This document provides top 10 lists of common Spanish words and phrases organized into categories such as greetings, numbers, time phrases, family members, activities, foods, clothing, and more. It also includes parts of speech, spelling/pronunciation rules, and basic geography of Spanish-speaking countries. The lists are intended to introduce foundational vocabulary for basic communication in Spanish.

1. Top 10 Greetings/Goodbyes/Introductions
Hola. – Hi
Buenos días. – Good Morning.
Buenas tardes. – Good afternoon.
Buenas noches. – Good night.
¿Cómo estás (tú)?/¿Cómo está usted? –
How are you?
¿Cómo te llamas?/¿Cómo se llama? –
What is your name?
Me llamo… - My name is…
Se llama… - His/Her name is…
Hasta luego/Hasta mañana. – See you
later/See you tomorrow.
Adiós. – Goodbye.
Numbers 0-31
0 - cero
1 – uno
2 – dos
3 – tres
4 – cuatro
5 – cinco
6 – seis
7 – siete
8 – ocho
9 – nueve
10 – diez
11 – once
12 – doce
13 – trece
14 – catorce
15 – quince
16 – dieciséis
17 – diecisiete
18 – dieciocho
19 – diecinueve
20 – veinte
21 – veintiuno
22 – veintidós
23 – veintitrés
24 – veinticuatro
25 – veinticinco
26 – veintiséis
27 – veintisiete
28 – veintiocho
29 – veintinueve
30 – treinta
31 – treinta y uno
Top 10 Time phrases
de la mañana – A.M.
de la tarde – P.M. (afternoon)
de la noche – P.M. (night)
medianoche (midnight)
mediodía - noon
cuarto - quarter
media - half
¿Qué hora es? – What time is it?
¿A qué hora? – At what time?
Es la una. Son las…-It is one o’clock. It
is…o’clock
Months/Days/Seasons
enero - January
febrero - February
marzo - March
abril - April
mayo - May
junio - June
julio - July
agosto - August
septiembre - September
octubre - October
noviembre - November
diciembre - December
lunes - Monday
martes - Tuesday
miércoles - Wednesday
jueves - Thursday
viernes - Friday
sábado - Saturday
domingo - Sunday
la primavera - spring
el verano - summer
el otoño - fall
el invierno - winter
Numbers 32-100
32 – treinta y dos
33 – treinta y tres
34 – treinta y cuatro
35 – treinta y cinco
36 – treinta y seis
37 – treinta y siete
38 – treinta y ocho
39 – treinta y nueve
40 – cuarenta
50 – cincuenta
60 – sesenta
70 – setenta
80 – ochenta
90 – noventa
100 – cien
Top 10 adjectives
alt@ - tall
baj@ - short
simpátic@ - nice
rubi@ - blonde
moren@ - dark-haired/dark-skinned
pelirroj@ - redheaded
delgad@ - thin
guap@ - good-looking
aburrid@ - boring
perezos@ - lazy
Top 10 Question Words
¿Qué? – What?
¿Cómo? – How?/What?
¿Cuándo? – When?
¿Dónde? – Where?
¿Adónde? – To where?
¿De dónde? – From where?
¿Cuál?/¿Cuáles? – Which?
¿Quién?/¿Quiénes? Who?
¿Por qué? - Why
¿Cuánto(s)?/¿Cuánta(s)? – How
much/how many?
Top Ten Frequency and Negative Words
no – no 
nunca – never
nada – nothing
nadie – no one
ningún(os)/ninguna(s) - none, not one
siempre – always
a veces – sometimes
cada día – every day
cada dos días – every other day
(#) veces a la semana/al mes – (#) times a
week/a month
Top 10 Activities
(some regular, some irregular* verbs)
leer – read
escuchar música – to listen to music
dibujar – to draw
ir* al cine – to go to the movies
ver (yo = veo) televisión – to watch
television
bailar – to dance
hablar por teléfono – to talk on the phone
jugar (UUE) – to play (a sport)
escribir – to write
tocar – to play (an instrument)
Top 10 Regular –AR verbs
estudiar - to study
dibujar – to draw
pasar el rato – to spend time
comprar – to buy
acabar de (+ infinitive) –to have just done
something
ayudar – to help
cocinar – to cook
contestar – to answer
llevar – to wear/to take/to carry
pagar – to pay
Top 10 Regular –ER
aprender – to learn
saber – to know (information)*
conocer – to know (people)*
comer – to eat
beber – to drink
recoger – to pick up
entender – to understand
correr – to run
deber – should (+infinitive)
ver – to see*
Top 10 Regular –IR
añadir – to add
vivir – to live
asistir – to attend
confundir – to confuse
decidir – to decide
subir – to go up
descubrir – to discover
interrumpir – to interrupt
salir – to leave/to go out*
recibir – to receive
Top 10 Places
la tienda - store
la librería – book store
la zapatería – shoe store
el campo – the country
la ciudad - city
las afueras – the suburbs/outskirts
el pueblo – village/town
el centro - downtown
la playa – beach
la iglesia - church
Top 10 Weather Expressions
Hace buen tiempo. – The weather is nice.

2. Hace calor. – It is hot.
Hace frío. – It is cold.
Hace fresco. – It is cool out.
Hace viento. – It is windy
Hace sol. – It is sunny.
Hace mal tiempo. – The weather is bad.
Nieva./Está nevando. – It is snowing.
Llueve./Está lloviendo. – It is raining.
Está nublado. – It is cloudy.
Top 10 School Supplies
el lápiz - pencil
el cuaderno - notebook
el papel - paper
la mochila - backpack
el diccionario - dictionary
el bolígrafo - pen
la computadora - computer
la carpeta - folder
la grapadora - stapler
las tijeras - scissors
Top 10 School Subjects
el español - Spanish
el inglés - English
la historia - history
la geografía – geography
la biología - biology
la química - chemistry
la educación física – P.E.
el álgebra - algebra
la geometría - geometry
la computación – computer science
Top 10 School Events and Locations
la biblioteca - library
la clase de baile – dance class
la cafetería - cafeteria
el estadio – stadium
el auditorio - auditorium
la sala de clase - classroom
el partido – game (sports)
el concierto - concert
el examen - test
la prueba - quiz
Top Ten TENER idioms
tener ___ años – to be ___ years old
tener ganas de…(+infinitive) – to feel like
doing something
tener calor/tener frío - to be hot/cold
tener hambre/tener sed – to be
hungry/thirsty
tener miedo – to be afraid
tener prisa – to be in a hurry
tener que (+infinitive) – to have to do
something
tener razón – to be right
tener suerte – to be lucky
tener sueño – to be tired
Top 10 Family Members
la familia - family
el padre/el papá – father/dad
la madre/la mamá – mother/mom
los padres - parents
el hermano/la hermana – brother/sister
los hermanos - siblings
el tío/la tía – uncle/aunt
el primo/la prima – male/female cousin
el abuelo/la abuela – grandpa/grandma
la mascota - pet
Top 10 Home Words
el cuarto - bedroom
el comedor – dining room
la sala – living room
la cocina - kitchen
el garaje - garaje
el baño - bathroom
la ventana - window
la puerta - door
la mesa - table
la cama - bed
Top 10 Chores
hacer la cama – to make the bed
poner la mesa – to set the table
sacar la basura – to take out the trash
cortar el césped – to mow the lawn
quitar el polvo– to dust
lavar los platos – to wash the dishes
cocinar – to cook
pasar la aspiradora – to vacuum
arreglar...(room) – to tidy
limpiar – to clean
Top Ten Prepositions
debajo de – underneath, below
encima de – on top of
al lado de – next to
lejos de – far from
cerca de – close to, near
antes de – before
después de – after
dentro de – inside of
afuera de – outside of
between – entre
Top Ten E IE Stem-Changing Verbs
tener – to have
entender – to understand
querer – to want
venir – to come
empezar – to start
pensar – to think/to plan
preferir – to prefer
sentir – to feel
cerrar – to close
divertirse – to have fun (see Reflexive
Verbs on Knowledge Map for how to
conjugate)
Top Ten O UE Stem-Changing Verbs
dormir – to sleep
encontrar – to find
poder (+infinitive) – to be able to
contar – to count
costar – to cost
probar – to try/to taste
recordar – to remember
soler – to usually do (followed by
infinitive)
volver – to return (to a place)
devolver – to return (something)
Top FIVE E I Stem-Changing Verbs
pedir – to ask for, to order
servir – to serve
decir – to tell
repetir – to repeat
vestirse – to get dressed (see Reflexive
Verbs on Knowledge Map for how to
conjugate)
Top 10 Food/Drink
la leche - milk
el refresco – soft drink
la ensalada - salad
el helado – ice cream
el pan - bread
la carne - meat
el pollo - chicken
el pescado - fish
el arroz - rice
los frijoles - beans
Numbers 101-1,000,000
101 – ciento uno
151 – ciento cincuenta y uno
200 – doscientos
300 – trescientos
400 – cuatrocientos
500 – quinientos
600 – seiscientos
700 – setecientos
800 – ochocientos
900 – novecientos
1000 – mil
1993 – mil novecientos noventa y tres
2000 – dos mil
3000 – tres mil
10,000 – diez mil
100,000 – cien mil
123,456 – ciento veintitrés mil
cuatrocientos cincuenta y seis
1,000,000 – un millón
Top 10 Clothing Items
el zapato - shoe
la camisa – shirt
la camiseta – t-shirt
los pantalones - pants
el vestido - dress
la chaqueta - jacket
los calcetines - socks
los pantalones cortos - shorts
el traje de baño – bathing suit
la falda - skirt
Top 10 Colors
rojo - red
azul – blue
verde – green
amarillo – yellow
morado – purple
blanco – white
negro – black
anaranjado – orange
gris – gray
café – brown

3. PARTS OF SPEECH AND OTHER GENERAL INFORMATION
1. A noun names a person, place, idea or thing.
2. Every noun has an article. The article is definite (the) or indefinite (a, an,
some). In Spanish, it is also masculine or feminine, and singular or plural.
When learning a new noun, also learn the definite article that goes along
with it.
3. A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun.
4. A verb shows physical action, mental action or a state of being. The
original form of the verb found in the dictionary is called the infinitive.
Infinitives in Spanish end in one of three ways: -AR, -ER, or –IR.
5. An adjective describes a noun or pronoun. Adjectives agree in gender
(masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural) with the noun they
describe, and they are generally placed after the noun.
6. The subject of a sentence is the person or thing doing the action.
7. Subject pronouns can take the place of a person’s name in a sentence.
They are not always necessary to include.
yo = I nosotros = we
tú = you vosotros = y’all
él/ella/usted = he/she/you ellos/ellas/ustedes = they (masc.)/they
(fem.)/you guys
8. “Vosotros” is only used in Spain/by people from Spain in less formal
situations. The equivalent in the U.S. and other Spanish-speaking countries
in the Americas is “ustedes,” for both formal and informal situations.
9. “Tú” is used to say “you” to a friend or close acquaintance. “Usted” is
used to say “you” when the speaker would like to show respect, or with
someone the speaker doesn’t know well
10. There is no ’s in Spanish. Use the word “de” and then the person’s name or
relationship to you to say to whom something belongs. If the owner’s name
is removed from the sentence or question, a possessive pronoun shows
ownership.
11. A direct object pronoun (DOP) is used to say “it” or “them.” A DOP
corresponds in gender and number to the noun it replaces. A DOP goes
before a conjugated verb, OR attached at the end of an infinitive, a
command, or the present progressive.
12. The “-ing” form of a verb is the present progressive. Use a conjugated
form of the verb ESTAR in front of the verb. The equivalent of “-ing” in
Spanish is “-ndo”: add –ando to the stem of –AR verbs, and –iendo to the
stem of –ER/-IR verbs.
13. A cognate is a word that is similar in Spanish and English.
14. An idiom is an expression or figure of speech that cannot be directly
translated.
15. A double negative is when there are two negatives in a sentence. Correct
English grammar does not use double negatives. Spanish does.
16. The prepositions a and de form contractions when followed by the article el.
A+el = al and de + el = del.
SPELLING/PRONUNCIATION/PUNCTUATION
17. Vowels are always pronounced the same way. A = “ah.” E = “eh.” I =
“ee.” O = “o.” U = “ooh.”
18. Ñ = like “ny” in “canyon”
19. H = is always silent!
20. LL = like “y” in “yellow”
21. When spelling, the only double letters are “rr,” “ll,” and “cc.” When
spelling cognates like “professor” double consonants are not used
(profesor).
22. Days of the week and months of the year are not capitalized.
23. When you see “@” at the end of a word in a vocabulary list, that means it
can be masculine (end in –o) or feminine (end in –a.).
24. Questions have an upside down question mark (¿) at the beginning of the
question and a right-side up question mark (?) at the end.
25. Exclamations have an upside down exclamation point (¡) at the beginning
of the exclamation and a right-side up exclamation point (!) at the end.
26. Accent marks only go over vowels. The mark goes up from left to right.
GEOGRAPHY
27. Spain (España) is in Europe. The capital is Madrid.
28. México is in North America. The capital is Mexico City. (La Ciudad de
México)
29. Guatemala is in Central America. The capital is Guatemala City. (La
Ciudad de Guatemala)
30. El Salvador is in Central America. The capital is San Salvador.
31. Honduras is in Central America. The capital is Tegucigalpa.
32. Nicaragua is in Central America. The capital is Managua.
33. Costa Rica is in Central America. The capital is San José.
34. Panamá is in Central America. The capital is Panama City. (La Ciudad
de Panamá)
35. Colombia is in South America. The capital is Bogotá.
36. Perú is in South America. The capital is Lima.
37. Ecuador is in South America. The capital is Quito.
38. Chile is in South America. The capital is Santiago.
39. Argentina is in South America. The capital is Buenos Aires.
40. Uruguay is in South America. The capital is Montevideo.
41. Paraguay is in South America. The capital is Asunción.
42. Venezuela is in South America. The capital is Caracas.
43. Bolivia is in South America. The capitals are Sucre and La Paz.
44. Brazil is also in South America. People in Brazil speak Portuguese.
45. Cuba is in the Caribbean Sea, south of Florida. The capital is La
Habana.
46. La República Dominicana is also in the Caribbean Sea. The capital is
Santo Domingo.

4. 47. Puerto Rico is in the Caribbean Sea. The capital is San Juan. Puerto
Rico is a territory of the United States.
GUSTAR
48. The verb GUSTAR is used to talk about things people like or what they
like to do.
49. GUSTAR translates as “to please.” To use it, you’re really saying that
something (a thing or an activity) pleases someone, not literally that they
like it.
50. When more than one thing is liked, “gusta” becomes “gustan.” With
more than one activity, “gusta” is still used.
51. I like = me gusta(n); You like = te gusta(n); He/she/you like(s) = le
gusta(n); We like = nos gusta(n); Y’all (in Spain) like = os gusta(n);
They/you guys like = les gusta(n).
PRESENT TENSE OF REGULAR VERBS
52. Verbs are conjugated depending on the subject of the verb.
53. To conjugate a regular verb, take off the last two letters. Then add the
ending for the appropriate subject pronoun.
54. The ending for “yo” is –o.
55. The ending for “tú” is –as for –AR verbs, and –es for –ER and –IR
verbs.
56. The ending for “él,” “ella,” or “usted” is –a for –AR verbs, and –e for –
ER and –IR verbs.
57. The ending for “vosotros” is –áis for –AR verbs, -éis for –ER verbs, and
–ís for –IR verbs.
74. The ending for “nosotros” is –amos for –AR verbs, -emos for –ER, and -
imos for –IR verbs.
75. The ending for “ellos,” “ellas,” or “ustedes” is –an for –AR verbs, -en
for –ER and –IR verbs.
PRESENT TENSE OF IRREGULAR VERBS
76. Some verbs have irregular “yo” forms. They don’t follow the simple “-o”
pattern. One group of these verbs is sometimes referred to as “-go” verbs,
because there is a “g” added in just the “yo” form. This group includes
the verbs TENER, HACER, SALIR, VENIR, TRAER, DECIR, and
PONER.
77. Another group of verbs has a “y” at the end of the “yo” form. This
group includes ESTAR, DAR, IR and SER.
78. IR (“to go”) is completely irregular. One way to remember that each form
begins with a “v” is that you usually need a vehicle to go somewhere. The
endings match those of regular –AR verbs.
PRESENT TENSE OF STEM-CHANGING VERBS
79. Stem-changing verbs have an extra step when conjugated. The yo, tú,
él/ella/usted and ellos/ellas/ustedes forms have a vowel change.
80. Stem-changing verbs change in one of four ways: EIE, OUE, EI or
UUE.
81. The vowel that changes in stem-changing verbs is the first one back from
the end after the last two letters are taken off.
82. The nosotros and vosotros forms don’t change. One way to remember
this is to envision a boot drawn around the other four forms. Nosotros and
vosotros are outside of the “boot.”
VOCABULARY
83. SER and ESTAR both mean “to be.” One way to remember when each
one is used is to think of the word DOCTOR with SER, and the word
PLACE with ESTAR. The letters of these words correspond to the first
letter of the different uses of each verb. DOCTOR = Date, Origin,
Characteristic, Time, Occupation and Relationship. PLACE = Position,
Location, Action, Condition and Emotion.
84. SER is conjugated yo soy, tú eres, él/ella/usted es, nosotros somos,
vosotros sois, ellos/ellas/ustedes son.
85. ESTAR is conjugated yo estoy, tú estás, él/ella/usted está, nosotros
estamos, vosotros estáis, ellos/ellas/ustedes están