This document provides definitions for 27 Spanish verbs used to describe daily routines. Some key verbs include: despertarse (to wake up), levantarse (to get up), desayunar (to have breakfast), ducharse (to take a shower), vestirse (to get dressed), trabajar (to work), almorzar (to have lunch), cenar (to have dinner), and acostarse (to go to bed). Each verb definition is 1-2 sentences and includes examples of usage to clarify meaning. The document forbids modifying or distributing its content without permission from SpanishviaSkype.

1. It is forbidden to modify, copy, reproduce, distribuye or transmit the content of this document without having
obtained express prior written agreement from SpanishviaSkype
Queda prohibida la alteración, copia, reproducción, distribución o transmisión del contenido de este documento sin
un permiso previo en formato escrito por parte de SpanishviaSkype.
Useful Spanish vocabulary to describe your daily routine
1. Despertarse
Despertar (no se at the end) means “to awaken”. This is the word you use when
discussing an outside agent who/that wakes a person, like an alarm clock or your
son. To discuss someone being woken up by something or by someone else, you can
use pronouns like me, te and le to indicate who’s being awoken. In this case, the
verb wouldn’t be considered reflexive. For instance, you might say mi hijo me
despierta (my son wakes me up).
Despertarse, on the other hand, is used to communicate when someone has woken
up without provocation or when they’ve woken themselves up: Mi hermano se
despierta a las siete (my brother wakes up at seven).
2. Levantarse
In the context of daily activities, levantarse means “to get up”. While this is similar
to despertarse, they don’t have quite the same meaning. Levantarse can be used to
refer to getting out of bed, getting out of a chair, etc. It helps to remember
that levantar means “to raise”, so levantarse literally means “to raise oneself”.
Despertarse, however, only means “to wake up” so it’s only used when someone has
been sleeping. Even if you’ve woken up, you might still be laying in bed. So, you
could say “me desperté a las seis y me levanté a las siete y media” (I woke up at six
and I got out of bed at seven thirty).
3. Desayunar
Desayunar means “to have breakfast” or “to have for breakfast”. Similarly, the
noun desayuno means “breakfast”.
4. Ducharse
Ducharse means “to take a shower”. For example: Alicia se ducha cada
mañana (Alicia showers every morning).
5. Bañarse
Bañarse means “to take a bath”. In Latin America, however, it’s also often used to
mean “to take a shower” or “to swim”.
Bañar, on the other hand, means “to bathe” when you’re referring to someone
bathing someone other than themselves: Baño a mis hijas después del colegio (I
bathe my daughters after school).

2. It is forbidden to modify, copy, reproduce, distribuye or transmit the content of this document without having
obtained express prior written agreement from SpanishviaSkype
Queda prohibida la alteración, copia, reproducción, distribución o transmisión del contenido de este documento sin
un permiso previo en formato escrito por parte de SpanishviaSkype.
1
6. Lavarse/cepillarse los dientes
Lavarse los dientes literally means “to wash one’s teeth”. However, it’s frequently
used to refer to brushing teeth.
Cepillarse los dientes, on the other hand, literally means “to brush one’s teeth”.
7. Cepillarse el pelo
Cepillar means “to brush”. Therefore, cepillarse el pelo and cepillarse el
cabello both mean “to brush one’s hair”.
8. Peinarse
Peinar means “to comb”, and with this verb, it’s usually understood that you’re
referring to your hair. So, think of peinarse as “to comb one’s hair”.
9. Vestirse
While vestir means “to wear”, the reflexive vestirse means “to get dressed”.
10. Ponerse la ropa
Ponerse la ropa means “to put on clothes”. While the meaning is very similar
to vestirse, there are some slight differences. Generally, vestirse is only used when
you’re putting on clothes but weren’t already dressed. Ponerse, on the other hand,
can also be used when putting on additional garments like a jacket.
11. Afeitarse
Afeitarse means “to shave oneself”. For example: ¿Te afeitas en verano? (Do you
shave in summer?). If you, for whatever reason, are shaving someone else, you’d
use afeitar in combination with the appropriate pronoun.
While it wouldn’t technically be reflexive because you’re acting on someone else,
you’d still use pronouns like te, me and le to indicate who’s being
shaved: Ayer afeité al perro (Yesterday, I shaved the dog).
12. Maquillarse/pintarse
Both maquillarse and pintarse can be used to mean “to put makeup on oneself”.
When it isn’t reflexive, maquillar means “to make up”, so you can use this if you’re
putting makeup on someone else. Again, you’d still use the pronouns me,
te and le to clarify who’s being made up.
On the other hand, when pintar isn’t reflexive, it usually means “to paint”,
so pintarse is sort of like “to paint oneself”.
13. Hacer la cama
Hacer la cama means “to make the bed”.

3. It is forbidden to modify, copy, reproduce, distribuye or transmit the content of this document without having
obtained express prior written agreement from SpanishviaSkype
Queda prohibida la alteración, copia, reproducción, distribución o transmisión del contenido de este documento sin
un permiso previo en formato escrito por parte de SpanishviaSkype.
2
14. Ir a… (trabajo, colegio, universidad, centro comercial, tienda, médico, etc.)
Ir a means “to go to”. Remember that when a is followed by el, we combine it to al:
Por las mañanas, voy al trabajo (I go to work in the mornings) / Patricia necesita ir al
médico la próxima semana (Patricia needs to go to to the doctor next week).
15. Trabajar
Trabajar means “to work”. Similarly, un trabajo is “a job” an ir al trabajo is the phrase
for “to go to work”.
16. Almorzar
Almorzar means “to have lunch”. It can also mean “to have for lunch”. Similarly, in
Spain, it can mean “to have a mid-morning snack” or “to have as a mid-morning
snack”. The noun almuerzo means “lunch”.
17. Comer
Comer means “to eat”. However, in Spain and Mexico, comer can also mean “to
have for lunch”, while in parts of Latin America, it can mean “to have for dinner”.
18. Llegar a casa
Llegar a casa means “to arrive home”: ¿A qué hora llegarás a casa? (At what time
will you get home?).
19. Quitarse la ropa
Quitarse la ropa means “to take off one’s clothes”. It helps to remember
that quitar alone means “to remove”.
20. Desvestirse/desnudarse
Desvestirse and desnudarse both mean “to undress oneself”, but desnudarse has the
slightly more specific meaning of “to get naked”.
21. Echarse una siesta
Echarse una siesta means “to take a nap”. For example: Mi padre llega de trabajar
a las tres, come y luego se echa una siesta de media hora (my dad gets home from
work at 3pm, he has lunch and then he takes a 30 minutes nap).
22. Ver la televisión/tele
Ver la televisión or ver la tele means “to watch television”. Tele is simply an informal
version of televisión—it’s like saying “TV” rather than “television”.

4. It is forbidden to modify, copy, reproduce, distribuye or transmit the content of this document without having
obtained express prior written agreement from SpanishviaSkype
Queda prohibida la alteración, copia, reproducción, distribución o transmisión del contenido de este documento sin
un permiso previo en formato escrito por parte de SpanishviaSkype.
3
23. Picar
Picar can have a wide variety of meanings including “to sting” or “to chop”.
However, perhaps most importantly, picar can mean “to snack on”. For
example: ¿Te apetece picar algo después del trabajo? (Do you feel like taking a
snack after work?).
24. Merendar
Merendar means “to have an afternoon snack”. Similarly, it can mean “to have for
an afternoon snack”. In Latin America, it can be “to have supper”, “to have dinner”
or “to have an evening snack”.
25. Cenar
Cenar means “to have dinner” or “to have for dinner”. Cena, on the other hand, is
the noun for “dinner”.
26. Acostarse
Acostarse means “to lie down” or “to go to bed”. If you put someone else to bed
(like a child), you can use acostar, but don’t forget to use me, te and le to indicate
whom. For instance: Acuesto a Adriana a las ocho / La acuesto a las ocho (I put
Adriana to bed at eight / I put her to bed at eight).
27. Dormirse
Dormirse usually means “to fall asleep”, but it can also mean “to oversleep” (context
is key). When it isn’t part of the reflexive dormirse, dormir means “to sleep”.