Spanish vocabulary

Spanish vocabulary: little words & expressions

Common Spanish words for little words & expressions, the most frequent first. Each word has its English meaning and a real line from the Lexayo story, so you see it in use.

apenas adverb hardly, barely
Apenas tengo tiempo para comer.
I hardly have time to eat.
tuyo · tuya pronoun yours, your
¿Es tuyo este paraguas azul?
Is this blue umbrella yours?
especialmente adverb especially
Me gusta la fruta, especialmente las naranjas.
I like fruit, especially oranges.
ay interjection oh!, ow!
¡Hola, chicos! Ay, tengo frío.
Hi, kids! Oh, I'm cold.
cuyo · cuya determiner whose
Mira, Nuria. Hay un piso cuyo dueño vive en Barcelona.
Look, Nuria. There is a flat whose owner lives in Barcelona.
perdonar verb to forgive; excuse me (perdona)
Perdona, ¿qué hora es?
Excuse me, what time is it?
solamente adverb only
Solamente tengo diez euros para la compra.
I only have ten euros for the shopping.
la disculpa noun apology; excuse
pedir disculpas = to apologise; ¡disculpa! = sorry!
Javi le pide disculpas a Nuria.
Javi apologises to Nuria.
delante adverb in front; delante de = in front of
Aquí, delante de la mesa. La tarta llega a la una.
Here, in front of the table. The cake arrives at one.
u conjunction or (before o- / ho-)
replaces o before words starting with o/ho
¿Quieres siete u ocho churros?
Do you want seven or eight churros?
bienvenido · bienvenida adjective welcome
¡Bienvenido a mi casa, Javi!
Welcome to my house, Javi!
menudo · menuda adjective what a…! (¡menudo…!); small
a menudo = often
¡Menudo lío! Y encima, ¡ya viene el director!
What a mess! And on top of that, here comes the director!
debajo adverb underneath; debajo de = under
¿Está debajo de la silla?
Is it under the chair?
directamente adverb directly, straight
Después del trabajo, voy directamente a casa.
After work, I go straight home.
entendido interjection understood, got it
¿Mañana a las nueve? Entendido, jefa.
Tomorrow at nine? Got it, boss.
ojalá interjection I hope (so), if only
+ subjunctive: ojalá haga sol
Ojalá haga buen tiempo.
I hope the weather's good.
adentro adverb inside, in
Hace frío. Vamos adentro.
It's cold. Let's go inside.
acaso adverb perhaps; por si acaso = just in case
Es para Ramón. Para el viaje. Por si acaso.
It's for Ramón. For the journey. Just in case.
excepto preposition except
Trabajo todos los días excepto el domingo.
I work every day except Sunday.
el saludo noun greeting; saludos = regards
Muchas gracias, Andrés. Saludos a su hermano.
Thank you very much, Andrés. Say hello to your brother.
vaya interjection wow; oh dear; well
also subjunctive of ir: que vaya
¡Vaya! He perdido el autobús.
Oh no! I've missed the bus.
de veras phrase really, truly
¿De veras? ¿Javi tiene otro trabajo?
Really? Javi has another job?

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In the app you meet these words in short story scenes, and they come back for review just before you would forget them.

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