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August 10, 2021 by Luis F. Dominguez Spanish Vocabulary 0 comments

War and Peace: Military Vocabulary in Spanish

War has (unfortunately!) always been part of human history, which makes learning vocabulary about the military in Spanish an important step in your learning process. 

The military is part of every country’s life and Spanish-speaking countries are no exception. What’s more, each military has its own unique terms that you need to learn, especially if you’re in the defense and security industries. 

Keep reading to learn more about why you should learn about the military in Spanish, the Spanish terms for the different ranks and branches in the military, war vocabulary, and even some politics and human rights words related to war in Spanish.

The Military in Spanish

The military in Spanish has its own words, technical terms, and specific vocabulary about its own ranks and branches, as well as war itself. Understanding the meaning and translation of this vocabulary can be of the utmost importance in certain situations. 

However, you don’t need to live in a military base, have served in the military, or even be in the unfortunate situation of being in a country torn by war to learn and appreciate the importance of learning vocabulary about the military in Spanish. Just by reading a history book in Spanish, for instance, you’d be well-served to know some of the military vocabulary included below. 

Remember, learning a language isn’t only about learning the words and grammar rules about the areas of life that you’re interested in. You never know when you’ll be in a situation where you have to speak about the military in Spanish, or for that matter about golf, accounting, or music. 

The Military in Spanish Vocabulary 

Let’s start by learning the military ranks in Spanish and then explore the vocabulary for each one of the different branches of the US military in Spanish. 

military in Spanish
Military | © Luca Melloni/Flickr

Military Ranks in Spanish

The following is the list of military ranks in Spanish according to how the US military is organized. The ranks aren’t presented by order of importance, but alphabetized in English. 

EnglishSpanish
admiralel, la almirante
airmanel aviador, la aviadora
captainel capitán, la capitana
colonelel, la coronel
commanderel, la comandante
corporalel, la cabo
ensignel, la alférez de fragata
generalel, la general
lieutenantel, la teniente
majorel, la mayor
marshalel, la mariscal
petty officerel, la suboficial de marina
privateel, la soldado raso
recruitel, la recluta
seamanel marino, la marina
sergeantel, la sargento
warrant officerel, la suboficial mayor

Branches of the Military in Spanish

Although the US Military has 5 military branches as presented below, most countries only possess the classic 3 branches that cover land, air, and sea. For this reason, we’ll cover the Spanish vocabulary for these 3 branches in detail. 

EnglishSpanish
air forcela fuerza aérea
armyel ejército
marine corpsel cuerpo de marines
navyla marina, la armada 
coast guardla guardia costera, los guardacostas

Air Force in Spanish

Let’s dig deeper in the Spanish vocabulary used in the Air Force. 

military in Spanish
U.S. Air Force 62-3526 | © Drewski2112/Flickr
EnglishSpanish
air basela base aérea
aircraftel avión
airwayla ruta aérea, la aerovía
altitudela altitud
dive-bomberel bombardero
dogfightel combate aéreo
fighterel avión de caza, el avión de combate
flyoverel sobrevuelo
helicopterel helicóptero
jetel jet, el avión a reacción
parachuteel paracaídas
paratrooperel, la paracaidista
pilotel, la piloto
planeel avión
stealth bomberel bombardero sigiloso

Navy in Spanish

In this section, I’m including all types of nautical military vocabulary.

US Naval Forces
Commander | © U.S. Naval Forces/Flickr
EnglishSpanish
aircraft carrierel portaaviones
battleshipel acorazado
boatel barco
bowla proa
bridgeel puente de mando
crewla tripulación
destroyerel destructor
fleetla flota
main deckla cubierta
overboardpor la borda
shipel buque
sternla popa
submarineel submarino
torpedoel torpedo

Army in Spanish

Finally, here is some army and land-related military vocabulary in Spanish.

military in Spanish
Warrior Focus Train | © The U.S. Army/Flickr
EnglishSpanish
armored vehicleel vehículo blindado
fortel fuerte
infantryla infantería
jeepel jeep, el todoterreno
patrolla patrulla
postel puesto
tankel tanque
troopslas tropas
unitla unidad

Military Alphabet in Spanish

If you have ever watched a war film, odds are that you have heard  a soldier speaking through a radio and saying funny words such as “alpha,” “bravo,” “charlie.” The idea behind these terms is to avoid confusion when spelling words during an emergency, and it was first developed by the International Civil Aviation Organization. 

Later, the US military perfected the alphabet during the Vietnam War. The effort was fully developed among 26 international agencies, who created code words for each letter—following the English alphabet that would be distinct enough to facilitate its use and interpretation.  The result was the NATO phonetic alphabet.

In Spanish, there isn’t a military alphabet as intricately developed as that of NATO, and most Spanish-speaking militaries would use the international version. However, some versions of phonetic spelling alphabets exist—although none of them is definitive and accepted in the whole Spanish world. 

You can click here for one of the most common versions of a Spanish alphabet—used in Spain—to simplify the spelling of letters in radiophonic communications.

War in Spanish Vocabulary

Although the military is strongly related to war, the truth is that these two concepts are very different ideas. Think about it, there are many countries with military institutions that haven’t been to war for a long time (or ever). 

Another example of this differentiation between the military and war itself are those wars where the military isn’t involved—for instance, the war on drugs or civil wars where fighters don’t belong to any military corps. 

With this in mind, I’ve included some important terms about war in Spanish. 

In the Battlefield

Find some common words and technical terms used in the battlefield here. For example, learn how to say “attack” in Spanish. 

EnglishSpanish
ammunitionla munición
arsenalel arsenal
artilleryla artillería
assaultel asalto
attackel ataque
batteryla batería
battlela batalla
battlefieldel campo de batalla
casualtyla baja
combatel combate, combatir
defensela defensa
encampmentel campamento
enemyel enemigo
explosionla explosión

Here are some more relevant Spanish vocabulary words used in the battlefield. For example, learn how to say “military siege” in Spanish. 

EnglishSpanish
field hospitalel hospital de campaña
fightla lucha, luchar
forcela fuerza
frontlineel frente
guerrillala guerrilla
injuredel herido, la herida
invasionla invasión
offensela ofensiva
resistancela resistencia
retreatla retirada
shootdisparar
sniperel francotirador, la francotiradora
strategyla estrategia
tacticla táctica
targetel blanco
warla guerra
woundla herida

Weapons

In the following list, I’m including the most common weapons used at war—which haven’t been included in previous lists (such as “fighter” or “tank”). To increase your vocabulary about this topic, I strongly recommend you to read Vocabulary List of Weapons in Spanish.

EnglishSpanish
bombla bomba
bulletla bala
droneel drone
grenadela granada
gunla pistola
machine gunla ametralladora
minela mina
missileel misil
weaponel arma
weapons of mass destructionlas armas de destrucción masiva

Politics

It is indisputable that war is as much about politics as it is about the military. So, in this section I’m including some terms and concepts related to politics. For example, I consider a surrender or a declaration of war political decisions—these days surrendering isn’t a general’s decision, but a president’s or another politician’s.

military in Spanish
Postcard Declaration of War | © State Library Victoria/Flickr 
EnglishSpanish
allyel aliado
ceasefireel cese al fuego
civilianel civil
declaration of warla declaración de guerra
governmentel gobierno
national securityla seguridad nacional
peacela paz
prisoner of warel prisionero de guerra
propagandala propaganda
surrenderla rendición, rendirse
veteranel veterano, la veterana
war criminalel criminal de guerra

Human Rights

Although you might find it counterintuitive, human rights are also closely related with war and, for that reason, I’m including some terms related to this important concept here. 

EnglishSpanish
conscientious objectorel objetor de conciencia
Geneva Conventionla Convención de Ginebra
human rightslos derechos humanos
humanitarianhumanitario
United Nationslas Naciones Unidas

Increase Your Vocabulary and Learn Spanish

Increasing your vocabulary about the military in Spanish takes you one step closer to your goal of becoming fluent in the language. 

If you’re in the US military, this can be a great benefit for you as Latino personnel make about 10% of the armed forces. If you aren’t part of the military, just remember that interpreters and translators are among the fastest growing occupations, and speaking Spanish can open a myriad of doors toward your dream job.  

Sign up for a free class with one of our certified, native Spanish teachers from Guatemala. They teach more than 24,000 actively enrolled students every month and have been doing this for over 10 years. Choose the teacher that best fits your schedule and start speaking about the military in Spanish today!

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Luis F. Dominguez
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Luis F. Dominguez
Freelance Writer at Homeschool Spanish Academy
Luis F. Domínguez is a freelance writer and independent journalist interested in travel, languages, art, books, history, philosophy, politics and sports. He has written for Fodor’s, Yahoo!, Sports Illustrated, Telemundo, and Villa Experience, among other brands of print and digital media in Europe and North America.
Luis F. Dominguez
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