{"id":144884,"date":"2023-03-09T08:40:31","date_gmt":"2023-03-09T13:40:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/english-words-used-in-spanish\/"},"modified":"2025-06-13T02:47:43","modified_gmt":"2025-06-13T06:47:43","slug":"english-words-used-in-spanish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/spanish\/english-words-used-in-spanish\/","title":{"rendered":"68 Common English Words Used in Spanish"},"content":{"rendered":"

You’re speaking Spanish with native speakers, and all of sudden something odd happens. There’s a strangely familiar word<\/a> that sounds distinctly un-Spanish<\/strong>.\u00a0The reason for this is that Spanish has borrowed a number of words from English.<\/p>\n

So while you may learn idioms<\/a>,\u00a0travel phrases<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0restaurant vocabulary<\/a>\u00a0for your impending trip, and you may even know\u00a0slang to sound like a true Argentine<\/a>, Mexican<\/a> or Spaniard<\/a>, you can also actually use some familiar English-language words while speaking Spanish.<\/p>\n

[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Fashion and Lifestyle<\/strong>\"man-wearing-a-tuxedo\"<\/a><\/h2>\n

1. Panty<\/em> \/ Panti<\/em> <\/h3>\n

While this word will look familiar to English speakers, it actually has a slightly different meaning from its English counterpart. In Spanish, panty\u00a0<\/em>or\u00a0panti<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>actually refers to pantyhose or tights.<\/p>\n

2. Smoking<\/em> \/ Esmoquin<\/em> <\/h3>\n

In English, “smoking” is a verb, but in Spanish it’s a noun.\u00a0Smoking\u00a0<\/em>or\u00a0esmoquin\u00a0<\/em>refers to a tuxedo or dinner jacket. Need an easy way to remember this? Think of the English term “smoking jacket.”<\/p>\n

3. Nylon<\/em> \u00a0\/ Nailon <\/em><\/h3>\n

Both spellings refer to the synthetic fabric.<\/p>\n

4. Piercing<\/em> <\/h3>\n

Though it’s sometimes known as a perforaci\u00f3n<\/em> ,\u00a0<\/em>the word piercing<\/em> is often used to refer to\u2014you guessed it\u2014a piercing of any shape, size or on any body part.<\/p>\n

Sports<\/strong>\"person-standing-on-a-soccer-ball\"<\/a><\/h2>\n

5. F\u00fatbol<\/em> <\/h3>\n

Taken from the English word “football,” this word is used to refer to soccer (or what everyone everywhere, aside from people in the U.S.A., calls “football”).<\/p>\n

6. B\u00e1squetbol<\/em> <\/h3>\n

While it’s sometimes called baloncesto<\/em> , which uses the natural Spanish word for ball (bal\u00f3n <\/em>)\u00a0and basket (cesto <\/em>), basketball is also known as\u00a0b\u00e1squetbol\u00a0<\/em>throughout Latin America.<\/p>\n

7. Tenis<\/em> <\/h3>\n

No surprises here.\u00a0Tenis\u00a0<\/em>means “tennis.” Be sure to place the emphasis on the second syllable (tenis<\/strong>) <\/em>in\u00a0Spanish.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

8. Hockey<\/em> <\/h3>\n

This is another straightforward one.\u00a0Hockey\u00a0<\/em>means “hockey” in both Spanish and English.<\/p>\n

9. Rugby<\/em> <\/h3>\n

This is identical in meaning and spelling\u2014but not in pronunciation, of course\u2014in both Spanish and English.<\/p>\n

10. Waterpolo<\/em> <\/h3>\n

Here’s a twist. Waterpolo\u00a0<\/em>is the Spanish equivalent of our “water polo.” Note the slight difference in spacing. Captivating, no?<\/p>\n

11. Golf<\/em> <\/h3>\n

Yes, golf is still golf.<\/p>\n

12. Surf<\/em> <\/h3>\n

While the English word “surf” is usually used as a verb to refer to the sport, in Spanish, surf\u00a0<\/em>is actually a noun referring to the sport, so it’s more similar in meaning to the English word “surfing.”<\/p>\n

13. Footing<\/em> <\/h3>\n

In English, “footing” usually refers to the placement of your feet. However, in Spanish, it’s a noun meaning “jogging.”<\/p>\n

14. Spinning<\/em> <\/h3>\n

This indoor cycling is exhausting in either language.<\/p>\n

15. Gol<\/em> <\/h3>\n

Gol\u00a0<\/em>means “goal.”<\/p>\n

Check out this post for a full overview of sports vocabulary in Spanish:\u00a0<\/p>\n

Common Spanish Sports Vocabulary<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n