (yes, there are close to one hundred words you need to learn!).
If you’re new to studying you might just feel overwhelmed and not actually learn these words, so let me help you out with a few activities and resources you can include in your Spanish study to get them to really stick.
- Anki. This app and computer program is super helpful for studying vocabulary. It lets you create your own electronic flashcards which use a spaced repetition system to get words to stick and improve your recall. Just enter these common words into different flashcard sets using the same headings I’ve given you, and start learning them on the go!
- Tell me a story. Well, don’t tell me a story, but write one anyway! Using a Google document, write about anything that interests you in Spanish and many of these words are bound to come up. Ideas of things you could write about include a diary of what you did today, your plans for tomorrow, or pick a topic you enjoy and explain it in Spanish.
- Write to Spanish speakers. Find some Spanish speakers to have a conversation with! As I’ve said, these words are so common they will come up time and time again in conversation—so practice them by using them. Having conversations over messaging apps is my recommendation for those who are just starting out, as it’s a low-pressure environment where you have time to gather your thoughts (and Google things as needed!).
These words we’ve just learnt are the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Spanish vocabulary, but they’re an excellent starting point.
So take it slowly, get in as much practice as you can and soon there will be a time when these words come to your head without thinking!
Good luck!