The Ultimate Guide to Autumn Vocabulary in Spanish

Autumn is right around the corner and if you are as excited as I am, this guide to autumn vocabulary in Spanish is just what you need! 

In this blog post, I include autumn vocabulary lists and phrases to talk about this magical season in Spanish. 

Autumn Months

From September 22nd—the autumnal equinox—through December 20th, fall is part of our homes in many ways. The weather, the visible changes in nature, and the smell of pumpkin spice make this season one of our favorites!

Let’s warm-up!

Autumn Months in Spanish

English	Spanish
autumn	el otoño
autumnal equinox	el equinoccio otoñal
december	diciembre
october	octubre
september	septiembre

Example Sentences

El otoño empieza en septiembre
Fall starts in September.

En otoño empieza a hacer frío.
It starts to get cold in autumn.

Colors in Nature

To many the warm colors that represent autumn are unique and it is what makes the season one of the most beautiful times of the year! 

Check out this basic vocabulary about the weather in autumn and how to talk about it in Spanish!

Fall Weather in Spanish

English	Spanish
cold	frío
cool currents	las corrientes frías
low temperatures	las temperaturas bajas
temperature	la temperatura
warm	cálido

Example Sentences

¿Por qué hace tanto frío hoy?
Why is it so cold today?

En otoño empiezan las corrientes frías.
Cool currencies start in autumn.

La temperatura pasa de cálida a fría durante esta estación.
Temperature goes from warm to cold during this season.

Now, let’s look at this useful vocabulary about nature and its beautiful colors to describe fall in Spanish!

Nature During Autumn

English	Spanish
acorns	las bellotas
amber	ámbar
branches	las ramas
brown	café
chlorophyll	la clorofila
countryside	el campo
deciduous trees	los árboles caducifolio
foliage	el follaje
golden	dorado
leaves	las hojas
orange	naranja
pine cones	las piñas
red	rojo
to change	cambiar
to fall	caer

Example Sentences

Las hojas de los árboles cambian de color porque pierden clorofila.
Tree leaves change their color because they lose chlorophyll.

Cuando las hojas se secan, se caen de las ramas.
When the leaves dry, they fall off the branches.

El foliaje de los árboles es muy colorido durante el otoño.
The tree foliage is very colorful during fall.

Los árboles caducifolios son característicos del otoño.
Deciduous trees are typical of autumn.

More Nature Vocabulary

English	Spanish
to shed	desprender
trees	los árboles
yellow	amarillo
woods	el bosque

Example Sentences

Las caminatas en el bosque son lo mejor en esta temporada.
Walks in the woods are the best during this time.

Las piñas se desprenden de los árboles. ¡Vamos a recolectar algunas!
Pinecones shed from the trees. Let’s collect some!

Garments

Cold weather may make us want to stay at home, but we can be in style whenever we go out during the autumn winds! Here we have some must-have clothes and how to say them in Spanish.

Autumn Clothes

English	Spanish
blazer	la chaqueta
boots	las botas
cardigan	el cárdigan
coat	el abrigo
flannel	la franela
gloves	los guantes
hat	el gorro
jacket	la chaqueta
midi skirt	la falda larga
scarf	la bufanda

Example Sentences

¡No olvides tu bufanda!
Don’t forget your scarf!

La franela es lo mejor para el otoño.
Flannel is the best for autumn.

Los abrigos son necesarios cuando hace frío.
Coats are a must when it’s cold.

More Fall Clothes in Spanish

English	Spanish
socks	las calcetas
sweater	el suéter
tights	las medias
vest	el chaleco
windbreaker	la chumpa
woolen dress	el vestido de lana
woolen socks	las calcetas de lana

Example Sentences

Uso mis calcetas de lana en las tardes frías.
I wear my woolen socks on cold afternoons.

Usa un chaleco debajo de tu suéter. Es mejor para el frío.
Wear a vest underneath your sweater. It’s better for the cold.

Mi ropa favorita son los vestidos de lana.
My favorite clothes are woolen dresses.

Fall Traditions

Even if I live quite far away from the United States, the traditions associated with autumn have always fascinated me. Aren’t they fun? 

I have prepared awesome vocabulary lists for you about some traditions during autumn in Spanish!

Halloween in Spanish

English	Spanish
black cat	el gato negro
candy	los dulces
carving pumpkins	tallar calabazas
decorations	las decoraciones
ghosts	los fantasmas
ghost stories	las historias de fantasmas
graveyard cemetery	el cementerio
halloween costumes	los disfraces de halloween
halloween party	la fiesta de halloween
haunted houses	las casas embrujadas

Example Sentences

¡Comeremos muchos dulces en Halloween!
We will eat lots of candy on Halloween!

¿Te atreves a ir al cementerio el 31 de Octubre?
Do you dare go to the graveyard cemetery on October 31st?

¡Ya quiero ir a la fiesta de Halloween!
I can’t wait to go to the Halloween party!

Las casas embrujadas son lo mejor del Halloween.
Haunted houses are the best of Halloween.

More Halloween Vocabulary

English	Spanish
horror movie	la película de horror
jack-o-lantern	la linterna de calabaza
masks	las máscaras
scarecrow	el espantapájaros
spooky	espeluznante
trick-or-treating	pedir dulces
to scare	asustar
witches	las brujas
zombies	los zombies

Example Sentences

¡Prepara las linternas de calabaza para decorar la casa!
Prepare the jack-o-lanterns to decorate the house!

¡El espantapájaros del vecino es espeluznante!
The neighbor’s scarecrow is spooky!

Compré muchas máscaras para que usemos al pedir dulces.
I bought a lot of masks for us to use when we go trick-or-treating.

Thanksgiving in Spanish

A time for sharing and starting family reunions, Thanksgiving sure has a lot of slang about autumn. 

Now, you will be able to talk about this awesome holiday with your Spanish-speaking friends!

Thanksgiving Vocabulary

English	Spanish
celebration	la celebración
colonists	los colonizadores
dinner	la cena
family	la familia
friends	los amigos
football	el fútbol
gratefulness	el agradecimiento
holiday	la fiesta
Massachusetts Bay Colony	la Colonia de la Bahía de Massachusetts
native americans	los nativos americanos
pilgrims	los peregrinos/las peregrinas
Thanksgiving	el Día de Acción de Gracias
to dine	cenar
to give (thanks)	agradecer
tradition	la tradición

Example Sentences

Es importante agradecer junto a la familia en el Día de Acción de Gracias.
It is important to give thanks with the family on Thanksgiving.

El Día de Acción de Gracias se celebra el último jueves de noviembre.
We celebrate Thanksgiving on the last Thursday of November.

No me puedo perder el juego de fútbol este jueves.
I can’t miss the football game this Thursday.

I believe good food improves a celebration, which is why you can’t miss this vocabulary list you can use to talk about typical autumn food in Spanish!

Autumn Food in Spanish

English	Spanish
apple pie	el pie de manzana
beans	los frijoles
bread	el pan
casserole	la cazuela
cornbread	el pan de maíz
cranberry sauce	la salsa de arándanos
dessert	el postre
dish	el plato
feast	el festín
gravy	la salsa de carne
ham	el jamón
leftovers	las sobras
meat	la carne
pecan pie	el pie de pecanas
potatoes	las papas

Example Sentences

La salsa de arándanos es mi parte favorita de la cena.
Cranberry sauce is my favorite part of dinner.

Mi salsa de carne es la mejor.
My gravy is the best.

¿Me ayudas a guardar las sobras?
Would you help keep the leftovers?

¿Quieres más pie de manzana?
Would you like more apple pie?

More Food Vocabulary

English	Spanish
pumpkin pie	el pie de calabaza
sauce	la salsa
stuffing	el relleno
sweet potatoes	las papas dulces
to bake	hornear
to baste	untar
to cook	cocinar
turkey	el pavo
yam	la batata

Example Sentences

¿Te gustó el relleno del pavo?

Did you like the turkey’s stuffing?

¿Me puedes pasar una porción de pie de calabaza?

Can you give me a slice of pumpkin pie?

¿Me ayudarás a hornear el pavo?

Will you help me bake the turkey?

More Activities

Harvest festivals are common during the season because many plants come to fruition. 

Let’s look at some awesome Spanish words about this tradition!

Harvest Time!

English	Spanish
artichokes	las alcachofas
cabbage	el repollo
cauliflowers	las coliflores
corn	el maíz
crops	los cultivos
eggplant	la berenjena
harvest	la cosecha or cosechar
harvest festival	el festival de la cosecha
squash	el calabacín
zucchini	el zucchini

Example Sentences

¿Me acompañas al festival de la cosecha?
Would you go with me to the harvest festival?

Mi familia cosecha calabacines en su jardín.
My family harvests squash in their garden.

Habrá un festival de la cosecha este mes.
There will be a harvest festival this month.

Autumn Fruits in Spanish

English	Spanish
apples	las manzanas
avocados	los aguacates
grapefruits	las toronjas
orange	la naranja
pumpkins	las calabazas
tangerines	las mandarinas
nuts	las nueces

Example Sentences

¡Vamos a escoger unas calabazas!
Let’s go pick some pumpkins!

Mi fruta favorita de la temporada son las manzanas.
My favorite fruit of the season are apples.

It is great to learn about more typical activities during autumn in the United States! So, here is a list of some of them for you to talk about them in Spanish.

Fall Traditions in Spanish

English	Spanish
apple bobbing	morder la manzana
beggar’s night	la noche del mendigo
black friday	el viernes negro
bonfires	las fogatas
buy-nothing day	el día de no comprar
candy corn	el maíz dulce
corn mazes	los laberintos de maíz
election day	el día de las elecciones
homecoming	el regreso a casa
New York’s Thanksgiving Day Parade	el desfile del día de acción de gracias
punkin chunkin	destrozar calabazas
the world series	la serie mundial

Example Sentences

¿Estás listo para el Viernes Negro?
Are you ready for Black Friday?

Me encanta ir a los laberintos de maíz.
I love going to the corn mazes.

Mis amigos y yo haremos una fogata.
My friends and I will make a bonfire.

Halloween Movies

As a movie lover—even if we do not celebrate Halloween or Thanksgiving in my country—I do love to make a movie marathon during this time! 

Here are some of the favorite and most popular movies of the season!

Hocus Pocus (1933)

Directed by Disney’s favorite Kenny Ortega. I have watched this movie since I was a kid and I still watch it at this age! It is funny, family-friendly, and filled with amazing characters. It is a must-watch on October 31st.

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949)

This is a super fun film about spooky stories! The real definition of “old but good” defines this animated adaptation “The Wind in the Willows” and “Sleepy Hollow.”

The Haunted Mansion (2003)

Featuring our beloved Eddie Murphy, this fun yet spooky film contains amazing performances and fun sequences for the whole family to enjoy!

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

Just like Hocus Pocus, this movie has always been part of my life! The best thing about it is that you can watch it on Halloween or Christmas and you’ll still have the time of your life!

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