Have you ever noticed that there are several types of words that are capitalized in English but not in Spanish? Today's lesson will point out nine such categories where there is a discrepancy in capitalization between English and Spanish.
While the names of the days of the week must be capitalized in English, the same is not so of the days of the week in Spanish, whose first letters are lowercase. Let's take a look:
Voy a una academia de baile los martes y los jueves.
I go to a dance academy on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Caption 15, Ariana Mi Semana
Play Caption
The same can be said for the names of the months in Spanish, which are written in all lowercase letters in contrast to their capitalized English counterparts. This is demonstrated in the following clip:
sobre todo en los meses de diciembre, enero, febrero e incluso en mayo.
especially in the months of December, January, February, and even in May.
Caption 27, Mercado de San Miguel Misael
Play Caption
Although English capitalizes the names of languages, Spanish does not:
Bueno, yo hablo español, inglés y estoy aprendiendo alemán.
Well, I speak Spanish, English, and I'm learning German.
Captions 19-20, Cleer y Lida ¿Qué idiomas hablas?
Play Caption
Words that refer to someone or something's nationality do not start with a capital letter in Spanish as they do in English. Included in this category are both demonyms, or Spanish adjectives of nationality, and Spanish nouns that refer to the inhabitants of a particular nation. Let's see examples of each:
y puedas decir, "Este artista es colombiano, este es un artista brasilero", es decir,
and can say, "This artist is Colombian, this is a Brazilian artist," I mean,
Captions 69-70, Leonardo Rodriguez Sirtori Una vida como pintor - Part 5
Play Caption
Antes de la llegada de los españoles, existían cientos de diferentes culturas.
Prior to the arrival of the Spaniards, there were hundreds of different cultures.
Caption 8, Historia mexicana Cultura y la unión de dos mundos
Play Caption
As we see below, this group includes the names of religions, their respective adjectives, and the nouns that describe their adherents.
y que se utilizó para simbolizar el triunfo del cristianismo sobre la fe musulmana.
and was employed as a symbol of the triumph of Christianity over the Muslim faith.
Captions 61-62, Viajando con Fermín Sevilla - Part 2
Play Caption
España recibió más de treinta y cinco mil judíos,
Spain received more than thirty-five thousand Jews,
Caption 27, Víctor en España El Hotel Palace de Barcelona
Play Caption
When preceding a last name and/or addressing a specific person, English words like "mister" or "doctor" must be capitalized. The equivalent titles in Spanish, however, are written in all lowercase letters, as we see here:
Vamos a escuchar a la doctora Consejos y a su paciente Adrián
Let's listen to Doctor Advice and her patient Adrián
Caption 2, El Aula Azul La Doctora Consejos: Por y para
Play Caption
Por supuesto, señora Castaño.
Of course, Ms. Castaño.
Caption 24, Cleer y Lida Recepción de hotel
Play Caption
In English, most of the words of the titles of original compositions like books, films, songs, articles, or works of art are capitalized, with the notable exceptions of words like prepositions and coordinating conjunctions. In Spanish, on the other hand, only the first word of a title is capitalized, for example, the famed novel Cien años de soledad, which is written in English "One Hundred Years of Solitude." Let's see one more:
Para ello, el artista pintó un gran fresco titulado "El juicio final",
To do so, the artist painted a large fresco called "The Last Judgment,"
Caption 32, Aprendiendo con Carlos El microrrelato - Part 4
Play Caption
All of the words of proper nouns for specific geographical place names in English, like the Andes Mountains or Lake Titicaca, must be capitalized. In Spanish, however, the first words of these proper nouns are lowercase, e.g., la cordillera de los Andes and el lago Titicaca. Let's look at more examples:
y es atravesada por el río Cauca.
and is crossed by the Cauca River.
Caption 17, Viajando con Carlos Popayán - Colombia - Part 1
Play Caption
en el océano Pacífico y en el mar Caribe.
in the Pacific Ocean and in the Caribbean Sea.
Caption 46, Instinto de conservación Parque Tayrona - Part 4
Play Caption
Although the first person singular personal pronoun "I" is always written with a capital letter in English, its Spanish equivalent yo is not, as we can see here:
No, pueden llorar, pero yo tengo que trabajar.
No, you can cry, but I have to work.
Caption 9, La Sucursal del Cielo Capítulo 2 - Part 8
Play Caption
That's all for today. We hope that this lesson has helped to clarify several of the classes of words that should not be capitalized in Spanish, some of which might seem a bit counterintuitive to English speakers. Can you think of any additional cases in which Spanish and English capitalization are different? Feel free to write us with any questions or comments.
Surely "you're" familiar with "contractions" in English, or shorter words formed by combining two or more words, dropping one or more letter, and adding an apostrophe (for example, "you're" from "you are" in this sentence). But do you know about contractions in Spanish? Interestingly, while there are close to 100 contractions in English, in Spanish, there are only two (and no apostrophes are required!). Let's learn what they are and how to use them.
In short, the Spanish contraction al is used whenever the preposition a (at, to, etc.) is followed by the masculine definite article el (the). While the scenarios in which this takes place are too numerous to name, let's take a look at several of the most common ones with examples from our Yabla Spanish video library.
Al in this case is usually translated as "to the" in English.
Siempre voy al mercado cuando no tengo ingredientes.
I always go to the market when I don't have ingredients.
Caption 10, Ariana Cena especial
Play Caption
This is the equivalent of the English "at the."
Puede tomar el ascensor que está al final del pasillo a la izquierda
You can take the elevator that is at the end of the hall on the left
Caption 57, Cleer y Lida Recepción de hotel
Play Caption
Since the preposition a is an essential part of certain verbs such as acostumbrarse a (to get used to), asistir a (to attend), jugar a ("to play" something), and many more, a becomes al when a masculine definite article follows.
Los viernes, juego al fútbol con mis amigas.
On Fridays, I play soccer with my friends.
Caption 21, Ariana Mi Semana
Play Caption
As the preposition a is required prior to people who function as the objects of sentences in Spanish, a likewise becomes al in the presence of the masculine definite article.
y ya le pedí al chef que la comida fuese vegetariana
and I already asked the chef for the food to be vegetarian
Caption 55, Programación de oficina El dictado del jefe
Play Caption
In this usage, al is typically employed with the other Spanish contraction del (from the) to describe the end point of something, for example, a range.
Estos son los números del uno al cien.
These are the numbers from one to a hundred.
Caption 44, El Aula Azul Los Números del 1-100
Play Caption
This second Spanish contraction is formed by combining the preposition de (of, from, about, by, etc.) with the masculine singular definite article el when one follows another in a sentence. Let's see some of the many common situations in which you might find it.
This describes the point of origin from which something leaves.
También para cuando salimos del agua, eh...
[It's] also for when we come out of the water, um...
Caption 36, Ana Teresa Yoga y surf
Play Caption
This describes where someone or something originates or comes from.
La mayoría de la gente viene del Pacífico
Most of the people come from the Pacific,
Caption 2, La Sucursal del Cielo Capítulo 2 - Part 4
Play Caption
This is used like 's in English to indicate ownership when what is owned is preceded by el.
Yago, pero ese caballo es del patrón. Se va a calentar, ¡Yago!
Yago, but that's the master's horse. He's going to get mad, Yago!
Caption 35, Yago 1 La llegada - Part 1
Play Caption
Like a, de is a part of certain Spanish verbs like acordarse de (to remember), olvidarse de (to forget), and depender de (to depend on) and thus changes to del when el is present.
¿Te acuerdas del atraco en el banco?
Do you remember the stickup at the bank?
Caption 54, Los casos de Yabla El examen - Part 1
Play Caption
The contraction del might be used when el follows any of the numerous prepositional phrases that contain the word de (e.g. después de, antes de, a partir de, etc.).
El contrato empieza a correr a partir del próximo mes.
The lease starts to run starting from next month.
Caption 26, Ricardo La compañera de casa - Part 2
Play Caption
As we mentioned in the section regarding al, al and del are often used together when describing a range, with del indicating its beginning.
Cogí unos días libres del veinte al veintiséis de abril".
I took a few days off from April twentieth to twenty-sixth."
Caption 26, Aprendiendo con Silvia Horas, fechas y períodos de tiempo - Part 3
Play Caption
Now that you have learned a plethora of situations in which you should employ the Spanish contractions al and del, you should be aware of some others in which you should not use them.
Note that when any other definite article (la, las, or los) comes after the word a or de, no contraction is formed.
el corazón envía más sangre a las piernas
the heart sends more blood to the legs
Caption 31, Aprendiendo con Silvia Las emociones - Part 12
Play Caption
Don't use a Spanish contraction when the word el is part of a proper noun. Carlos sums this up perfectly:
No decimos "el Presidente del Salvador", sino "el Presidente de El Salvador".
We don't say "el Presidente del Salvador," but rather "el Presidente de El Salvador" [the President of El Salvador].
Captions 46-47, Carlos explica Geografía y gentilicios
Play Caption
The Spanish contractions al and del must not be used when what follows a or de is the accented form, or Spanish subject pronoun él (which means "he," "him," or "it" rather than "the").
Ahora, Lukas, todo el mundo se enamora de él.
Now, Lukas, everybody falls in love with him.
Caption 51, Amaya La historia de Lukas
Play Caption
That's all for today. We hope that this lesson has helped you to know when and when not to use the two Spanish contractions al and del, and don't forget to write us with your questions and comments.
The Spanish future tense is one of the most straightforward tenses in Spanish, both in terms of knowing when to use it and how to conjugate it. Let's take a closer look at this tense.
The future tense in Spanish corresponds to the English construction with "will" plus a verb and is used to talk about actions that are slated to happen in the future or that someone has the intention to carry out. Simple English examples of this concept include: "Tomorrow, I will go to the store," or "Next week, it will rain." With this in mind, let's examine several examples of the future tense in Spanish:
y hoy les hablaré de una de mis pasiones:
and today, I'll talk to you about one of my passions:
Caption 4, Ana Carolina La meditación
Play Caption
Yo creo que esto lo venderemos súper bien.
I think we'll sell this one really well.
Caption 44, Santuario para burros Tienda solidaria
Play Caption
El botón [sic] la ayudará con su equipaje y lo subirá en un par de minutos a la habitación.
The porter will help you with your luggage and will take it up to the room in a couple of minutes.
Captions 61-62, Cleer y Lida Recepción de hotel
Play Caption
Note that as English "will" constructions are often expressed with contractions (the personal pronoun plus apostrophe double l, such as "I'll," "we'll," etc.), many Spanish future tense verbs can be translated to English in this less formal fashion.
Conjugating most verbs in the future tense in Spanish is quite simple. You just take the verb's infinitive ("to" form) in its entirety and add the corresponding future tense ending. So, using the verbs in our previous examples, we'd start with their infinitive forms: hablar (to talk), vender (to sell), ayudar (to help), and subir (to take up). You will note that these infinitive verbs fall into all three infinitive verb categories: -ar, -er, and -ir.
Step two of the process of conjugating Spanish future tense verbs is to memorize the quite simple endings that correspond to their personal pronouns, which are as follows:
| Personal Pronoun: | Ending: |
|---|---|
| Yo: | -é |
| Tú: | -ás |
| Él/ella/usted: | -á |
| Nosotros/nosotras: | -emos |
| Vosotros/vosotras: | -éis |
| Ellos/ellas/ustedes: | -án |
Armed with this information, let's conjugate some future tense verbs using different verbs and personal pronouns than the examples above.
1. Suppose we want to say that more than one person "will see" something (with the personal pronoun ustedes, or plural "you"). We would take the infinitive verb ver (to see) and add the appropriate ending (-án) to get verán:
Mañana ustedes verán si nos... si nos medimos a ese, a ese reto.
Tomorrow you guys will see if we... if we measure up to that, to that challenge.
Captions 36-37, Festivaliando Mono Núñez - Part 13
Play Caption
2. Now, let's imagine that you want to tell more than one person in a familiar environment what they'll "need." Oh— and you're in Spain, where the personal pronouns vosotros/as are the way to address more than one person as "you" informally. We'd take the verb for "to need" (necesitar) and the corresponding ending -éis to get necesitaréis:
Para empezar a hacer la tortilla española, necesitaréis los siguientes ingredientes:
To start to make the Spanish tortilla, you'll need the following ingredients:
Captions 8-9, Clara cocina Una tortilla española
Play Caption
3. And finally, what if you would like to say with the tú (informal "you") form to someone what he or she "will discover"? You'd start with the verb descubrir (to discover) and add the -ás ending that goes with tú to get descubrirás:
Pronto lo descubrirás
Soon you'll discover it
Caption 68, X6 1 - La banda - Part 2
Play Caption
As with all Spanish verb tenses, there are some irregular verbs in the future tense in Spanish, many of which are extremely common. That said, it would behoove you to memorize the following stems, which are used in lieu of these verbs' infinitives to conjugate the "top twelve" irregular future tense verbs in Spanish:
| Irregular Verb: | Stem: |
|---|---|
| caber (to fit): | cabr- |
| decir (to tell): | dir- |
| haber (to have/be): | habr- |
| hacer (to make/do): | har- |
| poder (to be able): | podr- |
| poner (to put): | pondr- |
| querer (to want): | querr- |
| saber (to know): | sabr- |
| salir (to leave): | saldr- |
| tener (to have): | tendr- |
| valer (to be worth): | valdr- |
| venir (to come): | vendr- |
Now, let's conjugate a few of these irregular Spanish future tense verbs:
1. How would we express "I'll say" in Spanish? Rather than the infinitive, we'd take the aforementioned stem for the Spanish verb decir, -dir, and add the ending that corresponds with yo (I), or -é, to get diré:
Primero, diré el verbo en infinitivo,
First, I'll say the verb in the infinitive,
Caption 38, Carlos explica El modo imperativo 1: Tú + vos
Play Caption
2. How would we say "you'll have" in Spanish? Take the stem of the irregular verb tener (to have), tendr-, and add the ending for tú (you), -ás, to get: tendrás.
Sí, después de las clases en grupo, tendrás media hora de descanso
Yes, after the group classes, you'll have a half hour break
Caption 27, El Aula Azul Las actividades de la escuela - Part 1
Play Caption
3. And finally, what if want to express that "we'll be able" to do something? We'll take podr-, the stem for the verb for "to be able" (poder), and add the ending for nosotros/as, -emos, to come up with podremos:
Con un poco de práctica, podremos aprender estas reglas muy fácilmente.
With a bit of practice, we will be able to learn these rules very easily.
Caption 55, Carlos explica Acentuación Cap. 3: La división en sílabas - Part 1
Play Caption
Although the translations for Spanish verbs conjugated in the Spanish future tense almost always involve the word "will," the future tense in Spanish can occasionally be used to express doubt or disbelief, and, in such cases, corresponds more closely with the English concepts of "would," "could," "might," or "may." Such cases are typically quite clear from their contexts as inserting the word "will" would seem nonsensical. Let's take a look at a couple of examples:
¿No tendrás unos pesitos para mí?
You wouldn't have a few pesos for me?
Caption 23, Muñeca Brava 8 Trampas - Part 14
Play Caption
Favio, ¿dónde estarás?
Favio, where could you be?
Caption 44, Yago 1 La llegada - Part 7
Play Caption
Having said that, in the vast majority of the cases you will come across, the future tense in Spanish can be translated with "will."
We hope you've enjoyed this lesson on the future tense in Spanish. If you are interested in verb tenses, we recommend you check out our lessons on all of the Spanish verb tenses, beginning with the indicative verb tenses in Spanish and moving on to the Spanish subjunctive tenses. And, for an even deeper look into the future tense in Spanish with a plethora of example sentences, we recommend you check out this extended lesson by Javi on the future tense in Spanish as well as this lesson on an alternative to the Spanish future tense.
That's all for today! Don't forget to leave us your suggestions and comments, and estaremos en contacto (we'll be in touch).
If you are learning Spanish, you know that the hard, rolled sound of the letter 'r' in Spanish is one of the most challenging sounds to master. In this lesson, we will review some of the rules you should keep in mind when writing that sound. Let's take a look.
When it comes to pronunciation, there are two types of 'r' sounds in Spanish: the soft, simple 'r' sound and the hard, rolled 'r' sound. Let's listen to these two sounds in the following clip from our friend, Amaya:
Viajo con mi perro, como habéis visto antes.
I travel with my dog, as you've seen before.
Pero además, lo que hago es que intento aprovechar...
But additionally, what I do is that I try to take advantage of...
Captions 16-17, Amaya - El Refugio del Burrito
Play Caption
As you can see, the word perro (dog) is pronounced with the hard, rolled 'r' sound, while the word pero (but) is pronounced with the soft 'r' sound. In order to indicate the pronunciation of that rolled ‘r’ sound between two vowels, the ‘rr’ (double ‘r’) must be utilized. Let's look at some more words that follow this rule:
Tras la guerra con Napoleón.
After the war with Napoleon.
Caption 64, Marisa en Madrid - Parque de El Retiro
Play Caption
¿Ha venido en carro?
Have you come in a car?
Caption 64, Cleer y Lida - Recepción de hotel
Play Caption
Mi barrio no es muy grande.
My neighborhood is not very big.
Caption 2, El Aula Azul - Mi Barrio
Play Caption
Furthermore, it is important to note that words that begin with "r" also have this hard, rolled 'r' sound despite being written with the regular (not double) 'r.' Let's listen to some examples:
Encima del río hay un puente.
Over the river there's a bridge.
Caption 20, El Aula Azul - Mi Barrio
Play Caption
Se oyó un ruido atronador.
A thunderous noise was heard.
Caption 43, Aprendiendo con Carlos - América precolombina - El mito de Bochica
Play Caption
Miren, hablando del Rey de Roma.
Look, speak of the devil (literally "the King of Rome").
Caption 60, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa - Capítulo 5
Play Caption
An important rule of thumb is to double the regular ‘r’ to ‘rr’ in cases where an element ending in a vowel is combined with a word that begins with "r.” This occurs very often with words that are formed with prefixes. Let's look at an example:
...como es la contrarreloj y trabajos de intensidad.
...like the time trial and high intensity workouts.
Caption 20, Semilleros Escarabajos - Capítulo 1
Play Caption
In the example above, we have a word that is comprised of the prefix contra- (counter-) and the noun reloj (clock). As you can see, the prefix ends in a vowel, and the noun starts with 'r'. Since we want to keep the hard 'r' sound of the word reloj, we must double the 'r', and our new word must thus be written as contrarreloj (rather than contrareloj). In summary, in order to keep the hard 'r' sound between the two vowels, the 'r' must be doubled to 'rr.'
Let's take a look at some additional words that follow this rule:
Contrarreforma (Counter-Reformation): contra- + reforma
microrrelato (flash fiction): micro- + relato
pararrayos (lightning rod): para + rayos
That's all for today. We invite you to keep these rules in mind when writing that hard, rolled 'r' sound in Spanish. And don't forget to send us your comments and suggestions. ¡Hasta la próxima!
How well do you know the Spanish alphabet? Do you know how many letters are in the Spanish alphabet? What about the number of consonants and vowels that are part of it? This lesson answers these questions and provides a series of audio clips that will help you to learn the letters and improve the pronunciation of the Spanish alphabet. Let's take a look.
Believe it or not, there are actually two words in Spanish that we use to talk about the alphabet. While the most literal translation would be the word alfabeto, you can also use the word abecedario when referring to the Spanish alphabet. In fact, and according to the Real Academia Española (RAE), these two words are synonyms.
There are 27 letters in the Spanish alphabet. But do you know how many of those letters are consonants and how many vowels are in the Spanish alphabet? The answer is very simple. In the Spanish alphabet there are 22 consonants and 5 vowels (a, e, i, o, u). Let’s go over all the Spanish alphabet letters with the following 27 words:
A as in agua (water)
¿También tienes agua?
Do you have water too?
Caption 35, Conversaciones en el parque - Cap. 2: Cafe y bocadillos
Play Caption
B as in burro (donkey)
El burro es un animal ideal para este tipo de actividades.
The donkey is an ideal animal for this kind of activity.
Caption 71, Rosa - Yoga con burros
Play Caption
C as in coche (car)
Hoy, voy en coche porque hace mucho frío.
Today, I'm going by car because it's very cold.
Caption 16, Ariana - Cena especial
Play Caption
D as in difícil (difficult)
Es muy difícil. -Muy complicado.
It's very difficult. -Very complicated.
Caption 31, Blanca y Mariona - Planificación de cena
Play Caption
E as in ellos (they)
Ellos se llevan muy bien.
They get along very well.
Caption 41, El Aula Azul - Mis Primos
Play Caption
F as in fácil (easy)
Basta, es muy fácil.
Enough, it's very easy.
Caption 72, Español para principiantes - Los números del 1 al 100
Play Caption
G as in gente (people)
Barcelona se llena de gente.
Barcelona fills up with people.
Caption 17, Blanca - Sobre la ciudad de Barcelona
Play Caption
H as in hotel (hotel)
El hotel también cuenta con un bar.
The hotel also has a bar.
Caption 73, Cleer y Lida - Recepción de hotel
Play Caption
I as in iglesia (church)
Esta iglesia fue construida en mil seiscientos ochenta y uno.
This church was built in sixteen eighty one.
Caption 14, Viajando con Carlos - Popayán - Colombia
Play Caption
J as in jamón (ham)
Fíjate: jamón, Javier.
Check it out: ham, Javier.
Caption 27, Fundamentos del Español - 10 - La Pronunciación
Play Caption
K as in kilo (kilo)
Reciclando un kilo de vidrio...
[By] recycling a kilo of glass...
Caption 70, 3R - Campaña de reciclaje - Part 1
Play Caption
L as in lago (lake)
Hay un lago.
There is a lake.
Caption 11, Natalia de Ecuador - Los adverbios de orden
Play Caption
M as in mercado (market)
...y están presentes en el mercado internacional.
...and are present in the international market.
Caption 73, Europa Abierta - Champagne en Andalucía
Play Caption
N as in nunca (never)
Nadie, nada, nunca.
Nobody, nothing, never.
Caption 21, Fundamentos del Español - 5 - La Negación
Play Caption
Ñ as in the middle of the word niño (boy)
La frase, el niño quiere el juguete.
The sentence, "the boy wants the toy."
Caption 17, Raquel - Diminutivos y aumentativos
Play Caption
O as in objeto (object)
...y "tendedero" es un objeto para la ropa
...and "tendedero" is an object for clothes
Caption 27, Karla e Isabel - Palabras
Play Caption
P as in parque (park)
Aquí en Parque Fundidora.
Here in Fundidora Park.
Caption 38, Paseando con Karen - Sitios Culturales en Parque Fundidora
Play Caption
Q as in queso (cheese)
Un vaso de leche y queso.
A glass of milk and cheese.
Caption 16, Recetas de Clara - Los aborrajados
Play Caption
R as in rápidamente (quickly)
Vamos a ver rápidamente una frase.
We are going to look quickly at a phrase.
Caption 2, Lecciones con Carolina - Esta noche vs anoche
Play Caption
S as in sal (salt)
Muchos mercaderes venían a recoger la sal.
Many merchants came to get the salt.
Caption 14, Rosa - Fuente de Piedra
Play Caption
T as in trabajo (job)
¿Qué trabajo es?
What job is it?
Caption 23, Sofy y Caro - Entrevistar para un trabajo
Play Caption
U as in universidad (university)
¿La biblioteca de la universidad?
The university library?
Caption 21, Español para principiantes - Hablando de ubicaciones
Play Caption
V as in viento (wind)
...y un viento muy fuerte nos arrastró a mar abierto.
...and a very strong wind dragged us out to the open sea.
Caption 21, Guillermina y Candelario - La Isla de las Serpientes
Play Caption
W as in wifi (wifi)
Tenemos también wifi y hay ordenadores disponibles.
We also have wifi and there are computers available.
Caption 20, El Aula Azul - Cursos y actividades de la escuela
Play Caption
X as in xilófono (xylophone)
Entonces, había una persona contando un cuento y él tocando un xilófono.
So, there was a person telling a story and he [was] playing a xylophone.
Caption 28, La Sub30 - Familias - Part 4
Play Caption
Y as in yuca (yucca)
Aquí tenemos la yuca.
Here we have the yucca.
Caption 7, Recetas de cocina - Carimañolas
Play Caption
Z as in zona (area)
Es la primera vez que vengo a esta zona de la ciudad.
It's the first time I've come to this area of the city.
Caption 8, Karla e Isabel - Alquilar una habitación
Play Caption
If you want to improve your pronunciation of the Spanish alphabet, please take a look at the following audio clips where Marta, one of our Spanish teachers, will teach you how to properly pronounce the Spanis alphabet letters:
A, be, ce, de, e,
A, b, c, d, e,
Caption 19, Fundamentos del Español - 1 - El Alfabeto
Play Caption
efe, ge, hache, i, jota,
f, g, h, i, j,
Caption 20, Fundamentos del Español - 1 - El Alfabeto
Play Caption
ka, ele, eme, ene, eñe,
k, l, m, n, ñ,
Caption 21, Fundamentos del Español - 1 - El Alfabeto
Play Caption
o, pe, cu, erre, ese,
o, p, q, r, s,
Caption 22, Fundamentos del Español - 1 - El Alfabeto
Play Caption
te, u, uve, uve doble,
t, u, v, w,
Caption 23, Fundamentos del Español - 1 - El Alfabeto
Play Caption
equis, i griega
x, y [literally: "Greek i"]
Caption 24, Fundamentos del Español - 1 - El Alfabeto
Play Caption
y zeta.
and z.
Caption 25, Fundamentos del Español - 1 - El Alfabeto
Play Caption
Keep in mind that you can also refer to the letter W as doble ve (double v) or doble u (double u). Similarly, you can also call the letter Y ye instead of i griega (Greek i).
That's it for now. If you feel like practicing a little bit more, try to write one word with each one of the 27 Spanish alphabet letters. And of course, don’t forget to send us your feedback and suggestions.
Are you ready to learn some hard Spanish words? Don’t worry! We don’t want to scare you but rather we would like to highlight some of the issues that transform even simple words into difficult ones. Let’s review the following list featuring 100 of the most difficult Spanish words for English speakers.
Pronunciation is definitely the issue to keep in mind when we talk about hard Spanish words. In fact, if you are a native English speaker, there are several sounds that are quite challenging. Let’s start with some of the most difficult words to pronounce in Spanish for English speakers. We have divided these words in groups according to the pronunciation challenge they represent.
For many foreigners, words with the letter “j” are some of the most difficult Spanish words to say. If you are an English speaker, you can try to say the “j” in Spanish as a very strong “h” in English. Think of how you pronounce the letter “h” in the word ham. Let’s take a look:
1. Ají (chili or bell pepper)
¿Ají?
"Ají" [chili pepper]?
Caption 37, Ricardo - La compañera de casa
Play Caption
2. Bajo (short)
Es bajo, es gordo.
He's short, he's fat.
Caption 33, El Aula Azul - Mis Primos
Play Caption
3. Caja (box)
...y ellos también mandaron una caja grandísima.
...and they also sent a huge box.
Caption 25, Diana Quintana - En Navidad regalemos una sonrisa
Play Caption
4. Anaranjado (orange)
Adentro, son de color anaranjado.
Inside, they are orange-colored.
Caption 13, Otavalo - Conozcamos el Mundo de las Frutas con Julia
Play Caption
5. Empujar (to push)
6. Equipaje (luggage)
¿Puedo dejar aquí mi equipaje?
Can I leave my luggage here?
Caption 59, Cleer y Lida - Recepción de hotel
Play Caption
7. Espantapájaros (scarecrow)
8. Cojear (to limp)
9. Injusticia (injustice)
10. Jamón (ham)
Fíjate: jamón, Javier.
Check it out: ham, Javier.
Caption 27, Fundamentos del Español - 10 - La Pronunciación
Play Caption
11. Jirafa (giraffe)
12. Jornada (day)
13. Jota (J - the sound of the letter J in Spanish)
14. Jugar (to play)
También podemos jugar a las cartas.
We can also play cards.
Caption 12, Clara y Cristina - Hablan de actividades
Play Caption
15. Junio (June)
16. Lujoso (luxurious)
17. Lejano (far, far away)
Érase una vez en un lejano reino, ahí vivía una joven niña.
Once upon a time in a faraway kingdom, there lived a young girl.
Caption 2, Cuentos de hadas - La Cenicienta
Play Caption
18. Majo (nice)
19. Mojado (wet)
20. Pájaro (bird)
21. Sonrojar (to blush)
22. Tajada (slice)
Just as it happens with the letter “j,”, there are several tricky words in Spanish with the letter “g”. What’s hard about this consonant is that there is a soft and a hard way to pronounce it. For example, you have a soft “g” in the word gato (cat). Think about the pronunciation of the syllable “ga” in the word gather. On the other hand, you have a hard “g” in the word gente (people), which is kind of similar to how you pronounce the “h” in the word helmet. Let’s see some tough Spanish words with the letter “g”:
23. Acogedor (cozy, welcoming)
Perfecto, porque es un barco muy marinero, muy acogedor para la gente.
Perfect, because it's a very seaworthy boat, very welcoming for the people.
Caption 16, La Gala - El bote de Dalí
Play Caption
24. Agente (agent)
25. Agitar (shake)
26. Aguja (needle)
27. Agujero (hole)
Tiene un cuerpo con un agujero en el centro.
It has a body with a hole in the center.
Caption 45, Karla e Isabel - Instrumentos musicales
Play Caption
28. Apagar (to turn off)
29. Coger (to take, to get)
El segundo paso es coger la cebolla.
The second step is to get the onion.
Caption 25, Clara cocina - Una tortilla española
Play Caption
30. Garganta (throat)
Me duele la garganta.
My throat hurts.
Caption 11, Ariana - Cita médica
Play Caption
31. General (general)
En general, los nombres acabados en "a" son femeninos.
In general, nouns ending in "a" are feminine.
Caption 10, Fundamentos del Español - 2 - Nombres y Género
Play Caption
32. Geneaología (genealogy)
33. Geología (geology)
34. Gigante (giant, gigantic)
Una de las piezas más llamativas es este ajedrez gigante.
One of the most appealing pieces is this gigantic chess board.
Caption 35, Europa Abierta - Taller de escenografía en Olivares
Play Caption
35. Ginecólogo (gynecologist)
36. Girasol (sunflower)
37. Guapo (handsome)
38. Juguetón (playful)
39. Tangible (tangible)
40. Tigre (tiger)
41. Zoológico (zoo)
There are plenty of tricky words in Spanish with the strong sound of the double “rr”. The following are some of them:
42. Aburrido (bored)
Ah, esto está muy aburrido, ni siquiera se entiende.
Oh, this is very boring, you can't even understand it.
Caption 24, Los Años Maravillosos - Capítulo 2
Play Caption
43. Carrera (career)
El presidente empezó su carrera política...
The president began his political career...
Caption 29, Lecciones con Carolina - El gerundio
Play Caption
44. Carretera (road)
45. Carro (car)
¿Ha venido en carro?
Have you come in a car?
Caption 64, Cleer y Lida - Recepción de hotel
Play Caption
46. Correr (to run)
47. Desarrollar (Develop)
Pero el reto era desarrollar proyectos de biomedicina.
But the challenge was to develop biomedical projects.
Caption 10, Club de las ideas - Lego Fest en Sevilla
Play Caption
48. Error (mistake)
Esto es un error.
This is a mistake.
Caption 21, Lecciones con Carolina - Errores comunes
Play Caption
49. Ferrocarril (railroad, train)
...en un carrito tipo ferrocarril tirado por un caballo.
...in a little train-like car pulled by a horse.
Caption 8, Mérida y sus alrededores - Haciendas de Cuzamá
Play Caption
50. Garrote (club)
51. Guerra (war)
La palabra más fea es guerra.
The ugliest word is war.
Caption 61, Karla e Isabel - Palabras
Play Caption
52. Guitarra (guitar)
53. Herradura (horseshoe)
54. Irresponsable (irresponsible)
55. Morral (backpack)
56. Ornitorrinco (platypus)
57. Perro (dog)
Se escucha un perro.
You can hear a dog.
Caption 43, Conversaciones en el parque - Cap. 2: Cafe y bocadillos
Play Caption
58. Puertorriqueño (Puerto Rican)
Without any doubt, words that have a syllable where the consonant “t” is followed by the consonant “r,” are some of the most difficult words for English speakers to pronounce in Spanish. If you want to improve this sound, please listen carefully to some of the audio clips we have included for the next set of words.
59. Abstracto (abstract)
60. Astronomía (astronomy)
61. Astrología (astrology)
...y voy a entender lo que es la astrología.
...and I am going to understand what astrology is.
Caption 60, Conversaciones con Luis - Astrología
Play Caption
62. Atracción (atraction)
Porque es en el centro... el sitio donde hay mayor atracción.
Because it's at the center... the place where there are more attractions.
Caption 21, Yabla en Lima - Miraflores
Play Caption
63. Cuatro (four)
Número cuatro: microscopio.
Number four: microscope.
Caption 19, Aprendiendo con Karen - Útiles escolares
Play Caption
64. Entretener (to entertain)
65. Entretenido (entertaining)
66. Patrón (patron)
67. Patrulla (patrol)
68. Petróleo (oil)
69. Poltrona (easy chair)
70. Potro (colt)
71. Tradicion (tradition)
Uno de los mitos más conocidos de la tradición indígena colombiana.
One of the best known myths of the indigenous Colombian tradition.
Caption 13, Aprendiendo con Carlos - América precolombina - Mitos y leyendas Muiscas
Play Caption
72. Traicionar (to betray)
73. Trampa (trap)
No, no, me tendió una trampa y yo caí.
No, no, she set a trap for me and I fell into it.
Caption 29, Muñeca Brava - 44 El encuentro
Play Caption
74. Treinta y tres (thirty-three)
Treinta y tres
Thirty-three
Caption 49, Español para principiantes - Los números del 1 al 100
Play Caption
75. Tres (three)
76. Trilogía (trilogy)
77. Triste
Estoy triste.
I am sad.
Caption 10, El Aula Azul - Estados de ánimo
Play Caption
78. Tronco (trunk)
Unlike English, Spanish vowels are very clearly defined. Five vowels equals five sounds, period. While that may sound simple, the problem is that English speakers are used to pronouncing vowels in many more different ways. Here are some hard Spanish words that highlight this challenge.
79. Aguacate (avocado)
Este es guacamole hecho con aguacate...
This is guacamole made with avocado...
Caption 33, Tacos Emmanuel - Cómo hacer tacos de pescado
Play Caption
80. Estadounidense (American)
Paul es estadounidense, de los Estados Unidos.
Paul is American, from the United States.
Caption 16, Carlos explica - Geografía y gentilicios
Play Caption
81. Eucalipto (eucalyptus)
82. Euforia (euphoria)
83. Idiosincrasia (idiosyncrasy)
84. Licuadora (blender)
85. Paraguas (umbrella)
Voy a coger un paraguas, por si acaso.
I am going to grab an umbrella, just in case.
Caption 42, Clara explica - El tiempo - Part 1
Play Caption
86. Triángulo (triangle)
Después pones este triángulo con la base hacia abajo.
Afterwards you put this triangle with the base toward the bottom.
Caption 42, Manos a la obra - Separadores de libros: Charmander
Play Caption
87. Vergüenza (shame)
There is a ‘cute’ joke in Spanish that goes like this:
- Do you know what the longest word in Spanish is?
- No. What is it?
- Arroz (rice)!
- Arroz? That’s a very short word.
- No, arroz is the longest word in Spanish because it starts with ‘a’ and ends with ‘z’!
Of course, that’s only a joke! Arroz is one of the easiest words in Spanish. However, the following are some of the most challenging and longest Spanish words:
88. Electroencefalograma (electroencephalogram)
89. Esternocleidomastoideo (sternocleidomastoid)
90. Contrarrevolucionario (counter-revolutionary)
91. Constitucionalidad (constitutionality)
92. Internacionalización (internalization)
93. Otorrinolaringólogo (otolaryngologist)
Apart from these very complicated words, all those adverbs that end in -mente are also some of the longest Spanish words. Let’s look at a few:
94. Constitucionalmente (constitutionally)
95. Desafortunadamente (unfortunately)
Cuando tú creces, desafortunadamente te das cuenta que.
When you grow up, unfortunately, you realize that.
Caption 23, La Sub30 - Familias - Part 9
Play Caption
96. Desconsoladamente (inconsolably)
97. Fuertemente (heavily)
98. Tradicionalmente (traditionally)
Y nos dedicamos al cultivo del champiñón tradicionalmente.
And we are dedicated to the cultivation of the mushroom traditionally.
Caption 4, La Champiñonera - El cultivo de champiñón
Play Caption
99. Tristemente (sadly)
And finally, can you think of any Spanish word that has all the vowels on it? We have a long word for you, which is actually quite short in English:
100. Murciélago (bat)
La palabra más larga es murciélago.
The longest word is bat.
Caption 43, Karla e Isabel - Palabras
Play Caption
That's it for now. We know that there are many more hard Spanish words that we should include in this list. If you feel like it, please share some additional difficult Spanish words with us, and we’ll be happy to add them to this lesson. And don’t forget to send us your feedback and suggestions. ¡Hasta la próxima!
In Mexico City, our Amigos D.F. return to tell us something about arquitectura (architecture) in el D.F. (in Mexico City, that is). Indicating a nearby building, we hear:
O sea, abajo es una zona comercial, todo lo que vendría a ser la planta baja... y arriba, allá, son este... departamentos residenciales.
I mean, below it's a commercial area, everything that would be the ground level... and above, there, are umm... residential apartments.
Captions 29-31, Amigos D.F. - Arquitectura
Play Caption
Despite the rambling nature of this unscripted dialogue, it's easy enough to understand that there are commercial businesses on the ground floor of this building and residential apartments above. If the building has an elevator, pressing the p.b. (planta baja) button will take you to street level.
Push "1" in the same elevator and you'll end up on what's referred to as the "second floor" in New York or Miami. You see, in Spain and in Latin America, "el primer piso" is "the first floor *above* the ground level."
¿Dónde está ubicado el restaurante? -En el primer piso.
Where is the restaurant located? -On the first floor.
Captions 71-72, Cleer y Lida - Recepción de hotel
Play Caption
So, let's take this language lesson up a step. Say you want to visit your Mexican friend in his apartment up on "2." That's el segundo piso ("the second floor"). You see, you rarely hear la segunda planta or la primera planta outside of architectural drawings. In everyday speech, you'll usually hear pisos instead of plantas describe floors 1 through, well, the sky's the limit.
¿Ves ese edificio que esta ahí al frente? En el segundo piso, de ahí subís y ahí es tu salón.
Do you see that building that's over there in front? On the second floor, you go up there and there's your classroom.
Captions 48-49, La Sucursal del Cielo - Capítulo 1
Play Caption
A final note on arquitectura: Departamento is the word of choice for Latin American apartments. Meanwhile, over in Spain, you'll typically hear apartamento.
French
German
Italian
Chinese
English
English 
Français
Deutsch
Español
Italiano
Português
