February 16, 2020 by Tara Faires Spanish Resources

Learn the Top 100 High-Frequency Spanish Words and How to Use Them

Do you want to learn Spanish and don’t know where to start? Learn the Top 100 High-Frequency Words first and you are off to the best start! Once you know these words, then other words will begin to fall into place, like pieces of a puzzle. And you will be on your way to greater fluency because you already know 100 of the most used words!

What Are High-Frequency Words?

High-Frequency Words are the most frequently used words in the Spanish language. By learning these words, your speaking and comprehension skills increase dramatically!

Where Do I Start?

You are now ready to begin the challenge, but what is the next step? You asked the right question! Follow these tips on the best way to learn the 100 High-Frequency Words.

Step 1

Identify the top 100 High-Frequency Words in Spanish (we have done that for you below!)

Step 2

Memorize the words, including their pronunciation, spelling, and definition

Begin with learning 3-10 words per sitting (3 words for younger children, 10 words for adolescents and adults with longer attention spans).
Create notecards for each word: write the Spanish word on one side and the English translation on the other.
Say the word, spell out the letters, and read it again out loud. The goal is to identify the word quickly, but also to pronounce it correctly.

Step 3

Review, review, review.

Don’t forget to revisit the words you have already learned every time you study. One suggestion is to go through the words in the same sequence every time you study; this further reinforces the word and develops pattern recognition.

Learn common basic Spanish words and vocabulary

Building a Strong Foundation Takes Time

Your goal is to memorize these words, but it is not a race. Don’t focus on having to know all 100 in one sitting! You are building a foundation made of rock, not sand, and this takes time. Mastering 20 words is better than “sort of” knowing 50.

Top 100 High-Frequency Words

Here is a comprehensive list with its English translation and a pronunciation guide for real-world use. Once you have mastered individual Spanish vocabulary, then you can begin to work on understanding sentences.

English words are gender-neutral, yet Spanish words are gendered. This means that each word has its own article. For example la (feminine) or el (masculine) are associated with each word and used to help define the word. Putting the correct gendered article on the word is extremely important, and denying this can get you in a semantic pickle. As noted in our article on Gendered Nouns, using the wrong article could have you telling your friend that you have an infectious disease (el cólera) instead of explaining that you feel angry (la cólera). And, believe me, nobody wants that!

Top 100 High Frequency Words and How to Use Them in a Sentence
Spanish	English Translation	Spanish Pronunciation	High-Frequency Word Used in a Spanish Sentence	English Translation
Articles
la	the, feminine	lah	La casa es tan grande.	The house is so big.
el	the, masculine	ehl	Ellos cantaban para el coro.	They used to sing for the choir.
al	To the – a compound word merging ‘a+el’ together	ahl	Vamos al centro comercial para buscar ropa.	Let’s go to the mall to look for clothes.
de	from	day	Soy de los Estados Unidos.	I am from the United States.
del	of the, from the, by the - a compound word merging ‘de+el’ together	dehl	No existe Fernando del mar.	Fernando from the sea doesn't exist.
un/una	a, an, one (masculine/feminine)	oon/oona	Quiero un perro.	I want a dog.
unos	some, a few	oon-ohs	Hay unos cuantos.	There are a few.
Prepositions & Adverbs
a	To, at, impersonal "a"	ah	Vamos a ir al río.	We are going to go to the river.
por	through, along, by, for	pohr	No pases por el parque.	Don't go through the park.
para	in order to, for	pahr-ah	Salimos mañana para Antigua Guatemala.	We leave tomorrow for Antigua Guatemala.
desde	from, since	dehs-deh	Desde que era niña, he comido chocolate.	Since I was a kid, I've been eating chocolate.
durante	during	doo-rahn-the	Aprendí mucho durante de la clase de español.	I learned a lot during my Spanish class.
hasta	until	ahs-tah	Estaré afuera hasta las 5:00.	I will be outside until 5:00.
entre	between, among	ehn-treh	Me sentaré entre mis mejores amigas.	I will sit between my best friends.
con	with	kohn	¿Puedo sentarme con usted?	Can I sit with you?
sin	without	seen	No salgas sin las llaves de la casa.	Don't leave without the keys to the house.
sobre	about above, on top of	soh-breh	Podrías leer las noticias sobre la guerra.	You could read the news about the war.
contra	against	kohn-trah	No hables en contra del rey en Tailandia.	Don't speak against the King in Thailand.
hacia	toward	ah-syah	Camina hacia el agua y dobla a la derecha.	Walk towards the water and turn right.
según	according to, depending on	seh-goon	Según la maestra, no hay clases mañana. Según la hora que sea.	According to the teacher, there won't be classes tomorrow. Depending on the time.
en	in, on	ehn	Ponga la comida en el refrigerador. No te sientes en la mesa.	Put the food in the fridge. Don't sit on the table.
bajo	short, low	bah-hoh	Él es demasiado bajo para la montaña rusa de Disneyland.	He is too short for the rollercoaster at Disneyland.
ahora	now	ah-oh-rah	Ahora es el momento del cambio.	Now is the time for change.
debajo	underneath	deh-bah-hoh	No conocemos todo que hay debajo del mar.	We don't know everything that's under the sea.
ya	already	yuh	Ya comimos.	We already ate.
cómo	how	koh-moh	¿Cómo estás?	How are you?
hoy	today	oy	Me quedo en casa hoy para mirar la tele.	I'm staying home today to watch TV.
me	me	meh	Me gusta el arroz.	I like rice.
nunca	never	noon-kah	Nunca he visto el mar.	I have never seen the sea.
muy	very	mwee	La tarea es muy difícil	The homework is very difficult.
también	too	tahm-byen	Yo he estado en Costa Rica también.	I have been to Costa Rica too.
siempre	always	syehm-preh	Te amaré siempre.	I will love you always.
Adjectives
poco	a little bit	poh-koh	Solo quiero un poco del postre.	I only want a little dessert.
alto	tall, high (off the ground)	ahl-toh	Soy alta.	I am tall.
aquí	here	ah-kee	áqui está el agua.	Here is the water.
bien	good/well	byen	Estoy bien.	I am well.
bonita	pretty	boh-nee-tah	Ella es tan bonita.	She is so pretty.
buena	good	bwen-ah	¿Tienes buena salud?	Are you in good health?
grande	big, large	grahn-deh	Me encantan los burritos mexicanos grandes.	I love big Mexican burritos.
pequeña	small, little	peh-keh-nya	La camiseta es demasiado pequeña.	The shirt is too small.
mi	my	mee	Me gusta mi jardín de flores.	I like my flower garden.
mucho	a lot of	moo-choh	Hay muchos árboles en el bosque.	There are a lot of trees in the forest.
mis	My (plural)	mees	Mis amigas son amables.	My friends are kind.
Nouns
casa	house	kah-sah	La casa es amarilla.	The house is yellow.
ropa	clothes	roh-pah	Quiero ropa nueva.	I want new clothes.
Pronouns
él	he	ehl	Él es muy guapo.	He is very handsome.
ella	she	eh-yah	No me digas que ella lo hizo	Don't tell me that she did that.
este	this (masculine)	ehs-tay	Este es el coche de mi mami.	This is my mom's car.
esta	this (feminine)	ehs-tah	Esta es la falda que compré ayer.	This is the skirt that I bought yesterday.
nos	us, ourselves, each other	nohs	Cuando nos vemos, nos saludamos	When we see each other, we greet each other.
yo	I	yoh	Yo quiero pollo teriyaki para la cena.	I want teriyaki chicken for dinner.
tú	you	too	Tú pelo es lindisimo.	Your hair is so pretty.
nosotros	we, us	noh-soh-tros	El regalo es para nosotros.	The gift is for us.
esa	that (feminine)	eh-sah	Esa es una abeja.	That is a bee.
eso	that (masculine)	eh-soh	Eso es el Museo del Chocolate	That is the Chocolate Museum.
que	who, which, that	kay	Chocolate es el tipo del pastel que me encanta.	Chocolate is the type of cake that I love.
Conjunctions
que	that, who, which, than	kay	Es más barato visitar la biblioteca que la tienda.	It's cheaper to visit the library than the store.
y	and	ee	Me gusta la pizza y un refresco.	I like pizza and a drink.
o	or	oh	¿Te gusta más la lima o el limón?	Do you like lime or lemon better?
porque	because	pohr-kay	Mi amiga está triste porque no ganó el partido.	My friend is sad because she didn't win the game.
pero	but	pehr-oh	Me gustan los barcos, pero los yates me gustan más.	I like boats, but I like yachts better..
donde	where	dohn-day	¿De dónde eres?	Where are you from?
cuando	when	kwan-doh	Cuando hace calor, no quiero ir afuera.	When it is hot, I don't like to go outside.
Verbs
hay	there is, there are	ay (conjugated from haber)	Hay muchas palabras en esta lista.	There are many words on this list.
ir	to go	eer (conjugated from ir)	Voy a ir a la escuela.	I’m going to school.
voy	I go	boy (conjugated from ir)	Voy a ir al mercado.	I’m going to the market.
va	go, you go (formal)	bah (conjugated from ir)	¿Va al cine?	Are you going to the theatre?
vamos	we go let's go	bah-mos (conjugated from ir)	Vamos a ir al parque ahorita. ¡Vamos amigos!	We are going to the park now. Let's go guys!
van	they go	bahn (conjugated from ir)	Ellos van a la tienda.	They go to the store.
fui	I went	fwee (conjugated from ir)	Fui a un restaurante con mis abuelos.	I went to a restaurant with my grandparents.
fuimos	we went	fwee-mohs (conjugated from ir)	Mariana y yo fuimos al cine.	Mariana and I went to the movies.
fue	he went, she went he was, she was	fway (conjugated from ir)	Ella fue al banco. Fue cansado anoche.	She went to the bank. He was tired last night.
fueron	they went	fweh-rohn (conjugated from ir)	Fueron juntos al zoo.	They went to the zoo together.
gusta	like	goos-tah (conjugated from gustar)	No me gusta bailar.	I don’t like to dance.
veo	I see, I watch	bey-oh (conjugated from ver)	Veo flores.	I see flowers.
ven	they see, they watch	behn (conjugated from ver)	Ven el mar desde su ventana.	They see the sea from their window.
tengo	I have	tayn-goh (conjugated from tener)	Tengo 21 años.	I am 21 years old.
tiene	he/she has	tyen-eh (conjugated from tener)	Ella tiene muñecas de África.	She has dolls from Africa.
quiero	I want	kyer-oh (conjugated from querer)	Quiero correr después de la escuela.	I want to run after school.
quiere	he/she wants	kee-yer-eh (conjugated from querer)	¿Quiere un cachorro?	Do you want a puppy?
llamar	call	yah-mar	¿Vas a llamar al doctor?	Are you going to call the doctor?
leer	read	ley-ehr	Deberías leer los artículos de Homeschool Spanish Academy.	You should read the Homeschool Spanish Academy articles.
mira	he/she looks, look	mee-rah (conjugated from mirar)	Mira los árboles que se mueven en esta tormenta.	Look at the trees moving in this storm.
son	they are	sohn (conjugated from ser)	Son norteamericanos.	They are North American.
soy	I am	soy (conjugated from ser)	Soy la mamá de dos niños.	I am the mom of two kids.
es	it is, you are (formal)	ehs (conjugated from ser)	La mariposa es lindísima.	The butterfly is beautiful.
sé	I know	seh (conjugated from saber)	No sé la hora.	I don't know the time.
juego	I play	who-gahr (conjugated from jugar)	Juego baloncesto en mi escuela.	I play basketball at my school.
puedo	I can	poh-dehr (conjugated from poder)	Puedo leer en inglés.	I can read in English.
estoy	I am	ehs-toy (conjugated from estar)	Estoy muy feliz hoy.	I am very happy today.
está	he's, she's, it's, is	ehs-tah (conjugated from estar)	La calle está cerca del mercado.	The street is by the market.
estaba	I/he/she/it was	ehs-tah-bah (conjugated from estar)	Estaba muy cansada ayer.	I was very tired yesterday.
estan	they are	ehs-than (conjugated from estar)	Están juntos.	They are together.
hace	he/she does, , it has been (time), to be (weather)	ah-say (conjugated from hacer)	Hace mucho tiempo que no te vemos.	It has been a long time since we've seen you.
hacer	to do, to make	ah-sehr	Voy a hacer comida para mis padres.	I'm going to make lunch for my parents.
dice	he/she/it says	dee-say (conjugated from decir)	El menú dice que hay mariscos frescos aquí.	The menu says there is fresh seafood here.
dijo	he/she said	dee-hoh (conjugated from decir)	Me dijo que vamos a reunirnos esta noche.	He told me that we are going to get together tonight.
viene	he/she/it comes, he/she/it arrives	byen-eh (conjugated from venir)	El tren viene a las 5:00.	The train comes at 5:00.
comer	to eat	koh-mehr	Vamos a comer tortillas en 5 minutos.	We're going to eat tortillas in 5 minutes.
correr	to run	kohr-rrer	Voy a correr entre los postes de la portería.	I'm going to run between the soccer goal posts.

You’re Ready!

Now you’re ready to begin memorizing the top 100 High-Frequency words in Spanish!

Remember to begin by learning a few words at a time. Focus on learning the definition, spelling and pronunciation first. Then, when you’re ready, move on to using them in a sentence. This will advance your understanding of Spanish greatly and move you to that next level of fluency.

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Want to check and ensure your pronunciation is correct? Talk to one of our native Spanish-speaking teachers in Antigua, Guatemala today!

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Tara Faires

Freelance Writer at Homeschool Spanish Academy

I am a blog-writing, soccer-momming, grant-writing, car-pooling mom with two young kiddos. When not driving my kids around, you will find me hiking, doing yoga or traveling. I’ve journeyed through 23 countries so far - just getting started!

I began studying Spanish at age 11 and have been interested in language and culture ever since! While at University, I studied abroad in Spain and Costa Rica and got a B.A. in Environmental Economics with a minor in Spanish. After spending over a decade in Corporate America, I now enjoy the simpler things in life. ¡Pura Vida!