{"id":144606,"date":"2023-10-10T08:05:20","date_gmt":"2023-10-10T12:05:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/learn-spanish-vocabulary\/"},"modified":"2024-11-27T06:39:13","modified_gmt":"2024-11-27T11:39:13","slug":"learn-spanish-vocabulary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/spanish\/learn-spanish-vocabulary\/","title":{"rendered":"The 10 Best Ways to Learn Spanish Vocabulary (From a Language Learner)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Many people have the basics of Spanish down, but when it comes to actually using the language, they find themselves at a loss for words.\u00a0That&#8217;s because new learners often make the mistake of focusing on grammar way more than they should on vocabulary.<\/p>\n<p>Lucky for you, the best ways to learn Spanish vocabulary are all in this post. Some of them you may have heard of (like using flashcards), while others might surprise you.\u00a0Read on to master\u00a0<em>vocabulario de Espa\u00f1ol <\/em>once and for all.<\/p>\n<p>[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n<h2>1. Build on What You Already Know<\/h2>\n<p>Instead of trying to learn Spanish from scratch, why not <strong>start with the Spanish you encounter on a daily basis<\/strong>?<\/p>\n<p>Not only will it give you a head start in your studies, but you&#8217;re also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC4277705\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">more likely to recall vocab you&#8217;re often exposed to<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>For example:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Food-related words. <\/strong>Driving down the street, you might&#8217;ve come to know the restaurant <em><i>El Pollo<\/i> <em>Loco<\/em>,<\/em> which is actually Spanish for \u201cthe crazy chicken.\u201d You might&#8217;ve also encountered other <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/spanish\/spanish-food-words\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">useful food words<\/a> like\u00a0<em>salsa <\/em>(sauce),\u00a0<em>queso <\/em>(cheese) and\u00a0<i>carne asada <\/i>(roasted meat).<\/li>\n<li><strong>Surnames. <\/strong>Try to find out the meaning of the Spanish names of people you know\u2014coworkers, friends and family. For example, the last name <em>Castillo<\/em> is Spanish for &#8220;castle,&#8221; while the last name\u00a0<em>Guerra<\/em> means &#8220;war.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li><strong>Place names. <\/strong>For example,\u00a0<em>Nevada<\/em> roughly translates to &#8220;snow-covered,&#8221; and <em>Colorado<\/em> means &#8220;colored red.&#8221;\u00a0<i> <\/i><\/li>\n<li><strong>Everyday household items. <\/strong>On things like shampoo bottles and food, you&#8217;ll find Spanish ingredient lists, instructions and advertisements. Some appliances even come with instructions in Spanish for you to skim through.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Loanwords. <\/strong>As its name suggests, a loanword is a word &#8220;borrowed&#8221; by one language from another with very slight changes (or sometimes no change at all). <em>Llama<\/em>,\u00a0<i>iguana,<\/i>\u00a0<em>mosquito,<\/em>\u00a0<em>pronto <\/em>and\u00a0<em>cafeter\u00eda<\/em> are just a few of the many English words that were loaned from Spanish.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Cognates.<\/strong> Cognates are words in different languages that look and sound very similar. In Spanish, most English words that end in <em>-al <\/em>and <em>-ble<\/em> won&#8217;t be any different, and most English words ending in <em>-tion<\/em> will simply change to <em>-ci\u00f3n<\/em> in Spanish. For example:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<table id=\"tablepress-8203333\" class=\"tablepress tablepress-id-8203333\">\n<thead>\n<tr class=\"row-1\">\n\t<th class=\"column-1\">-al<\/th><th class=\"column-2\">-ble<\/th><th class=\"column-3\">-tion <em>(-ci\u00f3n)<\/em><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody class=\"row-striping row-hover\">\n<tr class=\"row-2\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">natural <br \/>\n<em>        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/v1-8f4ef05b543fb6157b374099100574b3-neural-Lupe.mp3\" class=\"tts-link\">natural        <\/a>\n    <\/em><\/td><td class=\"column-2\">terrible <br \/>\n<em>        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/v1-b45534447658bd7ca14e13505ad087e2-neural-Lupe.mp3\" class=\"tts-link\">terrible        <\/a>\n    <\/em><\/td><td class=\"column-3\">habitation <br \/>\n<em>        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/v1-9fe294e84d74be3955e9e425eef8965c-neural-Lupe.mp3\" class=\"tts-link\">habitaci\u00f3n        <\/a>\n    <\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-3\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">national <br \/>\n<em>        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/v1-2cb395ce289bf00d40362486f94dbae2-neural-Lupe.mp3\" class=\"tts-link\">nacional        <\/a>\n    <\/em><\/td><td class=\"column-2\">horrible <br \/>\n<em>        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/v1-dda10458ea5ff9de283923c8e6ae034b-neural-Lupe.mp3\" class=\"tts-link\">horrible        <\/a>\n    <\/em><\/td><td class=\"column-3\">manifestation <br \/>\n<em>        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/v1-dbf79b735691dd77144ec70af78270a0-neural-Lupe.mp3\" class=\"tts-link\">manifestaci\u00f3n        <\/a>\n    <\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<!-- #tablepress-8203333 from cache -->\n<p class=\"p5\"><strong>CAVEAT:<\/strong> While cognates make learning new vocab much easier, be careful not to let <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/spanish\/false-cognates-spanish\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">false cognates<\/a> trip you up. These are words that look very similar from one language to another but actually mean something entirely different, like\u00a0<em>molestar <\/em>(to annoy) and\u00a0<em>asistir <\/em>(to attend).<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"p4\">2. Use Flashcards (Seriously)<\/h2>\n<p class=\"p4\">I know, I know: flashcards sound like a lot of work. They&#8217;re also so high school and old-fashioned. But they keep popping up in lists along the lines of &#8220;best way to learn Spanish vocabulary&#8221; for a reason: they&#8217;re <strong>an easy and efficient way to learn vocabulary.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>And there are only two ways to make them, really:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>The old-fashioned way. <\/strong>Using <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Oxford-Heavyweight-Ruled-Index-63500\/dp\/B00INBSU14?tag=fluentu-20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">index cards<\/a> and a Spanish dictionary, write down all the Spanish words you want to learn on the index cards by hand. Then, flip the cards over and write the English translation of each Spanish word on that other side.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Online flashcard apps. <\/strong>Of course, creating physical flashcards by hand can be tedious and time-consuming, especially if you&#8217;re going to do this for hundreds or thousands of <em>palabras<\/em>. You can save yourself a ton of time and effort by investing in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/spanish\/spanish-flashcard-apps-review\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Spanish flashcard apps<\/a>. Many of these (like <a href=\"https:\/\/apps.ankiweb.net\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Anki<\/a>) have extra features like timers, multimedia options and the ability to synchronize with multiple devices, all to make learning as easy as possible for you.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Not sure which words to put in your first flashcards? Going off of Tip #1, <strong>start with the words that are most relevant to you<\/strong>, like things you see and discuss on a daily basis.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\">Once you have these words, put them into your flashcard decks, and separate them thematically. I suggest learning words related to each other, as opposed to picking out random Spanish words you see that you&#8217;re probably not going to use anyway.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\">For example, on the first week, you can pick <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/spanish\/spanish-kitchen-vocabulary\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">kitchenware<\/a> as a topic. So you&#8217;ll study words like\u00a0<em>cucharas<\/em> (spoons), <em>platos<\/em> (plates), <i>un horno <\/i>(an oven) and <i>cocinar <\/i>(to cook). Once you\u2019ve got all of these words down, choose a new topic and keep going!<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"p5\">3. Put Your New Vocab Into Action<\/h2>\n<p class=\"p5\">In other words, <strong>use the words you&#8217;ve learned in context. <\/strong>Learning Spanish words in isolation is a surefire way to forget about them soon after you&#8217;ve picked them up. Reading, hearing and saying words in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/spanish\/spanish-sentence-structure\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">sentences<\/a> as early as possible will help guide you to fluency all the more quickly.<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s how you can master the skills I mentioned above, respectively:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Pick up a book at your level. <\/strong>Even if you&#8217;re itching to pick up novels by Miguel Cervantes right now, you&#8217;re better off starting with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/spanish\/easy-spanish-books\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Spanish books for beginners<\/a>\u2014at least, for the time being. You can also visit <a href=\"http:\/\/www.e-stories.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">e-stories<\/a>, a website with countless readings of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/spanish\/spanish-poems\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Spanish poetry<\/a>, plays and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/spanish\/spanish-short-stories\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">stories<\/a> under categories such as horror and satire.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Listen to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/spanish\/learn-spanish-audio-2\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">short audio files in Spanish<\/a>. <\/strong>Take your pick between <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/spanish\/spanish-podcasts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">podcasts for Spanish learners<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/spanish\/spanish-audiobooks\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">bite-sized audiobooks<\/a> and anything else Spotify can throw at you.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Get a tutor. <\/strong>Find a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/spanish\/spanish-tutor-online\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Spanish tutor online<\/a> who has ample experience teaching complete beginners to the language. Ask them to give you example sentences using the words you&#8217;ve learned. The nice thing about having a native speaker help you out is they can give you feedback on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/spanish\/learn-spanish-pronunciation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pronunciation<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/spanish\/spanish-grammar-rules\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">grammar<\/a>, word usage and more.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 class=\"p5\">4. Set Yourself Some Personal Vocabulary Goals<\/h2>\n<p class=\"p5\">Now that you have more-or-less a solid foundation for picking up Spanish vocabulary, how do you stick with this endeavor over the long haul?<\/p>\n<p class=\"p5\">As with anything, not having a plan or goal will make it much harder to stay motivated and committed. If you really want to build up your vocabulary bank, take a look at your schedule and <strong>come up with a practical number of words that you\u2019re capable of learning every week.\u00a0<\/strong>Don&#8217;t forget to make time to quiz yourself at the end of each week to ensure those words stick!<\/p>\n<p class=\"p5\">To learn more vocabulary without taking yourself out of &#8220;Spanish mode,&#8221; look up new words and phrases in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/spanish\/dictionary-in-spanish-only\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Spanish-only dictionary<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>5. Utilize Ready-made Vocabulary Lists<\/h2>\n<p>Just like flashcards, vocabulary lists provide a wonderful way to pick up new words, but they&#8217;re also extremely time-consuming to make\u2014unless you know where to find ones that have already been crafted for you.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Fortunately, the internet has these lists in spades. Some are classified by level, others by topic and still others by word classes. A few of the sites you can check out are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mosalingua.com\/en\/spanish-vocabulary-lists-by-topic\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Mosalingua.<\/strong><\/a> In my opinion, this is the perfect place for beginners. The site contains 13 lists that cover basic Spanish vocabulary.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/lingolex.com\/swom\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Lingolex.<\/a> <\/strong>Their Spanish topics are divided into six levels from complete beginner (0) to advanced (C1). Topics cover <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/spanish\/spanish-colors\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">colors<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/spanish\/family-words-in-spanish\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">family<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/spanish\/daily-routine-spanish-vocabulary\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">daily routines<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/spanish\/animals-in-spanish\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">animals<\/a> and personality, to name a few.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.spanishdict.com\/vocabulary\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>SpanishDict.<\/strong><\/a> SpanishDict is a useful resource for a whole lot of reasons. When it comes to ready-made vocabulary lists, it offers hundreds of hours of study in an interactive, fun way. Don&#8217;t miss the 1,000-word lists for beginners, intermediate and advanced learners!<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.spanishpod101.com\/spanish-vocabulary-lists\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">SpanishPod101.<\/a> <\/strong>SpanishPod101 has dozens of lists divided by topic which you can listen to, learn and even watch as a slideshow. Just sit back, grab a pen and paper and start learning!<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.spanishvocabulary.ca\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Spanish Vocabulary.<\/strong><\/a> It&#8217;s exactly what it says on the tin: a site that features vocabulary useful for travelers like words related to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/spanish\/how-to-tell-time-in-spanish\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">time<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/spanish\/spanish-transportation-vocabulary\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">transportation<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/spanish\/spanish-weather-expressions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the weather<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linguasorb.com\/spanish\/vocabulary\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\"><strong>Linguasorb.<\/strong><\/a> This is another hefty site with dozens of lists divided by topics ranging from accessories to vehicles. I love that it has the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/spanish\/masculine-and-feminine-spanish\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">masculine and feminine nouns<\/a> in blue and red, respectively.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>6. Use Apps for Learning Spanish<\/h2>\n<p>I&#8217;ve already touched on some apps in the flashcard section, but there are thousands of other <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/spanish\/best-apps-for-learning-spanish\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">apps for learning Spanish<\/a> out there. <strong>Some of them incorporate flashcards, while others use entirely different methods of teaching Spanish.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Usually, these apps:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Let you learn when and where you want<\/li>\n<li>Can be personalized, making learning much more engaging<\/li>\n<li>Give you immediate feedback<\/li>\n<li>Are either free or very cheap<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>For specific apps, I recommend <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/does-duolingo-work-review\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Duolingo<\/a><\/strong>, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/memrise-review\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Memrise<\/a> <\/strong>and<strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/busuu-review\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Busuu<\/a><\/strong>. I&#8217;ve linked them to more in-depth reviews to help you decide if they&#8217;ll work for your personal learning goals. As for me, though, I think they&#8217;re all great in their own way!<\/p>\n<h2>7. Focus on Core Words<\/h2>\n<p>Core words are basically <strong>words that are most often used in any given language<\/strong>. They&#8217;re at the heart of the language, and they&#8217;re so good at adapting themselves to different situations that a native person would be lost without them. Learning the words Spanish native speakers use the most will give you an extra advantage because you&#8217;ll be learning words you&#8217;re actually going to be using.<\/p>\n<p>Believe me, you&#8217;d rather say\u00a0<em>Juan tiene tres a\u00f1os <\/em>(Juan is three years old) than\u00a0<em>El cient\u00edfico descubri\u00f3 que la temperatura del agua no era correcta <\/em>(The scientist discovered the temperature of the water was not correct)\u2014and that&#8217;s not even using stranger words such as <em>anticonstitucionalmente<\/em> (unconstitutionally) or\u00a0<em>ornitorrinco<\/em> (platypus).<\/p>\n<p>The best way to learn Spanish vocabulary that&#8217;s often used is with a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/spanish\/spanish-frequency-dictionary\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">frequency dictionary<\/a>. Alternatively, you can refer to <a href=\"https:\/\/app.memrise.com\/course\/203799\/5000-most-frequent-spanish-words\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Memrise&#8217;s list of 5,000 most frequent Spanish words<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"p5\">8. Watch Videos That Immerse You in Spanish Vocabulary<\/h2>\n<p class=\"p5\">Often, reading and repeating Spanish words isn\u2019t enough. Being capable of comprehending them during conversations with natives is equally important.<\/p>\n<p>One of the most efficient ways to accomplish this is by watching videos. Not only will you <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/spanish\/spanish-listening-comprehension-practice-online\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">practice your listening skills<\/a>, but <strong>seeing and <\/strong><strong>hearing Spanish vocabulary words in action will make it even easier to remember them.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Luckily, there are plenty of online resources featuring authentic <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/spanish\/learn-spanish-videos\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Spanish videos<\/a>. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">YouTube<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.netflix.com\/browse\/genre\/100396\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Netflix<\/a> and other streaming sites can (with careful filtering) provide helpful content. But it can be difficult to understand native Spanish speakers even with subtitles since none of these streaming sites will tell you what language level to expect from each movie or show you add to your queue.<\/p>\n<p>You can help resolve this issue by using a targeted learning program like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/spanish\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">FluentU<\/a>. <p><strong>FluentU<\/strong> takes authentic videos\u2014like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks\u2014and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.<\/p>\r\n<p><\/p> \r\n<p>You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download <a href=\"https:\/\/apps.apple.com\/us\/app\/fluentu-learn-language-videos\/id917892175\">the iOS app<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/apps\/details?id=com.fluentflix.fluentu&amp;hl=en&amp;gl=US\">Android app.<\/a><\/p>\r\n<p><i><a data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/try\/april-sale-3331\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)<\/a><\/i>\r\n<\/p>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\r\n  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/2\/NativeAd-Spanish.jpg\" alt=\"FluentU Ad\" \/>\r\n  <p style=\"text-align: center\">\r\n    <button class=\"btn-blue\" style=\"border: none;font-size: 18px;text-align: center;padding: 0.75rem 1.5rem;cursor: pointer\">\r\n      Try FluentU for FREE!\r\n    <\/button>\r\n  <\/p>\r\n<\/a>\r\n<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"p4\">9. Answer Vocab-related Quizzes<\/h2>\n<p>So, you&#8217;re doing a good job putting together all of the vocab you need to learn and making use of the tools at your disposal to learn Spanish words as efficiently as you can. But how do you know if you&#8217;re actually retaining all the information you&#8217;re studying?<\/p>\n<p>After all, all those hours of study (not to mention those dollars spent on paid apps) are going to go to waste if everything you&#8217;ve learned is just going to flow out of your head like water from a squeezed sponge. (This is partly why I don&#8217;t like the &#8220;absorbing new knowledge like a sponge&#8221; analogy for learning anything, but I digress.)<\/p>\n<p>As you may have already guessed, you can head over to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/spanish\/spanish-quiz\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Spanish quiz websites<\/a> and <strong>get your fill of test materials<\/strong> there. Some of them are from respected organizations like the <a href=\"https:\/\/test.cambridgeinstitute.net\/test-nivel-espanol-es\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Cambridge Institute<\/a>, while others like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sporcle.com\/games\/subcategory\/spanish\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sporcle<\/a>\u2014well, let&#8217;s just say they don&#8217;t take themselves too seriously, but they&#8217;re no less educational!<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"p4\">10. Get a Study Buddy<\/h2>\n<p class=\"p4\">When you&#8217;re engaged in an endeavor as time-consuming as language learning (even when you&#8217;re using apps and such), it&#8217;s easy to get demotivated along the way.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\">One way to keep yourself on track is by <strong>finding someone who wants to learn Spanish as much as you do.<\/strong> Sharing activities, knowledge and quizzes with each other will help you both stay engaged, motivated and committed to learning. Luckily, Spanish is the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.voanews.com\/a\/america-s-most-popular-2nd-languages-might-surprise-you-\/6903851.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">most popular second language in the United States<\/a>, meaning you won&#8217;t have a hard time finding a study buddy or a native Spanish speaker who also knows some English.<\/p>\n<p>If you can&#8217;t meet your study buddy in person, you can also check out websites like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.meetup.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Meetup<\/a> where you can find like-minded people in your area to study with. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/foreign-language-penpal\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">International penpal sites<\/a> like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.interpals.net\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">InterPals<\/a> (which allow you to choose which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/spanish\/what-countries-speak-spanish\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Spanish-speaking country<\/a> you want your penpal to be from) are also a good idea. Having a native speaker to write back and forth with is very valuable for language learning, after all.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\">Now that you&#8217;ve got all of these new ideas brewing in your head, it&#8217;s time to make a plan for yourself. By using these ideas and maybe even a few more that you&#8217;ve come up with, Spanish words will be pouring out of your mouth in no time.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\">Contrary to popular belief, learning Spanish vocabulary can actually be fun, free and easy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\">So, hop to it and <em>buena suerte<\/em>!<\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><h2>And One More Thing\u2026<\/h2>\r\n<p>\r\nIf you\u2019re like me and prefer learning Spanish on your own time, from the comfort of your smart device, I\u2019ve got something you\u2019ll love.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<p>\r\nWith <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">FluentU<\/a>\u2019s Chrome Extension, you can turn any YouTube or Netflix video with subtitles into an interactive language lesson. That means you can <strong>learn from real-world content<\/strong>, just as native speakers actually use it. \r\n<\/p>\r\n<p>\r\nYou can even import your favorite YouTube videos into your FluentU account. If you\u2019re not sure where to start, check out our <strong>curated library of videos<\/strong> that are handpicked for beginners and intermediate learners, as you can see here:\r\n<\/p>\r\n<p>\r\n<a data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/try\/april-sale-3331\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1234 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/FluentU-Spanish-video-library-on-app.jpg\" alt=\"fluentu-spanish-video-library\" width=\"320\" height=\"569\" \/><\/a><\/p>\r\n<p>\r\nFluentU brings native Spanish videos within reach. With <strong>interactive captions<\/strong>, you can tap on any word to see an image, definition, pronunciation, and useful examples.\r\n<\/p><p>\r\n<a data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/try\/april-sale-3331\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-19339\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/FluentU-Friends-in-Spanish-Interactive-Subtitles.jpg\" alt=\"learn-spanish-with-interactive-subtitled-videos\" width=\"600\" height=\"390\" \/><\/a><\/p>\r\n<p>\r\nYou can even see other videos where the word is used in a different context. For example, if I tap on the word \"puerta,\" this is what pops up:\r\n<\/p><p>\r\n<a data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/try\/april-sale-3331\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-19339\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/FluentU_vocab_puerta.jpg\" alt=\"learn-new-words-with-interactive-subtitles\" width=\"320\" height=\"569\" \/><\/a><\/p>\r\n<p>\r\nWant to make sure you really remember what you've learned? We\u2019ve got you covered. <strong>Practice and reinforce the vocab from each video<\/strong> with learn mode. Swipe to see more examples of the word you\u2019re learning, and play mini-games with our dynamic flashcards.\r\n<\/p><p>\r\n<a data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/try\/april-sale-3331\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1236 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Fluentu-spanish-vocab-quiz-in-app.jpg\" alt=\"fluentu-spanish-vocab-quiz\" width=\"600\" height=\"390\" \/><\/a><\/p>\r\n<p>\r\nThe best part? FluentU tracks everything you\u2019re learning and uses that to create <strong>a personalized experience just for you<\/strong>. You\u2019ll get extra practice with tricky words and even be reminded when it\u2019s time to review\u2014so nothing slips through the cracks.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<p>\r\n\tStart using the FluentU website on your computer or tablet or, better yet, download our app from the <a href=\"https:\/\/apps.apple.com\/us\/app\/fluentu-learn-language-videos\/id917892175\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">App Store<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/apps\/details?id=com.fluentflix.fluentu&amp;hl=en&amp;gl=US\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Google Play<\/a>.<\/p><p><a data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/try\/april-sale-3331\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)<\/a>\r\n<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Many people have the basics of Spanish down, but when it comes to actually using the language, they find themselves at a loss for words.\u00a0That&#8217;s because new learners often make&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":147,"featured_media":144607,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"slim_seo":{"title":"The 10 Best Ways to Learn Spanish Vocabulary (From a Language Learner) | FluentU Spanish Blog","description":"The best ways to learn Spanish vocabulary don't have to be tedious. Uncover the 10 secrets of learning Spanish vocabulary words in the most efficient and engaging ways. Read this blog to see what vocabulary you should be learning in the first place, and learn some extremely effective (and fun) ways to study them."},"footnotes":""},"categories":[598,590],"tags":[],"coauthors":[776],"class_list":["post-144606","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-how-to-learn-spanish","category-spanish"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144606","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/147"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=144606"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144606\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":234968,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144606\/revisions\/234968"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/144607"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=144606"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=144606"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=144606"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=144606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}