A Spanish flag flies over Madrid

160+ Advanced Spanish Vocabulary Words to Propel You to Super Fluency

Advanced Spanish vocabulary is composed of words you don’t use every day. But they’re highly specific words that make you sound super fluent.

They’re often obscure or technical, but necessary to be exact. You have to put forth a bit more effort to learn them.

But it’s worth it, because after learning these words, you’ll grow your vocabulary enormously and expand the scope of your Spanish knowledge.

You’ll improve your comprehension and be able to describe things in greater detail.

Now, onto the vocabulary!

Contents

Herramientas — Tools

advanced spanish vocabulary

Now, I like to think that I know my way around a toolbox, but when my husband told me I had to assemble the cute, new coffee table…well, all of a sudden a drill was a complicated device. I couldn’t even imagine going into a hardware store and navigating all those options in Spanish!

Here are some tools that’ll help you next time you want to start a home improvement project.

Animales — Animals

A gecko on a fence

My daughter and I go to the zoo every now and then and I have to do something to entertain myself as she runs around. I started looking at the animals differently thinking of how I would describe them.

I knew the words for “pig” and “tiger,” but did I know the words for snout and paw? Now I do!

To learn over 100 more animals in Spanish, read this:

Partes del Cuerpo — Body Parts

Model of a human body

Some of the first things you learn to name in Spanish are the basic body parts: eyes, ears, mouth, nose, etc. But can you really describe all of your body as easily in Spanish as you can in English?

To learn even more body parts in Spanish, check out this post:

Al Aire Libre — Outdoors

The view of mountains out a tent door

I really love spending time outdoors. Camping and boating are a lot of fun—well, anything outside is a lot of fun. But when I go camping I’m usually with my English-speaking family and don’t have to speak Spanish, so I found that this was an area in which my vocabulary was seriously suffering. Let’s look beyond “tree” and “flower” and really dig into some words that’ll help you on your next camp out.

Now you’re all set for fun in the sun! Don’t forget to pack the sunblock and the mosquito repellent.

Oficina — Office

People working in an office

Oh, the office. There are so many different objects that are in the common office. Surprisingly, you may not have already covered these in your Spanish practice. These little odds and ends just always seem to slip through the cracks. Let’s learn the words for some of these objects.

Next time you need a break from answering phones or filing papers, take some time to learn the words of other office supplies.

Jardín — Garden

A garden pathway in summer

Gardens are always fun and relaxing. It’s amazing to see something grow from a little seed into an amazingly delicious tomato or watermelon. A little bit of dirt under your fingernails and a little bit of sunshine on your face is good for the soul. Here are some words that’ll help you connect with nature out in the garden.

Next time you are at the nursery looking for gardening tools, this list will help you. Something I didn’t include, but that you should check out, are words of plants and flowers. Plus now you have new words to add to your ever expanding Spanish vocabulary!

Verbos — Verbs

A man playing a guitar

Verbs are my favorite words because they describe movement. Here’s a cool selection of advanced Spanish verbs I’ve picked up lately.

For a lot more advanced Spanish verbs, check out this post:

Emociones — Emotions

Three happy women in a sunflower field

From feeling ecstatic to feeling down in the dumps, there’s a Spanish word for every emotion it seems.

To learn more Spanish feelings and emotions, check out this post:

Adjectivos — Adjectives

Luxurious fashion items laid out on a bed

After verbs, adjectives are my favorite class of words because they’re just so specific. Here are some of my favorite advanced Spanish adjectives.

To learn more advanced Spanish adjectives, click over to this post:

Política — Politics

Politicians work in a parliament hall

If you follow politics, you know that they use some pretty advanced vocabulary. Here are some good ones.

Otras Palabras — Other Words

A woman crossing her fingers hopefully

As I was putting together this post, I came across a few other words that don’t really fit well into a single category. Here are a few other words that could be handy to have lying around in your brain. Several of these are verbs, which is nothing but good. 

See, isn’t vocabulary so much fun?

Before you know it, all of your existing Spanish boxes will be totally full and spilling over—but never stop looking for new words to learn. There’s always more vocabulary to add to your already expanding Spanish knowledge. Don’t get discouraged or overwhelmed, just take it one word at a time.

Now that you’ve seen the advanced Spanish vocabulary that I’ve found most useful, go out and create your own lists!

Go to a store and walk around. I recommend somewhere huge like Wal-Mart. As you walk up and down the aisles, try to name absolutely everything you see in Spanish. If you don’t know the word, write it down on a pad.

When you get home, look it up and write it down next to the English word, or plug it into your vocabulary lists on the FluentU language learning program.

Your vocabulary skills will start to explode!

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.

Other sites use scripted content. FluentU uses a natural approach that helps you ease into the Spanish language and culture over time. You’ll learn Spanish as it’s actually spoken by real people.

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

learn-spanish-with-videos

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.

learn-spanish-with-interactive-subtitled-videos

Review a complete interactive transcript under the Dialogue tab, and find words and phrases listed under Vocab.

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Learn all the vocabulary in any video with FluentU’s robust learning engine. Swipe left or right to see more examples of the word you’re on.

learn-spanish-with-music-videos

The best part is that FluentU keeps track of the vocabulary that you’re learning, and gives you extra practice with difficult words. It'll even remind you when it’s time to review what you’ve learned. Every learner has a truly personalized experience, even if they’re learning with the same video.

Start using the FluentU website on your computer or tablet or, better yet, download the FluentU app from the iTunes or Google Play store. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)

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