85 Common Spanish Words You Already Know
Did you know that there are common Spanish words you already have in your vocabulary?
I’m sure you’ve heard about cognates. They’re words in different languages with similar nature or descent from the same origin—and part of the reason why you already know lots of words in Spanish!
Keep reading to discover 85 common Spanish words that you can start using right away in your conversations!
Common Spanish Words
There are tons of “sister words” or cognates in Spanish and English. Next, you’ll find 85 of them divided into categories, along with example sentences.
Identical Common Spanish Words in English
The following cognates are literal, meaning you write and spell them in the exact same way. However, note that the pronunciation varies between the two languages.
| English | Spanish |
| 1. Actor | El actor |
| 2. Animal | El animal |
| 3. Agenda | La agenda |
| 4. Altar | El altar |
| 5. Area | El área |
| 6. Cable | El cable |
| 7. Capital | La capital |
| 8. Cereal | El cereal |
| 9. Carbon | El carbon |
| 10. Central | Central |
| 11. Chocolate | El chocolate |
| 12. Crisis | La crisis |
| 13. Error | El error |
| 14. Hospital | El hospital |
| 15. Idea | La idea |
| 16. Original | Original |
| 17. Religion | La religión |
| 18. Real | Real |
| 19. Television | La televisión |
| 20. Total | El total |
Example sentences
No puedo esperar para casarnos en unas horas, nos vemos en el altar, mi amor.
I can’t wait to get married in a few hours, see you at the altar, my love.
Hay muchas áreas restringidas en el aeropuerto.
There are many restricted areas at the airport.
¿Sabías que Tallahassee fue elegida como la capital de Florida en 1824?
Did you know that Tallahassee was chosen as the capital of Florida in 1824?
Iremos al parque central, ¿quieren venir con nosotros?
We’re going to the central park, do you guys want to come with us?
Creo que mi tío está pasando por la crisis de los 40.
I think my uncle is going through a midlife crisis.
No sé qué pasa con mi computadora, me aparece continuamente un mensaje de error en el servidor.
I don’t know what’s wrong with my computer, I keep getting an error message on the server.
Common Spanish Words Ending in -ción
Many common Spanish words ending in “ción” are the same as the ones ending in “tion” when speaking English.
| English | Spanish |
| 21. Admiration | La admiración |
| 22. Application | La aplicación |
| 23. Attention | La atención |
| 24. Celebration | La celebración |
| 25. Combination | La combinación |
| 26. Condition | La condición |
| 27. Fiction | La ficción |
| 28. Nation | La nación |
Example sentences
Siento muchísima admiración por mi mamá, es una mujer extraordinaria.
I have a lot of admiration for my mother; she is an extraordinary woman.
¿Ya descargaste la nueva aplicación de Apple?
Have you already downloaded the new Apple app?
Acabo de mandar mi aplicación para la universidad, espero que me acepten.
I just sent my college application, I hope they accept me.
Nunca adivinarás la combinación de la caja fuerte, es muy difícil.
You will never guess the combination of the safe, it’s too hard.
Iré al cumpleaños de tu hermano con una condición, que me dejes comer mucho pastel.
I will go to your brother’s birthday on one condition, that you let me eat a lot of cake.
Aunque nos gusten los libros de ciencia ficción, nuestros favoritos son los de romance.
Although we like science fiction books, our favorites are romance books.
Common Spanish Words Ending in -a and -o: Nouns
In English, you’ll find nouns in which you just need to add an -a or an -o to convert them into Spanish. Easy peasy!
| English | Spanish |
| 29. Alarm | La alarma |
| 30. Document | El documento |
| 31. Human | El humano |
| 32. Insect | El insecto |
| 33. List | La lista |
| 34. Map | El mapa |
| 35. Music | La música |
| 36. Person | La persona |
| 37. Problem | El problema |
Example sentences
Programé mi alarma a las 5:00 am para poder llegar a tiempo.
I set my alarm for 5:00 am so I can be on time.
El ser humano es la especie más inteligente de la Tierra.
The human being is the most intelligent species on Earth.
Quiero comprar un mapa del mundo para lanzarle un dardo y viajar al lugar en el que caiga.
I want to buy a map of the world to throw a dart at it and travel to where it lands.
En la mayoría de países, las personas menores de 16 años no pueden manejar.
In most countries, people under the age of 16 can’t drive.
Cuando el cantautor Ricardo Arjona dijo: “El problema no es quererte, es que tú no sientas lo mismo” realmente lo sentí.
When the songwriter Ricardo Arjona said, “The problem isn’t loving you, it’s that you don’t feel the same way,” I really felt it.
Common Spanish Words Ending in -a and -o: Adjectives
There are also adjectives in which you just need to add an -a or an -o at the end.
| English | Spanish |
| 38. Academic | Académico |
| 39. Artistic | Artístico/a |
| 40. Automatic | Automático/a |
| 41. Basic | Básico/a |
| 42. Classic | Clásico/a |
| 43. Diplomatic | Diplomático/a |
| 44. Dramatic | Dramático/a |
| 45. Exotic | Exótico/a |
| 46. Fantastic | Fantástico/a |
| 47. Ironic | Irónico/a |
| 48. Organic | Orgánico/a |
| 49. Romantic | Romántico/a |
| 50. Tragic | Trágico/a |
Example sentences
Mi amigo se ganó el reconocimiento al mejor promedio académico del año.
My friend won the award for the best academic GPA of the year.
Mi maestra tiene una personalidad muy artística, siempre está dibujando y pintando.
My teacher has a very artistic personality, she is always drawing and painting.
¿Tu carro es automático o mecánico?
Is your car automatic or stick shift?
Su respuesta fue muy diplomática, y nos ayudó a resolver el problema.
His response was very diplomatic, and he helped us solve the problem.
Deja de ser tan dramática.
Stop being so dramatic.
Las frutas exóticas son mis favoritas.
Exotic fruits are my favorites.
En ese restaurante venden hamburguesas orgánicas.
In that restaurant they sell organic burgers.
El final de Romeo y Julieta es muy trágico.
The end of Romeo and Juliet is so tragic.
Common Spanish Words Ending in -oso
Different adjectives in English end in -ous, so if you want to convert them into Spanish adjectives just replace -ous with -oso.
| English | Spanish |
| 51. Curious | Curioso |
| 52. Delicious | Delicioso |
| 53. Fabulous | Fabuloso |
| 54. Famous | Famoso |
| 55. Furious | Furioso |
| 56. Glorious | Glorioso |
| 57. Numerous | Numeroso |
| 58. Precious | Precioso |
| 59. Religious | Religioso |
| 60. Tedious | Tedioso |
Example sentences
Me encanta que los niños sean tan curiosos, siempre están tratando de explorar el mundo.
I love that children are so curious, they are always trying to explore the world.
Sharpay de “High School Musical” cree que es la mujer más fabulosa del mundo.
Sharpay from “High School Musical” thinks she’s the most fabulous woman in the world.
Mi padre se puso furioso cuando mi perro se comió la carne asada.
My dad was furious when my dog
¡Mira qué gloriosa se ve la puesta de sol!
Look how glorious the sunset is!
Mis padres tienen numerosos libros en su estantería.
My parents have numerous books on their bookshelf.
El bebé de mi amiga es precioso.
My friend’s baby is precious.
No me gustan las clases tediosas en la universidad, me aburro mucho.
I don’t like tedious classes at college, I get very bored.
Common Spanish Words Ending in -cto
Many English words end in -ct. To convert them into Spanish words, replace that ending with -cto.
| English | Spanish |
| 61. Abstract | Abstracto |
| 62. Act | Acto |
| 63. Artefact | Artefacto |
| 64. Conflict | Conflicto |
| 65. Contact | Contacto |
| 66. Correct | Correcto |
| 67. Exact | Exacto |
| 68. Except | Excepto |
| 69. Insect | Insecto |
| 70. Perfect | Perfecto |
| 71. Product | Producto |
Example sentences
El arte abstracto es mi favorito.
Abstract art is my favorite.
El último acto de la obra nos dejó sin palabras.
The last act of the play left us speechless.
Los paleontólogos han encontrado artefactos antiguos a lo largo de los años.
Paleontologists have found ancient artefacts over the years.
El fútbol americano es un deporte de contacto.
Football is a contact sport.
Como dijo una vez una persona sabia: no hay nada permanente excepto el cambio.
As a wise person once said: there is nothing permanent except change.
Common Spanish Words With No Rules!
As a Spanish learner, there are common Spanish words that you simply know, right? Well, that’s because not all cognates have a rule; your mind simply matches the words in both languages. Check these out!
| English | Spanish |
| 72. Bicycle | La bicicleta |
| 73. Blouse | La blusa |
| 74. Boot | La bota |
| 75. Bottle | La botella |
| 76. Car | El carro |
| 77. Elephant | El elefante |
| 78. Fruit | La fruta |
| 79. Group | El grupo |
| 80. Lamp | La lámpara |
| 81. Lion | El león |
| 82. Mountain | La montaña |
| 83. Office | La oficina |
| 84. Penguin | El pingüino |
| 85. Student | El estudiante |
Example sentences
Vi un hermoso par de botas en el centro comercial, de verdad quiero comprarlas.
I saw a beautiful pair of boots at the mall, I really want to buy them.
Una vez encontramos un mensaje en una botella, ¡fue increíble!
We found a message in a bottle once, it was awesome!
Nuestro maestro dijo que teníamos que hacer grupos de cinco personas.
Our teacher said we had to make groups of five people.
Me encanta caminar por las montañas, la naturaleza es simplemente hermosa.
I love to hike in the mountains; nature is simply beautiful.
¿Sabías que los pingüinos se quedan con su primera pareja para siempre?
Did you know that penguins stay with their first couple forever?
Although we’ve seen lots of common Spanish words so far, there are many more easy cognates you can discover!
However, you need to be careful with false cognates. These are words that seem to be similar or to have the same roots, but they actually mean completely different things.
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