Essential Spanish Vocabulary and Phrases for Everyday Use

Essential Spanish Vocabulary and Phrases

Common Actions and Daily Life

• To live next door: Vivir al lado
• To move in: Mudarse
• To have a barbecue: Hacer una barbacoa
• To realize: Darse cuenta de
• To water: Regar
• To appear / to seem / to look: Parecer
• To cook sausages: Hacer salchichas
• To do sports: Hacer deporte
• Bay: Bahía
• To marry somebody: Casarse con
• Stepbrother: Hermanastro
• To be different from: Ser diferente de
• To play video games: Jugar con videojuegos
• So: Por lo tanto
• So: Tan
• To walk to school: Ir andando al colegio
• Anyway: En cualquier caso
• To fail exams: Suspender exámenes
• To go sailing: Ir a navegar
• To go swimming: Ir a nadar
• To go cycling: Ir a montar en bici
• To go parachuting: Hacer paracaidismo
• To go dancing: Ir a bailar
• To go diving: Hacer submarinismo

Personality Traits and Family

• Outgoing / Extrovert: Extrovertido
• Leadership: Liderazgo
• Perfectionist / Fussy: Perfeccionista
• To be surrounded by: Estar rodeado por
• (Ir)responsible: (Ir)responsable (de)
• (De)motivated: (Des)motivado
• Indecisive: Indeciso
• (In)sensitive: (In)sensible
• (Un)diplomatic: (Poco) diplomático
• (Un)affectionate: (Poco) cariñoso
• (Un)ambitious: (Poco) ambicioso
• Bossy: Mandón
• Cautious: Cauteloso
• Easy-going: Tolerante
• Self-centered: Egocéntrico
• An only child: Hijo único
• An eldest child: Hijo mayor
• A middle child: Hijo intermedio
• A youngest child: Hijo más pequeño
• The opposite: Lo contrario
• Fair: Justo
• To grow up: Hacerse mayor, madurar
• Criticism: Crítica
• To take risks: Asumir / correr riesgos
• To take guitar lessons: Tomar clases de guitarra
• Pets: Animales domésticos
• To move house: Mudarse de casa
• To live for the moment: Vivir el presente

Success, Work, and Music

• To achieve something: Lograr, conseguir
• Achievement: Logro
• Hard-working: Trabajador
• Lyricist / Songwriter: Letrista
• Lyrics: Letras (de canciones)
• To get to the top: Llegar a la cima / al éxito
• However: Sin embargo
• Lazy: Vago
• To dream of: Soñar con
• Individuals: Individuos
• To carry on + -ing: Continuar
• (Un)successful: (Poco) exitoso
• Success: Éxito
• To succeed: Tener éxito
• To have a huge hit: Tener un enorme éxito
• Mixture: Mezcla
• To store: Almacenar
• To play the drums: Tocar la batería

Culture and Daily Interactions

• Bullfighting: Corrida de toros
• Nightlife: Vida nocturna, marcha
• Exchange partner: Pareja de intercambio
• Awful / Terrible: Terrible
• Actually: En realidad
• To be allergic to something: Tener alergia a
• To miss: Echar de menos
• To stay out late: Trasnochar
• See you soon!: ¡Hasta pronto!
• Snails: Caracoles
• To sneeze: Estornudar
• On the one hand: Por una parte
• To wear glasses: Llevar gafas
• What’s more / In addition: Además
• On the other hand: Por otra parte
• Illness / Disease: Enfermedad
• To play truant: Hacer pellas
• To last long: Durar mucho tiempo
• Childhood: Infancia
• To tour the world: Hacer una gira mundial
• To end up unemployed: Acabar desempleado
• Eventually: Finalmente
• To divorce somebody: Divorciarse de
• To have arguments: Tener discusiones
• As well / Too: También
• To release an album: Sacar un álbum
• A dream come true: Un sueño hecho realidad
• To land: Aterrizar
• To go on holiday: Irse de vacaciones
• To drive somebody crazy: Volver a alguien loco
• Luckily: Afortunadamente
• To clear the table: Recoger la mesa
• At the beginning of: Al comienzo de
• To materialize: Materializarse
• To be good at: Ser bueno en
• To get a tan: Broncearse
• To sunbathe: Tomar el sol
• As a result: Como resultado de ello
• Afterwards: Después
• After: Después de / de que
• Conservative: Conservador
• To keep sneezing: No dejar de estornudar
• To drift from job to job: Ir de trabajo en trabajo
• To be optimistic about: Ser optimista en cuanto a
• Despite this event: A pesar de este acontecimiento
• To become famous / well-known: Hacerse famoso
• To be friendly to somebody: Ser simpático con alguien
• To have an influence on somebody: Tener influencia en alguien
• To persuade somebody to do something: Convencer a alguien a hacer algo
• To be in control of a business: Tener el control de un negocio
• To be on a school exchange trip: Estar de intercambio escolar
• To take care of something / somebody = To look after something / somebody: Cuidar de
• Well-known band / person: Banda / persona conocida, famosa
• To be the same age as somebody else: Ser / tener la misma edad que
• The highlights: Puntos culminantes, momentos más importantes
• To introduce somebody to somebody else: Presentar a alguien a alguien más
• To meet somebody: Quedar con alguien, ver a alguien, recoger a alguien
• Over + noun: Más de (e.g., They have sold over 25 million albums.)
• To end up doing something: Acabar haciendo algo (e.g., She ended up getting into trouble.)
• When it comes to + -ing: Cuando se trata de (e.g., When it comes to working, he is very lazy.)
• Alone = On one’s own = By oneself: Solo (e.g., She would prefer to live alone / on her own / by herself.)
• To find it difficult to do something: Encontrar difícil hacer algo (e.g., Eldest children find it difficult to be easy-going.)
• To have difficulty in doing something: Tener dificultad al hacer algo (e.g., Eldest children have difficulty in being easy-going.)

Relationships and Entertainment

• To ask somebody out: Pedir salir a alguien
• To fancy: Gustar, apetecer
• Soap operas: Telenovelas
• How about going out?: ¿Qué tal si salimos?
• Due to = Because of: Debido a
• To play a role: Interpretar un papel
• Why don’t we go out?: ¿Por qué no salimos?
• To date somebody: Salir con alguien
• To date: Salir como pareja
• Let’s go out: Salgamos
• Significant: Significativo
• Dating agency: Agencia matrimonial
• Remarkable / Outstanding: Sobresaliente
• To be based on: Basarse en
• The looks / Beauty: Belleza
• Main character: Personaje principal
• Relationship: Relación
• To focus on: Centrarse en
• Low-budget film: Película de bajo presupuesto
• Turn out to be: Resultar ser
• Dictatorship: Dictadura
• Box office hit / Blockbuster: Éxito taquillero
• Despite this: A pesar de esto
• Such as: Tales como
• A nervous breakdown: Un ataque de nervios
• To label: Etiquetar
• Currently: Actualmente
• Big-budget films: Superproducciones
• In addition / Besides: Además
• Cinema-goer: Aficionado al cine
• All in all / In short: En resumen
• Talented actor: Actor de talento
• Unfortunately: Desafortunadamente
• To be dubbed into: Ser doblada a
• To support: Apoyar
• Soundtrack: Banda sonora
• To do the stunts: Hacer las escenas de riesgo
• Happy ending: Final feliz
• To deliver a pizza: Repartir una pizza
• Sequel: Continuación, secuela
• Curse: Maldición
• To get something back: Recuperar algo
• Complicated plots: Argumentos complicados
• Mixture: Mezcla
• Impressive: Impresionante
• Light-hearted film: Película desenfadada
• Choice: Elección
• Acting: Interpretación
• Meanwhile / In the meantime: Mientras tanto
• Funny / Amusing: Divertido
• To be right: Tener razón
• Walk out of: Salir de algún lugar (andando)
• Set in: Ambientada en
• To be wrong: Estar equivocado
• To trust somebody / To rely on somebody: Fiarse de
• Reliable / Trustworthy: Fiable
• Fast-moving: Trepidante (film)
• Realistic moments: Momentos realistas
• To obey: Obedecer
• Behind: Detrás de
• To become suspicious (of somebody): Sospechar (de)
• Belief: Creencia
• Dutch: Holandés
• To go off: Sonar (alarm clock)
• Screenplay: Guion
• A bunch of roses: Un ramo de rosas
• To fall off a ladder: Caerse de una escalera
• To break down: Averiarse
• Rib: Costilla
• To crash into: Chocar contra
• To run out of: Quedarse sin
• The crew: La tripulación
• Survivor: Superviviente
• Survival: Supervivencia
• To survive: Sobrevivir
• To be speechless: Quedarse sin palabras
• To overcome: Vencer, superar
• Leading role: Papel protagonista
• To audition for: Presentarse a la audición para
• Prejudice: Prejuicio
• To be helpless: Estar indefensa
• To play the main character: Interpretar el papel principal
• The plot goes something like this: El argumento es algo así.
• To star: Tener como protagonista a (e.g., The romantic comedy stars talented actors.)
• Turn somebody into: Convertir a alguien en (e.g., The night turns the pirates into skeletons.)
• Expect something to be: Esperar que algo sea (e.g., I expected the film to be more entertaining.)
• To bring something to life: Traer algo a la vida (e.g., The film brings the robots to life in a realistic way.)
• To be forced to do something: Verse obligado a hacer algo (e.g., They were forced to eat the dead people from the plane.)
• Forbid / Ban somebody from doing something: Prohibir a alguien que haga algo (e.g., The three laws forbid robots from killing humans.)

Study and Personal Interactions

• To revise for my exams: Repasar para mis exámenes
• To try hard enough: Intentar con suficiente insistencia
• Not even: Ni siquiera (e.g., He didn’t even open the letter.)
• Close to: Cerca de (e.g., The church is close to the school.)
• To take the dog for a walk: Sacar al perro a dar un paseo
• To take extra French lessons: Recibir clases extra de francés
• To be excited about doing something: Estar emocionado por hacer algo
• To be upset about something = To be angry about something: Estar enfadado por
• To have fun = To enjoy oneself = To have a good time: Pasarlo bien
• It is hard / difficult for somebody to do something: Es difícil para alguien hacer algo
• To go to one’s head: Subírsele a la cabeza (e.g., Has success gone to your head?)
• Each other = One another: El uno al otro (e.g., They phone one another once a day.)
• I couldn’t bear to be left out of things: No podía soportar ser excluido de las cosas
• To go by bus / by car / by train / by plane / by boat: Ir en autobús / coche / tren / avión / barco
• To spend money on something: Gastar dinero en algo (e.g., Big companies spend a lot of money on advertising.)
• To phone somebody on their mobile: Llamar a alguien a su móvil (e.g., I asked him to phone me on my mobile.)
• As: Ya que, puesto que (e.g., I have to phone him as I need to ask him about his birthday party next week.)
• To be regarded as: Ser considerado como (e.g., Although she is a rock star, she is regarded as another mother.)
• To be scared of somebody / something = To be terrified of somebody / something = To be frightened of somebody / something: Tener mucho miedo de
• To make sure that …: Asegurarse de que (e.g., Companies make sure that their customers recognize their symbols.)
• To have difficulty (in) doing something = To have trouble doing something: Tener dificultad para hacer algo (e.g., I have no difficulty making new friends.)