Knowing basic Spanish words can help you build a solid foundation to understand and communicate in different scenarios since daily conversations rely on essential vocabulary. In fact, many of these fundamental terms can be used in multiple contexts. 

Since vocabulary is the backbone of communication, in this article, you鈥檒l find a curated list of basic words in Spanish that all learners should know. To make things easier, I鈥檝e classified these terms into: 

I鈥檝e included examples for you to use how to use this Spanish vocabulary.

Expressions of politeness and Spanish greetings are some basic words you鈥檒l need in most situations. Here are some of the terms you should focus on: 

Spanish pronouns are essential words we use to refer to people or things. As a beginner, you should learn subject pronouns first:聽

These common Spanish words can be combined with verbs to express the action a person is doing or with adjectives to describe them. Here are some simple phrases:

Yo soy Daniela. I am Daniela. 

Ella es maestra. She is a teacher. 

Ustedes parecen muy amables. You guys seem very nice.

On top of subject pronouns, you should also know these basic Spanish pronouns: 

Tina se despierta muy tarde. Tina wakes up very late. 

Te llam茅 pero no me contestaste. I called you but you didn鈥檛 answer me. 

Check my guide to pronouns in Spanish to learn when and how to use each one of these words. 

From a grammar point of view, these words are considered nouns. Spanish nouns are often followed by adjectives to describe how someone is or verbs to express what someone does. 

No tengo vecinos. I don鈥檛 have neighbors. 

驴Tienes hermanos?Do you have siblings?

Esa mujer es mi vecina. That woman is my neighbor. 

Take Note: Nouns in Spanish have gender and plural forms. In other words, they change to express whether the person or thing we refer to is singular, plural, masculine, or feminine. 

And here are some examples using this Spanish vocabulary:

La silla es roja. The chair is red.

Quiero un vaso de agua. I want a glass of water. 

Los ni帽os est谩n en su cuarto. The kids are in their bedroom. 

Disculpe, 驴d贸nde est谩 el ba帽o?Excuse me, where is the bathroom?

Take Note: El and la are Spanish definite articles. They鈥檙e often used in vocabulary lists to express if a word is masculine (el) or feminine (la). Articles are not the only words that can be placed before nouns. 

The Spanish words below are basic terms that can help you describe people and things (adjectives) or actions (adverbs).聽

Check these sentences:

Hoy hace mucho calor. Today is very hot.

Tu hermano es muy amable. Your brother is very nice. 

Ellas siempre hablan r谩pido. They always speak fast. 

No tengo mucho tiempo. I don鈥檛 have much time. 

La tienda est谩 lejos de aqu铆. The store is far from here. 

Take Note: In Spanish, adjectives are subject to adjective agreement, meaning that they must change to agree with the gender and number of the words they describe. Spanish adverbs, on the other hand, don鈥檛 have these types of changes. 

These are the basic Spanish interrogative words you can use to ask information questions: 

驴Qu茅 es eso?What is that?

驴C贸mo te llamas?What鈥檚 your name?

驴Qui茅n es ella?Who is she?

驴D贸nde est谩 la estaci贸n de tren?Where is the train station?

Keep in mind that question words in Spanish have particular uses that may not align with their English equivalents. So, make sure you understand how and when to use each term. 

These are some of the most common verbs in Spanish you need to know: 

Check these simple sentences using these verbs:

脡l se llama Sebasti谩n. His name is Sebastian. 

Esas se帽oras viven en Madrid.Those women live in Madrid. 

T煤 tienes un perro y un gato. You have a dog and a cat. 

Me gustan mucho las pel铆culas. I like movies very much. 

Nosotros vamos a ir al doctor. We鈥檙e going to the doctor. 

Now that you鈥檝e learned the most common, basic words in Spanish, you should also check some basic questions and simple phrases that can help you kickstart your conversations.聽

When you鈥檙e ready, you should also check how to conjugate verbs in Spanish and a more thorough list of common verbs you must know. This list was meant to provide you with the most important terms. As a result, you may want to expand your Spanish vocabulary by learning the following set of words: 

Congratulations, you鈥檝e now learned the top most common Spanish words beginners should know. The trick to recalling these words when you need them is through practice and repetition. That鈥檚 why I鈥檝e created a PDF for this guide which you can download for free. It contains all 135 basic words with their translations which you can use as cheat sheets when you need them!