Start Here – Intro

This course will help you build a strong foundation in Spanish through listening, reading, and interaction with the langauge. Below is a preview of the words and expressions that will appear as you progress through the course.

You do not have to memorize all these words right now (Talk about information overload!). Instead, your goal is to be able to recognize and understand all of these words by the end of this course.

If you still don't know every single one of these words at the end of the course, don't feel bad! People acquire language at different rates. Some are faster processors than others. Keep processing messages in Spanish (listen and read!), and you will pick up the unfamiliar words over time.

Pronouns & Articles

yo – I
tú – you (informal)
usted – you (formal)
él – he
ella – she
nosotros / nosotras – we
ellos / ellas – they
ustedes – you all
el, la, los, las – the
un, una, unos, unas – a / some
lo, la, los, las – him, her, it, them (direct object)
me, te, le, nos – me, you, him/her, us (indirect object)

Question Words

qué – what
cuál / cuáles – which / which ones
cómo – how
cuándo – when
dónde – where
por qué – why
quién / quiénes – who / whom (singular/plural)
cuánto/a – how much
cuántos/as – how many

Question Words Jingle

Question words are incredibly helpful for conversation. You can quickly memorize a number of these words by singing the following verse to the tune of Jingle Bells.

¿Por qué? Why?
¿Cuándo? When?
¿Qué? What?
¿Dónde? Where?
¿Cuánto? How much?
¿Cómo? How?
¿Quién? means «"Who" is there?»

Common Phrases & Questions

¿Cómo estás? – How are you?
¿Qué tal? – How’s it going?
¿Cómo te va? – How’s it going?
¿Cómo andas? – How are you doing?
¿Cómo te llamas? – What do you call yourself
¿Cuál es tu nombre? – What is your name?
Me llamo Andrés. – I call myself Andrés.
Mi nombre es... – My name is...
Que te vaya bien – Take care / Hope it goes well for you
Que tenga(s) un buen día – Have a good day
Adiós – Goodbye
Hasta luego – See you later
Hasta pronto – See you soon
Hasta mañana – See you tomorrow

High-Frequency Verbs

hay – there is / there are
ser – to be
estar – to be
tener – to have
querer – to want
ir – to go
va a – he/she goes to
tiene que – he/she has to
quiere ser – he/she wants to be
dice – he/she says
pide – he/she asks for / orders
pone – he/she puts
hace – he/she does / makes
está leyendo – he/she is reading
está nervioso/a – he/she is nervous
oye – he/she hears
sabe hablar – he/she knows how to speak
no puede – he/she can’t / is unable to
le gusta – he/she likes (lit. to him/her it is pleasing)

Possessives

mi, mis – my
tu, tus – your (de ti)
su, sus – his, her, your (de usted)
nuestro/a, nuestros/as – our
su, sus – their, your (de ustedes)

Familia

madre – mother
padre – father
mamá – mom
papá – dad
hermana – sister
hermano – brother
hija – daughter
hijo – son
abuela – grandmother
abuelo – grandfather
tía – aunt
tío – uncle
prima – female cousin
primo – male cousin
sobrina – niece
sobrino – nephew

Days of the Week

lunes – Monday
martes – Tuesday
miércoles – Wednesday
jueves – Thursday
viernes – Friday
sábado – Saturday
domingo – Sunday

Months of the Year

enero – January
febrero – February
marzo – March
abril – April
mayo – May
junio – June
julio – July
agosto – August
septiembre – September
octubre – October
noviembre – November
diciembre – December

Numbers (0–31)