Spanish A1 Vocabulary List: Essential Beginner Words

Key takeaways

• A1 Spanish vocabulary covers around 500-700 words across 12 categories: greetings, numbers, time, family, places, food, adjectives, and essential verbs.
• Every Spanish noun has grammatical gender: masculine nouns use el/un, feminine nouns use la/una. Learning the article with the word from the start saves significant effort later.
• The 10 most essential A1 verbs are ser (to be), estar (to be, location/state), tener (to have), ir (to go), querer (to want), poder (can/to be able to), hacer (to do/make), hablar (to speak), comer (to eat), and vivir (to live).
• Spanish A1 pronunciation is consistent: each letter maps to one sound, and the main exceptions (silent h, soft j, regional ll) are predictable once you learn them.

A1 is the entry point of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). At this level, a learner can introduce themselves, handle basic daily transactions, describe their immediate environment, and ask simple questions. Getting there is not about memorizing words at random.

It is about building the right vocabulary in the right categories, so sentences start coming together from the earliest stages of learning. italki connects learners with Spanish teachers who help A1 learners move from passive word recognition to active spoken use.

This guide covers 12 A1 vocabulary categories: greetings and courtesy phrases, numbers, days of the week, months, colors, family and relationships, places and locations, food and drinks, common adjectives, essential verbs, question words, and time expressions, with gender marked and example sentences throughout.

Greetings and courtesy phrases

These phrases are the first things spoken in any real interaction. Learn them as full phrases, not isolated words.

Spanish	English	When to use
Hola	Hello	Any time, universal
Buenos dias	Good morning	Until midday
Buenas tardes	Good afternoon	Midday to evening
Buenas noches	Good night/Good evening	Evening and night
¿Como estas? / ¿Como esta usted?	How are you?	tú/usted forms
Muy bien, gracias	Very well, thank you	Standard positive reply
Bien, ¿y tú?	Fine, and you?	Casual follow-up
Por favor	Please	Requests
Gracias	Thank you	Everywhere
De nada	You are welcome	Response to gracias
Perdon / Disculpe	Excuse me / Sorry	Polite interruption
Lo siento	I am sorry	Apology
¿Como te llamas?	What is your name?	Asking a name (informal)
Me llamo…	My name is…	Giving your name
Mucho gusto	Nice to meet you	First meeting
Hasta luego	Goodbye (see you later)	Parting
Hasta manana	See you tomorrow	Specific parting

Numbers

Number	Spanish	Number	Spanish
0	cero	11	once
1	uno	12	doce
2	dos	13	trece
3	tres	14	catorce
4	cuatro	15	quince
5	cinco	16	dieciseis
6	seis	17	diecisiete
7	siete	18	dieciocho
8	ocho	19	diecinueve
9	nueve	20	veinte
10	diez	30	treinta

Number	Spanish
40	cuarenta
50	cincuenta
100	cien / ciento
1,000	mil

Uno becomes un before a masculine noun (un libro: one book) and una before a feminine noun (una mesa: one table). The number 21 is veintiuno, 22 is veintidos, and so on as one word through veintinueve.

Days and months

Days of the week

Spanish	English	Abbreviation
lunes	Monday	lun.
martes	Tuesday	mar.
miercoles	Wednesday	mier.
jueves	Thursday	jue.
viernes	Friday	vie.
sabado	Saturday	sab.
domingo	Sunday	dom.

In Spanish, days of the week are not capitalized. The week starts on Monday in most Spanish-speaking calendars. Use el lunes (Monday in general) or los lunes (every Monday).

Months

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

Months are not capitalized in Spanish. To say a date: el tres de mayo (the third of May). To ask the date: ¿Cual es la fecha de hoy? (What is today’s date?).

Colors

Spanish	Masculine/Feminine form	English
rojo / roja	m/f	red
azul	same for both	blue
verde	same for both	green
amarillo / amarilla	m/f	yellow
negro / negra	m/f	black
blanco / blanca	m/f	white
gris	same for both	gray
naranja	same for both	orange
morado / morada	m/f	purple
rosado / rosa	m/f	pink
marron	same for both	brown
beige	same for both	beige

Colors in Spanish agree with the noun they modify: un coche rojo (a red car, masculine) but una camisa roja (a red shirt, feminine). Colors that end in a consonant (azul, gris, marron) stay the same for both genders.

Work through gender agreement with a Spanish language tutor using real objects around you. Describing the color and gender of items in your environment is one of the fastest ways to make agreement feel natural rather than mechanical.

Family and relationships

Spanish	English	Gender
la familia	family	feminine
la madre / la mama	mother/mom	feminine
el padre / el papa	father/dad	masculine
los padres	parents	masculine plural
el hijo / la hija	son/daughter	m/f
los hijos	children (sons or mixed)	masculine plural
el hermano / la hermana	brother/sister	m/f
los hermanos	siblings	masculine plural
el abuelo / la abuela	grandfather/grandmother	m/f
los abuelos	grandparents	masculine plural
el tio / la tia	uncle/aunt	m/f
el primo / la prima	male/female cousin	m/f
el marido / el esposo	husband	masculine
la esposa	wife	feminine
el novio / la novia	boyfriend/girlfriend	m/f
el amigo / la amiga	male/female friend	m/f

Places and locations

Spanish	English	Gender
la casa	house/home	feminine
el apartamento / el piso	apartment (LatAm/Spain)	masculine
la ciudad	city	feminine
el pais	country	masculine
la calle	street	feminine
la tienda	store/shop	feminine
el supermercado	supermarket	masculine
el banco	bank	masculine
la escuela / el colegio	school	f/m
la universidad	university	feminine
el hospital	hospital	masculine
el restaurante	restaurant	masculine
el cafe / la cafeteria	cafe/cafeteria	m/f
el aeropuerto	airport	masculine
la estacion de metro	metro station	feminine
la farmacia	pharmacy	feminine
el parque	park	masculine
la playa	beach	feminine
el trabajo	work/job/office	masculine
el bano	bathroom	masculine

Location vocabulary becomes easier to use in connected sentences when you also know essential Spanish words, including high-frequency place words and prepositions.

Food and drinks

Spanish	English	Gender
el agua (f)	water	feminine (uses el for singular)
el cafe	coffee	masculine
el te	tea	masculine
el jugo / el zumo	juice (LatAm/Spain)	masculine
la leche	milk	feminine
el vino	wine	masculine
la cerveza	beer	feminine
el pan	bread	masculine
el arroz	rice	masculine
la pasta	pasta	feminine
el pollo	chicken	masculine
la carne	meat	feminine
el pescado	fish	masculine
la fruta	fruit	feminine
la ensalada	salad	feminine
la sopa	soup	feminine
el queso	cheese	masculine
el huevo	egg	masculine
el desayuno	breakfast	masculine
el almuerzo / la comida	lunch	m/f
la cena	dinner	feminine

El agua is grammatically feminine but uses el in the singular to avoid the sound of two a’s together (la agua). The plural is las aguas.

Spanish kitchen vocabulary extends food words into appliances, utensils, and cooking verbs.

Common adjectives

Adjectives in Spanish agree with the noun in gender and number.

Spanish	Feminine form	English
grande	same	big/large
pequeno	pequena	small
bueno	buena	good
malo	mala	bad
nuevo	nueva	new
viejo	vieja	old
bonito	bonita	pretty/nice
feo	fea	ugly
facil	same	easy
dificil	same	difficult
rapido	rapida	fast
lento	lenta	slow
caro	cara	expensive
barato	barata	cheap
caliente	same	hot
frio	fria	cold
limpio	limpia	clean
sucio	sucia	dirty
cansado	cansada	tired
contento	contenta	happy

Adjectives typically follow the noun in Spanish: una casa grande (a big house), not una grande casa. A few common adjectives like bueno and malo can go before the noun and shorten: un buen dia (a good day), un mal momento (a bad moment).

Essential A1 verbs

These 25 verbs cover the core of what an A1 learner needs to say in everyday situations. The first-person singular (yo) form is given alongside the infinitive.

Infinitive	Yo form	English
ser	soy	to be (permanent)
estar	estoy	to be (location/state)
tener	tengo	to have
ir	voy	to go
querer	quiero	to want
poder	puedo	can/to be able to
hacer	hago	to do/to make
hablar	hablo	to speak/to talk
comer	como	to eat
beber	bebo	to drink
vivir	vivo	to live
trabajar	trabajo	to work
estudiar	estudio	to study
comprar	compro	to buy
necesitar	necesito	to need
gustar	me gusta	to like (it pleases me)
saber	se	to know (facts)
conocer	conozco	to know (people/places)
venir	vengo	to come
llamar	llamo	to call
escribir	escribo	to write
leer	leo	to read
escuchar	escucho	to listen
ver	veo	to see/to watch
entender	entiendo	to understand

Ser vs. estar is the first major challenge for English speakers. Ser is for permanent or defining characteristics (Soy estudiante: I am a student). Estar is for location, temporary states, and feelings (Estoy cansado: I am tired). Spanish verbs for beginners covers this distinction alongside other essential verb patterns at A1 and A2 levels.

Question words

Spanish	English	Example
¿Que?	What?	¿Que haces? (What are you doing?)
¿Quien? / ¿Quienes?	Who? / Who (plural)?	¿Quien eres? (Who are you?)
¿Donde?	Where?	¿Donde vives? (Where do you live?)
¿Cuando?	When?	¿Cuando llegas? (When do you arrive?)
¿Como?	How?	¿Como estas? (How are you?)
¿Cuanto? / ¿Cuanta?	How much?	¿Cuanto cuesta? (How much does it cost?)
¿Cuantos? / ¿Cuantas?	How many?	¿Cuantos hermanos tienes? (How many siblings do you have?)
¿Por que?	Why?	¿Por que estudias español? (Why do you study Spanish?)
¿Para que?	What for?	¿Para que lo necesitas? (What do you need it for?)
¿Cual? / ¿Cuales?	Which?	¿Cual es tu nombre? (What is your name?)

All Spanish question words carry a written accent mark to distinguish them from their non-question uses. ¿Por que? (why, question) is written as two words; porque (because, answer) is one word.

Time expressions

Spanish	English
ahora	now
despues	after/later
antes	before
siempre	always
nunca	never
a veces	sometimes
hoy	today
ayer	yesterday
manana	tomorrow
esta semana	this week
la semana pasada	last week
la semana que viene	next week
este mes	this month
este ano	this year
por la manana	in the morning
por la tarde	in the afternoon
por la noche	in the evening/at night
a las…	at… (time)
¿A que hora?	At what time?
hace…	ago (hace dos dias: two days ago)

Bringing an online Spanish teacher into your A1 practice means getting live correction on the vocabulary that trips up learners at this level: gender errors, ser vs. estar confusion, and the pronunciation of words that look unusual on the page. A teacher adjusts in the moment in a way a word list cannot.

Ready to use your A1 Spanish?

A vocabulary list is a starting point, not a destination. The words on this page become active when you use them in real exchanges: asking where something is, describing your family, ordering food, telling someone what time you are arriving. That movement from list to live conversation is where learners often need a push.

Solo study builds recognition; a real conversation builds retrieval. With 30,000+ expert tutors and over 10 million learners on the platform, italki gives you access to Spanish tutors who specialize in beginner-level conversation practice at any hour. Book a trial lesson and bring five sentences you want to try using these words.

FAQ

How long does it typically take to complete A1 Spanish?

With consistent study of 30-45 minutes per day, most learners work through A1-level content in 2-3 months. Adding weekly speaking practice with a teacher compresses the timeline because active conversation forces retention faster than passive study alone.

When can I start having basic conversations in Spanish?

Earlier than most learners expect. With 100-150 words covering greetings, numbers, basic verbs, and common nouns, you can manage simple introductions and practical requests. You do not need to wait until you feel ready – simple conversation from week one builds the listening and speaking habits that vocab lists alone cannot.

Is Spanish A1 vocabulary similar enough to French or Italian that knowing one helps with another?

Yes, significantly. Spanish, French, Italian, and Portuguese share large amounts of vocabulary from Latin roots. A French speaker learning Spanish will recognize many words immediately. An English speaker who has studied any Romance language has a head start. The grammar patterns differ, but the vocabulary overlap is substantial at every level.