How do you say “time” in Spanish? And how do you say “What time is it?” in Spanish? 

Did you know that to tell the time you should never use the literal translation, tiempo? 

That’s just the tip of the iceberg, though. We’ll answer this and other questions more in-depth in this blog post! Learn everything about how to say the time in Spanish with SpanishPod101.com!

Learning about telling time in Spanish, along with how to introduce yourself in Spanish, is significantly important if you want to improve your conversation skills. 

Even in your native language, knowing the right way of telling the time can help you avoid misunderstandings. Well, time is so crucial in Spanish culture that learning how to tell time is as important as time itself. 

Let’s get started with our guide on time in Spanish for beginners! 

Table of Contents

1. How to Ask for the Time
2. The Hours in Spanish
3. The Minutes in Spanish
4. Hours Divided into Minutes in Spanish
5. General Time Reference of the Day
6. Time Adverbs
7. Time Proverbs and Sayings in Spanish
8. Conclusion

1. How to Ask for the Time

Telling the time in Spanish is simple if you know the cardinal numbers and the verb “to be” (ser). Once you practice and master those two things, asking and telling the time in Spanish will be so much easier. 

• ¿Qué hora es?

“What time is it?”

In some Latin American countries, you may hear ¿Qué hora son? instead of ¿Qué hora es?. Both are correct for asking the time in Spanish. The singular form is used mostly in Spain and the plural form is used mostly in Latin American Spanish-speaking countries.

• ¿Qué hora son?

“What time is it?”

To learn how to say the time in Spanish, you also need to know that “time” in Spanish is tiempo. Tiempo also means “weather,” but you never use tiempo to ask for the time. 

• Hoy hace buen tiempo.

“Good weather today.”

To learn how to ask the time in Spanish, you just have to change the word “time” to the word for “hour.” So “What time is it?” would be translated as ¿Qué hora es? This is the easiest way to learn how to say time in Spanish. But there are some other ways of asking what the time is in Spanish, such as ¿Tienes hora? which means “Do you have the time?”

Another way to learn how to ask the time is by asking what time something is (e.g. a meeting, a concert, or work): ¿A qué hora es el concierto? To ask “At what time is,” in Spanish (e.g. “What time is the concert?”), notice that you have to add an a before qué, which means “at.”

Once you have these few things in mind, it will be so much easier for you to ask for the time in Spanish. 

Asking correctly is as important as telling the time in Spanish. So let’s look at some formulas and tricks on how to say the time in Spanish in case you get asked. 

Verb to be (Es / Son) + la(s) + number from one to twelve + number of minutes

• Es la una de la mañana.

“It is 1 a.m.”

OR

• Es la una en punto.

“It’s one o’clock.”

Es + la + una + y + number of minutes

• Es la una y treinta minutos.

“It’s 1:30 a.m.”

• Es la una y diez minutos.

“It’s 1:10 a.m.”

If you want to say any hour between two and twelve, you have to use the third person of the plural son, as follows:

• Son las tres de la mañana.

“It’s three a.m.”

If someone tells you the time, make sure you say “thank you,” and do it the right way.

2. The Hours in Spanish 

If you can count from one to twelve, you’re already on the right path—cardinal numbers are essential for telling the time in Spanish. If you don’t know all of them yet, here you just need to know the numbers from one to twelve. 

Uno — “One”

Dos — “Two”

Tres — “Three”

Cuatro — “Four”

Cinco — “Five”

Seis — “Six”

Siete — “Seven”

Ocho — “Eight”

Nueve — “Nine”

Diez — “Ten”

Once — “Eleven”

Doce — “Twelve”

Once you have these memorized, you can try using them in one of the formulas we’ve covered. Another thing to keep in mind when learning how to say “What time is it?” is that “o’clock,” which is en punto, doesn’t always need to be added.

Example:

• Son las ocho.

“It’s eight o’clock.”

• Son las ocho en punto.

“It’s eight o’clock.”

Easy peasy, right? 

So, how do you know if it’s morning or evening? 

When telling the time in Spanish, know that you don’t need to use a.m. or p.m. Although it’s correct to say, most Spanish speakers don’t use them. We prefer to say ocho de la mañana (“eight in the morning”) or diez de la noche (“ten in the evening”). However, when it comes to writing the time in Spanish, we use the twenty-four-hour clock (also known as military time).

However, this is very subjective because some of the Latin American countries aren’t used to using the twenty-four-hour clock and use a.m. and p.m. more often than in Spain.

The general rule in Spain is: Write in military time and speak the time as numbers from one to twelve. For example, if you’re going to a theater show, you’ll see the time on their page or billboard as follows:

22:30 

But you’ll say to a friend by phone:

• Las diez y media de la noche.

“Ten thirty at night.”

For some Latin American countries, the night starts when it’s dark, around six p.m. This is because they’re near the equator, and thus the time the sun sets doesn’t change much during the summer. 

For the Spanish, on the other hand, the night starts after eight p.m. “Six p.m.” is still seis de la tarde.

It’s important to remember then that the Spanish language is gendered. So, when learning about time in Spanish, you need to know that you should always use the feminine article –las because it refers to la hora. The only exception is when you’re talking about one o’clock, in which case you use la.

• Es la una en punto.

“It is one o’clock.”

• Son las tres de la tarde.

“It is three p.m.”

3. The Minutes in Spanish

When learning how to tell time in Spanish, there are multiple levels that you can aim for once you start using the minutes in Spanish. You can start with the easy formula of saying the number of minutes after the hour. To reach the highest level, use phrases such as “quarter to,” in Spanish, “quarter past,” “half,” or “minutes to (hour).”

An easy way to say the minutes in Spanish is to just say the number of minutes. But to make things simpler, let’s learn the minutes by fives:

2:05 Las dos y cinco

3:10 Las tres y diez

4:15 Las cuatro y quince

5:20 Las cinco y veinte

6:25 Las seis y veinticinco

7:30 Las siete y treinta

7:35 Las siete y treinta y cinco

8:40 Las ocho y cuarenta

9:45 Las nueve y cuarenta y cinco

10:50 Las diez y cincuenta

11:55 Las once y cincuenta y cinco

After the number of minutes, you can add the word minutos. It’s the translation for “minutes,” and you’ll always use this word in the plural unless you say “one minute” (y un minuto).

• Son las tres y cinco minutos.

“It is three and five minutes.”

• Son las doce y un minuto.

“It is one minute past twelve.”

4. Hours Divided into Minutes in Spanish

So one way of improving your level of Spanish is to expand on your knowledge of hours in Spanish. What do I mean? You can identify your level of Spanish by whether you’re able to understand and tell the time in Spanish by half, quarter, and three quarters of an hour.

How do we do this? 

The same way we divide time in English. Dividing the clock into blocks of fifteen minutes. Every fifteen minutes, we’re talking about cuartos or “quarters.”

To talk about half an hour in Spanish, you need to use y media.

Unlike in English, in Spanish you say the hour first, then the minutes:

• 01:30 p.m. 

La una y media.

“Half past one.”

To say that it’s a quarter past an hour in Spanish, you need to use y cuarto.

• 01:15 p.m. 

Es la una y cuarto.

“It is a quarter past one.”

To say that it’s a quarter until an hour in Spanish, you need to use menos cuarto. This means that you tell the hour first, and then you have to take away the quarter from the time that’s approaching. It sounds like “one minus quarter” for 12:45 p.m. 

Like in English, the Latin American Spanish-speakers use the phrase “quarter till” in a similar manner. It’s okay to use this, especially if you’re learning. Then, once you get a better understanding and you need to improve your Spanish skills, you can start telling time like Spaniards do. 

Note that even for some Latinos it’s hard to tell the time the European Spanish way, so go easy on yourself! 

Latin American Spanish:

• 01:45 p.m

Faltan un cuarto para las dos.

“It is a quarter to two.”

The most difficult to learn and remember is the quarter until an hour. This is because you may still be thinking it in the English way. 

In English:

Minutes left to the time approaching + “to” + hour (from one to twelve)

Example:

01:45 p.m. — “A quarter to two.”

In Spanish:

Hour (from one to twelve) + menos + minutes left to the approaching time

Example:

01:45 p.m. — Las dos menos cuarto.

5. General Time Reference of the Day

As we said earlier, in Spanish we’re more used to saying “in the morning” or “in the evening” to refer to a.m. or p.m. While we do understand it if we see it, we don’t usually use these terms. 

Instead, we use other words that refer to certain times of the day, and these will be very good for you to learn. Let’s take a look! 

• Primera hora de la mañana — “Early morning”

Example: 

Tengo cita en el médico a primera hora de la mañana.

“I have a doctor’s appointment in the early morning.”

• Amanecer — “Sunrise”

Example:

El amanecer más bonito que he visto nunca ha sido en Cádiz.

“The most beautiful sunrise that I’ve never seen was in Cadiz.”

• Mediodía — “Noon” or “Midday”

Example:

La clase acaba en el mediodía. 

“The class ends at noon/midday.”

• Primera hora de la tarde — “Early afternoon”

Example:

¿Quedamos para el café a primera hora de la tarde?
“Shall we meet for coffee at early afternoon?”

• Noche — “Evening” or “Night”

Example:

¿Cuántas noches has tenido que trabajar esta semana?

“How many nights did you have to work this week?”

• Puesta de sol — “Sunset”

Example:

Me han contado que en Bali hay unas puestas de sol mágicas.

“I have been told that in Bali there are magical sunsets.”

• Medianoche — “Midnight”

Example:

Con 15 años mis padres me dejaban salir los fines de semana hasta medianoche.

“When I was 15 years old, my parents would let me go out on the weekends until midnight.”

6. Time Adverbs

In Spanish, we use adverbs of time, place, mode, or quantity all the time. With them, you add information to verbs, adjectives, and even to the whole sentence. 

You’ll quickly become very familiar with them since they’re essential when you’re learning how to tell time in Spanish. 

• Antes — “Before”

Example:

Kike, lávate las manos antes de comer.

“Kike, wash your hands before eating.”

• Después — “After”

Example:

Después de comer apetece una siesta.

“After eating, you want a nap.”

• Luego — “Later”

Example:
Llámame luego.

“Call me later.”

• Pronto — “Soon”

Example:

Te veo pronto.

“See you soon.”

• Tarde — “Late”

Example:

Se me está haciendo tarde para ir al supermercado.

“It’s getting late to go to the supermarket.”

• Temprano — “Early”

Example:

Hay que levantarse temprano para ir al colegio mañana.

“We have to wake up early to go to school tomorrow.”

• Todavía (This adverb has different meanings in English, depending on the time verb you’re using.):

– “Still”

– “Yet”

– “Even so”

Example:
Todavía estoy aquí esperándote.

“I am still here waiting for you.”

Example:
Todavía no he estado en París.

“I have not been to Paris yet.”

• Ayer — “Yesterday”

Example:
Ayer Luis me dejó esperando una hora en el café.

“Luis left me waiting for one hour in the coffee shop yesterday.”

• Hoy — “Today”

Example:
Tengo tres entrevistas de trabajo hoy.

“Today, I have three job interviews.”

• Mañana — “Tomorrow”

Example:
Sara, por favor, revisa mi agenda de mañana.

“Sara, check tomorrow’s agenda, please.”

• Antes de ayer o anteayer — “The day before yesterday”

Example:
Antes de ayer empecé con el entrenamiento.

“I started with my training the day before yesterday.”

• Pasado mañana — “The day after tomorrow”

Example:
Pasado mañana empieza el mes de julio.

“July starts the day after tomorrow.”

• Siempre — “Anytime”, “always,” or “forever”

The word “anytime” refers to “always” in terms of describing every time that something happens. But we translate the same word siempre, or with cada vez.

Example:

Siempre que Antonio va al parque se encuentra al gato perdido.

“Anytime Antonio goes to the park he runs into the lost cat.”

• “Always” is the most common way to translate siempre. It refers to “all the time” and “forever.”

Example:

Siempre te querré.

“I will always love you.”

• Nunca, Jamás — “Never”

Example:

Nunca más vuelvo a fiarme de un desconocido.

“I will never again trust a stranger.”

• Prontamente, Pronto — “As soon as possible”

Example:

Ven a recogerme pronto.

“Come and pick me up as soon as possible.”

• En un rato – “In a little while”

Example:

Estaré preparada en un rato.

“I’ll be ready in a little while.”

7. Time Proverbs and Sayings in Spanish

If you want to sound like a Spanish native, idioms and expressions are the best way to show off. However, it’s important that you know when and how to use them, or it can have the opposite effect! 

Some great phrases for latecomers include Voy en camino (“I’m on my way”) and Llego tarde (“I’m late” or “I’m running late”). These are great to send by text so you don’t keep people waiting.

The expressions “time is money” and “time flies” refer to moments in which time goes fast and you have to take advantage of it. Their translations are el tiempo es dinero and el tiempo vuela respectively.

Other common expressions in Spanish are:

• El tiempo cura las heridas. — “Time heals all wounds.”
• Más vale tarde que nunca. — “Better late than never.”
• A quien madruga, Dios le ayuda. — “The early birds get God’s help.”

8. Conclusion

So, reader, do you feel more confident about telling time in Spanish now? In the comments below, tell us what time it is where you are, in Spanish! 

Next time you’re late to an appointment or want to ask someone on a date, you can come back to this page for help setting up times or letting someone know you’re almost there. You can use all of our fun lessons, idiomatic expressions, and more resources at our SpanishPod101 website.

SpanishPod101 has many vocabulary lists for you for free, and of course, our Spanish Resource Corner for any other questions you may have. Why don’t you practice your Spanish by asking other Spanish speakers what they’re up to?

Happy Spanish learning! 🙂

Do you enjoy traveling? We do! And we know that even though it’s possible to travel to most places speaking only English, we love the feeling of being able to understand the locals, even if it’s only a few words.

There’s some vocabulary that’s especially useful in these cases, such as “left” in Spanish or the four basic map directions. Asking for directions is one of the basic bits of knowledge that you most definitely need every time you travel. Even with Google Maps, you’ll probably end up needing a little bit of help at some point during your trip. No battery, no data, or maybe just a complicated place to get to! In any case, it’s better to be safe.

Often, when you learn directions in Spanish (or other languages), you learn how to ask where something is, as well as a few random words for positions. But if you ask someone how to get to your hotel, are you sure you’re going to understand the answer?

If you’re not too sure, there’s no need to worry, because we’re about to make sure you learn everything you need to ask, give, and receive directions when you travel to a Spanish-speaking country. We’re going to go far beyond the usual “left” or “right” in Spanish.



Table of Contents

1. Cardinal Directions in Spanish
2. Describing Positions
3. Spanish Directions Using Landmarks
4. Must-Know Phrases for Asking for Directions
5. Must-Know Phrases for Giving Directions
6. Vehicles and Transportation
7. Example Situation
8. How SpanishPod101.com Can Help You Learn More Spanish

1. Cardinal Directions in Spanish

We’re not sure if people are going to tell you to head north or south when you ask them for directions, but cardinal directions are still important to know when you’re trying to find your way around or understand where you are. They’re quite easy to learn, so let’s start with them, followed by the ordinal directions in Spanish!

Norte (“north”)

Francia está al norte de España.
“France is north of Spain.”

Sur (“south”)

Este año me voy de vacaciones al sur de Alemania.
“This year I’m going on holiday to the south of Germany.”

Oeste (“west”)

Portugal está al oeste de España.
“Portugal is west of Spain.”

Este (“east”)

Barcelona está en el este de España.
“Barcelona is on the east of Spain.”

Noroeste (“northwest”)

Antes vivía en el noroeste de Inglaterra.
“I used to live on the northwest side of England.”

Noreste (“northeast”)

Dirígete hacia el noreste.
“Head northeast.”

Sudoeste (“southwest”)

Creo que tengo que seguir la carretera que va hacia el
sudoeste.
“I think I need to follow the road that goes southwest.”

Sudeste (“southeast”)

Australia está en el sudeste.
“Australia is in the southeast.”

Centro (“center”)

Madrid está en el centro de España.
“Madrid is in the center of Spain.”

Note: We realize that “center” isn’t a cardinal or ordinal direction, but we thought it was appropriate to include it in this section!

2. Describing Positions

Now, this might be more like the type of vocabulary you were looking for. The following list of directions and positions in Spanish will help you describe where things or people are. Some of these words are simple prepositions, and some are more complex words or expressions used to describe a position.

En (“in,” “on,” or “at”)

Estoy en casa.
“I’m at home.”

Delante de (“in front of”)

Ayer estuve delante de Marta, pero no me vio.
“Yesterday I was in front of Marta, but she didn’t see me.”

Detrás de (“behind”)

Tienes una avispa detrás de ti.
“There is a wasp behind you.”

Izquierda (“left”)

A vuestra izquierda veréis el castillo de la reina.
“To your left, you will see the castle of the queen.”

Derecha (“right”)

Tengo un lunar en la mejilla derecha.
“I have a mole on my right cheek.”

Dentro (“in” or “inside”)

¿Dónde estás? Yo estoy dentro.
“Where are you? I’m inside.”

Fuera (“out” or “outside”)

No quiero salir fuera, hace frío.
“I don’t want to go out, it’s cold.”

Hacia (“to”)

Estoy de camino hacia el aeropuerto.
“I’m on my way to the airport.”

Desde (“from”)

No sé cómo ir al hospital desde aquí.
“I don’t know how to go to the hospital from here.”

Cerca (“close”)

El restaurante de mi padre está cerca de tu casa.
“My father’s restaurant is close to your house.”

Lejos (“far”)

La estación de tren está lejos de aquí.
“The train station is far from here.”

Arriba (“up”)

¡Mira hacia arriba!
“Look up!”

Debajo (“down,” “under”)

El lápiz está debajo del libro.
“The pencil is under the book.”

Aquí (“here”)

¿Estás aquí?
“Are you here?”

Allí – ahí (“there”)

Ahí no hay nada.
“There’s nothing there.”

Al lado de (“next to”)

El banco está al lado de la farmacia.
“The bank is next to the pharmacy.”

Por ahí (“that way” or “around there”)

Sigue por ahí.
“Keep going that way.”

Mi móvil tiene que estar por ahí.
“My phone must be around there.”

Al otro lado (“on the other side”)

Mi casa está al otro lado del pueblo.
“My house is on the other side of town.”

A la vuelta de la esquina ( just around the corner”)

La casa de Ana está a la vuelta de la esquina de la mía.
“Ana’s house is just around the corner.”

En la esquina (“at the corner”)

Mis tíos viven en la esquina de la calle Mallorca con la calle Bruc.
“My aunt and uncle live at the corner between Mallorca Street and Bruc Street.”

Enfrente (“right in front”)

¿Vives aquí? Yo vivo enfrente.
“Do you live here? I live right in front.”

Al fondo (“back” or “end”)

El baño está al fondo a la derecha.
“The toilet is at the end on the right.”

Entre… y (“between… and”)

La escuela está entre el hospital y el parque.
“The school is between the hospital and the park.”

3. Spanish Directions Using Landmarks

Understanding or giving directions in Spanish isn’t all about where something is: you also need to know what that “something” is called so you can get to it! It sounds obvious, right? Well, as it turns out, it’s not that obvious to some people. Pay attention here; it’s important!

1- En la ciudad (“In the city”)

We’ll start with some places you can easily find in a city and that you might have to get to. Have you been to any Spanish cities before? Let us know in the comments!

Aeropuerto (“airport”)

Para llegar al aeropuerto tienes que seguir la carretera A-25.
“To get to the airport, you need to follow the A-25 road.”

Estación de tren (“train station”)

La estación de tren está en el centro del pueblo.
“The train station is in the town center.”

Estación de metro (“subway station”)

La estación de metro más cercana a mi casa es la de Collblanc.
“The closest subway station to my house is Collblanc.”

Parada de autobús (“bus stop”)

¡No encuentro la parada de autobús!
“I can’t find the bus stop!”

Centro de la ciudad (“city center”)

Hoy he estado todo el día en el centro de la ciudad.
“Today I’ve been at the city center all day.”

Parque (“park”)

¿Has pasado por el parque hoy?
“Have you been to the park today?”

Hotel (“hotel”)

Mi hotel en París era genial.
“My hotel in Paris was great.”

Banco (“bank” or “bench”)

En mi pueblo solo hay un banco.
“There is only one bank in my hometown.”

Note: Yes, the words for “bank” and “bench” in Spanish are both banco. You understand what they mean by the context.

Hospital (“hospital”)

¡Hay que llevarla al hospital!
“We need to take her to the hospital!”

Iglesia (“church”)

La iglesia de esta ciudad es preciosa.
“The church in this city is beautiful.”

Ayuntamiento (“city hall”)

Los ayuntamientos suelen estar en el centro.
“City halls are usually in the center.”

2- En la carretera (“On the road”)

The following words will be especially useful if you need directions to drive somewhere. As we mentioned before, nobody knows when your GPS might fail, so these words for road directions in Spanish will come in handy when you need to ask the locals!

Intersección (“intersection”)

Después de esta intersección sigue recto y verás un edificio azul a la derecha.
“After this intersection, keep going and you will see a blue building on the right.”

Rotonda (“roundabout”)

Gira a la derecha en esa rotonda.
“Turn right on that roundabout.”

Semáforo (“traffic light”)

No te olvides de pararte en el semáforo.
“Don’t forget to stop at the traffic lights.”

Paso de cebra or paso de peatones (“crosswalk”)

En este pueblo no hay ni un solo paso de cebra.
“There isn’t a single crosswalk in this town.”

Puente (“bridge”)

Este puente tiene por lo menos cien años.
“This bridge is at least 100 years old.”

3- En un edificio (“In a building”)

Have you ever been lost inside of a building? We have. Let’s try to help you prevent that from happening!

Baño or lavabo (“bathroom” or “toilet”)

Esta casa tiene dos baños.
“This house has two bathrooms.”

Ascensor (“elevator”)

El ascensor está detrás de ti.
“The elevator is behind you.”

Escaleras (“stairs”)

¡No te caigas por las escaleras!
“Don’t fall off the stairs!”

Entrada (“entrance”)

La entrada está cerrada.
“The entrance is closed.”

Salida (“exit”)

Ayer no encontraba la salida del centro comercial y tuve que pedir ayuda.
“Yesterday I couldn’t find the exit to the shopping mall and I had to ask for help.”

Aparcamiento or parking (“parking lot”)

El parking de este edificio está bajo tierra.
“This building’s parking lot is underground.”

If you feel this wasn’t enough, you might enjoy our Essential Spanish Vocabulary About Buildings.

4. Must-Know Phrases for Asking for Directions

Finally, we bring you what we’re sure you were looking for. Whenever you need to find your way in Spain, these are the questions you need to ask. The key to not getting lost anymore: Learn these phrases for asking directions in Spanish and, most importantly, don’t be shy. Ask someone when you can’t find what you’re looking for!

Disculpe… (“Excuse me…”) and ¿Me podría indicar…? (“Could you indicate to me…?”)

These two phrases are formal ways to begin asking someone for something. They both use the formal usted instead of the regular “you,” but this isn’t necessary and can be avoided.

If you don’t want to use the formal “usted,” you can say Disculpa and Me podrías indicar instead. They can be used separately, but also together, as in the following example: Disculpe, ¿me podría indicar dónde está el río? (“Excuse me, could you indicate to me where the river is?”).

If you’re interested, we have an article on other ways of saying sorry that might be helpful to you.

Estoy perdido/a (“I’m lost”) or Me he perdido (“I got lost”)

Estoy buscando la Alhambra, pero me he perdido.
“I am looking for the Alhambra, but I got lost.”

¿Dónde está…? (“Where is…?”)

¿Dónde está el baño?
“Where is the bathroom?”

¿Cómo se va a…? (“How do I go to…”)

¿Cómo se va a la playa?
“How do I go to the beach?”

¿Está lejos de aquí? (“Is it far from here?”)

¿El Hotel Don Juan está muy lejos de aquí?
“Is the Hotel Don Juan very far from here?”

¿Cómo se llega a…? (“How do I get to…?”)

¿Cómo se llega a la Plaza Mayor?
“How do I get to Plaza Mayor?”

¿Por dónde se va a…? (“How do I go to…”?)

¿Por dónde se va a Barcelona?
“How do I go to Barcelona?”

Gracias (“Thank you”)

Gracias is usually one of the first words to learn in Spanish, so you should already be quite familiar with it. You know how it goes: If someone helps you, you should thank them. If you want to learn a few more ways of thanking someone, you can check out our vocabulary list of Common Ways to Say Thank You.

Gracias por tu ayuda (Thank you for your help”)

We thought we would add another way of saying thank you to this list, because this one emphasizes that you’re thankful for the help you just got from them. Locals will definitely enjoy hearing this phrase.

a veo (“I see”)

This phrase is a rather simple one that will help you show the person you’re talking to that you understand what they’re saying. If you forget how to say it, remember you can just nod!

Muy amable (“You’re very kind”)

This is another common phrase that literally means “very kind,” omitting the “you are.” You can use it together with gracias, but it also works on its own.

5. Must-Know Phrases for Giving Directions

Now you know what to say when you’re lost, so it’s time to learn how someone will most likely answer. Once again, it’s important to pay attention! You won’t look too good in front of your friends or family if you mess this up! Here’s how to give directions in Spanish.

Ve recto (“go straight”)

Para llegar a la playa, ve recto.
“To get to the beach, go straight.”

Da la vuelta (“turn around”)

Te has equivocado, da la vuelta.
“You made a mistake, turn around.”

Ve hacia atrás (“go backwards”)

Te has pasado la casa, ve un poco hacia atrás.
“You missed the house, go a bit backwards.”

Gira a la derecha/izquierda (“turn right/left”)

Gira a la izquierda después de esta farola.
“Turn left after this street light.”

Sigue recto (“keep going straight”)

Una vez llegues a la farmacia sigue recto para llegar a mi casa.
“Once you reach the pharmacy, keep going straight to get to my house.”

Sigue por aquí (“keep going through here”)

Mira, aquí hay una señal, sigue por aquí.
“Look, there is a sign here, keep going through here.”

Dirígete hacia… (“head [to]…”)

Dirígete hacia el este.
“Head east.”

Cruza (“cross”)

Cruza el puente para llegar a mi casa.
“Cross the bridge to get to my house.”

Acelera (“accelerate”)

No vayas tan lento, ¡acelera!
“Don’t be so slow, accelerate!”

Frena (“slow down”)

Vas demasiado rápido, frena un poco.
“You’re going too fast, slow downa little.”

Sigue a ese coche (“follow that car”)

¡Corre, sigue a ese coche!
“Hurry, follow that car!”

Note: You probably won’t need this one, but haven’t you always wanted to do this like in the movies?

Es imposible perderse (“You can’t get lost”)

Ve recto por esta calle hasta que veas un edificio alto de color verde. Es imposible perderse.
“Go straight through this street until you see a tall green building. You can’t get lost.”

No tengo ni idea (“I have no idea”)

A: ¿Cómo se va al ayuntamiento?
B: No tengo ni idea, no soy de aquí.

A: “How do I go to the city hall?”
B: “I have no idea, I’m not from around here.”

Note: Let’s be honest, when you ask someone how to get to a place, there’s a chance they won’t know. We want you to be ready for that kind of answer.

6. Vehicles and Transportation

The last vocabulary list we’re including in this article is quite simple, but will come in handy even if you already know some of these words.

When you ask for directions, it’s not all about knowing where to go, but also about how to get there. Sometimes this includes public transportation, or some other kind of transportation. How about we take a look at some of these?

We also have a list of Spanish Words Related to Vehicles for you to check out. Be careful, though! In Mexican Spanish, a car is called carro, but in European Spanish, it’s coche (and carro just means “shopping cart”).

Autobús (“bus”)

El autobús llega a las cinco y media.
“The bus arrives at half past five.”

Tren (“train”)

Tienes que coger el tren que va a San Sebastián.
“You need to take the train that goes to San Sebastián.”

Coche (“car”)

Vamos a alquilar un coche para nuestras vacaciones.
“We’re going to rent a car for our holidays.”

Moto (“motorbike”)

Siempre me ha dado miedo montar en moto.
“I’ve always been scared of riding motorbikes.”

Bicicleta or bici (“bicycle” or “bike”)

Iremos a casa de Pedro en bici.
“We’ll go to Pedro’s house by bike.”

Taxi (“cab”)

¿Llamamos un taxi para ir al aeropuerto?
“Should we call a cab to get to the airport?”

Avión (“plane”)

Para ir a Japón vas a tener que coger un avión.
“To go to Japan, you’re going to need to take a plane.”

Helicóptero (“helicopter”)

Mi prima fue a Nueva Zelanda y sobrevoló Mordor en helicóptero.
“My cousin went to New Zealand and flew over Mordor on a helicopter.”

Barco (“boat”)

Solo puedes llegar a esa isla en barco.
“You can only get to that island by boat.”

Yate (“yacht”)

Mis amigos están ahorrando para comprar un yate el año que viene.
“My friends are saving up to buy a yacht next year.”

7. Example Situation

To help you better understand how to use all of these phrases and sentences together, we thought we would add this short example conversation:

A: ¡Hola! Estoy perdido, ¿me podrías ayudar? B: Por supuesto. A: ¿Cómo se va a la Plaza Mayor? B: Es muy fácil. Ve recto por esta calle y cuando llegues al río, crúzalo y gira hacia la derecha. La verás muy pronto. A: Muchas gracias. ¿Está cerca? B: Sí, se puede ir andando, pero puedes coger un autobús si quieres. A: ¿Dónde está la parada de autobús?  B: Está justo aquí, detrás nuestro. Tienes que coger el autobús L2. A: Gracias. Tengo otra pregunta: ¿cómo se llega al ayuntamiento desde la Plaza Mayor? B: Está en la misma plaza. Es un edificio alto y antiguo que está entre el banco y el hospital. A: ¡Perfecto! B: Si te gusta el arte, hay un museo precioso detrás del ayuntamiento. A: ¡Me encanta el arte! Gracias por la recomendación. B: De nada. ¡Disfruta la visita!

A: “Hello! I’m lost, could you help me?” B: “Of course.” A: “How do I go to the Main Square?” B: “It’s very easy. Go straight through this street and when you get to the river, cross it and turn right. You’ll see it really soon.” A: “Thank you very much. Is it close?” B: “Yes, you can go by foot, but you can catch a bus if you’d like.” A: “Where is the bus stop?” B: “It’s right here, behind us. You need to catch the L2 bus.” A: “Thank you. I have another question: how do I get to the city hall from the Main Square?” B: “It’s in that same square. It’s an old tall building between the bank and the hospital.” A: “Perfect!” B: “If you like art, there’s a gorgeous museum behind the city hall.” A: “I do love art! Thank you for your recommendation.” B: “You’re welcome. Enjoy your visit!”

8. How SpanishPod101.com Can Help You Learn More Spanish

We hope that after reading this article you feel like there’s no way you could possibly get lost when you travel to Spain. But even if you do get lost, we’re sure you’ll be able to ask for directions in Spanish and find your way to wherever you’re going. However, we wouldn’t suggest traveling to Spain only knowing this! If you want to talk to the locals, you’re going to need some more vocabulary.

If you’re planning on going to the beach, you’ll thank us for this list of twenty Spanish words you’ll need for the beach. You might also be interested in learning these ten verbs you’ll need for traveling, or if you’re organizing your next holiday, you might also like to learn how to talk about your winter holidays or summer holidays.

Before you go, let us know in the comments how you feel about asking and giving directions in Spanish now. Are there any words or phrases we didn’t mention? We look forward to hearing from you, and will do our best to help you out!

Happy Spanish learning!

Did you know that every noun in Spanish has a gender? Once you learn the words on our Spanish nouns list, and study up on Spanish nouns gender rules, you’ll be able to recognize them and speed up your learning.

For even more words, you can check out the Spanish core 100-word list at SpanishPod101!



Table of Contents

1. What is a Noun in Spanish?
2. Noun-Adjective Agreement in Spanish
3. Essential Spanish Nouns to Know: Common Spanish Nouns List
4. Conclusion

1. What is a Noun in Spanish?

Nouns name or identify a person, animal, place, thing, or idea. Spanish nouns can be singular or plural, but the most important thing you need to know if you’re a Spanish learner is that nouns are always gendered. Let’s dig a little deeper into Spanish nouns’ gender.

Nouns in Spanish can be masculine or feminine. Crazy, huh? How do you know if a Spanish word is feminine or masculine? And what about plural vs. singular nouns?

It may take some time to get used to these rules, but once you get the hang of it, you’ll be able to do this without even thinking!

To recognize the plural nouns in Spanish, you’ll see these words end in the letter -s. If you don’t see the -s, the Spanish noun is singular, will normally end with one of the following vowels: -a, -e, or -o.

To determine the gender of nouns in Spanish:

• Feminine nouns in Spanish will end with an -a.


• Masculine nouns in Spanish will end with an -e or -o.

The idea of gender nouns in Spanish can be confusing at first because there are some nouns in Spanish that don’t follow the rules above.

For example el sol, or “the sun,” ends with the consonant -l. In cases like this, the article will tell you which gender a noun is (unlike in English). Most nouns are used together with an article, like in this example. El tells you the noun is masculine, even if the noun itself doesn’t provide that information.

In English, the articles “the” or “a(n)” accompany nouns. In Spanish, here are two translations:

Masculine articles:

• Singular: el
Plural: los

Example:

• El sol brilla todas las mañanas.
  “The sun shines every morning.”


• Yo voy a misa todos los domingos.
  “I go to church every Sunday.”

Feminine articles:

• Singular: la
• Plural: las


• La luna está llena hoy.
  “We have a full moon today.”


• Las puertas están abiertas hasta las 22 h.
  “Doors are opened until 10 p.m.”

Possessive pronouns in Spanish can also help you to identify the gender of the noun. Why? Because of their ending vowel of -o or -a.

For example:

• La cama es mía.
  “The bed is mine.”


• El coche es mío.
  “The car is mine.”

The examples above also show you that you have to use the possessive pronouns in Spanish depending on the gender of the object. In this case, if you’re a man and you want to talk about “the house,” which in Spanish is a feminine object, you have to say La casa es mía (“The house is mine”).

2. Noun-Adjective Agreement in Spanish

The noun-adjective agreement is another essential aspect of Spanish nouns for beginners. Adjectives can help you identify the gender of a noun in Spanish. If the noun in Spanish is feminine, the adjective should be feminine:

• Mi novia es tímida.
  “My girlfriend is shy.”

If the noun in Spanish is masculine, the adjective should be masculine:

• Mi hermano es alto.
  “My brother is tall.”

This noun-adjective agreement in Spanish can also help you with singular and plural nouns in Spanish:

• Mi coche es pequeño.
  “My car is small.”


• Los autobuses son grandes.
  “Buses are big.”

There are some nouns in Spanish that are neutral or of ambiguous gender. How can you identify them? By the articles.

• La atleta
  “Female athlete”


• El atleta
  “Male athlete”

Some Spanish plural nouns exceptions include:

Nouns that end in -z, such as pez (“fish”), should end in -ces: Peces.

If the noun in Spanish ends in a consonant, you should add -es.

• Doctor
  “Doctor”


• Doctores
  “Doctors”

When you’re referring to a group of things or people, when there’s at least one masculine noun in Spanish, you should refer to the entire group as masculine:

• 1 perro + 3 perra = Los perros.
• “1 male dog + 3 female dogs = The dogs [masculine].”

Without nouns, we wouldn’t be able to name people, things, or ideas, so we need them for everything. This is why in Spanish, this is one of the first things you should learn, together with verbs, which are a basic Spanish grammar lesson.

Once you’ve stopped by our page on the Top 25 Nouns, you may want to learn more—and you’re in the right place! In the next part of this lesson, we’ll go over common Spanish nouns by category, and allow you to see each of these Spanish nouns in a sentence!

Without further ado, our key Spanish nouns list.

3. Essential Spanish Nouns to Know: Common Spanish Nouns List

1- “Appliances” (Electrodomésticos)

Televisión — “TV”

La televisión está encendida.
“The TV is on.”

Ordenador portátil — “Laptop”

Mi hermano me ha roto mi ordenador portátil.
“My brother broke my laptop.”

Frigorífico — “Fridge”

He visto a mi hermano quien estaba buscando comida en el frigorífico.
“I saw my brother, who was looking for food in the refrigerator.”

Aire acondicionado — “Air conditioner”

Los aires acondicionados son bastante costosos.
“Air conditioners are very expensive.”

Secador de pelo — “Hairdryer”

Yo tenía un secador muy bueno.
“I used to have a good hairdryer.”

Ventilador — “Fan”

Cuando encendí el ventilador, mis deberes volaron por todo el cuarto.
“When I turned on the fan, my homework blew all over the room.”

Microondas — “Microwave”

¿Ponemos las palomitas en el microondas?
“Shall we put the popcorn in the microwave?”

Lavadora — “Washing machine”

Se me ha roto la lavadora.
“My washing machine is broken.”

Cocina — “Stove”

Hay tres ollas en la cocina.
“There are three pans on the stove.”

2- “Technology” (Tecnología)

Móvil — “Mobile phone”

Hoy día hay móviles por todo el mundo.
“Nowadays there are mobile phones everywhere.”

Blog — “Blog”

Todas las empresas deberían tener un blog.
“Every company should have a blog.”

Aplicación — “App”

Puedes buscar cualquier cosa en la aplicación.
“You can search for anything on their app.”

Página web — “Website”

Estaba visitando tu página web; es increíble.
“I was looking at your website; it’s amazing.”

Cuenta — “Account”

¿Tienes cuenta de Instagram?
“Do you have an Instagram account?”

Foto — “Picture”

Las fotos están muy pequeñas.
“The pictures are too small.”

Descargar — “Download”

¿Me puedes descargar estas fotos?
“Can you download these pictures?”

Contraseña — “Password”

Se me olvidó la contraseña de mis redes sociales.
“I forgot my password to my social media accounts.”

Archivo — “File”

No has agregado el archivo al correo.
“You did not attach the file to the email.”

Correo basura — “Spam”

Me ha llegado tu correo al correo basura.
“I got your email in my spam.”

Tablet — “Tablet”

Voy a subir todas mis fotos desde mi tablet a mi Facebook.
“I will upload all my pictures from my tablet to my Facebook.”

Wifi — “Wifi”

¿Hay wifi aquí?
“Do you have wifi here?”

3- “Transportation” (Transporte)

Avión — “Plane”

El avión a París tiene dos horas de retraso.
“The plane to Paris has a two-hour delay.”

Tren — “Train” / Metro — “Subway”

Cada día cojo dos trenes y el metro para llegar al trabajo.
“I take two trains and the subway to get to work every day.”

Bicicleta — “Bike”

La bicicleta es el mejor método de transporte en Amsterdam.
“The bike is the best transportation method in Amsterdam.”

Autobús — “Bus”

Los autobuses son un desastre en Medellín; nunca llegan a tiempo.
“Buses are a mess in Medellin; they’re never on time.”

Estación de tren — “Train station”

¿En qué estación de tren bajas?
“In which train station do you get off?”

Parada — “Bus stop”

En cinco paradas me bajo.
“In five bus stops I’ll get off.”

Semáforo — “Traffic light”

Fíjate en los semáforos o algún día tendrás un accidente.
“Look at the traffic lights, otherwise you’ll have an accident one day.”

Patinete eléctrico — “Electric scooter”

Los patinetes eléctricos causan muchos accidentes a los peatones.
“Electric scooters cause a lot of pedestrian accidents.”

Carretera — “Road”

¿Cuál es la carretera que llega más rápido a tu casa?
“What is the fastest road to your home?”

Taxi — “Taxi”

En Nueva York los taxis son amarillos.
“Taxis in New York are yellow.”

Intersección — “Intersection”

La intersección camino al centro es súper peligrosa.
“The intersection on the way to the center is very dangerous.”

4- “Restaurant” (El restaurante)

Copa — “Glass”

La copa está llena de vino blanco.
“The glass is full of white wine.”

Jarra — “Jug”

¿Me traes una jarra de agua, por favor?
“Can I have a jug of water, please?”

Plato — “Plate”

Mi plato está sucio.
“My plate is dirty.”

Tenedor — “Fork”

El arroz no se come con tenedor.
“Rice is not eaten with a fork.”

Cuchara — “Spoon”

En la India se comen el arroz con cuchara.
“In India, the rice is eaten with a spoon.”

Cuchillo — “Knives”

Tenemos muchos tenedores, cucharas y cuchillos.
“We have many forks, spoons, and knives.”

Vaso — “Glass”

El vaso está lleno de whiskey.
“The drinking glass is full of whiskey.”

Taza — “Mug”

Mi taza favorita es la rosa.
“My favorite mug is the pink one.”

5- “School essentials” (Lo esencial para volver a clase)

Bolígrafo or Boli — “Pen”

¿Me puedes prestar un boli?
“Can I borrow a pen?”

Asignatura — “Subject”

Mi asignatura favorita en la escuela eran las matemáticas.
“My favorite subject in school was math.”

Universidad — “University”

Sarah era mi mejor amiga en la universidad.
“Sarah was my best friend at university.”

Deberes — “Homework”

El niño está haciendo los deberes.
“The boy is doing homework.”

Beca — “Scholarship”

He recibido una beca completa de la Universidad de Brighton.
“I have received a full scholarship from University of Brighton.”

Mochila — “Backpack”

Cómprale la mochila de color negro.
“Buy the black backpack.”

Cuaderno — “Notebook”

Se me perdió el cuaderno.
“I have lost my notebook.”

6- “Occupation” (Profesiones)

Enfermero — “Nurse”

Este hombre es un enfermero.
“This man is a nurse.”

Empresario — “Executive”

Los empresarios están teniendo una reunión en la sala de juntas.
“The executives are having a meeting in the boardroom.”

Policía — “Police”

El oficial de policía no tiene su uniforme.
“The police officer does not have his uniform.”

Cocinero — “Cook”

El cocinero está asando el cerdo.
“The cook is barbecuing pork.”

Encargado — “Manager”

El encargado del supermercado está dando instrucciones.
“The store manager is giving instructions.”

Atleta — “Athlete”

Mi mejor amiga es atleta profesional.
“My best friend is a professional athlete.”

Ingeniero — “Engineer”

Mi hermano es ingeniero en Apple.
“My brother is an engineer at Apple.”

Profesor — “Teacher”

Mi madre es profesora.
“My mother is a teacher.”

Médico — “Doctor”

Luisa estudió mucho para ser médico.
“Luisa studied a lot to become a doctor.”

Bombera — “Firewoman”

Sofía quiere ser bombera.
“Sofia wants to be a firewoman.”

Bibliotecaria — “Librarian”

Mi tía es bibliotecaria.
“My auntie is a librarian.”

7- “Family members” (Miembros de la familia)

Familia — “Family”

La familia está en la foto.
“The family is in the picture.”

Madre — “Mother” / Padre — “Father”

Mi madre y mi padre estuvieron casados por 30 años.
“My mother and father were married for 30 years.”

Hija — “Daughter”

El padre está mirando a su hija.
“The father is looking at his daughter.”

Hijo — “Son”

Mi hijo ha estudiado hasta ahora dos carreras.
“My son has studied for two BAs so far.”

Mamá — “Mom”

¡Ayuda a mamá! Está llevando la cesta de las toallas ella sola.
“Help mom! She is carrying the towel basket by herself.”

Abuela — “Grandmother”

La abuela se está comiendo un plátano.
“Grandma is eating a banana.”

Tío — “Uncle”

Mi tío tiene un hijo adoptado precioso.
“My uncle has a beautiful adopted child.”

Tía — “Aunt”

¿Es esa tu tía la peluquera?
“Is that your aunt who is a hairdresser?”

Hermano — “Brother”

Mi hermano pertenece al equipo de fútbol de la universidad.
“My brother belongs to the university football team.”

Hermana — “Sister”

Mi hermana está estudiando para ser policía.
“My sister is studying to be a police officer.”

8- “Body parts” (Partes del cuerpo)

Pie — “Foot”

Su pie derecho es más grande que el izquierdo.
“His right foot is bigger than his left one.”

Mano — “Hand”

La mujer se está lavando las manos.
“The woman is washing her hands.”

Cabeza — “Head”

Deberías usar casco para proteger tu cabeza.
“You should wear a helmet to protect your head.”

Brazo — “Arm”

El niño está levantando los brazos.
“The child is raising his arms.”

Espalda — “Back”

Mi hermano se ha hecho daño en la espalda por levantar cosas pesadas ayer. “My brother hurt his back by lifting heavy things yesterday.”

Pecho — “Chest”

Tengo dolor en el pecho.
“I have a pain in my chest.”

Cuerpo — “Body”

Mi hijo está aprendiendo sobre el cuerpo humano.
“My son is learning about the human body.”

Dedo — “Finger”

Me he hecho daño en el dedo meñique.
“I hurt my pinkie finger.”

Ojo — “Eye”

Se quemó ambos ojos.
“He burned both his eyes.”

Oído — “Ear”

Solo puede escuchar por un oído.
“He can only hear from one ear.”

9- “Time” (Fechas)

Ayer — “Yesterday”

Ayer por la tarde me tomé la medicina.
“I took the medicine yesterday afternoon.”

Vez — “Time”

He perdido la cartera tres veces.
“I have lost my purse three times.”

Vida — “Life”

Me gusta el yoga como estilo de vida.
“I like yoga as a lifestyle.”

Año — “Year”

Me gusta ir a Italia todos los años.
“I like to go to Italy every year.”

Tiempo — “Time”/”Weather”

En México siempre hace buen tiempo.
“In Mexico, we always have good weather.”

¿Cuánto tiempo tarda la tarta?
“How long would the cake take?”

Día — “Day”

Espero que tengas un buen día de trabajo.
“I hope you have a good day at work.”

Calendario — “Calendar”

¿Cuál es el calendario de festivos de este 2019?
“Which is the holiday calendar for this 2019?”

Mañana — “Tomorrow”

Mañana tengo el día muy ocupado.
“I have a very busy day tomorrow.”

10- “Food” (Alimentos)

Agua — “Water”

Dicen que es bueno beber dos litros de agua al día.
“It is said that it’s good to drink two liters of water a day.”

Carne — “Meat”

Los vegetarianos no comen nada de carne.
“Vegetarians don’t eat meat at all.”

Pescado — “Fish”

¿Cuál es el mejor pescado de la ciudad?
“What is the best fish in town?”

Pollo — “Chicken”

¡No te comas mi pollo!
“Don’t eat my chicken!”

Leche — “Milk”

Me gusta el té con leche.
“I like tea with milk.”

Sopa/Crema — “Soup”

Mi madre hace la mejor sopa de invierno.
“My mom makes the best winter soup.”

Verduras — “Vegetables”

Yo compro las verduras en el mercado local.
“I buy the vegetables in the local market.”

Cerdo — “Pork”

Los musulmanes no comen cerdo.
“Muslims don’t eat pork.”

Ternera — “Beef”

Mi plato favorito es la sopa de vegetales con ternera.
“My favorite dish is vegetable soup with beef.”

Vino — “Wine”

Siempre me tomo una copa de vino con todas mis comidas.
“I always have a glass of red wine with my meals.”

Pan — “Bread”

¿Me trae pan, por favor?
“Could you please bring me some bread?”

Cerveza — “Beer”

Dos cervezas más para la mesa cinco.
“Two more beers to table five.”

4. Conclusion

Once you familiarize yourself with this Spanish nouns list, start using them in context by trying them out in your conversations. Don’t worry about the feminine and masculine uses in your Spanish nouns practice at first; this will come automatically. You can master your Spanish skills with SpanishPod101, using our fun and practical learning tools for every learner!

Before you go, drop us a comment to let us know if there are any Spanish nouns or grammar rules you’re still struggling with. We’d love to hear from you!

Hacer un cumplido, lanzar un piropo, or un halago: to compliment someone in Spanish.

Spanish is a Latin language, also known as one of the romance languages. While this doesn’t mean the language is romantic by nature, there are plenty of sweet Spanish compliments you can offer someone to warm their heart.

So, how do you say “compliment” in Spanish? Compliments in Spanish are known as piropos, halagos, or cumplidos.

If you’re planning to travel to Spain or Latin America, you’ll come across many of those. You’ll be amazed by how we compliment anyone on anything. It’s our way of encouraging each other!

Whenever I’m with some foreigner friends around my city, they’re always in awe about how we naturally call anyone guapo or guapa. This is certainly different from other Eastern European cultures, where people are more discreet and reserved.

Ever wonder how to compliment someone in Spanish? Well, you’re in the right place. In this article, you’ll learn how to compliment in Spanish, whether to get the attention of someone you like, give your compliments to the chef after eating a delicious meal, or congratulate your coworkers after a presentation.

Sometimes body language can be enough. But we don’t usually keep compliments to ourselves!

Table of Contents

1. Compliments in Spanish About How Someone Looks
2. Compliments in Spanish for Someone’s Work
3. Compliments in Spanish About Someone’s Personality or Lifestyle
4. Compliments in Spanish on Someone’s Skills
5. How to Make Your Compliment in Spanish More Sincere
6. What to Expect After Giving Compliments in Spanish
7. Conclusion

1. Compliments in Spanish About How Someone Looks

Compliments are very common in the Spanish-speaking world, whether they’re used to flirt with, seduce, or praise someone. If you’ve just started learning Spanish, it may be hard to understand when you’re being complimented, or even how to compliment someone naturally. Here, we’re going to cover some nice Spanish compliments you can use to let someone know you like them (or just like their style).

Learn how to say a compliment in Spanish to a woman:

• Qué guapa eres.
  “How pretty.”
• Eres muy bonita.
  “You are beautiful.”
• Estás muy guapa.
  “You are very pretty.”
• Estás muy bonita hoy.
  “You are very pretty today.”
• Te ves muy guapa.
  “You look beautiful.”
• Qué guapa, ¿no?
  “How pretty, aren’t you?”

You can find out more about adjectives and how they work in our complete guide to Spanish Adjectives on SpanishPod101, or our related vocabulary list.

Now, here are some Spanish compliments to a man:

• Qué guapo.
  “How handsome.”
• Qué bonito.
  “How handsome.”
• Te ves muy guapo hoy.
  “You look handsome today.”

There are some adjectives that can be used for both men and women.

• Tienes unos ojos muy hermosos.
  “You have beautiful eyes.”
• Tienes una sonrisa muy bonita.
  “You have a beautiful smile.”
• Qué elegante.
  “Looking elegant.”
• Te ves muy bien.
  “Looking very good.”
• Haces que quiera ser una mejor persona.
  “You make me want to be a better person.”
• Tienes un cabello muy bonito.
  “You have beautiful hair.”
• Tienes unas manos muy bonitas.
  “You have beautiful hands.”
• Me encanta tu vestido.
  “I love your dress.”
• Te quedan muy bien esas gafas.
  “You look good with those glasses.”

Looking for some cute Spanish compliments? Here’s how you can praise a lovely couple:

• Qué linda pareja.
  “What a beautiful couple.”

If you want to compliment on someone’s clothes, such as a jacket, tie, or blouse, you can say something like:

• Qué lindo/a______.
  “What a beautiful______.”
• Qué linda chaqueta.
  “What a beautiful jacket.”
• Qué chula tu chaqueta.
  “Your jacket looks cool.”
• Esa camiseta te queda muy bien.
  “That shirt looks very good on you.”

2. Compliments in Spanish for Someone’s Work

If you’re learning Spanish because you’re planning to move to a Spanish-speaking country for work, this section is for you. Learn some compliments in Spanish to praise someone for their work.

Or perhaps you want to know how well you’re doing your job. We all like to get some compliments sometimes, so you should understand a compliment in Spanish if you get one.

• Buen trabajo.
  “Good job.”
• Lo has hecho muy bien.
  “You did very well.”
• Me ha encantado la presentación.
  “I loved your presentation.”
• Qué idea tan genial.
  “What a great idea.”
• La manera en que has solucionado el problema fue genial.
  “The way you approached the issue was amazing.”
• Solo has estado estudiando español tres meses, pero hablas muy bien.
  “You have only been studying Spanish for three months, but you speak very well.”
• Tu curriculum es impresionante.
  “Your CV is impressive.”

For more good Spanish compliments for the workplace, study our vocabulary list of the Top 15 Compliments in Spanish that you always want to hear.

3. Compliments in Spanish About Someone’s Personality or Lifestyle

It’s always awesome to hear compliments from friends and family because it reinforces the way they see us. If you want to praise someone in Spanish on an aspect of their personality, this section is for you. Make them feel good with these compliments in Spanish.

• Juan es muy buena persona.
  “Juan is a very good person.”
• María es muy trabajadora. (female)
  “María is a hard worker.”
• Pedro es muy trabajador. (male)
  “Pedro is a hard worker.”

The following adjectives can be used for both men and women. Remember that you have to change the last letter of the adjective depending on the subject’s gender: -o for masculine and -a for feminine.

• Eres un aventurero(a).
  “You are adventurous.”
• Luis is muy cariñoso.
  “Luis is very affectionate.”
• Estás siempre alegre.
  “You are always cheerful.”
• Pareces muy seguro (a).
  “You look very confident.”
• Marta es muy coqueto.
  “Marta is very flirtatious.”
• Manuel es muy simpático.
  “Manuel is very friendly.”
• Eres muy divertido (a).
  “You are funny.”
• Eres muy gracioso (a).
  “You are very funny.”
• Estás en buena forma.
  “You are in good shape.”
• Abigail es una mujer Independiente.
  “Abigail is an independent woman.”
• José es muy inteligente.
  “José is very smart.”
• Martha es muy interesante.
  “Martha is very interesting.”
• Manuel es muy tranquilo (a).
  “Manuel is very laid back.”
• Mary es muy amable.
  “Mary is very nice.”
• Jorge is muy abierto (a).
  “Jorge is very open-minded.”
• Santiago es muy romántico (a).
  “Santiago is very romantic.”
• Lucía es muy sexy.
  “Lucía is very sexy.”
• Esther es muy dulce.
  “Esther is very sweet.”

4. Compliments in Spanish on Someone’s Skills

You can also compliment someone in Spanish about their skills by following this formula. Fill in the blank with the verb or action you want to reinforce:

• Tú _____ muy bien. Ex: Tú cocinas muy bien.
  “You ____ well.” Ex: “You cook very well.”

In Spanish, you can use the pronoun tú if you want. Let’s check some examples:

• Tú cantas muy bien.
  Cantas muy bien.
  “You sing well.”
• Tú escribes muy bien.
  Escribes muy bien.
  “You write well.”
• Tú cocinas muy bien.
  Cocinas muy bien.
  “You cook well.”
• Juegas al fútbol muy bien.
  “You play football very well.”
• Pintas muy bien.
  “You paint very well.”
• Hablas muy bien español.
  “You speak Spanish very well.”

When you’re complimenting a thing, you’re also indirectly praising the person with (or responsible for) that thing as well. For example, if you say that a song is beautiful, you’re praising the singer; if you’re amazed by how a dish tastes, you’re praising the cook.

Let’s see how to praise in Spanish:

• Esta comida está deliciosa.
  “This food is delicious.”
• La película es muy divertida.
  “The movie is very funny.”
• La fotografía era espectacular.
  “The picture was spectacular.”
• La comida huele muy bien.
  “The food smells very nice.”
• Qué buena pinta tiene la comida.
  “The food looks amazing.”

5. How to Make Your Compliment in Spanish More Sincere

In this section, you’ll learn how to say a compliment in Spanish and sound sincere.

When you’re complimenting someone in Spanish, you should look them in the eyes; sometimes you can touch the other person on the shoulder or even give them a hug (really!). Yes, you will know when and to whom. Remember that in Spain and Latin America, it’s okay to touch each other.

Smile while delivering the compliment, and don’t expect anything in return (although you may get a sincere thank you or a compliment from the person).

These are some things you should not do when complimenting someone in Spanish (and actions to watch out for in others):

• You should not over-compliment someone in Spanish. Sometimes when people compliment for the sake of it, the compliment loses value.
• Sometimes people compliment you because they want something in return. Well, you should not do that to someone, and you need to know when someone is doing it to you. How can you know?

Well, they usually won’t look you in your eyes, and they’ll have a fake smile. Sometimes you can sense it, but just because Spanish isn’t your first language, you may get confused.

You can find these types of people outside of the touristic sites in Spain. They’ll tell you something nice, expecting you to buy something in return.

When you’re being complimented, be humble and try to offer the person a compliment in return. You can also just say: Gracias muy amable. (“Thanks, you are very kind.” )

6. What to Expect After Giving Compliments in Spanish

When you’re complimenting someone in Spanish, you should always say thank you (even if you don’t really agree). Otherwise, you may come across as rude.

In the Spanish-speaking world, you’ll get compliments on anything you do. So here are some tips on how to reply when you get a compliment in Spanish.

• Gracias, eres muy amable.
  “Thanks, you are very kind.”
• Gracias por el cumplido.
  “Thanks for the compliment.”

How a person feels after receiving a compliment depends on the person’s personality. You may encounter someone who feels very comfortable with the compliment, and simply thanks you for it.

On the other hand, some people may be very shy and uncomfortable, and don’t say anything at all. Don’t take it personally.

You may also compliment someone who’s very humble, in which case you may get a reply such as:

• Gracias por el cumplido, pero cualquier persona puede hacerlo.
  “Thanks for the compliment, but anyone could do it.”
• Gracias, pero podría haberlo hecho mejor.
  “Thanks, but I could have done it better.”
• Gracias, pero no creo que lo haya hecho tan bien.
  “Thanks, but I don’t think I have done well enough.”

Either way, you should always express your gratitude when getting a compliment:

¡Gracias!

7. Conclusion

In this guide, you’ve learned the most common Spanish compliments, how to compliment a girl or a boy, how to thank the cook after a delicious meal, plus some praising words in Spanish. Would you like to know more about compliments in Spanish? Do you feel ready to express gratitude and praise someone in Spanish?

SpanishPod101 has many resources, from vocabulary lists, audio recordings, and more free content to boost your learning and keep it entertaining and fun.

Good luck!

Trying to express your feelings is very important, especially if you’re learning a new language. I still remember how frustrating it was when I was trying to express myself in a new language. Sometimes I couldn’t find the words so it was easier just to give up.

Well, that’s why we want to put this article out there for you, even if you’re one of those people who never (or almost never) gets angry. There will be a time when you need to express that you are angry in Spanish.

Learn how to say “angry” in Spanish, how to express your feelings and when, and most importantly, how to spot when someone is being angry in Spanish toward you.

Spanish is a romance language not only because it comes from Latin, but because you can express so many emotions, feelings, and meanings with it—not only with words, but also with gestures, body language, and physical touch.

It’s normal to find a gap between your feelings, how you should express them, and what they can mean. In Spanish, you can express your emotions by learning the local expressions.

Learn the most common Spanish angry phrases with some specific vocabulary and colloquial words with SpanishPod101. You can start expressing yourself no matter your level!

Table of Contents

1. How Do You Say “Angry” in Spanish?
2. Angry Imperatives
3. Angry Warnings
4. Angry Blames
5. How to Tell Someone to Calm Down
6. Conclusion

1. How Do You Say “Angry” in Spanish?

To express that you feel angry in Spanish, you need to know the verb “to be”: Ser or Estar.

These verbs can both be used with adjectives. However, when it comes to expressing your emotions in Spanish, it’s easy—you just need to use the verb estar.

Formula

The verb “to be” in the present tense: Estoy + Adjective.

Examples of the Spanish word for “angry”:

There are a few different words for “angry” in Spanish. The most common ones are:

• Enojado(-a) (Latin American Spanish)
• Enfadado(-a)
• Molesto(-a)

Saying “I am upset” or “I am angry” in Spanish:

• Estoy enojado(-a).
• Estoy enfadado(-a).
• Estoy molesto(-a).

Once you know these, you can start really using the Spanish word for “angry.” In addition, you should know the local angry phrases in Spanish to help you express your emotions.

2. Angry Imperatives

1- ¡Para ya!

Literal Translation:
“Stop it right now!”

Meaning:
You use this phrase when someone is really annoying you, and you’re starting to feel that anger inside of you, running through each inch of your body. To get that person to stop doing what they’re doing, you say ¡Para ya!

Example Situation:
A mom is with her child in the shopping center, and the child is running around and being rambunctious. This is making the mother feel nervous, so she yells ¡Para ya! to tell her child to stop.

Usage in a Sentence:
Por favor Antonio, ¡para ya!
“Please Antonio, stop it right now!”

2- Como quieras.

Literal Translation:
“Whatever.”

Meaning:
This expression is used when you feel angry in Spanish for something and you want to end the conversation.

Example Situation:
Your partner wants to visit his/her parents for the holidays, and wants you to agree with that decision. You, of course, want to visit your own parents, but your partner is getting very angry because he/she wants you to give in. You finally give up and say Como quieras or “whatever,” showing that you cede—but you’re not feeling happy about it.

Usage in a Sentence:
Como quieras, igual a ti te gusta tener siempre la razón.
“Whatever, you like to always be right anyway.”

3- ¿Y qué?

Literal Translation:
“So what?”

Meaning:
This is one of the best angry Spanish sayings to show indifference about something and to tell the other person you don’t really care.

Example Situation:
Someone is judging you for something, so you use this expression to emphasize that you don’t care about their opinions.

Usage in a Sentence:
Sí, tengo 40 años, ¿y qué?
“Yes, I’m 40 years old, so what?”

3. Angry Warnings

1- Estoy hasta los huevos/las narices/el moño.

Literal Translation:
“I am up to my balls/nose/bun.”

Meaning:
This expression is used when you’re very tired or upset about something or with someone. The equivalent in English can be something like “I’ve had enough of my job.”

Example Situation:
If you work in a bar and there’s an angry Spanish man there, you can say Estoy hasta las narices de este tío, or “I’ve had enough of this man.”

Usage in a Sentence:
Estos hasta las narices de mi trabajo.
“I’ve had enough of my job.”

2- Vete a freír espárragos.

Literal Translation:
“Go to fry asparagus.”

Meaning:
This expression is often used to be angry in Spanish because it basically means “go to hell” but more politely, without using bad words.

Example Situation:
If you’re arguing with someone and you want to end the conversation, you send them to fry asparagus.

Usage in a Sentence:
Si no te gusta, vete a freír espárragos.
“If you don’t like it, go to hell.”

3- No me busques porque me encuentras. (Latin American Spanish)

Literal Translation:
“Do not look for me, because you will find me.”

Meaning:
If you want to argue, bring it on.

Example Situation:
You can use this when you encounter someone who wants to argue, even though you don’t want to. So you tell them: No me busques porque me encuentras. In English, this would be like saying “Don’t push your luck.” This is one of the most common angry Spanish phrases in Mexico.

Usage in a Sentence:
No quiero discutir, así que no me busques porque me encuentras.
“I do not want to argue, so don’t push your luck.”

4- Te voy a decir por donde sale el sol. (Latin American Spanish)

Literal Translation:
“I will tell you where the sun rises.”

Meaning:
This expression means “I am angry” in Spanish, and that you need to talk with that person.

Example Situation:
Your partner is late again and you’re not happy about it. Use this phrase to let him/her know you want to talk about it.

Usage in a Sentence:
Esta vez le voy a decir por donde sale el sol.
“This time I will tell her from where the sun rises.”

5- Que te den.

Literal Translation:
“F*ck off.”

Meaning:
This is an extremely offensive expression, and it’s used to tell someone to go away when you’re angry with them.

Example Situation:
A mother is arguing with her teenage son about tidying up his room. When her son refuses to do so, the mother punishes him by not allowing him to go out with his friends for a week. He says: Que te den.

Usage in a Sentence:
Si no te gusta que te den.
“If you do not like it, f*ck off.”

6- Estoy que echo chispas.

Literal Translation:
“I am about to give off sparks.”

Meaning:
This expression means that you’re very angry in Spanish. It’s a warning to the other person not to come any closer because you’re about to explode.

Example Situation:
You’re arguing with someone, and another person comes along. You can tell them: Estoy que echo chispas, or “I am about to explode.”

Usage in a Sentence:
No te metas conmigo que estoy que echo chispas.
“Do not come any closer because I am about to explode.”

7- Estoy de una mala uva/leche/hostia.

Literal Translation:
“I am of such a bad grape/milk/communion bread.”

Meaning:
Yes! This is one of the most common Spanish phrases when angry, especially in Spain. However, in Latin American Spanish, you’ll never hear this. This expression means that you’re in a bad mood.

Example Situation:
This one is used in a variety of everyday situations when you just want to explain yourself to someone.

Usage in a Sentence:
Estoy de una mala leche mi jefe no me ha dejado salir temprano hoy.
“I am in such a bad mood today; my boss did not let me leave early.”

8- Me estoy calentando.

Literal Translation:
“I am getting hot.”

Meaning:
This means “I am angry” in Spanish. The equivalent English translation is something like “You’re getting on my nerves.”

Example Situation:
If you’re arguing with someone and the conversation doesn’t look like it’ll stop anytime soon, you can say Me estoy calentando.

Usage in a Sentence:
Basta ya que me estoy calentando.
“Stop it already, I am getting angry.”

9- El horno no está para bollos.

Literal Translation:
“The oven is not open for buns.”

Meaning:
This expression is used when you’re not in a good mood, and you don’t want to hear anything else that makes the situation worse.

Example Situation:
You’re already angry, and then someone wants to tell you that they’ve lost your favorite book. Well, you can tell them El horno no está para bollos.

Usage in a Sentence:
Acabo de chocar el coche así que no me digas nada que el horno no está para bollos.
“I just crashed the car, so do not tell me anything else.”

10- Te voy a cantar las cuarenta.

Literal Translation:
“I will sing the forty to you.”

Meaning:
Do you need to let someone know you’re angry in Spanish? This expression is the best way to do this. If someone says this to you, you’re in trouble, especially if you’ve done something to upset that person. This phrase is used to initiate a serious talk.

Example Situation:
If you’re talking to someone about how angry you are at someone else, you can use this expression to be angry in Spanish. Mothers also commonly use this phrase with their children when there’s something that needs to be talked about at home.

Usage in a Sentence:

Le voy a cantar las cuarenta a mi hermano.
“I am angry with my brother, I will talk to him.”

Te voy a cantar las cuarenta cuando lleguemos a casa.
“We will talk about it when we get home.”

11- Qué morro/cara tienes.

Literal Translation:
“You have such a big snout/face.”

Meaning:
You can use this expression to say that you’re angry in Spanish. In particular, this is one of the best Spanish phrases for angry people to use if someone is taking advantage of them, someone else, or a situation.

Example Situation:
If your brother is always asking you for favors and he never does anything for you in return, you can say Qué morro tienes.

Usage in a Sentence:
Mi hermano siempre me devuelve el coche sin gasolina, qué morro tiene.
“My brother always brings back my car without fuel, he has such a big snout.”

12- Te estás pasando.

Literal Translation:
“You are going too far now.”

Meaning:
You should stop now because you’re taking the situation too far.

Example Situation:
Sometimes when you’re angry, you may bring other subjects into the conversation or situation. In this case, the other person may say Te estas pasando so you can understand you’re going too far with it.

Usage in a Sentence:
No hay necesidad de hacer ese comentario, te estás pasando.
“There is no need to say that, you are going too far now.”

4. Angry Blames

1- A ti te dejaron caer cuando eras pequeño. (Latin American Spanish)

Literal Translation:
“You were dropped on the floor when you were a kid.”

Meaning:
If you’re talking to someone and you don’t get the messages they’re trying to send, they’ll tell you A ti te dejaron caer cuando eras pequeño. This is basically a way of calling someone dumb.

Example Situation:
This expression can be a subtle way to say “you’re dumb” to someone, especially in Latin American Spanish.

Usage in a Sentence:
¿Cómo que no entiendes lo que pasa? A ti te dejaron caer cuando eras pequeño, ¿verdad?
“What do you mean you don’t get it, are you dumb or what?”

2- Más tonto y no naces.

Literal Translation:
“If you were dumber, you would not have been born.”

Meaning:
This expression is another way to tell someone how dumb they are for not understanding the situation.

Example Situation:
In a situation where an angry Spanish woman is trying to explain herself, if you don’t get it, she’ll give up and say Más tonto y no naces.

Usage in a Sentence:
Estoy de mala leche, ¿no lo entiendes? Es que más tonto y no naces.
“Can you see I am angry? Should I spell it out for you?”

3- No te metas donde no te llaman.

Literal Translation:
“Do not be nosey.”

Meaning:
This expression means not to argue or say anything about a certain situation if it has nothing to do with you.

Example Situation:
If two people are arguing and you want to say or add something to their conversation, one of them can tell you No te metas donde no te llaman. In other words, “mind your own business.”

Usage in a Sentence:
Estoy hablando con mi madre en privado, no te metas donde no te llaman.
“I’m talking with my mom in private; please, mind your own business.”

4- Te voy a bajar los humos.

Literal Translation:
“Take down the wind of somebody’s sail.”

Meaning:
This expression is used when you’re angry because someone is behaving with superiority. The equivalent in English could be “Do not patronize me.”

Example Situation:
You can use this when you’re with a colleague and they talk to you like she or he is your boss.

Usage in a Sentence:
Baja un poco los humos y deja de gritarme, que tú no eres mi jefe.
“Do not patronize me, you are not my boss.”

5- Me estás buscando las cosquillas.

Literal Translation:
“You are looking for my tickling.”

Meaning:
This means that someone wants to argue with you, and is intentionally doing things to start a fight.

Example Situation:
If your partner is teasing you in order to start a fight, you can tell him/her this.

Usage in a Sentence:
Me estás buscando las cosquillas.
“You are looking for troubles and I won’t laugh.”

6- Te voy a poner los puntos sobre las íes.

Literal Translation:
“I will put the dots over the letter ‘i’.”

Meaning:
This expression is very common when you’re letting someone know you’re angry in Spanish. It means that you’re angry, and no matter what their excuse is, they’re going to hear what you have to say.

Example Situation:
Imagine your friend is late and you’ve been waiting for a long time. She or he is on the phone with you, so you make it clear during the call that you have something to say.

Usage in a Sentence:
Siempre me hace lo mismo, le voy a poner los puntos sobre las íes.
“It’s always like that, (s)he will hear what I have to say about it.”

5. How to Tell Someone to Calm Down

1- Relájate / Cálmate

Literal Translation:
“Relax” or “Calm down”

Meaning:
This word in Spanish is used to tell someone to chill out.

Example Situation:
This word is more informal than saying “calm down” in Spanish. You can use this with your friends and family, because if you use it with other people, it may make the situation worse.

Usage in a Sentence:

Relájate, que te puede dar un infarto.
“Chill out, you may get a heart attack.”

Cálmate, que no es para tanto.
“Calm down, there is no need to be like that.”

2- No pasa nada.

Literal Translation:
“Nothing is happening.”

Meaning:
This expression is used to ease or stop the situation.

Example Situation:
If you’re arguing with someone and that person realizes that they were wrong, you can say No pasa nada, or “It’s okay, no worries!”

Usage in a Sentence:

A: Creo que me pasé con el comentario.
B: ¡No pasa nada!

A: “I think I went too far with my comment.”
B: “It’s nothing, no worries!”

6. Conclusion

It’s very common to want to express our feelings and emotions. The first words we usually learn for this are curse words, but it’s important to learn how to express your anger in Spanish without them. It’s a process, and SpanishPod101 is here to help you learn more about how to express your feelings in Spanish.

Do you feel more confident about expressing your anger in Spanish now? Drop us a comment to let us know, and be sure to continue practicing the phrases in this article (but not too much!). We look forward to hearing from you!

We love sharing life event messages on our social media and through instant messages, right? Life events are very significant moments, and many of them are like rituals to us. Take birthdays, weddings, and funerals for example.

If you’re learning Spanish and want to say happy birthday in Spanish to your loved ones, or perhaps share your best wishes for the holidays in Spanish with your friends, it’s important to know what to say, when to say it, and how to say it.

These types of Spanish greetings and well-wishes for important occasions are normally language-specific words which shouldn’t be literally translated. So when you’re trying to say Merry Christmas in Spanish and Happy New Year in Spanish, instead of translating them, you should learn the proper way to do so. This will ensure that you say the right thing at the right time, and avoid confusion.

Let’s learn the best Spanish congratulations and best wishes for any life event, and how to use them.

Table of Contents

1. How Do You Say Happy Birthday in Spanish?
2. Best Wishes & Greetings in Spanish for the Holidays
3. Spanish Congratulations: Weddings & Engagements
4. Spanish Congratulations: Pregnancy, Baby Shower, and New Baby
5. Congratulations in Spanish for Graduations
6. Spanish Congratulations Phrases for Promotions & New Jobs
7. Spanish Congratulations Messages for Retirement
8. Condolences in Spanish: Death & Funerals
9. What to Say About Bad News
10. What to Say When Someone’s Injured or Sick
11. Conclusion

1. How Do You Say Happy Birthday in Spanish?

We all want to celebrate, congratulate, and be congratulated on our special day. Celebrations are a big part of any Spanish-speaking country. We celebrate everything, yes everything! That’s why we have so many bank holidays, even for saint days.

Send the perfect message on your friend’s birthday and make them feel special!

Feliz cumpleaños, which means Happy Birthday in Spanish, is the most common way to congratulate them right and simple. In Spain, we give two kisses (one on each cheek) or a hug, but in some Latin American countries, one kiss is enough.

If you don’t get to see them, text them! A quick message on their social media will make their day. Let’s answer the question “How do you say Happy Birthday in Spanish?” with some examples you can use:

• ¡Que todos tus deseos se hagan realidad!
  “May all your wishes come true!”
• ¡Felicidades!
  “Congratulations!”
• ¡Que cumplas muchos años más!
  “I hope you enjoy many more years!”
• ¡Que tengas un maravilloso día!
  “Have a wonderful day!”
• ¡Mis mejores deseos en este día tan especial para ti!
  “I wish you all the best on your special day!”
• ¡Enhorabuena!
  “Congratulations!”

And there are some special phrases, such as:

• Si es tu cumpleaños, ¿por qué el regalo lo tengo yo? Gracias por regalarme otro año de vida a tu lado.
  “If it is your birthday, why do I have your present? Thanks for giving me another year next to you.”
• Que el nuevo año que empiezas esté tan lleno de alegría y felicidad como te deseo. ¡Que cumplas muchos más!
  “I hope this new year can be as full of joy and happiness as I wish you. I hope you have much more!”

2. Best Wishes & Greetings in Spanish for the Holidays

The holiday season is the most exciting time for Spanish people. Why? Because it’s when we all get to share quality time with our families. Although there may be many ways to say Merry Christmas in English, there’s one phrase in Spanish that encapsulates the meaning.

¡Felices fiestas! literally means “Happy holidays” in Spanish, and is the most common way to give best wishes for the holidays in Spanish.

As you may know by now, Spanish-speaking countries are all about parties, which explains the phrase Felices Fiestas.

Feliz Navidad is another way to say “Merry Christmas,” and may be the best translation of it.

You should reply: Igualmente, which means “You too.”

If you want to add more love and affection to your Merry Christmas in Spanish, you should say con mucho cariño, meaning “with all my love.”

New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day are also part of the holiday season in Spain. Although “happy holidays” in Spanish is Felices Fiestas, Happy New Year in Spanish is expressed in many different ways.

• ¡Feliz año nuevo!
  “Happy New Year!”
• ¡Feliz año!
  “Happy year!”

You can send your best wishes for the holidays in Spanish for the new year by saying something like: Que tengas un próspero año nuevo, or “I hope you have a prosperous new year.”

This message is the best choice if you want to wish a Happy New Year in Spanish on a Christmas card, send a text message, or email it to someone special.

• Feliz próspero año nuevo.
  “Happy prosperous new year.”
• Que el próximo año esté lleno de bendiciones.
  “May next year be full of blessings.”
• Año nuevo, vida nueva.
  “New year, new life.”

Other important days in Spanish-speaking countries are Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. We all want to tell our parents how important they are and how much they mean to us, making it important to know how to wish them a happy Mother’s Day in Spanish (or Father’s Day).

If you have a Spanish partner, it’s possible that you have a mother-in-law or father-in-law who cares about you a lot. This is the perfect chance to show them your love and wish them a Happy Mother’s Day in Spanish.

• ¡Feliz día de la madre!
  “Happy Mother’s Day!”
• ¡Feliz día del padre!
  “Happy Father’s Day”
• Gracias por todo lo que has hecho.
  “Thanks for all you’ve done for me.”
• Estoy agradecido/agradecida por todo tu trabajo.
  “I’m thankful for all your work.”
• Eres la mejor mamá del mundo.
  “You’re the best mom in the world.”
• Eres el mejor padre del mundo.
  “You’re the best dad in the world.”
• Mamá, te amo or Te quiero mamá.
  “I love you, mom.”

These are some messages you can send to wish a Happy Mother’s Day in Spanish on their social media, in a postcard, or in person.

3. Spanish Congratulations: Weddings & Engagements

A wedding is a special day that most people want to share with their family and friends with a big party. Perhaps this year you’re lucky enough to be invited to one in a Spanish-speaking country!

Perfect! Learn how to express all your best wishes in Spanish here.

What do you write in a Spanish wedding card? How can you express your happiness for the couple? Whether you want to congratulate the married couple, have received an invitation to a wedding, want to add a message to your gift card, or just want to leave your best wishes in Spanish on their wedding book, these are useful phrases you can use.

If you’re lucky, you may get to give a public speech on this special day. Surprise your audience with your Spanish skills. Here’s how:

• Espero que seáis muy felices.
  “I wish you both happiness.”
• ¡Felicidades por esta nueva etapa!
  “Congratulations on your new life together!”
• ¡Felicidades a los futuros esposos!
  “Congratulations to the future spouses!”
• ¡Felicidades a los novios!
  “Congratulations to the bride and the groom!”

If the couple has been married for a very long time and you want to congratulate them for all the time they‘ve been together, this is how:

• ¡Felicidades por sus bodas de plata!
  “Congratulations on your silver wedding anniversary.”
• Felicidades por sus bodas de oro.
  “Congratulations on your golden wedding anniversary.”
• Felicidades por sus bodas de diamante.
  “Congratulations on your diamond wedding anniversary.”

4. Spanish Congratulations: Pregnancy, Baby Shower, and New Baby

New life! A new member of the family has arrived, and you want to take the time to congratulate the new parents. Here are some Spanish greetings and well-wishes for important occasions like these.

• ¡Felicidades por el nuevo integrante de la familia!
  “Congratulations on the new arrival in your family.”
• ¡Felicidades por el nacimiento de su niño/niña!
  “Congratulations on the arrival of your boy/girl.”
• Nos alegra mucho saber que ya ha nacido.
  “We are so happy to hear he/she has already been born.”
• Enhorabuena.
  “Congratulations.”

5. Congratulations in Spanish for Graduations

We all want to share with others what we accomplish in life. Tell the new graduates how happy you are for their academic accomplishment in Spanish. And why not surprise them with your Spanish skills while you’re at it!

• ¡Felicidades por tu graduación!
  “Congratulations on your graduation.”
• ¡Buen trabajo!
  “Well done.” or “Good job.”
• ¡Felicidades por tus buenas calificaciones!
  “Congratulations on your good grades.”
• ¡Felicidades por tu master!
  “Congratulations on getting your Master’s degree.”
• ¡Felicidades por entrar en la universidad!
  “Well done on getting into the university.”
• ¡Felicidades por pasar el examen!
  “Congratulations on passing your exam.”

6. Spanish Congratulations Phrases for Promotions & New Jobs

Did someone just share their success? A new job, moving to a new country, or something else? Celebrate with them by saying something in Spanish. Here’s how:

• ¡Felicidades! or Enhorabuena.
  “Congratulations.”
• ¡Bien hecho!
  “Well done!”
• Sabíamos que lo lograrías.
  “We knew you would get it.”
• Estamos orgullosos de ti.
  “We are so proud of you.”
• ¡Felicidades por tu nuevo empleo!
  “Congratulations on your new job!”
• ¡Felicidades por tu ascenso!
  “Congratulations on the promotion!”
• ¡Mucha suerte en tu nueva etapa!
  “Best of luck on your next step.”
• ¡Suerte en tu primer día de trabajo!
  “Good luck on your first day of work!”

7. Spanish Congratulations Messages for Retirement

Now the fun begins: Your father-in-law or mother-in-law has retired, and you want to share your best wishes in Spanish. They may come to your place more often now, so keep your Spanish skills sharp with these Spanish greetings and well-wishes for important occasions such as this one.

• Enhorabuena, ahora empieza la diversión.
  “Congratulations, now the fun begins.”
• Mis mejores deseos en la nueva etapa de tu vida.
  “Best wishes on your new chapter in life.”
• Deseándote a ti y a tu familia lo mejor en la nueva etapa de vida. Que disfrutes del tiempo extra que pasarás con ellos.
  “Wishing you and your family the best on your new chapter in your life. I hope you enjoy spending more time with them.”

8. Condolences in Spanish: Death & Funerals

We all want to express our sympathy when someone has lost a loved one. Sometimes it’s hard to express, especially if it’s not in your native language.

Here are some Spanish phrases of condolences to help you:

• Lo siento mucho.
  “I am sorry to hear that.”
• Estamos con ustedes.
  “We are with you.”
• Mis condolencias para la familia.
  “I offer my condolences to your family.”
• Mi más sentido pésame.
  “My deepest condolences.”
• Que descanse en paz or Descanse en paz.
  “Rest in peace.”

9. What to Say About Bad News

What should you say when you receive bad news? We all have difficult moments in life, and words may not always bring a solution. But when we share them with meaning and from the heart, they can go a long ways toward comforting someone.

Here are some phrases that you can use to express your feelings in Spanish when someone is having a bad day!

• Lo siento mucho.
  “I’m sorry to hear that.”
• Estoy contigo.
  “I’m here for you.”
• Te envío un beso y un abrazo.
  “Sending you all my love.”
• Cuenta conmigo.
  “You can lean on me.”
• Cuidate mucho.
  “Take care of yourself.”

10. What to Say When Someone’s Injured or Sick

What if you have a Spanish-speaking friend or colleague who’s sick, and you want to cheer them up?

Wish them a quick recovery, and ask them to get well soon in Spanish:

• Recupérate pronto.
  “Wishing you a speedy recovery.”
• ¡Que te mejores!
  “Get well!”
• Alíviate pronto.
  “I hope you get well soon.”
• Espero que te sientas mejor.
  “I hope you feel better soon.”

11. Conclusion

Apart from receiving compliments for those significant life events, we should all learn how to thank them for their kind words in Spanish. We can help you learn more Spanish at SpanishPod101.

• Gracias.
  “Thank you.”
• Se agradece.
  “It’s appreciated.”
• Mil gracias.
  “Many thanks.”
• No sé cómo podría agradecértelo.
  “I don’t know how to thank you.”
• Estamos muy agradecidos.
  “We are very grateful.”
• Qué amable de su parte.
  “Very kind of you.”
• Gracias desde el fondo de mi corazón.
  “Thanks from the bottom of my heart.”

“How do you say happy birthday in Spanish?” Well, with this simple list, now you know! Learn more about life event messages in Spanish and much more at SpanishPod101.

Before you go, let us know in the comments if there are any Spanish life events and life event messages you want to know about! We look forward to hearing from you, and will help out the best we can!

Is it possible to speak a language without using any adjectives? Well, it is, but if you did, you would lose so much meaning. It would be like eating a flavorless meal; sure, you ingest food and all of its nutrients, but do you actually enjoy it? Not much, surely. Adjectives might not be essential for all kinds of communication, but they’re still very important and bring more meaning to your words.

In this article, you’ll find 100 of the most-used Spanish adjectives, as well as how to use them. Rest assured this will help you spice up your Spanish!

Table of Contents

1. How Do Spanish Adjectives Work?
2. Common Spanish Adjectives for Dimensions, Sizes, Distance, etc.
3. Essential Spanish Adjectives for Describing Value
4. Spanish Adjectives for Describing Feeling & Sense
5. Spanish Adjectives for Describing Personalities and Behaviors
6. Spanish Adjectives for Describing Speed, Difficulty, Importance, etc.
7. Describing Colors in Spanish
8. Describing Weather
9. Spanish Adjectives for Describing Taste
10. Best Spanish Adjectives for Describing Situations
11. Describing Physical Traits or Physical Condition
12. Spanish Adjectives for Describing Appearance & Condition
13. How SpanishPod101.com Can Help You Learn More Spanish

1. How Do Spanish Adjectives Work?

Before we continue on with our top 100 list, it’s prudent that we go over the basic Spanish adjectives rules. Understanding Spanish adjectives is far more important than knowing them only by rote!

Spanish Adjectives Placement

In Spanish, we generally find adjectives after a noun, the opposite of where you find them in English. For example, un coche verde means “a green car,” but if we translated it literally, it would be “a car green,” which sounds really weird in English.

However, there are exceptions, for various reasons. For example, it’s common in literature to find the adjective before the noun, and you can also do this yourself when you want to emphasize the noun: una bonita flor is “a beautiful flower.”

Another common way of using an adjective works the same way as in English, and that is when it follows this structure: noun + “to be” verb + adjective. For example: El coche es verde means “The car is green.” Nevertheless, as you might already know, Spanish has two different verbs that can translate to the English verb “to be,” which are ser and estar. A true nightmare for a Spanish learner, as some might say.

We’re going to make it simple here, though. If the adjective you’re using is something perceived as permanent, use the verb ser. If it’s something temporary, use the verb estar.

Let’s see some examples:

When you tell a girl she’s pretty, you’re not thinking of it as a temporary state, but as a permanent thing. This means you’ll tell her something like Eres muy guapa, or “You’re very pretty.”

However, if what you want to tell her is that she looks good in that moment, perhaps because she’s wearing a nice dress, you might say: ¡Qué guapa estás!, which would translate to “You look so pretty!” Of course, there are exceptions, but don’t worry about that for now. We’ll see them shortly.

Spanish Adjectives Agreement

There’s something else you need to keep in mind: While adjectives in English only have one form and never change, in Spanish, they can change in a few ways. The most important variation is related to the fact that nouns can be either feminine or masculine. Because an adjective accompanies a noun, it also has a gender, and most of the important Spanish adjectives change a little bit according to its gender.

As you’ll see in the examples below, all the adjectives that end in -o in their masculine form, will end in -a in their feminine form. However, there are many that end in -e (and a few others that end in different letters) that have the same form whether they’re masculine or feminine. In this Spanish adjectives review, we’ve marked all the adjectives that do change, but you can also check this brief article on Invariable Adjectives in Spanish.

Spanish adjectives can also be singular or plural, depending on the noun they accompany, so one adjective might have up to four different forms. For example, guapo, or “handsome,” has the following forms: guapo, guapa, guapos, guapas.

There’s another variation that most adjectives can have, and this is something that doesn’t exist in English, or at least not in the same way. When you want to emphasize an adjective, instead of saying muy (“very” ) in front of it, you can add -ísimo or -ísima at the end. If you see a very tall building, you can say it’s altísimo, instead of just alto, or muy alto. If you’re very very happy, you might want to say that you’re contentísimo, instead of contento.

Now that you’ve refreshed your knowledge, it’s time for our Spanish adjectives list! But if you do still need some Spanish adjectives help, why not give our MyTeacher program a try or drop us a comment below?

2. Common Spanish Adjectives for Dimensions, Sizes, Distance, etc.

Let’s start with some basic adjectives, such as those to describe sizes, among others.

1- grande

Meaning: “big”
Example: Esta camiseta me va grande.
Translation: “This shirt is too big for me.”
Note: This adjective also has the form gran, which is only found in front of the noun and changes its meaning to “great.” It’s not the same to say una mujer grande (“a big woman” ) as it is to say una gran mujer (“a great woman” ). There are also some nouns that can only have this adjective in front of it. For example, “a great idea” is una gran idea.

2- pequeño

Meaning: “small”
Example: Mi hermana tiene los pies pequeños.
Translation: “My sister has small feet.”

3- ancho/a

Meaning: “wide”
Example: Es una habitación muy ancha.
Translation: “It’s quite a wide room.”

4- estrecho/a

Meaning: “narrow”
Example: Hemos pasado por una calle muy estrecha.
Translation: “We passed through a very narrow street.”

5- alto/a

Meaning: “tall”
Example: ¡Qué alto eres!
Translation: “You’re so tall!”

6- bajo/a

Meaning: “short”
Example: El techo es muy bajo.
Translation: “The ceiling is very low.”

7- pesado/a

Meaning: “heavy”
Example: Esta caja es demasiado pesada para mí.
Translation: “This box is too heavy for me.”

8- ligero/a

Meaning: “light”
Example: Coge este libro, es más ligero de lo que parece.
Translation: “Grab this book, it’s lighter than it looks.”

9- lejano/a

Meaning: “far”
Example: Ese bar es muy lejano. ¿Podemos ir a otro?
Translation: “That bar is too far. Can we go to a different one?”

10- cercano/a

Meaning: “close”
Example: Nací en un pueblo cercano.
Translation: “I was born in a close town.”

11- lleno/a

Meaning: “full”
Example: El vaso está lleno.
Translation: “The glass is full.”

12- vacío/a/

Meaning: “empty”
Example: Tengo el monedero vacío.
Translation: “My wallet is empty.”

3. Essential Spanish Adjectives for Describing Value

We tend to say that things are good or bad, but sometimes they might be better or worse. They could be amazing, they could be wonderful, or they could be awful… Let’s learn some of these adjectives!

13- bueno/a

Meaning: “good”
Example: Mi primo es una buena persona.
Translation: “My cousin is a good person.”

14- genial

Meaning: “great”
Example: ¡Eres genial!
Translation: “You’re great!”

15- maravilloso/a

Meaning: “wonderful”
Example: Tu abuela es maravillosa.
Translation: “Your grandmother is wonderful.”

16- increíble

Meaning: “incredible”
Example: Me ha regalado un videojuego increíble.
Translation: “He gave me an incredible video game.”

17- malo/a

Meaning: “bad”
Example: Esta película es muy mala.
Translation: “This movie is really bad.”

18- malísimo/a

Meaning: “awful”
Example: Ese actor es malísimo.
Translation: “That’s an awful actor.”
Note: Okay, we realize that here we only added the -ísimo ending to malo, but it’s just to show you that there’s nothing worse than this. However, when something really sucks, we don’t use an adjective; we say it’s una mierda, which means “a sh*t.” We might also add some swear words to that, but this isn’t the right time for that.

4. Spanish Adjectives for Describing Feeling & Sense

You might also want to know how to describe how it feels to touch something. Whether it’s smooth or rough, hot or cold… These adjectives always come in handy.

19- frío/a

Meaning: “cold”
Example: La sopa se ha quedado fría.
Translation: “The soup went cold.”

20- helado/a

Meaning: “ice cold”
Example: Siempre se me quedan las manos heladas.
Translation: “My hands always get ice cold.”
Note: helado also means “ice cream.”

21- caliente

Meaning: “hot”
Example: Cuidado, el café está muy caliente.
Translation: “Be careful, the coffee is really hot.”

22- ardiente

Meaning: “burning”
Example: No toques eso, está ardiente.
Translation: “Don’t touch that, it’s burning hot.”

23- suave

Meaning: “smooth”
Example: Siempre he tenido la piel suave.
Translation: “I’ve always had smooth skin.”

24- áspero

Meaning: “rough”
Example: Tienes las manos ásperas.
Translation: “Your hands are rough.”

25- rugoso

Meaning: “rugged”
Example: Esta pared es muy rugosa.
Translation: “This wall is very rugged.”

26- blando

Meaning: “soft”
Example: Esta almohada es muy blanda.
Translation: “This pillow is very soft.”

27- duro

Meaning: “hard”
Example: Esta tarta no se puede comer, está durísima.
Translation: “I can’t eat this cake, it’s really hard.”

5. Spanish Adjectives for Describing Personalities and Behaviors

We couldn’t write an article about adjectives without talking about how to describe someone’s personality. In this section, we’ve decided it would be a good idea to classify these words between positive and negative words. Some of these words aren’t that easy to classify, so we realize that not all of these words are entirely negative, but we hope that’s okay with you! Here are the top Spanish adjectives for personality.

Positive words

28- agradable

Meaning: “nice” and “friendly”
Example: He pasado una tarde muy agradable.
Translation: “I’ve had a very nice afternoon.”

29- amable

Meaning: “kind”
Example: Gracias, eres muy amable.
Translation: “Thank you, you’re very kind.”

30- contento/a

Meaning: “happy”
Example: Hoy estoy muy contento.
Translation: “I’m really happy today.”

31- educado/a

Meaning: “polite”
Example: Tu hijo es muy educado.
Translation: “Your son is very polite.”

32- extrovertido/a

Meaning: “extroverted”
Example: No soy demasiado extrovertida.
Translation: “I’m not too extroverted.”

33- feliz

Meaning: “happy”
Example: Nadie me hace tan feliz como mi gato.
Translation: “Nobody makes me as happy as my cat.”

34- gracioso/a

Meaning: “funny” (but it can also be used ironically)
Example: ¿Te crees gracioso?
Translation: “Do you think you’re funny?”

35- listo/a

Meaning: “smart”
Example: Tengo alumnos muy listos.
Translation: “I have very smart students.”

36- sincero/a

Meaning: “sincere”
Example: Gracias por ser sincero.
Translation: “Thank you for being sincere.”

37- valiente

Meaning: “brave”
Example: Tienes que ser valiente.
Translation: “You need to be brave.”

Check out our Top 20 Spanish Words for Positive Emotions!

Negative words

38- cansado/a

Meaning: “tired”
Example: Mi madre siempre está cansada.
Translation: “My mom is always tired.”

39- enfadado/a

Meaning: “angry”
Example: Sé que estás enfadado, pero escúchame.
Translation: “I know you’re angry, but listen to me.”

40- ingenuo/a

Meaning: “naïve”
Example: Mira que eres ingenua.
Translation: “You’re so naïve.”

41- loco/a

Meaning: “crazy”
Example: ¡Estás loco!
Translation: “You’re crazy!”

42- maleducado/a

Meaning: “rude”
Example: De pequeña era bastante maleducada.
Translation: “When I was little I was quite rude.”

43- malvado/a

Meaning: “evil”
Example: He soñado con una bruja malvada.
Translation: “I dreamed of an evil witch.”

44- serio/a

Meaning: “serious”
Example: Mi hermano es un chico serio.
Translation: “My brother is a serious boy.”

45- solitario/a

Meaning: “lonely”
Example: Siempre he sido algo solitario.
Translation: “I’ve always been somewhat lonely.”

46- tímido/a

Meaning: “shy”
Example: Mi amiga es un poco tímida.
Translation: “My friend is a little shy.”

47- torpe

Meaning: “clumsy”
Example: Es verdad que soy un poco torpe.
Translation: “It’s true that I’m a little clumsy.”

48- triste

Meaning: “sad”
Example: Me pone triste verte así.
Translation: “Seeing you like this makes me sad.”

49- vago/a

Meaning: “lazy”
Example: Hoy tengo un día vago.
Translation: “I’m having a lazy day today.”

For a few more words to describe personality, you can check out our list of Spanish adjectives.

6. Spanish Adjectives for Describing Speed, Difficulty, Importance, etc.

50- rápido/a

Meaning: “fast”
Example: Eres demasiado rápido para mí.
Translation: “You’re too fast for me.”

51- lento/a

Meaning: “slow”
Example: Qué lento es este coche.
Translation: “This car is so slow.”

52- fácil

Meaning: “easy”
Example: El examen me ha parecido fácil.
Translation: “I found the test easy.”

53- difícil

Meaning: “difficult”
Example: Es una pregunta difícil.
Translation: “That’s a difficult question.”

54- importante

Meaning: “important”
Example: Sé que este collar es importante para ti.
Translation: “I know this necklace is important to you.”

55- simple

Meaning: “simple”
Example: No es tan simple.
Translation: “It’s not so simple.”

56- complicado

Meaning: “complicated”
Example: Me gustaría que la vida no fuese tan complicada.
Translation: “I wish life wasn’t so complicated.”

7. Describing Colors in Spanish

No list of adjectives would be complete without a list of colors. Here we have selected some of the most basic Spanish colors as adjectives:

57- amarillo/a

Meaning: “yellow”
Example: Tengo un coche amarillo.
Translation: “I have a yellow car.”

58- azul

Meaning: “blue”
Example: Mi lámpara es azul.
Translation: “My lamp is blue.”

59- blanco/a

Meaning: “white”
Example: Me he comprado un vestido blanco.
Translation: “I bought a white dress.”

60- marrón

Meaning: “brown”
Example: No me había fijado en que tenías los ojos marrones.
Translation: “I didn’t notice you had brown eyes.”

61- negro/a

Meaning: “black”
Example: Mi primer perro era de color negro.
Translation: “My first dog was black.”

62- rojo/a

Meaning: “red”
Example: ¿Te gusta mi nuevo pintalabios rojo?
Translation: “Do you like my new red lipstick?”

63- verde

Meaning: “green”
Example: Me encantan los árboles, son tan verdes.
Translation: “I love trees, they’re so green.”

64- claro/a

Meaning: “light”
Example: Tengo la piel muy clara.
Translation: “I have really light skin.”

65- oscuro/a

Meaning: “dark”
Example: ¿Puedes encender la luz? Está muy oscuro.
Translation: “Can you turn on the lights? It’s really dark.”

8. Describing Weather

In general, there aren’t very many Spanish weather adjectives. As we saw before, we do say something is hot or cold, but not when we’re talking about us feeling hot. Instead, what we say is Tengo calor (literally, “I have heat” ) or Tengo frío (“I have cold” ). If you said Estoy caliente (“I’m hot” ) you would actually be saying that you’re horny, so that could be quite confusing to the person you’re talking to.

On a similar note, when you want to say that the weather is hot, you won’t use an adjective. You’ll have to say Hace calor, which literally translates to something like “It makes heat,” and you’ll say Hace frío when it’s cold.

Even if it’s not that common, we do use some adjectives. For example, if it’s a cloudy day, we can say Está nublado.

For more weather words in Spanish, check out our Spanish weather article.

9. Spanish Adjectives for Describing Taste

We now know how to describe the feeling of touching something, so now it’s time to see how to describe taste. When you eat Spanish food, we’re sure you’ll want to tell your host how delicious you think it is!

66- dulce

Meaning: “sweet”
Example: Estas galletas son muy dulces.
Translation: “These cookies are very sweet.”

67- salado/a

Meaning: “salty”
Example: La tortilla está demasiado salada.
Translation: “The omelette is too salty.”

68- agrio/a

Meaning: “sour”
Example: Creo que la leche tiene un sabor agrio.
Translation: “I think this milk has a sour flavor.”

69- picante

Meaning: “spicy”
Example: ¿Este plato es picante?
Translation: “Is this dish spicy?”

70- asqueroso/a

Meaning: “disgusting”
Example: Esta fruta tiene un sabor asqueroso.
Translation: “This fruit has a disgusting taste.”

71- delicioso/a

Meaning: “delicious”
Example: Las fresas son deliciosas.
Translation: “Strawberries are delicious.”

72- amargo/a

Meaning: “bitter”
Example: El café es demasiado amargo para mí.
Translation: “Coffee is too bitter for me.”

To explore taste while you’re traveling in Spain, here’s a list of the 20 best restaurants in Spain.

10. Best Spanish Adjectives for Describing Situations

73- peligroso/a

Meaning: “dangerous”
Example: ¡No vayas! ¡Es peligroso!
Translation: “Don’t go! It’s dangerous!”

74- seguro/a

Meaning: “safe”
Example: Esta casa es completamente segura.
Translation: “This house is completely safe.”

75- divertido/a

Meaning: “fun” or “funny”
Example: Esta película es tan divertida.
Translation: “This movie is so funny.”

76- aburrido/a

Meaning: “boring”
Example: Esta clase es aburridísima.
Translation: “This lesson is so boring.”

77- imposible

Meaning: “impossible”
Example: Este examen es imposible.
Translation: “This exam is impossible.”

78- posible

Meaning: “possible”
Example: Esa chica es una posible asesina.
Translation: “That girl is a possible killer.”

11. Describing Physical Traits or Physical Condition

79- viejo/a

Meaning: “old”
Example: Es solo un reloj viejo.
Translation: “It’s just an old watch.”

80- joven

Meaning: “young”
Example: Eres demasiado joven para entenderlo.
Translation: “You’re too young to understand it.”
Note: Even though being young isn’t permanent and it’s only temporary, we wouldn’t use the verb estar here: we use ser.

81- fuerte

Meaning: “strong”
Example: Tienes los brazos muy fuertes.
Translation: “You have really strong arms.”

82- débil

Meaning: “weak”
Example: Juan no es tan débil como parece.
Translation: “Juan isn’t as weak as he looks.”

83- enfermo/a

Meaning: “sick”
Example: Mi abuelo está enfermo.
Translation: “My grandfather is sick.”

84- nuevo/a

Meaning: “new”
Example: Me he comprado un anillo nuevo.
Translation: “I bought myself a new ring.”

12. Spanish Adjectives for Describing Appearance & Condition

And finally, another very common group of adjectives. These are the top Spanish adjectives to describe people’s appearance.

85- atractivo/a

Meaning: “attractive”
Example: Mi madre de joven era muy atractiva.
Translation: “When my mom was young, she was very attractive.”

86- bonito/a

Meaning: “beautiful”
Example: Me parece un cuadro muy bonito.
Translation: “I think it’s a very beautiful painting.”
Note: We can say a girl is bonita, or a thing, or a landscape, but we don’t use it to describe a boy. If we want to say a boy is good-looking, we’ll use the following adjective, guapo.

87- guapo/a

Meaning: “handsome” or “pretty”
Example: Mi novio es guapísimo.
Translation: “My boyfriend is so handsome.”

88- feo/a

Meaning: “ugly”
Example: Qué paisaje tan feo.
Translation: “It’s such an ugly landscape.”

89- calvo/a

Meaning: “bald”
Example: Mi padre ha sido calvo desde que nací.
Translation: “My father has been bald since I was born.”

90- peludo/a

Meaning: “hairy”
Example: No me gusta tener las piernas tan peludas.
Translation: “I don’t like having such hairy legs.”

91- rubio/a

Meaning: “blond”
Example: De pequeña tenía el pelo rubio.
Translation: “When I was little, I had blond hair.”

92- moreno/a

Meaning: “tanned” or “brown-haired”
Example: ¿Has visto qué morena me he puesto?
Translation: “Did you see how tan I got?”

93- pelirrojo/a

Meaning: “red-haired”
Example: Me gustan mucho las chicas pelirrojas.
Translation: “I really like red-haired girls.”

94- delgado/a

Meaning: “thin”
Example: Te has puesto muy delgada, ¿no?
Translation: “You got really thin, didn’t you?”

95- gordo/a

Meaning: “fat”
Example: Marta está un poco gorda.
Translation: “Marta is a little fat.”

96- obeso/a

Meaning: “obese”
Example: Si no te pones a dieta ahora, te vas a poner obesa.
Translation: “If you don’t go on a diet now, you’re going to become obese.”

97- mono/a

Meaning: “cute”
Example: Qué mona eres.
Translation: “You’re so cute.”

98- pobre

Meaning: “poor”
Example: Soy pobre, pero tengo orgullo.
Translation: “I’m poor, but I have pride.”

99- rico/a

Meaning: “rich”
Example: A veces pienso que me tendría que buscar un novio rico.
Translation: “Sometimes I think I should get a rich boyfriend.”

100- tatuado/a

Meaning: “tattooed”
Example: Mi hermano está todo tatuado.
Translation: “My brother is all tattooed.”

13. How SpanishPod101.com Can Help You Learn More Spanish

Do you feel more confident now using Spanish adjectives? Are there any Spanish adjectives you still want to know? Let us know in the comments! We always enjoy hearing from you!

We’re sure that these 100 Spanish adjectives will help you improve your level of conversation in Spanish. But let’s not stop there! There’s so much more to learn, so many new words to explore, so many friends to make! At SpanishPod101.com, you can learn so much more and really become fluent in Spanish.

You might want to take a look at our very useful vocabulary list of Spanish Adverbs and Phrases for Connecting Thoughts, or now that we’ve looked at Spanish adjectives, it might be good to check out these 25 Most Commonly Used Verbs.

If you’re here, you might be interested in moving to Spain. Why not read our article on How to Find Jobs in Spain?

Until next time, happy learning!

Conjunctions in Spanish are a crucial part of learning Spanish. They allow you to connect your thoughts, make comparisons, and put sentences together.

Clarity is very important when you’re learning a new language. Not only because the other person will understand what you’re saying, but also because it will build your confidence.

Do you remember when you first decided to learn Spanish? You may still remember how frustrating it was to try having a fluid conversation with a native speaker. You were trying to find the small words to express yourself properly.

We all find ourselves saying: “I have a brother. I have a sister. I have a mother. I do not have a father.”

Well, this is what Spanish conjunctions will do for you. Learning Spanish conjunctions will help you string sentences together: “I have a brother and a sister and a mother, but I do not have a father.”

In this article, you’ll find our Spanish conjunctions list that will show you what small Spanish conjunction words can do for you.

Your thoughts will come out nicely, you’ll be easily understood, and your confidence will increase much faster since you’ll sound like, at the least, an upper-intermediate Spanish learner.

Table of Contents

1. Spanish Conjunctions Review: What are Spanish Conjunctions?
2. Spanish Conjunctions to Correlate Similar Thoughts
3. Spanish Conjunctions to Express Condition
4. Spanish Conjunctions to Express Cause
5. Spanish Conjunctions to Express Opposition
6. Spanish Adverbial Conjunctions
7. Spanish Conjunctions that Offer Alternatives
8. Spanish Subordinating Conjunctions
9. Spanish Conjunctions that Allow You to Give Reasons
10. Spanish Subjunctive Conjunctions
11. Conclusion

1. Spanish Conjunctions Review: What are Spanish Conjunctions?

The first thing we do when trying to learn a new language is to put simple sentences together: “I want a coffee.” Now, it’s time for you to learn how to put these simple sentences together: “I want a coffee and a muffin,” or “I like muffins, but I prefer a cookie.” That’s what Spanish conjunctions are, and how they can help you.

A conjunction in Spanish is a word that helps you create relationships between words, phrases, clauses, and sentences.

Keep in mind that some conjunctions in Spanish may not have meaning by themselves. They have a different meaning in different contexts, which is why it’s important to know what their functions are and how to use them. Throughout this article, we’ll go over some Spanish conjunctions rules to give you a better idea about their use.

So let’s see some of them in our Spanish conjunctions list!

2. Spanish Conjunctions to Correlate Similar Thoughts

This is the most important—and easy—conjunction in Spanish: y, meaning “and.” It allows you to add more than one sentence together.

We actually overdo this Spanish conjunction quite often. Take a look at what we mean:

• Me gusta la comida española y la italiana y la francesa y la griega.
  “I like Spanish food and Italian food and French food and Greek food.”

• Santiago pidió de comer y pagó toda la cuenta.
  “Santiago ordered the food and paid the whole bill.”
• El policía me pidió el carné, anotó mis datos y me puso una multa.
  “The police officer asked for my licence, wrote down my information, and I got a fine.”

This use of this Spanish conjunction has an exception where you have to use e instead of y. They mean exactly the same thing, but if your next word or sentence starts with the vowel –i-, you have to use e instead of y.

Why? Well, –i– and –y– in Spanish sound the same, so you have to use –e– to emphasize that you’re adding more information. Let’s see how:

• María es guapa e interesante.
  “Maria is beautiful and interesting.”
• Daniel e Isabela se acaban de conocer.
  “Daniel and Isabela just met each other.”

However, if the next word starts with –h-, although this letter has no sound in Spanish, you can use –y-.

• He comprado agua y hielo.
  “I bought water and ice.”
• El puente es de acero y hierro.
  “The bridge is from steel and iron.”

3. Spanish Conjunctions to Express Condition

This is our English-Spanish conjunctions list for conjunctions that are used to express a condition. When you use these Spanish conjunctions, you’re expressing a specific condition that must be met for the rest of the sentence to be true or possible.

• Si: “If”

Si vas a ir al supermercado, compra leche.
“If you are going to the supermarket, buy milk.”

• En caso de que: “If”; “in case of”

This Spanish conjunction has the same meaning as the English word “if,” but in Spanish it’s used at the beginning of the sentence.

En caso de que decidas venir a la fiesta, compra más cervezas.
“If you decide to come to the party, buy more beers.”

• Como: “If”

We included this word to our conjunctions in Spanish list because in English, you can just use “if,” but in Spanish this word has a different meaning that the phrase above. You use como if you want to warn someone about something. Let’s see how:

Como no vengas a casa temprano, no sales mañana otra vez.
“If you don’t come home early, you won’t go out again tomorrow.”

• Siempre que: “If”; “provided”

Siempre que seas honrado todo te saldrá bien.
“Provided you are honest, everything will be fine.”

4. Spanish Conjunctions to Express Cause

These should be on your Spanish conjunctions worksheets because you need them to express the results and consequences of what you’ve said or done.

• Así que: “So”

Acabo de llegar a casa así que te llamo luego.
“I have just arrived home, so I will call you back later.”

• Luego: “So”

This Spanish conjunction may mean the same as Así que, but it’s less common. You’ll see it more in books or literary articles than in speech.

No tengo efectivo, luego no podré comprarme un café.
“I do not have cash on me, so I can’t buy myself a coffee.”

• De modo que: “So”; “so that”

Salgamos de casa ya, de modo que lleguemos temprano al cine.
“Let’s leave home now so we can arrive early for the movie.”

5. Spanish Conjunctions to Express Opposition

This conjunction list will help you express contrast.

• Pero: “But”

Voy a ir a tu fiesta pero primero tengo que ir a casa.
“I am going to your party, but I have to go home first.”

• Aunque: “Although”; “even though”

Seguiré buscando trabajo aunque sea difícil
“I will carry on looking for a job, even though it’s still difficult.”

• Sin embargo: “However”

Me gusta el helado, sin embargo prefiero el yogur cuando estoy en casa.
“I like ice cream; however, I prefer yogurt when I am home.”

• No obstante: “However”; “nevertheless”

Nos lo pasamos bien en la primera cita, no obstante, no la volví a ver.
“We had a good time on our first date; however, I didn’t see her again.”

• Por lo demás: “Otherwise”; “apart from that”

No creo que la conclusión esté bien; por lo demás, el ensayo está muy bien.
“I don’t think the conclusion was good; apart from the conclusion, the essay is fine.”

• Excepto: “Except for”

Me gustan todas las verduras excepto la patatas.
“I like all vegetables except for potatoes.”

6. Spanish Adverbial Conjunctions

Spanish adverbial conjunctions are also known as conjunctive adverbs. They’re adverbs with the characteristics and functions of conjunctions. They join two or more words together, and are used when you want to express the result, purpose, or consequences of something.

Adverbial conjunctions show continuity, joined under casual or situational dependence. The most-used adverbial conjunctions in Spanish are:

• Cuando: “When”; “if”; “as”; “whenever”

Toda la comida estaba preparada cuando tú llegaste.
“All the food was prepared when you arrived.”

• Mientras: “While”

Puedes ir comprando palomitas mientras compro las entradas.
“You can buy the popcorn while I’m buying the tickets.”

• Donde: “Where”

Vivo muy cerca de donde tú trabajas.
“I live pretty close to where you work.”

• Como: “As”; “like”

Tengo el pelo rizado como tu madre.
“I have curly hair just like your mom.”

7. Spanish Conjunctions that Offer Alternatives

These conjunctions in Spanish help you choose between different alternatives.

• O: “Or”

¿Quieres café o té?
“Would you like tea or coffee?”

• U: “Or”

U has the same function that o does, but it’s used whenever the next word starts with –o. This is just like the –e to –y rule from earlier in this article. They sound the same, so you have to change the Spanish conjunction to hear the alternative given.

¿Quieres ir a California u Orlando?
“Do you want to go to California or to Orlando?”

¿A qué hora comienza la película, siete u ocho?
“What time does the movie start, at seven or eight?”

8. Spanish Subordinating Conjunctions

Subordinating conjunctions in Spanish allow you to join an independent sentence with a dependent sentence.

A dependent sentence alone wouldn’t make any sense without the independent one, thus these Spanish subordinating conjunctions will help you make sense of the whole sentence, situation, or event.

• Porque: “Because”

No voy a ir al gimnasio porque me siento muy enferma.
“I am not going to the gym because I am not feeling well.”

• Pues: “Since”

Deberíamos ir a cine el miércoles, pues creo que es más barato que el sábado.
“We should go to the movies on Wednesday since I think it’s cheaper than Saturday.”

• Ya que: “Since”; “seeing that”

Voy a ir al mercadillo, ya que tengo que comprar verduras.
“I am going to the street market, since I have to buy vegetables.”

There are other synonyms with the same use as the ones above: dado que, por cuanto, a causa de que, por lo cual… They would be the same translations in English: “because,” “therefore,” “since…”

9. Spanish Conjunctions that Allow You to Give Reasons

This type of conjunction in Spanish allows you to give a reason for why something happens the way it does.

These useful Spanish conjunctions can help you answer the question ¿Por qué?, or “Why?” As for the first one on the list, you’ll simply use the two words together without the accent.

• Porque: “Because”

No voy a la fiesta porque tengo que trabajar mañana en la mañana.
“I am not going to the party because I am working tomorrow morning.”

• Ya que; puesto que; en vista de que: “Since”; “because”

No me he comprado un coche ya que no tengo dinero.
“I did not buy myself a car because I do not have any money.”

No vamos a ir al parque puesto que está lloviendo.
“We are not going to the park because it is raining.”

En vista de que no quieres comer nada, no te daré el helado tampoco.
“Since you haven’t eaten anything, I won’t give you ice cream either.”

• Pues: “Because”; “since”; “for”

Hemos decidido vender el coche, pues nos vamos a Inglaterra.
“We have decided to sell the car because we are going to England.”

• Como: “Since”

Es mejor que cambies de profesión, como has pensado empezar de nuevo.
“It’s better to change your profession since you’ve thought to start again.”

10. Spanish Subjunctive Conjunctions

With some Spanish conjunctions, the subjunctive is needed to express a hypothetical uncertainty as to whether an action or event will take place, or whether or not a situation will happen.

• A menos que: “Unless”

El gato se quedará dormido a menos que el ratón salga de su escondite.
“The cat will fall asleep unless the mouse gets out of its hideaway.”

• En caso (de) que: “In case”

Voy a dejar las llaves del coche en caso de que quieras usarlo.
“I am going to leave the car keys in case you want to use them.”

• Antes de que: “Before”

Antes de que salgas corriendo, déjame la comida preparada.
“Before you run out, leave the food ready for me.”

• Con tal de que: “So that”

Limpié la casa con tal de que no discutiéramos.
“I cleaned the house so that we wouldn’t fight.”

• Para que: “So that”

Voy a ir a supermercado para que tengas pan para mañana.
“I am going to the supermarket so that you have bread for tomorrow.”

• Sin que: “Without”

Habían pasado tres semanas sin que Juan viera a Silvia.
“It had been three weeks without Juan seeing Silvia.”

11. Conclusion

Do you want to sound like a confident Spanish speaker? After this article, and lots of practice with important Spanish conjunctions, you will! These basic Spanish conjunctions will help you link different parts of sentences together. You can use them to include ideas in your sentences, or to exclude them. You have to be very clear about that; after this post, you get it, right?

Here at SpanishPod101, you can find many resources, forums, and even a Spanish conjunctions worksheet for extra Spanish conjunctions practice to help you learn at your own speed. Why don’t you give it a try? You lose nothing and gain more knowledge about our Spanish conjunctions list.

Happy learning!

When learning about etiquette in Spanish-speaking countries, keep in mind that every culture is different, and even neighboring countries might have very different customs from one another. Sometimes, what might seem normal or even polite to you could be interpreted as weird or rude in another country. In the same way, something you find rude might seem common to someone else. Don’t worry, though. We’re here to help you not make the same mistakes other people have made!

Maybe one of the first things you need to know here is that “etiquette” in Spanish is called protocolo or etiqueta. Even though protocolo is a bit more common, etiqueta is equally valid, so you can stick to whichever word you prefer!

Another thing you might want to do when trying to find out about Spanish etiquette is to do some online research on it, which is completely understandable. However, we did some reading too, and we want to warn you that if you do so, you might find Spanish “rules” of etiquette that are very outdated and not appropriate anymore.

For example, we read that women aren’t allowed to cross their legs or wear shorts, which is completely false nowadays. Trust us, you definitely can. Maybe not for formal occasions, but if you want to survive a Spanish summer, you might want to wear shorts when you go out with friends or family.

Here’s our practical, relevant guide on etiquette in Spanish-speaking countries. Read up and wow your hosts with your Spanish social etiquette!

Table of Contents

1. Do’s and Don’ts for Dining
2. Do’s and Don’ts for Sightseeing
3. Do’s and Don’ts for Greetings
4. Do’s and Don’ts for Visiting a House
5. Do’s and Don’ts When Riding Public Means of Transportation
6. Do’s and Don’ts for Business
7. Do’s and Don’ts for Celebrations
8. How SpanishPod101.com Can Help You Learn Spanish

1. Do’s and Don’ts for Dining

Eating is an important part of any culture, but dining etiquette can be really different from one country to another. This makes knowing the most basic Spanish meal time etiquette essential. Here are the most basic Spanish dining etiquette rules to keep in mind.

• No sorbas (Don’t slurp): While in other countries such as Japan, this is considered polite, it’s rude to slurp in Spain.
• No eructes (Don’t burp): Just like slurping your food, burping is considered rude in Spain. Some people definitely burp in public, but trust us, no one likes those people.
• No pongas los codos encima de la mesa (Don’t rest your elbows on the table): It’s allowed for your arms to be on the table, as long as your elbows aren’t touching it.
• No insultes la comida española (Don’t insult Spanish cuisine): While this might sound obvious, there are ways of insulting Spanish cuisine that you might not realize are offensive to Spaniards. Take this example: In 2016, Jamie Oliver made the mistake of adding chorizo to a paella and posting it online. To save you from reading the entire article, we all went mad! In case you’re wondering, chorizo doesn’t go in paella. To this day, we still haven’t forgiven him. We could give you more examples, but they’re all quite similar: someone decides to cook a Spanish recipe, but gets a little too creative and makes the entire country of Spain go berserk. Just stick to our recipes; they’re already amazing and don’t need changes!

• Deberías esperar hasta que todos estén sentados y con comida en sus platos (You should wait until everyone is seated and has food on their plates): It’s considered rude to start eating if there are people at the table who haven’t been served their food. Or, in the case of dining in someone’s house, wait until everyone, including the guest, is sitting down.
• Siempre deberías tener las manos visibles (Your hands should always be visible): While your elbows shouldn’t be on the table, as we mentioned before, hands should be.

When you’re dining at a restaurant, there are some other specific Spanish restaurant etiquette rules you need to know. For instance, is tipping expected in Spain?

• Dejar propina es opcional (Tipping is optional): Spain isn’t like other countries such as the USA, where tipping is compulsory even if your server didn’t do a good job—and not only that, but you actually need to know math to know how much you need to tip! Tipping in Spain is seen as a nice gesture, but people usually only do it when they feel like they need to reward their server for a good job. And when you do so, you don’t need to think of what percentage is appropriate. Rather, it’s more about just giving them a couple of coins, whatever you have in your wallet, as you see fit.

If you’re dining in someone’s house, however, this is what you should keep in mind:

• Deberías esperar a que alguien te muestre tu asiento o a que el resto de gente empiece a sentarse (You should wait until someone shows you to your seat or until people start to sit down): The host will often let you know where you can sit.
• Deberías ofrecer tu ayuda al anfitrión (You should offer to help the host): This is considered polite, even though most of the time they’ll tell you not to worry and ask you to take a seat.

2. Do’s and Don’ts for Sightseeing

We don’t think we need to teach you basic Spanish protocol and etiquette when it comes to sightseeing, such as not cutting in line and respecting other people’s cultures, but some things might not be exactly the same everywhere.

For example, here’s something you should always keep in mind when you’re on an escalator. They normally have signs that explain what is prohibited, such as wearing flip-flops, but there’s one unspoken rule that’s never included on the signs but that everyone knows:

• Siempre deberías quedarte en el lado derecho (You should always stand on the right side): Unless you’re walking, you should always stay on your right whenever you’re on an escalator. It doesn’t matter if you’re going up or down: the left side is only for walking. Don’t use an escalator like the man in the picture, he’s doing it wrong!

Another matter that can be a little bit complicated if you’re not familiar with it is visiting a church. Here are a few Spanish culture and etiquette tips you should know if you want to visit a church or cathedral in Spain:

• No lleves pantalones cortos ni sandalias (Don’t wear shorts or sandals): This is common in most places of worship, but it’s good to remember.
• Deberías apagar o poner en silencio el móvil (You should turn off or silence your phone): Again, this is quite normal and shouldn’t surprise you.
• Deberías prestar atención a los carteles (You should pay attention to the posters): Churches usually have posters with signs that you should follow. For example, sometimes they’ll ask you not to take photos, or if you do, to always take them without flash.

3. Do’s and Don’ts for Greetings

What is Spanish greeting etiquette? We already taught you pretty much everything you need to know about greeting someone in Spanish in different situations in our article titled How to Say “Hello” in Spanish. But we thought we should remind you of a few non-verbal gestures you should or shouldn’t do when greeting someone. (If you’re wondering about Spanish phone etiquette, though, you’ll also find this in the above-mentioned article.)

• Deberías hacer contacto visual (You should make eye contact): Unlike in some other cultures, in Spain, eye contact is seen as a symbol of confidence. However, keep in mind that while we advise you to make eye contact, you shouldn’t make it extreme. Remember to blink and don’t have your eyes wide open like a crazy person. You want to look confident, not creepy!
• Si no estás seguro de qué deberías hacer, espera unos segundos (If you’re unsure what you should do, wait a few seconds): We don’t want this greeting to become an awkward encounter, but waiting a few seconds until the other person starts the greeting won’t hurt anyone.

4. Do’s and Don’ts for Visiting a House

Etiquette when visiting a house also tends to change from country to country. Here are a few Spanish etiquette tips that you’ll find helpful when you’re invited to someone’s house:

• No te quites los zapatos a menos que te digan lo contrario (Don’t take your shoes off unless told otherwise): In many cultures, it’s common to take off your shoes when you enter a house, and sometimes even other kinds of buildings. In Spain, this isn’t very common, but it still might be preferred in certain households. So what we recommend is that you don’t take them off unless they specifically ask you to do so. If you’re unsure, you can always ask them, just in case!
• Deberías llevar un detalle (You should bring a small present): It’s common to bring something, such as a bottle of wine or some sort of sweets, especially if you’ve been invited for a meal. The word we used in Spanish is detalle, which literally means “detail,” and refers to something small yet thoughtful.
• Deberías hacer un cumplido a su hogar (You should compliment their home): The classic “You have a lovely home” should do the trick. To say this in Spanish, you could go for Tienes (if you’re visiting someone who lives alone) or Tenéis (if you’re visiting someone who lives with other people) una casa preciosa.

5. Do’s and Don’ts When Riding Public Means of Transportation

We think there are not that many rules when it comes to public transportation that differ from other countries, but we’ll remind you of a few of them. Here’s some practical information on Spanish taxi etiquette and how to act when on other means of transportation.

• Deberías saludar al conductor (You should greet the driver): Either on a bus or on a taxi, it’s considered polite to greet the driver when you get in—and of course, in the case of a taxi, also when you get out. In most public buses in Spain, the exit is only through the back, so you don’t see the driver again and therefore you don’t necessarily need to say goodbye. Of course, if you’re taking the train or the metro, you won’t see the driver, so you don’t have to greet anyone.
• Deberías ofrecer tu asiento a alguien que lo necesite más que tú (You should offer your seat to someone who needs it more than you): If you’re sitting down and someone enters who might need to sit down more than you do, you should offer them your seat. We’re referring, for example, to old people, handicapped people, pregnant women, among others. Out of politeness, they might refuse it sometimes, but it’s common and considered polite to insist a little bit more.
• Debes comprar un billete (You must buy a ticket): We don’t think we need to say this, but just in case, don’t forget to pay for your ticket! Or the ride, if you’re taking a taxi.

6. Do’s and Don’ts for Business

If you work in Spain or travel there for work, you might need a couple of tips, even though Spanish business etiquette is quite international.

• Deberías dar la mano (You should shake their hand): This is the basic rule for greeting someone in a business environment, but there is an exception. As we explained in our article about greetings, it’s common in Spain to kiss someone twice when greeting them. While in this context a handshake would be the usual greeting, if you’re greeting a woman who’s offering you her cheek, you should kiss her on her cheeks; if you’re a woman and you’re greeting a man who looks like he’s about to kiss you, don’t shy out and offer him your cheek. If you ignore this greeting, it might look like you want to avoid them, and we’re sure you don’t want to do that.
• No lleves ropa informal a menos que te digan lo contrario (Don’t wear casual clothes unless told otherwise): More often than not, you should wear formal yet simple clothes.

7. Do’s and Don’ts for Celebrations

Often, celebrations have more rules than we wish they had. We’ll show you a few basic Spanish etiquette and customs for celebrations, but sometimes these rules depend on the specific event, so you might have to ask whoever invited you to the event. For example, whether you should wear formal or casual clothes, or whether you can bring your kids or not.

Something that’s applicable to different kinds of celebrations is the act of making a toast. In Spanish, this is called brindar, and there are a couple of ways of saying “Cheers.” One of them is ¡Salud! and another one, which people tend to find interesting, is ¡Chinchín! Many people think this is an onomatopoeia that resembles the clashing of glasses, but as it turns out, it actually isn’t; it comes from Chinese. In some families, it’s considered bad luck for people to drink water in these cases, but it’s nothing you need to worry about if you don’t feel like drinking alcohol.

Spanish Wedding Etiquette

• Deberías comprar un regalo (You should buy a present): It’s common to get presents for the bride and groom, but remember that you’re not meant to bring it to the wedding. Sometimes, instead of getting them a present, you can transfer some money to a bank account that they will provide.
• No vayas de blanco (Don’t wear white): The only person who’s allowed to wear white is the bride.

Spanish Etiquette for Birthdays

If it’s your birthday:

• Invita a tus amigos a una comida (Invite your friends for a meal): Either breakfast, lunch, dinner, or something in between, it’s common to invite your friends (and/or family) to have a meal, and to pay for all of them. This can be at a restaurant or at your place, and it doesn’t need to be fancy or a big celebration. We’ll leave this up to you.

If it’s someone else’s birthday:

• Deberías llevar un regalo (You should bring a present): We guess this is common in most cultures, but it’s customary to bring a present for the person who’s celebrating their birthday.

Etiquette for Births

• Deberías llevar un regalo (You should bring a present): It’s common to bring a present for the new parents, either to the hospital if they’re family or close friends, or whenever you see them. The present is normally something for the newborn, but it can be something for the parents as well.

Spanish Funeral Etiquette

• Deberías dar el pésame (You should give your condolences): It’s common to say Lo siento (I’m sorry), but if you knew this person really well, their family might appreciate it if you said something slightly more personal, yet brief. Let them know you cared about them.
• Deberías presentarte (You should introduce yourself): If the family of the deceased person never met you before, you should introduce yourself to them and let them know how you knew him or her.
• No es necesario vestir de negro (It’s not necessary to wear black): Even though it’s still rather common, it’s not compulsory to wear black clothes anymore.

Something else you should know is that it’s common to bring flowers, and sometimes even flower crowns, as a group present.

For other celebrations and festivities, such as New Year’s Eve, you can check out our lesson on Spain’s New Year’s traditions, or another lesson on how to celebrate Christmas in Spain that might be interesting to know if you’re in Spain for the holidays.

8. How SpanishPod101.com Can Help You Learn Spanish

Keep in mind that no one will judge you if you don’t remember all of these rules we just listed. If you’re ever unsure what you can and can’t do, don’t hesitate to ask someone. They will perfectly understand that you’re foreign and not completely familiar with our traditions and customs yet. This is especially true in very specific celebrations, such as weddings, that don’t happen everyday.

Are any of the customs we went over similar to those in your country? We look forward to hearing from you in the comments!

At SpanishPod101.com, you can learn everything you need to know about Spain, its culture, and its language. From vocabulary lists to lessons, we have anything you might need. Join us and learn Spanish like never before!

Writing and saying dates in Spanish is a must when trying to improve your understanding of the language. In today’s world, you may want to write an email, book your next holiday to a Spanish-speaking destination, or set up a date. Or maybe you’re just having trouble reading dates in Spanish. No matter your reasons for learning Spanish, learning how to write dates in Spanish correctly could help you avoid some hassle.

It’s time to learn the dates in Spanish.

Maybe you think it’s enough to translate the numbers and the months…but let me tell you that expressing dates in Spanish is different than doing so in English ( U.K. English or U.S. English).

In this article, you’ll learn the rules for writing dates in Spanish, useful phrases for asking for and telling dates in Spanish, and much, much more about Spanish dates!

Let’s start with the basics.

Table of Contents

1. Days of the Week in Spanish
2. Days of the Month in Spanish
3. Months in Spanish
4. How to Say Dates in Spanish: Years
5. How to Write the Date in Spanish
6. Spanish Vocabulary for Setting Up a Date
7. Must-Know Phrases to Talk about the Date in Spanish
8. Using Prepositions When Learning Spanish Dates
9. Spanish Expressions about Dates
10. Conclusion: How SpanishPod101 Can Help You Master Spanish Dates

1. Days of the Week in Spanish

Before getting into writing dates in Spanish format and how to say calendar dates in Spanish, you need to learn the days of the week in Spanish. The first thing you need to know is that in Spanish, the week starts on Monday instead of Sunday. You may have noticed that in the Spanish calendar, the first day is an L, for lunes; this is “Monday.” Unlike some countries, Spain and many other European countries consider Sunday to be the last day of the week, rather than the first.

Sunday is the day of prayer, and the day to go to church. This is also why on most Sundays everything is closed in Spain. Today, in the modern world, things have changed, and Sundays are just a day off for people who work a nine-to-five schedule. Sundays continue to be a day off because of Catholic tradition.

What are the rest of the days of the week in Spanish?

• Lunes = “Monday”

Example:
Los lunes han empezado a ser mi día favorito de la semana.
“Mondays are now my favorite day of the week.”

• Martes = “Tuesday”

Example:
Los martes tengo ensayo con mi grupo de percusión.
“On Tuesdays, I have a rehearsal with my percussion group.”

• Miércoles = “Wednesday”

Example:
El día que más me cuesta seguir con mi entrenamiento es el miércoles.
“The day that I find most difficult to continue with my training is Wednesday.”

• Jueves = “Thursday”

Example:
Los jueves empiezo a trabajar a las 8 de la mañana.
“I start working at 8 a.m. on Thursdays.”

• Viernes = “Friday”

Example:
¡Por fin es viernes!
“Thank God it’s Friday!”

• Sábado = “Saturday”

Example:
Los sábados aprovecho para salir de fiesta con mis amigos.
“I go out on Saturdays with my friends.”

• Domingo = “Sunday”

Example:
El domingo es el día del Señor.
“Sunday is God’s day.”

The days of the week in Spanish are all masculine, so you say el lunes for “Monday.” Unlike in English, in Spanish, you don’t need to capitalize the days.

The first five days of the week in Spanish: lunes, martes, miércoles, jueves, and viernes are called días de la semana: “weekdays.” Sábado and domingo are the fines de semana: “the weekend.”

When learning the days in Spanish, you’ll also notice that in the Spanish calendar, the days of the week are written L M X J V S D. This is because martes, “Tuesday” and miércoles, “Wednesday,” start with M. To avoid confusion, miércoles will always appear as an X.

If you want a fun way to learn about them, you can also sing the days of the week in Spanish with a song!

2. Days of the Month in Spanish

In English, you must use ordinal numbers to say the date. But to say the days of the month in Spanish, you can use cardinal numbers. Uno de marzo: “First of March.”

In some Latin American countries, you may hear: Primero de mayo for “First of May.”

Here’s a list of the cardinal numbers you’ll need for months and dates in Spanish, from one to ten.

• Uno = “First“
• Dos = “Second“
• Tres = “Third“
• Cuatro = “Fourth“
• Cinco = “Fifth“
• Seis = “Sixth“
• Siete = “Seventh“
• Ocho = “Eighth“
• Nueve = “Ninth“
• Diez = “Tenth“

More examples:
Dos de mayo.
“Second of May.”

Note that while in English you must use “1st of May,” when giving dates in Spanish, you don’t need to use 1ero de mayo.

Example:
1 de mayo.
“1st of May.”

3. Months in Spanish

Learning the months of the year in Spanish can be easy because they’re almost the same as in English. Here are the names of the twelve months of the year in Spanish. It’s only Enero meaning “January” that doesn’t start with the same letter.

Another important thing to know when you’re learning the dates in Spanish is that when writing the date in Spanish, you don’t need to capitalize the month. Some may find this an informal way to write dates in Spanish, but it’s not. It’s acceptable.

• Enero = “January”
• Febrero = “February”
• Marzo = “March”
• Abril = “April”
• Mayo = “May”
• Junio = “June”
• Julio = “July”
• Agosto = “August”
• Septiembre = “September”
• Octubre = “October”
• Noviembre = “November”
• Diciembre = “December”

4. How to Say Dates in Spanish: Years

When pronouncing the years in Spanish, you can find one difference.

In English, you can say “twenty-nineteen” (2019) instead of “two-thousand nineteen.” In Spanish, you have to say dos mil diecinueve, instead of veinte diecinueve. This is one of the most common mistakes that English speakers make when learning how to write the date in Spanish. But once you get this down, learning dates in Spanish will be much simpler.

In Spanish, you can still find the use of Roman numerals when writing about centuries. As you may understand them in English, here’s a reminder of the Roman numerals from one to ten: I-II-III-IV-V-VI-VII-VIII-IX-X.

Examples:

• Esto es el Siglo XX.
  “This is the 20th century.”
• El carbón fue descubierto en el Siglo II.
  “Carbon was discovered in the 2nd century.”

Another common form to use for an important date in Spanish is by using the acronyms “B.C. (before Christ),” which is a.C (antes de Cristo) in Spanish, and “A.C (after Christ)” or d.C (después de Cristo) in Spanish.

Example:

• El oro fue descubierto 6000 a.C.
  “Gold was discovered in 6000 B.C.”

5. How to Write the Date in Spanish

Now, how are dates in Spanish written out?

When learning how to write the date in Spanish, here’s the formula of how to do it right. Once you know this formula, you’ll never do it wrong again.

                              El+[day of the week]+de+[month]+de+[year]
                                        El 22 de junio de 2019

In Spanish is just the opposite of U.S. English; we use the DD/MM/YY format. A more formal way to say the date in Spanish is:

                    [day of the week], el [day of the month in number] de [month] de [year]
                              Sábado, 22 de junio de 2019

The examples above are the most common way to say the date in Spanish. However, if you want to write about the date in Spanish, there are many different ways you can do this. Also, keep in mind that writing the date varies among Spanish-speaking countries. In Spanish, these are the most popular ways:

1- Numeric

The formula for writing the date in Spanish is Day+Month+Year. However, you can divide the date in different ways:

You can divide them with dots: 12.03.2019; with slashes 12/03/2019; and with hyphens 12-03-2019. You can even omit the zero: 12/3/2019, although it’s more formal to keep the zero.

When writing the year in Spanish, you can also omit the first two numbers instead of writing out the whole of “2019.” You can just write 12/03/19, as long as the shortened year is the current year.

2- Words and Numbers

Writing the date in Spanish by mixing the numerals with words is very common, especially in setting future dates, since you may want the other person to remember the month. The formula is the same as the numerical one.

                    (number of the day)+de+(name of the month)+de+(numeral of the year)
                              22 de junio de 2019

Example:

• Nos vemos entonces el 23 de septiembre, 2019.
  “We should see, then, on the 23rd of September, 2019.”

You can also write the whole date as veintidós de junio de dos mil diecinueve or “twenty-two of June of two-thousand and nineteen.” But this is less common.

6. Spanish Vocabulary for Setting Up a Date:

• Fecha = “Date”
• Hoy = “Today”
• Fin de semana = “Weekend”
• Ayer = “Yesterday”
• Próxima semana = “Next week”
• Anteayer o antes de ayer = “The day before yesterday”
• Mañana = “Tomorrow”
• Pasado mañana = “The day after tomorrow”
• Día = “Day”
• Semana = “Week”
• Día de la semana = “Weekday”
• Mes = “Month”
• Estación = “Season”
• Año = “Year”
• Año bisiesto = “Leap year”
• Siglo = “Century”
• Milenio = “Millennium”
• Década = “Decade”

7. Must-Know Phrases to Talk about the Date in Spanish

Time is constantly and consistently present in our lives. We live in a world where we arrange the time for everything. The time to work, the time to study, the time to exercise, and the time to travel. It’s also the number-one topic of conversation topic, because when you’re learning a new language, you’ll always try to set dates to meet others so that you can talk and improve your skills. If you’re trying to break the ice, here are some questions you may ask:

• ¿Cuándo empieza el verano?
  “When does the summer start?”
• ¿Cuándo empieza la escuela?
  “When does your school start?”
• ¿Cuándo es tu cumpleaños?
  “When is your birthday?”
• ¿Tienes planes para el 14 de febrero?
  “Do you have any plans on the 14th of February?”
• ¿Qué día es hoy?
  “What day is it today?”

Note that the last phrase is only used as a reminder of the day of the week, because in Spanish it’s also used to ask the day of the month or the completion date.

You’ll also hear questions like: ¿A cuánto estamos hoy? meaning “How far are we today?” or ¿A qué día estamos hoy? meaning “What day are we on today?”

When someone asks the last question, it always refers to the day and also the current month: Hoy es veinticinco de enero meaning “Today is the 25th of January.”

8. Using Prepositions When Learning Spanish Dates

When writing and speaking about the date in Spanish, it’s essential to understand how to use the prepositions correctly. In English, you use “on” when referring to something that happened (or will happen) on a specific date: “The meeting was on Tuesday.” In Spanish, you can use el: La reunión fue el martes. “On” can be translated as en, but you need to learn how to use it appropriately.

Example:

• Estamos en marzo
  “It’s March.”

Example:

• Te veo el sabado
  “I will see you on Saturday.”

The prepositions desde-hasta and de-al are normally used to talk about date intervals. Unlike in English, where you just need to use “from” or “to.”

Example:

• El verano es desde junio hasta septiembre.
  “Summer is from June until September.”

Example:

• Estaré de vacaciones del 2 al 20 de agosto.
  “I will be on vacation from 2nd to 20th August.”

The use of the preposition del in Spanish is the union of de + el= del.

Example:

• Hoy es 14 de abril del 2019.
  “Today is the 14th of April of 2019.”

Another important preposition to learn is durante. Durante means “during” and “throughout.” In Spanish, you can use durante whenever you want to talk about a date occurring during a certain timeframe.

Examples:

• La globalización habrá empezado durante el siglo XIX.
  “Globalization may have started during the 19th century.”
• Sarah ha estado en forma durante toda su vida.
  “Sarah was very fit throughout her life.”

9. Spanish Expressions about Dates

Understanding an expression when learning a new language is the best way to know if you’re improving. Keep these Spanish expressions in mind. Make jokes while learning and leveling up!

• Gracias al mundial de fútbol, los hoteles están haciendo su agosto.
  “Thanks to the FIFA World Cup, hotels are having a field day.”

This expression means that August is one of the most touristic months. In Spain, this is when everyone takes holidays, so the tourist companies are having a field day.

• Siempre estás en medio como los jueves.
  “You’re always in between like Thursdays!”

This expression may not need any explanation. But basically, Thursdays are in the middle of the week (no one likes the middle of the week!), so when someone’s disturbing you, you can tell them this.

• En abril aguas mil.
  “In April it rains a lot.”

This expression is about the weather. April is a rainy month in Spain.

• Cuando en marzo mayea, en mayo marcea.
  “If in March mayea, in May marcea.”

This expression is also about the weather. It means that if March is like the weather in May, May will be like the weather in March.

• Como agua de mayo.
  “Like May’s water.”

This expression comes from the life in the countryside. April and May are rainy months which are perfect for the plantations. The rain allows the fruit trees to bloom in their greatest splendor. So, if someone says Como agua de mayo, it means that something has come perfectly and at the right time.

Example:

• La paga extra de verano me viene como agua de mayo!
  “The summer extra pay comes like May’s water!”

10. Conclusion: How SpanishPod101 Can Help You Master Spanish Dates

So next time you’re planning a trip with your fellow Spanish friends, you can be certain that your date matches theirs. This way, you can enjoy planning events, holidays, and days out, while also ensuring that you’ll be there at the right time.

What did you find most useful in this article? What are you still struggling with? Let us know in the comments! Remember that when it comes to dates in Spanish, practice is essential. Why not leave us a comment with today’s date in Spanish too? 🙂

You can also download our dates vocabulary sheet for free and have it on hand for any questions you may have.

SpanishPod101 has many free vocabulary lists about the Spanish days of the week, months in Spanish, and how to write the date in Spanish. Get cracking!

With enough studying, practice, and determination, you’ll be speaking Spanish like a native! And SpanishPod101 will be here for every step of your language-learning journey.