A goat, or "cabra" in Spanish

325+ Spanish Words That Start with C (with Audio)

The letter C in Spanish has three distinct pronunciations: There’s a soft C, a hard C and the CH sound.

The soft C sounds like S in English, in words like cerdo  (pig). The hard C sounds like K in English, such as in calle  (street). Lastly, the CH combination sounds the same as in English, like in chimenea  (fireplace). (To see our complete post about Spanish words that start with CH, check out this post.)

In the following lists of Spanish words that start with C, see if you can pick out how they’re pronounced based on what we’ve described above. 

Contents

Spanish Nouns That Start with C

Spanish Word (With Audio)English Word
Cabeza Head
Cabra Goat
Café Coffee
Caja Box
Cajón Drawer
Calabaza Pumpkin
Calcetín Sock
Cálculo Calculation
Calefacción Heating
Calle Street
Camarero Waiter
Camino Road/Path
Camión Truck
Campaña Campaign
Campo Field
Canal Canal/Channel
Canción Song
Canguro Kangaroo
Cáncer Cancer
Candado Padlock
Canela Cinnamon
Caña Cane/Stick
Cáncamo Eyebolt
Cangrejo Crab
Canguro Kangaroo
Cansancio Fatigue
Cantar Singing
Capa Cape
Capítulo Chapter
Cara Face
Caracol Snail
Carbón Coal
Cárcel Jail/Prison
Cariño Affection
Carnaval Carnival
Carne Meat
Carrera Race/Career
Carta Letter/Card
Cartera Wallet
Casa House/Home
Cascada Waterfall
Cascarrabias Grumpy/Peevish
Casco Helmet
Castillo Castle
Catarata Waterfall/Cataract
Catarro Cold/Flu
Catedral Cathedral
Cautela Caution
Cautiverio Captivity
Cavidad Cavity
Cazador Hunter
Cazuela Casserole
Cebolla Onion
Cédula ID/Identification Card
Ceguera Blindness
Ceja Eyebrow
Celda Cell/Compartment
Celo Zeal/Heat (in animals)
Cementerio Cemetery
Cena Dinner/Supper
Ceniza Ash
Cenizas Ashes
Centavo Cent
Centro Center
Cepillo Brush
Cera Wax
Cerca Fence/Near
Cerdo Pig
Cerebro Brain
Ceremonia Ceremony
Cerradura Lock
Cerrajero Locksmith
Cerámica Ceramic/Ceramics
Cerco Siege/Fence
Cereza Cherry
Cerveza Beer
Cesto Basket
Chaleco Vest
Chaqueta Jacket
Chicle Chewing Gum
Chimenea Chimney/Fireplace
Chinche Bug
Chiquillo Little Boy
Chocolate Chocolate
Chorizo Sausage
Chubasco Squall
Chuleta Chop/Chopstick
Cicatriz Scar
Cielo Sky/Heaven
Cigüeña Stork
Cima Summit/Peak
Círculo Circle
Ciruela Plum
Clase Class
Clavel Carnation
Clic Click
Clínica Clinic
Clima Climate
Cloro Chlorine
Clown Clown
Cocina Kitchen
Coco Coconut
Cola Tail
Colcha Bedspread
Colegio School/College
Coliflor Cauliflower
Colina Hill
Collar Necklace
Color Color
Cometa Kite
Comida Food/Meal
Comienzo Beginning/Start
Comisaría Police Station
Comité Committee
Comodidad Comfort/Convenience
Compañero Companion
Competencia Competition
Complejo Complex
Componente Component
Comportamiento Behavior
Composición Composition
Comunidad Community
Concentración Concentration
Concepto Concept
Conciencia Consciousness/Awareness
Conclusión Conclusion
Condición Condition
Conducta Conduct/Behavior
Confianza Confidence/Trust
Conflictos Conflicts
Congelador Freezer
Congreso Congress
Conjunto Set/Group
Consejo Advice/Council
Conservación Conservation
Consideración Consideration
Constancia Consistency/Proof
Constelación Constellation
Constitución Constitution
Construcción Construction
Consumo Consumption
Contacto Contact
Contaminación Pollution
Contenedor Container
Contenido Content/Contents
Continente Continent
Continuación Continuation
Contracción Contraction
Contradicción Contradiction
Contrato Contract
Contribución Contribution
Control Control
Conversación Conversation
Convicción Conviction
Cooperación Cooperation
Copa Cup
Copia Copy
Cordero Lamb
Corona Crown
Corredor Runner/Corridor
Correo Mail/Post
Corte Cut/Court
Cortesía Courtesy
Corteza Bark/Crust
Cortina Curtain
Cosecha Harvest/Crop
Cosmonauta Cosmonaut
Costa Coast
Costilla Rib
Cotización Quotation
Coto Preserve/Reserve
Cotorra Parrot
Coyote Coyote
Creación Creation
Crecimiento Growth
Cremallera Zipper
Cría Offspring
Crimen Crime
Cristal Glass/Crystal
Cristiano Christian
Criterio Criterion
Crítica Criticism
Cruce Crossing
Cruz Cross
Cuaderno Notebook
Cuadro Painting/Picture
Cualidad Quality
Cuarentena Quarantine
Cuarto Room/Quarter
Cuba Cuba
Cubo Cube
Cuchara Spoon
Cuello Neck
Cuerda Rope/String
Cuerpo Body
Culebra Snake
Cultivo Cultivation/Growth
Cultura Culture
Cumbre Summit
Cuna Crib/Cradle
Cupón Coupon
Cura Cure/Priest
Curiosidad Curiosity
Cursillo Short Course
Curso Course
Curva Curve
Custodia Custody
Cute Quota
Cuyo Guinea Pig

To learn about even more Spanish nouns, see this post:

Spanish Verbs That Start with C

Spanish Word (With Audio)English Word
Cantar To sing
Caminar To walk
Cerrar To close
Comer To eat
Correr To run
Coser To sew
Crear To create
Crecer To grow
Cuidar To take care of
Culpar To blame
Cuestionar To question
Cultivar To cultivate
Curar To cure
Cursar To take a course
Custodiar To guard
Cautivar To captivate
Ceder To yield/give up
Celebrar To celebrate
Citar To quote/summon
Climatizar To climate-control
Cobrar To charge/collect
Cocinar To cook
Colaborar To collaborate
Coleccionar To collect (as a hobby)
Comandar To command
Combinar To combine
Combatir To combat
Combinar To combine
Comer To eat
Cometer To commit
Comparar To compare
Competir To compete
Complacer To please
Componer To compose/arrange
Comprender To understand
Comunicar To communicate
Concebir To conceive
Conceder To grant
Concluir To conclude
Conducir To drive
Conectar To connect
Confiar To trust
Confundir To confuse
Conocer To know (person/place)
Conquistar To conquer
Conservar To preserve
Considerar To consider
Consistir To consist of
Construir To build
Consumir To consume
Contar To count/tell
Controlar To control
Convencer To convince
Copiar To copy
Corregir To correct
Cortar To cut
Coser To sew
Cotizar To quote/price
Crear To create
Crecer To grow
Criar To raise/nurture
Cruzar To cross
Cuidar To take care of
Culpar To blame
Cumplir To fulfill
Curar To cure/treat
Curiosear To snoop/be curious
Cursar To take a course
Custodiar To guard
Cautivar To captivate

To dive a little deeper into how Spanish nouns work, check out this post:

Spanish Adjectives That Start with C

Spanish Word (With Audio)English Word
Calmado Calm
Cálido Warm
Cansado Tired
Cauteloso Cautious
Celestial Celestial/Heavenly
Cerrado Closed
Ciego Blind
Cobarde Cowardly
Cómodo Comfortable
Común Common
Completo Complete
Confundido Confused
Conocido Known/Familiar
Consciente Conscious
Contento Happy/Content
Criminal Criminal
Cruel Cruel
Cuidadoso Careful
Culto Cultured
Curioso Curious
Cursi Corny/Tacky
Cálido Warm
Cansado Tired
Cauteloso Cautious
Celestial Celestial/Heavenly
Cerrado Closed
Chistoso Funny
Criminal Criminal
Cruel Cruel
Cuidadoso Careful
Culto Cultured
Curioso Curious
Cursi Corny/Tacky

Want to learn even more Spanish adjectives? Then go to this post:

To see these words in context, you could try the language learning platform FluentU.

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Spanish Adverbs That Start with C

Spanish Word (With Audio)English Word
Cabalmente Completely
Casi Almost
Claramente Clearly
Constantemente Constantly
Cuidadosamente Carefully
Curiosamente Curiously
Ciertamente Certainly
Con Frecuencia Frequently
Con Razón Rightly/Justifiably
Con Violencia Violently
Correctamente Correctly
Cuidadosamente Carefully
Culturalmente Culturally
Cépticamente Skeptically

To learn more about how Spanish adverbs work, see this post:

Spanish C Words Quiz: Test Yourself!

0%
What is the Spanish word for "head"?
Correct! Wrong!

How do you say "goat" in Spanish?
Correct! Wrong!

What is the Spanish word for "curious"?
Correct! Wrong!

Which of these Spanish words is a vegetable?
Correct! Wrong!

What is the English translation of "cuna"?
Correct! Wrong!

How do you say "Guinea pig" in Spanish?
Correct! Wrong!

How do you translate "coser" into English?
Correct! Wrong!

Which of these verbs would apply to being a doctor?
Correct! Wrong!

How do you say "careful" in Spanish?
Correct! Wrong!

What is the English word for "ciego"?
Correct! Wrong!

 

I hope your cabeza (head) doesn’t ache, because that’s it. We’ve covered the C words for Spanish nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs. Go out and use some today—just don’t call anyone a cabra (goat)!

And One More Thing…

If you've made it this far that means you probably enjoy learning Spanish with engaging material and will then love FluentU.

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FluentU has a wide variety of videos, as you can see here:

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FluentU brings native videos within reach with interactive transcripts. You can tap on any word to look it up instantly. Every definition has examples that have been written to help you understand how the word is used. If you see an interesting word you don’t know, you can add it to a vocab list.

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