Posted June 4, 2013

In How to Learn a Second Language, Spanish Lessons, Spanish Vocabulary

Spanish-Tigre-English-Tiger

When time is a limited resource and you are trying to learn a new language it pays to be efficient. Being efficient in learning Spanish means making sure you learn the right things that will help you the most in the “real world”.

When it comes to vocabulary, it’s important to learn the words you are most likely to encounter in Spanish texts or conversations, so why not begin with a list of the most common Spanish words. Textbooks often rely on thematic terms like animals for learning, however the most common Spanish words are not what you may think. Words like “all” (todo #22) or “thing” (cosa #78) are much more common Spanish words than words like “tiger” (tigre #4,582).

Below a table of the 250 most common Spanish words taken from popular written text and conversation, in a study by Mark Davies. See how many you know and fill in the gaps of the ones that you don’t, as you’re likely to come across them soon!

*We’ve separated the most common Spanish pronouns from the list of common Spanish words. Pronouns are quite commonly used, but for studying purposes they fall into grammar lessons more than vocabulary you should memorize.

250 Most Common Spanish Words

Common Spanish Words

Rank	Spanish	English
1	el,la	the
2	de	of, from
3	que	that, which
4	y	and
5	a	to, at
6	en	in, on
7	un	a, an
8	ser	to be
10	no	no
11	haber	to have
12	por	by, for, through
13	con	with
15	para	for, to, in order to
16	como	like, as
17	estar	to be (location)
18	tener	to have
22	todo	all, every
23	pero	but, yet, except
24	más	more
25	hacer	to do, make
26	o	or
27	poder	to be able to; can
28	decir	to tell, say
29	este	this (m) [esta (f)]
30	ir	to go
31	otro	other, another
32	ese	that (m) [esa (f)]
34	si	if, whether
36	ya	already, still
37	ver	to see
38	porque	because
39	dar	to give
40	cuando	when
42	muy	very, really
43	sin	without
44	vez	time (specific occurrence)
45	mucho	much, many, a lot
46	saber	to know (a fact), find out
47	qué	what?, which?, how?
48	sobre	on top of, over, about
50	alguno	some, someone
51	mismo	same
53	también	also
54	hasta	until, up to, even
55	año	year
56	dos	two
57	querer	to want, love
58	entre	between, among
59	así	like that
60	primero	first
61	desde	from, since
62	grande	large, great, big
63	eso	that
64	ni	not even, neither, nor
66	llegar	to arrive
67	pasar	to pass, spend (time)
68	tiempo	time (general), weather
70	sí	yes
71	día	day
72	uno	one
73	bien	well
74	poco	little, few, a little bit
75	deber	should, ought to; to owe
76	entonces	so, then
77	poner	to put (on), get
78	cosa	thing
79	tanto	so much, so many
80	hombre	man, mankind, husband
81	parecer	to seem, look like
82	nuestro	our
83	tan	such, as, too, so
84	donde	where
85	ahora	now
86	parte	part, portion
87	después	after
88	vida	life
89	quedar	to remain, stay
90	siempre	always, forever
91	creer	to believe, think
92	hablar	to speak, talk
93	llevar	to take, carry
94	dejar	to let, leave
95	nada	nothing, not at all
96	cada	each, every
97	seguir	to follow, keep on
98	menos	less, fewer
99	nuevo	new
100	encontrar	to find
101	algo	something, somewhat
102	sólo	only, just
103	pues	then, well then
104	llamar	to call, name
105	venir	to come
106	pensar	to think
107	aquel	that (over there)
108	momento	moment, time
109	sino	but, except, rather
110	esto	this
111	salir	to leave, go out
112	volver	to return, to to do again
113	forma	form, shape, way
114	antes	before
115	bueno	good
116	casa	house
117	aunque	although, even though
118	mundo	world
119	tres	three
120	tal	such (a)
121	mejor	best, better
122	tomar	to take, drink
123	cierto	certain, sure
124	conocer	to know (someone or place)
125	hacia	toward, towards
126	cómo	how?
127	mujer	woman, wife
128	vivir	to live
129	aquí	here
130	caso	case, occasion
131	sentir	to feel, regret
132	luego	later, afterwards
133	país	country
134	tratar	to try, treat, deal with
135	lugar	place, position
137	persona	person
138	mayor	larger, older, main
139	último	last, final
140	propio	own, proper, typical

Common Spanish Pronouns

Rank	Spanish	English
9	se	reflexive marker
14	su	his/her/their/your
19	le	he /she/it; 3rd person indirect obj
20	lo	it; the (+ neuter)
21	lo	it; 3rd person direct object (masc)
33	la	it; 3rd person direct object (fem)
35	me	me
41	él	he,
49	mi	my
52	yo	I
65	nos	us
69	ella	she,
136	te	you
191	nosotros	we

Common Spanish Words (141 to 250)

Rank	Spanish	English
141	quien	who, whom
142	mirar	to look, watch
143	hora	hour, time (specific)
144	ninguno	no, none, nobody
145	trabajo	work, job, effort
146	casi	almost, nearly
147	punto	point, dot, period
148	durante	during, for (time)
149	cualquier	any, anyone
150	mano	hand
151	nunca	never, ever
152	manera	way, manner
153	cual	which, who, whom
154	mientras	while, whereas,
155	contar	to tell, count
156	fin	end
157	tipo	type, kind
158	gente	people
159	además	also, as well, besides
160	solo	lonely, alone
161	empezar	to begin, start
162	ejemplo	example
163	esperar	to wait, hope (for), expect
164	hoy	today, nowadays
165	lado	side
166	hijo	son, [pl] children
167	allí	there, over there
168	éste	this one
169	problema	problem
170	cuenta	bill, account
171	medio	means, middle; pormedio: through
172	contra	against, opposite
173	buscar	to look for
174	dentro	inside
175	largo	long
176	palabra	word
177	existir	to exist
178	niño	child, little boy
179	entrar	to enter
180	embargo	sin embargo: nevertheless
181	único	only, unique, sole
182	padre	father
183	trabajar	to work
184	pequeño	little, small, young
185	alto	tall, high
186	cambio	change
187	escribir	to write
188	cuatro	four
189	ahí	there
190	perder	to lose, miss
192	historia	history, story
193	idea	idea
194	agua	water
195	producir	to produce, cause
196	noche	night, evening
197	ciudad	city
198	modo	way, manner
199	nombre	name, noun
200	ocurrir	to happen, occur
201	familia	family
202	realidad	reality, actuality
203	entender	to understand
204	pedir	to ask for, request
205	recibir	to receive
206	obra	work, book, deed
207	importante	important
208	medio	half, middle
209	verdad	truth
210	mes	month
211	todavía	still, yet
212	razón	reason; tener razón: to be right
213	cuanto	en cuanto a: in terms of, regarding
214	bajo	under, underneath
215	recordar	to remember, remind
216	grupo	group
217	mil	thousand
218	humano	human
219	terminar	to finish, end
220	permitir	to allow, permit
221	aparecer	to appear
222	conseguir	to get, acquire, obtain
223	comenzar	to begin, start
224	varios	several, various
225	posible	possible
226	servir	to serve
227	general	general
228	sacar	to take out
229	necesitar	to need
230	relación	relationship, relation
231	cinco	five
232	cuerpo	body
233	nadie	nobody, anybody
234	mantener	to keep, maintain
235	hecho	fact, happening
236	ante	before,
237	principio	beginning, principle
238	resultar	to result, turn out
239	igual	equal, same (as)
240	señor	sir, Mr, lord
241	pueblo	people, village
242	tarde	afternoon, evening
243	segundo	second
244	leer	to read
245	caer	to fall
246	cambiar	to change
247	ojo	eye
248	calle	street
249	presentar	to introduce, present
250	blanco	white

This list was compiled based on “A Frequency Dictionary of Spanish” by Mark Davies.

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1000 of the Most Common Spanish Words

Happy Hour Spanish

Hayley & Maider are co-founders of Happy Hour Spanish, an online Spanish Program utilizing original video content and local meetups for a true Spanish immersion experience. Together they speak English, Spanish, French, and Italian and have a passion for teaching and learning languages.