I was nine when our family emigrated from Poland to the U.S. and had to quickly learn a new language. I carried around a little spiral notebook where I jotted down new words I saw/heard.
In South America (where I realized my high school Spanish had been long forgotten), I used a more high-tech method: jotting down new words on my iPhone.
I’m at about 200 words now, which I think puts me in the vocabulary range of a 2-year old. I still don’t feel very confident conversing—I can read easier than I can speak—but these are coming in handy in the Spanish Canary Islands. For anything else, I turn to Google Translate.
My Spanish Vocabulary
| Spanish | English | |
| 1 | buenos dias | good morning |
| 2 | buenas tardes | good afternoon |
| 3 | buenas noches | good night |
| 4 | hola | hello |
| 5 | gracias | thank you |
| 6 | de nada | you’re welcome |
| 7 | bienvenido | welcome |
| 8 | buena, bueno | good |
| 9 | quien | who |
| 10 | que | what |
| 11 | cuando | when |
| 12 | donde | where |
| 13 | por que | why |
| 14 | esa | that |
| 15 | adios | bye |
| 16 | usted | you |
| 17 | a mi | me |
| 18 | el | he |
| 19 | ella | she |
| 20 | nosotros | we |
| 21 | todo | all |
| 22 | sin | without |
| 23 | con | with |
| 24 | y | and |
| 25 | hay | there is |
| 26 | hoy | today |
| 27 | manana | tomorrow |
| 28 | hora | hour |
| 29 | dia | day |
| 30 | semana | week |
| 31 | mes | month |
| 32 | año | year (not to be confused with ano, which = anus) |
| 33 | mas | further, more |
| 34 | otro | other |
| 35 | amiga/amigo | friend |
| 36 | persona | person |
| 37 | peatonal | pedestrian |
| 38 | prima | cousin |
| 39 | desayuno | breakfast |
| 40 | almuerza | lunch |
| 41 | cena | dinner |
| 42 | cafe | coffee |
| 43 | te | tea |
| 44 | leche | milk |
| 45 | azucar | sugar |
| 46 | sal | salt |
| 47 | huevos | eggs |
| 48 | pan | bread |
| 49 | queso | cheese |
| 50 | manteca | butter |
| 51 | mermelada | marmalade |
| 52 | carne | meat |
| 53 | medialuna | croissant |
| 54 | pastelaria | pastry |
| 55 | pollo | chicken |
| 56 | pescado | fish |
| 57 | jugo | juice |
| 58 | tostada | toast |
| 59 | maiz | corn |
| 60 | arroz | rice |
| 61 | frutas | fruit |
| 62 | sopa | soup |
| 63 | naranja | orange |
| 64 | fresa | strawberry |
| 65 | piña | pineapple |
| 66 | manzana | apple |
| 67 | pera | pear |
| 68 | miel | honey |
| 69 | dulce | sweet |
| 70 | helado | Ice cream |
| 71 | pastel | cake |
| 72 | galletas | cookies |
| 73 | bebida | drink |
| 74 | agua con gas | water with gas (seltzer) |
| 75 | cerveza | beer |
| 76 | papas fritas | French fries, or potato chips |
| 77 | salchipapas | I’ve given up trying to figure out what these are. They seem to be different in every country. |
| 78 | desfruto | enjoy |
| 79 | aves | birds |
| 80 | pajarera | birdwatcher |
| 81 | colibri | hummingbird |
| 82 | pajaro carpintero | woodpecker |
| 83 | buho | owl |
| 84 | pata | duck |
| 85 | gaviota | gull |
| 86 | paloma | pigeon |
| 87 | canaria | canary |
| 88 | mariposa | butterfly |
| 89 | vaca | cow |
| 90 | arbol | tree |
| 91 | perra | dog |
| 92 | ladrar | bark |
| 93 | gata | cat |
| 94 | lluvia | rain |
| 95 | cascada | waterfall |
| 96 | montana | mountain |
| 97 | flor | flower |
| 98 | bosque | forest |
| 99 | helecho | fern |
| 100 | niebla | fog |
| 101 | rapido | fast |
| 102 | sol | sun |
| 103 | caliente | hot |
| 104 | frio | cold |
| 105 | salida | exit |
| 106 | me gusta | I like |
| 107 | comida | meal |
| 108 | pagar | pay |
| 109 | vamos | come on, let’s go |
| 110 | vente | come |
| 111 | pare | stop |
| 112 | tarde | late |
| 113 | suba | come up |
| 114 | pasar | pass? |
| 115 | despacio | slowly |
| 116 | no puede | can’t |
| 117 | hablar, hablo | speak |
| 118 | usar | wear |
| 119 | ropa | clothes |
| 120 | zapato | shoe |
| 121 | Lavadero | laundry |
| 122 | ingres | enter |
| 123 | banco | bank |
| 124 | hostal | lodging house |
| 125 | escuela | school |
| 126 | casa | house |
| 127 | castillo | castle |
| 128 | fuerte | fort |
| 129 | ciudad | city |
| 130 | habitacion | room |
| 131 | bano | bathroom |
| 132 | ascensor | elevator |
| 133 | teleferico | cable car |
| 134 | boleto | ticket |
| 135 | blanco | white |
| 136 | negro | black |
| 137 | verde | green |
| 138 | azul | blue |
| 139 | rosa | pink |
| 140 | dorado | golden |
| 141 | peligro | danger |
| 142 | velocidad | speed |
| 143 | listo | ready |
| 144 | mujer | woman |
| 145 | hombre | man |
| 146 | niña/niño | child |
| 147 | bebe | baby |
| 148 | vida | life |
| 149 | corazon | heart |
| 150 | amar | love |
| 151 | cansada | tired |
| 152 | dormida | asleep |
| 153 | alta | high |
| 154 | uno | one |
| 155 | dos | two |
| 156 | tres | three |
| 157 | quatro | four |
| 158 | cinco | five |
| 159 | seis | six |
| 160 | siete | seven |
| 161 | ocho | eight |
| 162 | nueve | nine |
| 163 | diez | ten |
| 164 | veinte | twenty |
| 165 | treinta | thirty |
| 166 | centenar | hundred |
| 167 | gratis, libre | free |
| 168 | Domingo | Sunday |
| 169 | Lunes | Monday |
| 170 | Martes | Tuesday |
| 171 | Miercoles | Wednesday |
| 172 | Jueves | Thursday |
| 173 | Viernes | Friday |
| 174 | Sabado | Saturday |
| 175 | cerrada | closed |
| 176 | abierta/abierto | open |
| 177 | nombre | name |
| 178 | policia | police |
| 179 | bomberos | firefighters |
| 180 | salud | health |
| 181 | parqueadero | parking lot |
| 182 | conducir | drive |
| 183 | caminar | walk |
| 184 | volar | fly |
| 185 | nadar | swim |
| 186 | mar | sea |
| 187 | rio | river |
| 188 | alameda | mall |
| 189 | consejo | tip |
| 190 | pagar | pay |
| 191 | guagua | bus (in Canary Islands) |
| 192 | tren | train |
| 193 | barco | ship |
| 194 | isla | island |
| 195 | playa | beach |
| 196 | mercado | market |
| 197 | taller | workshop |
| 198 | nuevo | new |
| 199 | vieja | old |
| 200 | viaje | trip |
| 201 | se vende | for sale |
| 202 | camara | camera |
I wonder if this qualifies me to be considered trilingual? Or do I have to demonstrate I can string these words together to form proper sentences?
5 responses to “My 200-Word Vocabulary”
That will get you far, but you really need to add hielo (ice).
Ok, I will. But I don’t like ice (in my drinks) so I’ve never had to use it yet!
Mrs B. from WHHS would be so proud.
Yes, I do believe she would be. Maybe I should look her up on FB again and let her know?
If she is still with us.