The 100 most common Spanish words
These are the first 100 words of Word Quest 1000, ranked by how often they appear in real spoken Spanish. Rank 1 is the most common word in the language. Together, these 100 make up about half of everything you'll hear.
Each entry has its part of speech, an English equivalent, IPA pronunciation and an example sentence. Learn 10 a day and you're done in 10 days.
#1el, la/el/, /la/
Article: the
Esa mujer era la mujer que yo quería ser.
That woman was the woman I wanted to be.
#2de/de/
Preposition: of, from
El hijo de un hermano mío.
The son of a brother of mine.
#3que/ke/
Conjunction: that, which
Dice que no.
He says no.
#4y/i/
Conjunction: and
Él y ella sabían leer y escribir.
He and she knew how to read and write.
#5a/a/
Preposition: to, at
Se fue a la cama.
He went to bed.
#6en/en/
Preposition: in, on
No está en la casa.
He is not in the house.
#7un/un/
Article: a, an
Era un hombre simpático.
He was a nice man.
#8ser/seɾ/
Verb: to be (norm)
Es nuevo, es bueno.
It is new, it is good.
#9se/se/
Pronoun: himself/herself/itself (reflexive)
La abuela se acostó tranquila.
The grandmother went to bed calmly.
#10no/no/
Adverb: no
No hay modo de negar nada.
There is no way to deny anything.
#11haber/aˈβeɾ/
Verb: to have (v+ed)
No ha dicho nada.
He has not said anything.
#12por/poɾ/
Preposition: by, for, through
Así fue por mucho tiempo.
That’s how it was for a long time.
#13con/kon/
Preposition: with
Hay un hombre con ella.
There is a man with her.
#14su/su/
Adjective: his/her/their/your (-fam)
¿Quién era? ¿Su hermana? ¿Su amiga?
Who was it? His sister? His friend?
#15para/ˈpaɾa/
Preposition: for, to, in order to
¡Tengo una sorpresa sensacional para ti!
I have a sensational surprise for you!
#16como/ˈkomo/
Conjunction: like, as
Ser compositor en España es como ser torero en Finlandia.
Being a composer in Spain is like being a bullfighter in Finland.
#17estar/esˈtaɾ/
Verb: to be (location, change from norm)
Él está en el trabajo.
He is at work.
#18tener/teˈneɾ/
Verb: to have
Estaba seguro de tener buena memoria.
He was sure he had a good memory.
#19le/le/
Pronoun: to him/her/it (indirect object)
Nunca le dijo la verdad.
He never told her the truth.
#20lo/lo/
Article: the (+ n)
Lo mejor es estudiar mucho.
The best thing is to study a lot.
#21lo/lo/
Pronoun: him/it (direct object)
Lo compré en la tienda.
I bought it at the store.
#22todo/ˈtoðo/
Adjective: all, every
Todos los hombres son iguales.
All men are equal.
#23pero/ˈpeɾo/
Conjunction: but, yet, except
No significa nada para mí, pero no puedo olvidarla.
It means nothing to me, but I can’t forget her.
#24más/mas/
Adjective: more
Él necesitaba más dinero.
He needed more money.
#25hacer/aˈθeɾ/
Verb: to do, make
He podido hacer lo que me gusta.
I have been able to do what I like.
#26o/o/
Conjunction: or
Sí esperaba uno o dos muertos.
Yes, he expected one or two dead.
#27poder/poˈðeɾ/
Verb: to be able to; can
¡Se hace lo que se puede!
You do what you can!
#28decir/deˈθiɾ/
Verb: to tell, say
Parece que dice la verdad.
It seems he is telling the truth.
#29este/ˈeste/
Adjective: this (m) [esta (f)]
Y entendía estas cosas muy bien.
And he understood these things very well.
#30ir/iɾ/
Verb: to go
Me habían invitado a ir a su casa.
They had invited me to go to their house.
#31otro/ˈotɾo/
Adjective: other, another
¿Por qué no podía ser otra cosa?
Why couldn’t it be something else?
#32ese/ˈese/
Adjective: that (m) [esa (f)]
¿Dónde viven esas mujeres?
Where do those women live?
#33la/la/
Pronoun: her/it (direct object)
La puso en su bolsillo.
He put it in his pocket.
#34si/si/
Conjunction: if, whether
Sí quiere cazar, vamos a cazar.
If he wants to hunt, let’s hunt.
#35me/me/
Pronoun: me (obj)
¿Cuándo me va a llamar?
When is he going to call me?
#36ya/ʝa/
Adverb: already, still
Su marido ya ha dicho todo.
Her husband has already said everything.
#37ver/beɾ/
Verb: to see
Había que subir para ver las ruinas.
You had to go up to see the ruins.
#38porque/poɾˈke/
Conjunction: because
Lo vendo sólo porque tengo un apuro muy grande.
I’m selling it only because I’m in a big hurry.
#39dar/daɾ/
Verb: to give
Me dio esta carta para Ud.
He gave me this letter for you.
#40cuando/ˈkwando/
Conjunction: when
Aquella es de mis nietos, cuando eran bebés.
That one is from my grandchildren, when they were babies.
#41él/el/
Pronoun: he, [ellos] them (m)
Él es bastante simpático.
He is quite nice.
#42muy/mwi/
Adverb: very, really
Está muy contento con mi trabajo.
He is very happy with my work.
#43sin/sin/
Preposition: without
Se habían quedado sin dinero.
They had run out of money.
#44vez/beθ/
Noun: time (specific occurrence)
Es la primera vez que estoy junto al mar.
It’s the first time I’ve been by the sea.
#45mucho/ˈmutʃo/
Adjective: much, many, a lot (adv)
Por lo visto tienen mucho dinero.
Apparently, they have a lot of money.
#46saber/saˈβeɾ/
Verb: to know (a fact), find out
Ellos lo saben y lo reconocen.
They know it and acknowledge it.
#47qué/ke/
Pronoun: what?, which?, how (+ adj)
No sé qué voy a hacer.
I don’t know what I’m going to do.
#48sobre/ˈsoβɾe/
Preposition: on top of, over, about
Dejó el papel sobre la mesa y se fue.
He left the paper on the table and left.
#49mi/mi/
Adjective: my
Mi casa es su casa.
My house is your house.
#50alguno/alˈɣuno/
Adjective: some, someone (pron)
Habló algunas palabras con el agente de negocios.
He spoke a few words with the business agent.
#51mismo/ˈmismo/
Adjective: same
Pronunciando el mismo discurso en siete idiomas.
Delivering the same speech in seven languages.
#52yo/ʝo/
Pronoun: I (subj)
¡Yo soy el padre!
I am the father!
#53también/tamˈbjen/
Adverb: also
Y también van a estar los otros.
And the others will also be there.
#54hasta/ˈasta/
Preposition: until, up to, even (adv)
Toda la noche, hasta las tres de la mañana.
All night, until three in the morning.
#55año/ˈaɲo/
Noun: year
No lo supo hasta casi un año después.
He didn’t know until almost a year later.
#56dos/dos/
Number: two
De allí salieron dos hermanas solteras.
From there came two single sisters.
#57querer/keˈɾeɾ/
Verb: to want, love
Quiero que este proceso salga con limpieza.
I want this process to come out clean.
#58entre/ˈentɾe/
Preposition: between, among
La cosa es entre tú y yo.
The matter is between you and me.
#59así/aˈsi/
Adverb: like that
La vida es así.
Life is like that.
#60primero/pɾiˈmeɾo/
Adjective: first
Las primeras palabras que nos enseñan a leer y escribir.
The first words they teach us to read and write.
#61desde/ˈdezðe/
Preposition: from, since
Lo había pensado desde el primer momento.
He had thought about it from the very beginning.
#62grande/ˈɡɾande/
Adjective: large, great, big
Lo ha mirado a los grandes ojos negros.
He looked into her big black eyes.
#63eso/ˈeso/
Pronoun: that (n)
Y eso no es todo.
And that’s not all.
#64ni/ni/
Conjunction: not even, neither, nor
Pero ni eso me tranquilizó.
But not even that calmed me down.
#65nos/nos/
Pronoun: us (obj)
Nos vio en la calle.
He saw us on the street.
#66llegar/ʎeˈɣaɾ/
Verb: to arrive
Como para llegar hasta el fondo de las almas.
As if to reach the depths of souls.
#67pasar/paˈsaɾ/
Verb: to pass, spend (time)
Tras la ventana lo veo pasar una y otra vez.
Through the window, I see him pass by again and again.
#68tiempo/ˈtjempo/
Noun: time (general), weather
He estado mucho tiempo con ella.
I have spent a lot of time with her.
#69ella/ˈeʎa/
Pronoun: she, [ellas] them (f)
Ella es muy estudiosa.
She is very studious.
#70sí/si/
Adverb: yes
Quiero una respuesta concreta: sí o no.
I want a concrete answer: yes or no.
#71día/ˈdia/
Noun: day
Cada día hay más problemas.
Every day there are more problems.
#72uno/ˈuno/
Number: one
Hay uno que ya lo está haciendo.
There is one who is already doing it.
#73bien/bjen/
Adverb: well
Y entonces hice bien en quedarme.
And then I did well to stay.
#74poco/ˈpoko/
Adjective: little, few, a little bit (adv)
Trabajó poco tiempo con él.
He worked with him for a short time.
#75deber/deˈβeɾ/
Verb: should, ought to; to owe
Te debes calmar, le aconsejó T.
You should calm down, T advised him.
#76entonces/enˈtonθes/
Adverb: so, then
Vamos entonces a cambiarlo.
Let’s change it then.
#77poner/poˈneɾ/
Verb: to put (on), get (+adj)
Puso el cuchillo en manos de M.
He put the knife in M’s hands.
#78cosa/ˈkosa/
Noun: thing
Estoy ya interesado en otra cosa.
I am already interested in something else.
#79tanto/ˈtanto/
Adjective: so much, so many
No podía creer que haya tanta gente junta.
He couldn’t believe there were so many people together.
#80hombre/ˈombɾe/
Noun: man, mankind, husband
Yo soy un hombre de pocas necesidades.
I am a man of few needs.
#81parecer/paɾeˈθeɾ/
Verb: to seem, look like
Parecía dormir, tan inmóvil estaba.
He seemed to be sleeping, so still he was.
#82nuestro/ˈnwestɾo/
Adjective: our
No servía para nuestro país porque somos diferentes.
It didn’t work for our country because we are different.
#83tan/tan/
Adverb: such, as, too, so
En esa mujer está todo; y por eso es tan maravillosa.
Everything is in that woman; and that’s why she is so wonderful.
#84donde/ˈdonde/
Conjunction: where
Yo sé donde está la llave.
I know where the key is.
#85ahora/aˈoɾa/
Adverb: now
Lo importante ahora es contarte lo que le pasó.
The important thing now is to tell you what happened to him.
#86parte/ˈpaɾte/
Noun: part, portion
El arte es una parte tan importante de la cultura.
Art is such an important part of culture.
#87después/desˈpwes/
Adverb: after
Vamos a dar un paseo después de comer.
We’ll take a walk after eating.
#88vida/ˈbiða/
Noun: life
Ha dedicado toda la vida a la música.
He has dedicated his entire life to music.
#89quedar/keˈðaɾ/
Verb: to remain, stay
El aire empezó a quedarse quieto.
The air began to become still.
#90siempre/ˈsjempɾe/
Adverb: always, forever
Siempre ha sido así.
It has always been like this.
#91creer/kɾeˈeɾ/
Verb: to believe, think
Creo en la justicia de Dios.
I believe in God’s justice.
#92hablar/aˈβlaɾ/
Verb: to speak, talk
Algunos hablan el idioma romaní.
Some speak the Romani language.
#93llevar/ʎeˈβaɾ/
Verb: to take, carry
Colgado al hombro llevaba un bolso.
Hanging from his shoulder, he carried a bag.
#94dejar/deˈxaɾ/
Verb: to let, leave
Ella no dejó que yo lo olvidara.
She didn’t let me forget it.
#95nada/ˈnaða/
Pronoun: nothing, (not) at all
No hay nada que hacer.
There’s nothing to do.
#96cada/ˈkaða/
Adjective: each, every
De aprender cada día un poco más.
To learn a little more every day.
#97seguir/seˈɣiɾ/
Verb: to follow, keep on
El calor sofocante que sigue al mediodía.
The stifling heat that follows midday.
#98menos/ˈmenos/
Adjective: less, fewer
No vale más ni menos que la anterior.
It’s worth no more or less than the previous one.
#99nuevo/ˈnweβo/
Adjective: new
Marcaba el comienzo de una nueva vida para mí.
It marked the beginning of a new life for me.
#100encontrar/enkoŋˈtɾaɾ/
Verb: to find
Encontró un lugar apropiado para instalar la sucursal.
He found a suitable place to set up the branch.
The book carries on from rank 101 to 1,000 in nine more levels of 100 words, with the same five fields for every entry. All 1,000 cover about 88% of the words in everyday spoken Spanish.
Get all 1,000 words
Ranks 101 to 1,000, with IPA, translations and example sentences for every word.
Word Quest 1000 - Spanish: Vocabulary Words
What's Included:
- 1000 most frequently used Spanish words
- Pronunciation guide for each word
- Sentence function (noun, verb, adjective, etc.)
- English translation for every word
- Sample sentences in Spanish and English