When you start a new language, it's tempting to download a list of 5,000 words and try to swallow it whole. Please don't! A small set of basic Spanish words does most of the work in real conversations. Learn these 100 well and you can greet people, order food, ask questions and talk about your day.
I've grouped them by theme, because your brain remembers words better in families than in random lists. Each group has a short intro, a table with a quick tip for every word, and plenty of memory tricks that work especially well for Hindi and English speakers. At the end you'll find flashcards for the trickiest ones and a little quiz. ¡Vamos!Let's go!Used to cheer someone on or get moving.
A small note before we start: a few of these are two-word chunks, like por favorpleaseTwo words, but you use them as one.. Spanish speakers use them as a single unit, so I've counted them as one "word".
How to learn basic Spanish words (and actually remember them)
A few tips before the lists:
- Learn 10 a day, not 100. Ten words a day for ten days beats one panicked evening.
- Say them out loud. Spanish is read the way it's written, so every word you say aloud is pronunciation practice too.
- Learn nouns with their article. Say la casathe houseFeminine noun., not just casahouseA feminine noun.. It teaches you the gender for free.
- Make a sentence. As soon as you know a few verbs and nouns, combine them: Quiero agua.I want water.Your first useful sentence!
1. Greetings and basics (10 words)
These are the words you'll use in the first ten seconds of any conversation. ¡Hola!Hello!The friendliest Spanish greeting. Use it any time of day. is the friendliest of them all: you can say it to anyone, any time of day. Pair it with a smile and a graciasthank youThe word you'll use most. and you're already polite in Spanish.
| Spanish | English | Quick tip |
|---|---|---|
| hola | hello | The h is silent: "OH-la" |
| adiós | goodbye | Think "a Dios", to God, like "God be with you" |
| gracias | thank you | Sounds like "grace", as in saying grace |
| por favor | please | Like asking a favour |
| sí | yes | With an accent it means yes; si without it means if |
| no | no | Same as English, easy! |
| perdón | sorry, excuse me | Like "pardon" |
| buenos días | good morning | Literally "good days" |
| buenas noches | good night, good evening | Use it after dark, for hello and goodbye |
| de nada | you're welcome | Literally "of nothing", like "it was nothing" |
2. People (10 words)
Spanish pronouns are short and friendly. One thing to notice: élheWith an accent, he. Without it, el means the. has an accent to tell it apart from eltheThe masculine article.. And family words like madremotherMamá is the everyday, affectionate form. and padrefatherAlso means priest. will feel strangely familiar.
| Spanish | English | Quick tip |
|---|---|---|
| yo | I | Short and sweet, like a casual "yo!" |
| tú | you (informal) | Like Hindi तू, for friends and family |
| él | he | The accent separates it from el, which means the |
| ella | she | Sounds like "EH-ya", the double l is a y sound |
| nosotros | we | Nosotras if the whole group is female |
| amigo | friend (male) | Amiga for a female friend |
| familia | family | Almost the same as English |
| madre | mother | Close to Sanskrit मातृ, they're old cousins |
| padre | father | Hindi पादरी (priest) came from this word via Portuguese |
| hijo | son | The h is silent and the j is a throaty h: "EE-ho" |
3. Verbs you'll use every day (15 words)
Verbs are the engine of every sentence. With just these fifteen you can say most of what you need. I've listed them in the infinitive, the "to do" form. You'll learn to conjugate them in class, but even the infinitive gets you far: Quiero comer.I want to eat.Querer plus an infinitive.
| Spanish | English | Quick tip |
|---|---|---|
| ser | to be (what something is) | Identity, job, origin |
| estar | to be (how or where something is) | Location and feelings |
| tener | to have | Also for age: tengo veinte años, I'm twenty |
| ir | to go | The shortest verb in Spanish |
| hacer | to do, to make | The h is silent: "ah-THER" in Spain |
| querer | to want, to love | Te quiero means I love you |
| poder | can, to be able to | Think "power" |
| decir | to say, to tell | Think "dictate" |
| hablar | to speak | Hablo español, I speak Spanish |
| comer | to eat | Think "come here and eat!" |
| beber | to drink | Think "beverage" |
| vivir | to live | Think "vivid", full of life |
| trabajar | to work | Sounds like hard work: tra-ba-JAR |
| saber | to know (facts) | Think of a wise sabio, a sage |
| ver | to see | Think "vision" |
4. Food and drink (10 words)
My favourite group, obviously! Food words are the easiest to practise, because you eat every day. Next time you have breakfast, name everything on the table in Spanish. A plate of arrozriceUncountable, like in English. and pollochickenSay POH-yo. is a great place to start.
| Spanish | English | Quick tip |
|---|---|---|
| agua | water | Like "aqua", as in aquarium |
| pan | bread | Our Mumbai pav comes from the Portuguese word for bread, a close cousin |
| leche | milk | Think "latte", which is milk in Italian |
| arroz | rice | Sounds like "a rose", rolled r |
| pollo | chicken | Say "POH-yo", not polo! |
| huevo | egg | The h is silent: "WEH-bo" |
| fruta | fruit | Almost the same as English |
| café | coffee | Same word, stress on the end |
| té | tea | Chai is té in Spanish, with an accent |
| comida | food, meal, lunch | From comer, to eat |
5. Home and everyday things (10 words)
Label your home! Seriously, sticky notes on the puertadoorA feminine noun. and the mesatableHindi मेज़ comes from this word. work wonders. Hindi borrowed a few household words from Portuguese, which is a close cousin of Spanish, so some of these will feel familiar.
| Spanish | English | Quick tip |
|---|---|---|
| casa | house, home | En casa means at home |
| puerta | door | Think "portal" |
| mesa | table | Hindi मेज़ came from the Portuguese mesa |
| cama | bed | Think of a camp bed |
| baño | bathroom | Think "bath" |
| cocina | kitchen | Think "cuisine" |
| coche | car | Think "coach", a vehicle. In Latin America people often say carro |
| teléfono | phone | Same word, stress on the "LE" |
| libro | book | Think "library" |
| dinero | money | Think of the dinar, an old money word |
6. Time words (12 words)
Time words let you make plans. Watch out for mañanatomorrow, morningOne word, two meanings.: it means both "tomorrow" and "morning", so mañana por la mañanatomorrow morningBoth meanings in one phrase! is perfectly normal Spanish. And tardeafternoon, lateAlso two meanings. works the same way.
| Spanish | English | Quick tip |
|---|---|---|
| hoy | today | Sounds like "oy!", shout it: today! |
| mañana | tomorrow, morning | The famous "mañana": things can wait till tomorrow |
| ayer | yesterday | Like Hindi आया, something that came and went |
| ahora | now | The h is silent: "a-O-ra" |
| día | day | Think "diary", a book of days |
| semana | week | Seven days, starts with s like seven |
| mes | month | A little like Hindi मास |
| año | year | Never drop the ñ: ano means something very different (and rude!) |
| hora | hour, time | Think "hour", the h is silent |
| siempre | always | Think "semper", always, from Latin |
| nunca | never | Its opposite, both short and punchy |
| tarde | afternoon, late | Think "tardy", which means late |
7. Question words (8 words)
You can't have a conversation without questions. Every question word carries an accent, and every written question opens with an upside-down mark: ¿Dónde está el baño?Where is the bathroom?The most useful question when travelling! Learn this one first.
| Spanish | English | Quick tip |
|---|---|---|
| qué | what | Sounds like "keh", the u is silent |
| quién | who | "kee-EN", plural quiénes |
| dónde | where | Like Hindi कहाँ, you'll use it constantly |
| cuándo | when | Sounds like "kwan-do" |
| cómo | how | Cómo estás means how are you |
| por qué | why | Two words with an accent; porque in one word means because |
| cuánto | how much, how many | Cuánto cuesta means how much does it cost |
| cuál | which | Use it to choose between things |
8. Little connector words (10 words)
These tiny words glue your sentences together. They're short, they appear everywhere, and once you know them, longer sentences suddenly make sense. Café con lechecoffee with milkA classic Spanish breakfast drink. uses one of them, and you'll order it a lot in Spain.
| Spanish | English | Quick tip |
|---|---|---|
| y | and | One letter, pronounced "ee" |
| o | or | One letter again |
| pero | but | Don't mix it up with perro, which is dog |
| porque | because | One word, no accent |
| con | with | Café con leche, coffee with milk |
| sin | without | Sin azúcar, without sugar |
| para | for | Para ti, for you |
| también | also, too | Stress on the end: tam-BYEN |
| muy | very | Muy bien, very good |
| más | more | With an accent; mas without it is an old word for but |
9. Describing words (10 words)
Adjectives add colour. In Spanish they usually come after the noun and change their ending to match it: una casa pequeñaa small houseFeminine noun, feminine ending., un libro pequeñoa small bookMasculine noun, masculine ending..
| Spanish | English | Quick tip |
|---|---|---|
| bueno | good | Buenos días uses it |
| malo | bad | Its opposite, malo for bad |
| grande | big | Think "grand" |
| pequeño | small | Think of a tiny "peck" |
| nuevo | new | Like Sanskrit नव, they're old cousins |
| mucho | a lot, much | Muchas gracias, thanks a lot |
| poco | a little | Poco a poco, little by little |
| bonito | pretty, nice | Use it for places and things |
| fácil | easy | Think "facile" or "facility" |
| difícil | difficult | Almost the same as English |
10. Getting around (5 words)
Finally, a few words for finding your way. Put them together with the question words and you can already ask for help: ¿Dónde está la tienda?Where is the shop?Dónde plus estar for location.
| Spanish | English | Quick tip |
|---|---|---|
| calle | street | "KA-ye", the double l again |
| ciudad | city | Think "city", both start the same way |
| tienda | shop | A small shop is like a tent stall at a mela |
| aquí | here | Stress on the end: a-KEE |
| allí | there | Stress on the end: a-YEE |
That's 100! Ten groups, one hundred words: 10 + 10 + 15 + 10 + 10 + 12 + 8 + 10 + 10 + 5.
Memory tricks for Indian learners
You already have a big advantage. Here's how to use it:
- Use your Hindi. Hindi and Spanish are distant cousins, and Hindi also borrowed words from Portuguese. That's why mesatableHindi मेज़ came from Portuguese mesa., padrefatherHindi पादरी came from Portuguese padre. and panbreadClose to our pav. ring a bell.
- Use your English. Hundreds of Spanish words share Latin roots with English: familiafamilyAlmost the same in English., frutafruitAlmost the same in English., difícildifficultAlmost the same in English.. When a Spanish word looks like an English one, it often means the same thing.
- Trust the spelling. Spanish is written the way it's spoken, just like Hindi in Devanagari. Once you know the sounds, you can read any word aloud.
- Watch the silent h. Words like holahelloThe h is silent., hijosonThe h is silent. and huevoeggThe h is silent. start with a letter you never say.
- Mind the small marks. The accent and the ñ change meaning: síyesWith the accent. vs siifWithout the accent., and always write añoyearDon't forget the ñ! with its ñ.
Flashcards: the 8 trickiest words
These are the ones beginners mix up most often. Flip each card and say the meaning before you look.
Flashcards tap a card to flip it
Quick quiz
Test yourself
1.What does "mañana" mean?
2.Which word means "why"?
3.How do you say "I want water"?
4.Which word means "here"?
Your next step
One hundred words is a real foundation. Review them a little every day, put them into tiny sentences, and say them out loud. Poco a pocoLittle by littleProgress comes step by step., they'll start coming to you without effort. If you want to use these words in real conversations from the very first class, join one of my live A1 batches on Google Meet. We're never more than 5 in a group, so you'll speak a lot, and I'll share all the materials on Google Drive. ¡Venga!Come on!A friendly push to get going.