If you’re here, it’s because you succeeded in mastering Spanish at the beginner level. Enhorabuena! (“Congratulations!”) Now it’s time to take it a step further by picking up some intermediate Spanish words. 

Jumping from beginner to intermediate level can be a scary move. It means that you have to get out there and try out your newly acquired skills…and actually speak Spanish to people!! But that’s why we’re here, right?

Intermediate Spanish lessons are very exciting because they allow you to start expressing yourself more freely and having more fluent conversations. At this stage, you can master everyday vocabulary and actually start making friends within the native Spanish-speaking community.

This intermediate Spanish wordlist will give you the tools you need to level up and gain enough confidence to live your life in Spanish.

Vamos allá! (“Let’s go!”)

Start making friends in Spanish!

Table of Contents

1. (Larger) Numbers
2. Nouns
3. Verbs
4. Adjectives
5. Adverbs
6. Prepositions
7. Conjunctions
8. Connectives
9. Possessive Pronouns
10. Final Thoughts

1. (Larger) Numbers

In our Spanish beginner words article, you learned how to count from one to ten. Ready to reach the next level? In this intermediate Spanish category, you’ll learn all of the cardinal numbers. This means that you’ll be able to count from eleven to infinity!

From 11 to 19

• once → “eleven”
• doce → “twelve”
• trece → “thirteen”
• catorce → “fourteen”
• quince → “fifteen”
• dieciséis → “sixteen”
• diecisiete → “seventeen”
• dieciocho → “eighteen”
• diecinueve → “nineteen”

From 20 to 90

• veinte → “twenty”
• treinta → “thirty”
• cuarenta → “forty”
• cincuenta → “fifty”
• sesenta → “sixty”
• setenta → “seventy”
• ochenta → “eighty”
• noventa → “ninety”

As a general pattern, you can add y and a number 1-9 to express the rest of the numbers. You can already see this pattern in, for example, diecisiete:

• diecisiete = diez + y + siete

With tens and twenties, words are written together following the pattern shown above (with some slight changes). So, if you wanted to say “twenty-three,” it would be:

• veintitrés = veinte + y + tres

Starting from the thirties, however, things get even easier and the words are written separately. Here are a few examples:

• treinta y uno → “thirty-nine” 
• sesenta y cuatro → “sixty-four”
• ochenta y uno → “eighty-one”

From 100 to 900

• cien → “one hundred”
• doscientos → “two hundred”
• trescientos → “three hundred”
• cuatrocientos → “four hundred”
• quinientos → “five hundred”
• seiscientos → “six hundred”
• setecientos → “seven hundred”
• ochocientos → “eight hundred”
• novecientos → “nine hundred”

In Spanish, numbers in the hundreds are quite easy to form. The first word is the “hundred” figure, then you leave a space and add the number that follows. Here’s an example:

• cuatrocientos setenta y tres → “four hundred seventy-three”

However, you need to remember that there is one exception to the rule! Cien becomes ciento when followed by another number. Like this:

• ciento seis → “one hundred and six”

From 1,000 to 9,000

• mil → “one thousand”
• dos mil → “two thousand”
• tres mil → “three thousand”
• cuatro mil → “four thousand”
• cinco mil → “five thousand”
• seis mil → “six thousand”
• siete mil → “seven thousand”
• ocho mil → “eight thousand”
• nueve mil → “nine thousand”

As with the hundreds, the Spanish thousands are also formed by leaving a space after the first one or two words (depending on whether it’s mil or dos mil, tres mil, etc.) and adding the number that follows. Here are a couple of examples:

• dos mil veinte → “two thousand and twenty”
• cinco mil trescientos sesenta y nueve → “five thousand three hundred seventy-nine”

Note that, even though Spanish uses the same numerals as English does, there is a tiny difference in how we write them. Starting from the thousands, instead of separating the hundreds, thousands, millions, etc., with a comma, we use a dot in Spanish. Here’s how you should do it:

• 1.000 → “1,000”
• 4.589 → “4,589”

From 1,000,000 to Infinity

• un millón → “one million”
• dos millones → “two million”
• tres millones → “three million”
• diez millones → “ten million”
• cuatrocientos millones → “four hundred million”
• siete mil millones → “seven billion”
• …

Millions are usually the last piece you need to learn in order to count to infinity. As in English, “billón” (“billion”) can also be used to say “a thousand million”. However, this expression is not widespread in Spain, and it’s still common to hear “mil millones.”

Now you can count to infinity!

2. Nouns

In our Spanish beginner words article, we already introduced you to plenty of everyday vocabulary—the essential basics you need to survive in a Spanish-speaking environment!

In this guide, we’re taking things to the next level. Memorizing the words on this list will give you a solid intermediate Spanish vocabulary base to help you manage most everyday conversations. Stay tuned for useful words related to time, home, and leisure!

→ Don’t forget that SpanishPod101.com also has plenty of free vocabulary lists to help you learn all the Spanish nouns you need!

2.1 – Time

2.1.1 – Time Units

Segundo	Second
Minuto	Minute
Hora	Hour
Día	Day
Semana	Week
Mes	Month
Trimestre	Trimester
Semestre	Semester
Año	Year
Siglo	Century

→ Don’t miss the Ultimate Guide to Telling Time in Spanish on our blog!

2.1.2 – Days of the Week

Lunes	Monday
Martes	Tuesday
Miércoles	Wednesday
Jueves	Thursday
Viernes	Friday
Sábado	Saturday
Domingo	Sunday

2.1.3 – Time of Day

Mañana	Morning
Mediodía	Midday
Tarde	Afternoon Evening
Noche	Night
Madrugada	Dawn

2.2 – Home

2.2.1 – Rooms in the House

Recibidor	Hall
Cocina	Kitchen
Comedor	Dining room
Salón	Living room
Baño Lavabo	Bathroom
Dormitorio	Bedroom
Estudio	Study
Jardín	Garden
Patio	Courtyard
Terraza	Terrace
Balcón	Balcony
Garage	Garage
Habitación	Room

¡Qué bonito balcón! (“What a nice balcony!”)

2.2.2 – House Objects

Cama	Bed
Mesa	Table
Escritorio	Desk
Silla	Chair
Váter	Toilet
Sofá	Couch
Cortinas	Curtains
Persiana	Blinds

2.2.3 – Kitchenware

Cubiertos	Cutlery
Tenedor	Fork
Cuchillo	Knife
Cuchara	Spoon
Plato	Dish
Vaso	Glass
Copa	Glass Wineglass
Olla	Pot
Sartén	Pan

2.3 – Leisure

2.3.1 – Vacations and Free Time

Viaje	Trip
Maleta	Luggage
Vacaciones	Holidays
Cine	Movie theater
Teatro	Theater
Restaurante	Restaurant
Deporte	Sport

2.3.2 – Holidays

Navidad	Christmas
Año Nuevo	New Years
Semana Santa	Easter
Día de Todos los Santos	All Saints Day

→ Curious about Spanish holidays? Don’t miss all of the interesting posts about Spanish culture and traditions on SpanishPod101’s blog!

3. Verbs 

After learning all of the useful nouns listed above, you’ll also need to pick up some more verbs to get your Spanish conversations flowing!

Verbs are always the most feared grammar category for Spanish students, but don’t worry! If you’re still struggling, don’t miss SpanishPod101’s ultimate guide to Spanish conjugation.

Here are the intermediate Spanish verbs you’ll need to master everyday conversations:

3.1 – Home

3.1.1 – Chores

Cocinar	To cook
Limpiar	To clean
Lavar	To wash
Tender (la ropa)	To hang (the clothes)
Doblar (la ropa)	To fold (the clothes)
Planchar (la ropa)	To iron (the clothes)
Hacer la cama	To make the bed
Sacar / tirar la basura	To take out the garbage

3.1.2 – Cooking

Freír	To fry
Calentar	To heat up
Enfriar	To cool down
Hervir	To boil
Asar	To roast
Batir	To beat
Pelar	To peel

3.2 – Hobbies

Bailar	To dance
Cantar	To sing
Pintar	To paint
Dibujar	To draw
Correr	To run
Nadar	To swim
Pasear	To go for a walk
Jugar a + […]	To play + [game or sport]
As in English, jugar can refer to playing games or sports. Here are some examples: Jugar a fútbol → “To play football” Jugar a balonmano → “To play handball” Jugar al Monopoly → “To play Monopoly”
Tocar + […]	To play + [instrument name]
However, to play an instrument in Spanish is not expressed with jugar. The correct verb is tocar: Tocar el piano → “To play the piano” Tocar la gaita → “To play the bagpipe” (This phrase is also a Spanish idiom that means “to be annoying.”)
Viajar	To travel

3.3 – Other Useful Expressions

Quedar	To meet with
Llamar por teléfono	To call
Mandar mensaje	To text
Llegar tarde	To be late
Estar ocupado	To be busy

“Tocar la gaita” can have two very different meanings…!

4. Adjectives

In our beginner words article, you learned the basic adjectives you need to describe objects, people, emotions, and the weather. Now it’s time to level up by learning how to describe temporary conditions, state your opinion, and more. Here are the most useful intermediate Spanish adjectives for you: 

4.1 – Opinion

Bueno	Good
Mola	Bad
Genial	Awesome
Perfecto	Perfect
Horrible	Horrible
Raro	Weird
Aburrido	Boring
Interesante	Interesting
Orgulloso	Proud
Avergonzado	Embarrassed

4.2 – Conditions

Lleno	Full
Vacío	Empty
Limpio	Clean
Sucio	Dirty
Roto	Broken
Enfermo	Sick
Sano	Healthy
Casado	Married
Soltero	Single
Vivo	Alive
Muerto	Dead

4.3 – Useful Everyday Adjectives

Barato	Cheap
Caro	Expensive
Fácil	Easy
Difícil	Difficult
Peligroso	Dangerous
Seguro	Safe
Tóxico	Toxic
Nuevo	New
Viejo	Old
Común	Common
Típico	Typical
Útil	Useful

Este mapa es muy útil. (“This map is very useful.”)

5. Adverbs

As you begin going through intermediate Spanish lessons, you’ll find that adverbs become increasingly important! These words are a crucial part of conversational Spanish and help you make your point clear. They allow you to emphasize what you’re saying, state the location of an object, locate an event at a particular moment in time…

Excited already? Well, once you finish learning these intermediate Spanish adverbs, you can graduate to our guide on the 100 most common Spanish adverbs!

5.1 – Quantity

Muy	Very
Mucho	A lot
Menos	Less
Demasiado	Too much
Poco	A little
Más	More
Suficiente	Enough

5.2 – Location

Cerca	Near
Lejos	Far
Al lado	Next to
En  Dentro de	In  Inside
En  Encima de	On  On top of
Debajo de  Bajo de	Under
Delante	In front of
Detrás	Behind
Entre	Between
A la derecha	On the right
A la izquierda	On the left

5.3 – Time

Hoy	Today
Ayer	Yesterday
Mañana	Tomorrow
Anteayer	The day before yesterday
Pasado mañana	After tomorrow

5.4 – Other Useful Adverbs

Siempre	Always
Nunca	Never
Ahora	Now
Previamente	Previously
Previamente	Currently
Ya	Already

Nunca digas nunca… (“Never say never…”)

6. Prepositions

Our next set of intermediate Spanish words consists of prepositions. These are little words that allow your speech to flow much better and help you be more precise in your conversations. 

Let’s start with the locative prepositions that, together with adverbs, help you point out the position or direction of the person/thing you’re talking about.

6.1 – Location and Direction

A	To
Al lado de	Next to
Alrededor de	Around
A través de	Through
Contra	Against
De	From
Junto	Near
Hacia	Towards
Sobre	On  Over
Tras	Behind

6.2 – Other Useful Prepositions

A favor de	In favor of
A pesar de	Despite
Excepto  Salvo	Except
Gracias a	Thanks to
Incluso	Even
Por	By
Para	For
Según	According to
Sin	Without

→ Check out SpanishPod101’s Guide to the Most Common Spanish Prepositions for more!

7. Conjunctions

Intermediate Spanish learners should make an effort to learn at least a few conjunctions, as these words help you connect words and sentences. As a beginner, you probably learned the more basic conjunctions (esto y aquello – “this and that”). But learning how to use more advanced conjunctions can help you level up your conversational skills and enrich your speech/writing. 

Let’s see some Spanish conjunctions in three different categories: 

7.1 – Causal

Porque	Because
Como	As Like
Ya que	Because  Since  As
Dado que  Visto que  Puesto que	Since  Given that
Pues	Since  As  So

7.2 – Comparison

Que	Than
Como si	As if  As though
Sin que	Without

7.3 – Concession

Aunque	Even if Although Though
Aun cuando	Even when
Si bien	If
Por más que  Por mucho que	As much as

Os quiero, aunque a veces os portáis mal. (“I love you, even though you sometimes misbehave.”)

8. Connectives

• Sin embargo → Nevertheless / However

• En efecto / Efectivamente → Indeed

• Con todo → Even so

• Por eso → That’s why

• En primer lugar → In the first place

• En segundo lugar → In the second place

• Ahora bien → However / Having said that

• En ese caso→ In that case

• A pesar de ello → In spite of that

• Por el contrario → On the contrary

9. Possessive Pronouns

Pronouns are a great tool for producing more fluent speech, as they allow you to avoid repeating clauses and nouns excessively so you can get straight to the point. SpanishPod101’s Ultimate Guide to Spanish Pronouns will help you learn how to use them properly! 

In this article, we’ll focus exclusively on possessive pronouns. We’ve included all singular/plural and masculine/feminine forms. 

		Spanish		English
		singular	plural
singular	1st	mi	mis	my
	2nd	tu	tus	your
	3rd	su	sus	his
				her
plural	1st	nuestro	nuestros	our
		nuestra	nuestras
	2nd	vuestro	vuestros	your
		vuestra	vuestras
	3rd	su	sus	their

Mi casa es tu casa. (“My house is your house.”)

10. Final Thoughts

In this guide to intermediate Spanish words, you’ve gained a handful of new tools to get your Spanish conversational skills to the next level. Apart from useful nouns, verbs, and adjectives, you’ve learned handy connective words, adverbs, and prepositions that will help you be more precise and fluent in your speech. 

Did you know any of these words already, or were they all new to you? 

Either way, don’t stop here! SpanishPod101 has plenty of intermediate Spanish lessons for you to explore. And you’ll even find that, once you graduate from that category, there’s still an entire upper intermediate lesson series that will continue guiding you on your Spanish learning journey. 

Of course, don’t forget to check out the free vocabulary lists and other useful tools on SpanishPod101.com.

Enjoy!