140+ Frequent Spanish Phrases and Phrases to Construct Your Vocabulary

There are certain Spanish words that you will hear pretty much everyday. Here are ten of the most common Spanish words.

• Hola — hello
• Adios — bye
• Sí — yes
• No — no
• Por favor — please
• Gracias — thank you
• Lo siento — I’m sorry
• Perdón — excuse me
• ¿Como estás? — how are you?
• De nada — you’re welcome

Common Spanish Greetings and Conversational Phrases

If you want to start a conversation, you need to know how to greet someone properly. Then you’ll need to whip out some phrases that allow for basic communication in any situation. Learn these essentials to speak with friends as well as strangers!

• Buenos días — good morning
• Buenas tardes — good afternoon
• Buenas noches — good night
• ¿Cómo te llamas? — what’s your name?
• Me llamo… — my name is…
• ¿Qué tal? — how’s it going?
• ¿Cómo te va? — how’s it going?
• ¿Qué pasa? — what’s up?
• ¿Cómo está usted? — how are you? (formal)
• Bien, gracias — fine, thank you
• ¿Y tú? — and you?
• Estoy buscando… — I’m looking for…
• ¿Qué haces? — what are you doing?
• ¿Te gusta…? — do you like…?

Common Spanish Nouns

Nouns identify people, places or things. They’re some of the most basic words and are used in nearly every sentence—so get to know a few of the most common ones!

• La casa — the house
• La mesa — the table
• La ventana — the window
• La silla — the chair
• La puerta — the door
• El reloj — the clock
• El piso — the floor
• El coche — the car
• La calle — the street
• La tienda — the store
• La biblioteca — the library
• El libro — the book
• La playa — the beach
• La montaña — the mountain
• La iglesia — the church
• El museo — the museum
• La universidad — the university
• El aeropuerto — the airport
• La nariz — the nose
• Los ojos — the eyes
• La boca — the mouth
• La cabeza — the head
• El brazo — the arm
• La pierna — the leg
• La mano — the hand
• El pie — the foot

Common Spanish Verbs

Verbs describe actions and are essential words when speaking any language. Of course, you’ll need to learn all their conjugations, but when memorizing new verbs it’s always best to learn the infinitive. 

• Abrir — to open
• Ayudar — to help
• Bailar — to dance
• Cambiar — to change
• Caminar — to walk
• Cantar — to sing
• Comenzar — to begin
• Contar — to count
• Comprar — to buy
• Correr — to run
• Creer — to believe
• Dar — to give
• Deber — to have to
• Decir — to say
• Entender — to understand
• Estar —to be
• Estudiar — to study
• Gustar — to like
• Haber — to have
• Hablar —to speak
• Hacer — to make/do
• Ir — to go
• Jugar — to play
• Llamar — to call
• Pagar — to pay
• Partir — to leave
• Pedir — to ask for
• Poder — to be able to
• Poner — to put
• Preguntar — to ask
• Querer — to want
• Saber — to know
• Ser — to be
• Tener — to have
• Viajar — to travel
• Visitar — to visit
• Vivir — to live

Common Spanish Words for People and Animals

Of course you’ll probably need to know some words to describe people and animals, since those are things you’ll also probably encounter every day!

• La persona — the person
• La mujer — the woman
• El hombre — the man
• La niña — the girl
• El niño — the boy
• La familia — the family
• El esposo — the husband
• La esposa — the wife
• El padre — the father
• La madre — the mother
• El hijo — the son
• La hija — the daughter
• La abuela —the grandmother
• El abuelo —the grandfather
• El tío — the uncle
• La tía — the aunt
• El primo — the cousin (m)
• La prima — the cousin (f)
• La mascota — the pet
• El gato — the cat (m)
• La gata — the cat (f)
• El perro — the dog (m)
• La perra — the dog (f)
• El pájaro — the bird 

Common Spanish Words Related to Food

Food is a big part of Spanish culture, so here are the essential words for you to order your favorite meal!

• La comida — the food
• La bebida — the drink
• El pan — the bread
• El huevo — the egg
• La fruta — the fruit
• La verdura — the vegetable
• El arroz — the rice 
• El frijol — the bean
• La carne — the meat
• La papa/patata — the potato
• El café — the coffee
• El té — the tea
• El vino — the wine
• La cerveza — the beer
• La leche — the milk
• La agua — the water
• El jugo — the juice
• El desayuno — breakfast
• El almuerzo — lunch 
• La cena — dinner
• El restaurante — the restaurant

Spanish Question Words

Asking questions is an important part of speaking any language. These are the words you need to ask questions in Spanish:

• ¿Cómo? — how?
• ¿Cuál? — which?
• ¿Cuándo? — when?
• ¿Dónde? — where?
• ¿Por qué? — why?
• ¿Qué? — what?
• ¿Quién? — who?

Easy Spanish Words (Spanish-English Cognates!)

Cognates are words that have the same origin or root word. There are hundreds of Spanish and English cognates, but start with learning these as an excellent way to effortlessly increase your vocabulary!

• Tren — train
• Necesario — necessary
• Ordinario — ordinary
• Público — public
• Minuto — minute
• Acción — action
• Nación — nation
• Tradicional — traditional
• Posible — possible
• Básico — basic
• Realmente — really

More Resources to Learn Spanish Vocabulary

Common Spanish words open doors by facilitating communication. The more common vocabulary you know, the better off you’ll be. 

This list is a great spot to start building your foundational vocabulary, but there are tons of great resources out there that can get you learning and practicing even more common Spanish words!

Here are some of the best resources to find more common Spanish vocabulary words to add to your word bank and build your core vocabulary!