Back to Basics: 60 Easy Spanish Words and Phrases for Every Occasion
Just because something’s “easy” doesn’t mean you should forget about it!
Whatever your reason for learning Spanish, you’ll always depend on the simple basics of the language.
When you fully grasp easy Spanish words and phrases, you can navigate everyday conversations, respond to questions appropriately and express crucial needs without trouble.
Let’s check out the essentials!
Contents
- Greetings and Introductions in Spanish
- Polite Expressions in Spanish
- Basic Everyday Words in Spanish
- Helpful Adjectives in Spanish
- Question Words in Spanish
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
Greetings and Introductions in Spanish
Regardless of your motivation for learning Spanish, you’ll want to be able to greet others and introduce yourself. Spanish is pretty straightforward when it comes to meeting and greeting.
Also, while it’s important to memorize basic vocab, it’s super important to be mindful of your Spanish pronunciation, so make sure you practice these out loud!
- Hola. (Hello.)
- Buenos días. (Good morning.)
- Buenas tardes. (Good afternoon.)
- Buenas noches. (Good evening.)
- Me llamo… (My name is…)
- Estoy… (I am…)
- Feliz (Happy)
- Triste (Sad)
- ¿Cómo estás? (How are you?)
- Adiós. (Goodbye.)
Utilizing these greetings is a snap. When you approach someone, smile and say ¡Hola! (Hello!) to get the conversation going.
Polite Expressions in Spanish
In a restaurant, shop or anywhere that requires you to express a preference, you’ll want to remember these phrases.
The first three are mandatory in any language. Fortunately, they’re very memorable in Spanish—you probably already have them in your skill set!
- Por favor. (Please.)
- Gracias. (Thank you.)
- ¡De nada! (You’re welcome!)
Shopping or dining? Let the staff or vendor know precisely what you like and don’t like.
- Yo quiero… (I want…)
- Me gusta… (I like…)
- No me gusta… (I don’t like…)
These may come in handy as well.
- ¡Estoy de acuerdo! (I agree!)
- Lo siento. (I’m sorry.)
Basic Everyday Words in Spanish
Learning the names of items that impact your day-to-day life is an ideal way to build your core Spanish vocabulary.
A few of these might take you back to your childhood learning days.
- El perro (Dog)
- El gato (Cat)
- La casa (House)
- El coche (Car)
- El árbol (Tree)
- La flor (Flower)
- La comida (Food)
Notice that the use of masculine and feminine articles changes based on the noun it precedes.
Every Spanish noun is either singular or plural and masculine or feminine, and the Spanish article used to identify the noun corresponds to that.
El (the) and un (a/an) cover masculine, singular nouns. Los (those) and unos (some) cover masculine, plural nouns.
La (the) and una (a/an) apply to feminine, singular nouns. Las (those) and unas (some) apply to feminine, plural nouns.
Let’s see some of these articles and basic words in action!
Yo quiero un perro. (I want a dog.)
Yo quiero una casa. (I want a house.)
Yo quiero comida, por favor. (I want food, please.)
Me gusta el coche. (I like the car.)
No me gusta el árbol. (I don’t like the tree.)
Helpful Adjectives in Spanish
When using adjectives to describe nouns, remember that word order is important. It seems tricky at first but, trust me, you won’t have any trouble with this rule if you just focus on getting the noun into play before describing it!
Useful description words
Just a few adjectives can definitely liven up your speaking and listening skills!
In Spanish, adjectives typically follow the nouns they describe. Here, too, you’ll need to be mindful of quantity and gender pairing.
- Grande (Big)
- Pequeña (Small)
- Caliente (Hot)
- Frío (Cold)
- Mojado (Wet)
- Seco (Dry)
- Izquierda (Left)
- Derecha (Right)
Here are some sentences combining adjectives and nouns.
El perro grande (The big dog)
Dos coches pequeños (Two small cars)
Basic colors
Being able to point out a certain color when you’re shopping, or even just wandering through a museum or park, is beneficial.
- Rojo (Red)
- Rosa (Pink)
- Naranja (Orange)
- Amarillo (Yellow)
- Verde (Green)
- Azul (Blue)
- Marrón (Brown)
- Negro (Black)
- Blanco (White)
Here are some example sentences using these words.
La casa rosa (The pink house)
Las casas rosadas (The pink houses)
El perro marrón (The brown dog)
Los perros marrones (The brown dogs)
Numbers from one to ten
Pulling some basic numbers into your vocabulary can pay off. Use them when you’re writing down a new friend’s phone number, to locate addresses and much more.
- Uno (One)
- Dos (Two)
- Tres (Three)
- Cuatro (Four)
- Cinco (Five)
- Seis (Six)
- Siete (Seven)
- Ocho (Eight)
- Nueve (Nine)
- Diez (Ten)
Question Words in Spanish
Believe it or not, some of the easiest Spanish words to learn are those that ask questions. These words are sometimes referred to as “interrogative” words because their function is to gather information.
- ¿Qué…? (What?)
- ¿Quién…? (Who?)
- ¿Cuándo…? (When?)
- ¿Dónde…? (Where?)
- ¿Por qué…? (Why?)
- ¿Qué es? (What is it?)
- ¿Quién eres tú? (Who are you?)
Let’s have a look at a few example sentences using these words.
¿Cuándo llega el coche? (When does the car arrive?)
¿Dónde está el gato blanco? (Where is the white cat?)
¿Porque el cielo es azul? (Why is the sky blue?)
If you’d like to get more consistent vocabulary practice, FluentU is a solid option. You’ll be able to learn vocabulary words in the context of authentic videos intended for native Spanish speakers.
You can instantly look up the definition of any word you encounter with interactive subtitles. And then you can commit these words to memory with personalized word lists and multimedia flashcards.
There are even iOS and Android apps to take your learning on the go.
Speaking Spanish opens up so many exciting opportunities, so nail down the basics and take full advantage of the adventures awaiting you.
Good luck—and have fun!
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
