Common Spanish words you need to know

Planning a trip to a Spanish-speaking country? Chances are you’ll meet some locals who can speak English. But starting a conversation with them in Spanish will make a huge difference to your traveling experience.

The Spanish language is one of the most beautiful languages in the world and its beauty lies in its words.

The Spanish language is estimated to be made out of a total of 250000 words with the largest Spanish dictionary having over 100000 words. This can seem a really big and frightening number to someone wanting to start learning Spanish, but here’s the good news: you only need to know roughly 5% of the total words to be fluent in Spanish. This translates into knowing only the 5000 most common Spanish words in order to be able to have fluent conversations in Spanish.

What’s even more encouraging is that knowing as little as 100 words helps you understand half of the words in an article or book written in Spanish. Learn the most common 1000 words and you get to a 75% understanding of texts in Spanish. Also, each new word you learn helps you guess the meaning of up to 125 words you have never seen before. This means that knowing only 1000 words helps you guess up to 125000 Spanish words. Doesn’t seem that frightening now, right?

1) Top 10 cool and common Spanish words pronounced by native Spanish speakers

1. Hola. = Hello.

Let’s naturally start with “Hola”. This is one of the most known words in Spanish and a great way to start a conversation with someone from Spain.

2. amor = love

Love is a universal feeling and we definitely had to talk about it here. Spanish people have a lovely way of saying they care deeply about someone or something by using the word “amor”.

3. felicidad = happiness

When there’s love, there’s definitely happiness and we are all chasing this feeling. Listen closely and you might just get some “felicidad” in your life today:

4. gato = cat

Let’s talk about pets. There are two types of people in the world: cat people and dog people. We are going to talk about our feline pets first.

5. perro = dog

But let’s not forget about our lovely and loyal companion Spanish people call “perro”. This is a really useful word for dog lovers worldwide.

6. sonreír = smile

Now is time to be positive. Smiling makes us happy and helps us stay healthy, so that’s why we all need to smile everyday.

7. español = spanish

Next, let’s see how people in Spain say “Spanish”. The correct answer is “Español”.

8. Sí. = Yes.

Yes, we have arrived at number 8 where “yes” is the subject to be discuss. Spanish speakers agree with you by using this word.

9. Gracias. = Thank you.

Thank you for reading this far or should I say “Gracias” as they say in Spanish. Here’s a native speaker thanking you in Spanish: Thank you.

10. Adiós. = Goodbye.

No polite conversations can end without a good old “goodbye”.

2) Common Spanish Words and Phrases to Start a Conversation

Of course, you can’t expect to have some small talk without knowing some Spanish greetings. One of the most popular words in Spanish is “hola” which means “hi” or “hello”. You can also use the following Spanish expressions:

Buenos días — Good morning

Buenas tardes — Good afternoon

Buenas noches — Good evening / Good night

To keep the conversation going, it’s time to ask “how are you”. Here are some basic Spanish questions that come after greeting:

¿Cómo está usted? — How are you? (formal)

¿Cómo estás? — How are you? (informal)

¿Qué tal? — How are you? (informal) / What’s up?

¿Cómo te va? — How’s it going?

¿Qué haces? — What are you doing?

¿Qué pasa? — What’s happening?

If someone asks you one of these questions, you can use the following conversational Spanish phrases:

Bien, gracias — Good, thank you

Muy bien — Very well

Así, así — So, so

Como siempre — As always

And also don’t forget about this fundamental follow-up question:

¿Y tú? — And you?

3) Greeting

If you feel like it’s time to switch to English, you’re free to clarify whether the person you’re talking to speaks English or not. Just say “¿Habla inglés?” that is used for “Do you speak English?”.

No matter what your mother tongue is, the simple words of politeness always go a long way. These Spanish phrases will surely come in handy during the conversation if you don’t want to offend anyone:

¡Gracias! — Thank you!

¡Muchas gracias! — Thank you very much!

¡De nada! — You’re welcome! / No problem!

Por favor — Please (generally used at the end of a sentence)

¡Perdon! — Excuse me!

¡Disculpe! — Excuse me! (to apologize in advance for being a bit of a bother)

¡Lo siento! — Sorry! (to apologize for a mistake)

Here are some examples of questions you have to learn:

¿Qué hora tienes? — What time is it?

¿De dónde viene? — Where are you from?

¿Dónde vives? — Where do you live?

¿Puede ayudarme? — Can you help me?

¿Podría ayudarle? — Can I help you?

¿Cuánto cuesta eso? — How much does it cost?

¿Qué hora tienes? — What time is it?

¿Entiende? — Do you understand?

¡Puede repetirlo! — Can you say that again?

¿Qué significa [word]? — What does [word] mean?

¿Puedes hablar más despacio? — Can you speak slowly?

¿Dónde puedo encontrar un taxi? — Where can I find a taxi?

¿Dónde está [hotel’s name] hotel? — Where is [hotel’s name] hotel?

4) The benefits of learning the most common Spanish words first

Make Spanish learning fun and easier- Starting with the Spanish basics means you will begin by learning the easiest words first and gradually increase difficulty. This way you will feel great while learning and see how your language knowledge broadens.

Have basic Spanish conversations in no time- You’ll be able to speak to someone from Barcelona or Madrid about regular topics like weather, politics or family. This will make you confident in your Spanish skills and eager to learn more.

Become fluent in Spanish faster- By learning the most common Spanish words first you are learning the smart way. Why learn the most unusual words in Spanish when you might never use them in real life?

You improve your Spanish vocabulary-Each new Spanish word you learn piles up until your vocabulary builds stronger and stronger. Each lesson gets you one step closer to fluency.

So now you have the right keywords to help you get started on your Spanish language journey. With these useful phrases, you’ll soon find yourself having your first conversation with a native Spanish speaker.

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