Spanish everyday life words: 30 words with example sentences

Being able to describe your day is one of the first speaking goals in Spanish. Several verbs in this list are reflexive (despertarse, levantarse, lavarse): they are used with a pronoun such as “me, te, se” and appear constantly in daily routines. We compiled these 30 words ourselves; they are not taken from an official or published list, and the levels are rough estimates (beginner, around A1–A2).

How to use this list

• Learn reflexive verbs with their pronoun: “me levanto”, “me lavo”.
• Study nouns with el/la; fixing gender later is harder.
• Listen to the sounds “ll”, “ñ” and “rr” to get used to them.

The 30-word list

Spanish	English	Example sentence	Translation
despertarse	to wake up	Me despierto a las siete.	I wake up at seven.
levantarse	to get up	Me levanto temprano.	I get up early.
la ducha	shower	Tomo una ducha por la mañana.	I take a shower in the morning.
el desayuno	breakfast	El desayuno es a las ocho.	Breakfast is at eight.
el almuerzo	lunch	Almuerzo con mis compañeros.	I have lunch with my colleagues.
la cena	dinner	La cena está lista.	Dinner is ready.
el trabajo	work, job	Voy al trabajo en autobús.	I go to work by bus.
la escuela	school	Los niños van a la escuela.	The children go to school.
la casa	house, home	Estoy en casa.	I am at home.
dormir	to sleep	Duermo ocho horas.	I sleep eight hours.
la cama	bed	La cama es cómoda.	The bed is comfortable.
la mañana	morning	Por la mañana bebo café.	In the morning I drink coffee.
la tarde	afternoon	Por la tarde estudio.	In the afternoon I study.
la noche	night, evening	Por la noche leo un libro.	At night I read a book.
temprano	early	Llego temprano.	I arrive early.
tarde	late	Llego tarde.	I arrive late.
siempre	always	Siempre bebo té.	I always drink tea.
normalmente	usually	Normalmente camino al trabajo.	I usually walk to work.
a veces	sometimes	A veces comemos fuera.	Sometimes we eat out.
nunca	never	Nunca bebo café por la noche.	I never drink coffee at night.
ocupado	busy	Hoy estoy ocupado.	I am busy today.
cansado	tired	Estoy cansada.	I am tired.
el tiempo libre	free time	En mi tiempo libre leo.	In my free time I read.
el fin de semana	weekend	El fin de semana visito a mi familia.	At the weekend I visit my family.
el teléfono	phone	Mi teléfono está en la mesa.	My phone is on the table.
la llave	key	No encuentro mi llave.	I cannot find my key.
el bolso	bag, handbag	El bolso es rojo.	The bag is red.
la ropa	clothes	La ropa está en el armario.	The clothes are in the wardrobe.
lavarse	to wash (oneself)	Me lavo las manos.	I wash my hands.
cepillarse los dientes	to brush one’s teeth	Me cepillo los dientes.	I brush my teeth.

This list is our own; it is not taken from an official or published word list, and the levels are rough estimates (the CEFR does not provide an official word list; see what is CEFR).

Mini exercise

Write the Spanish word for each meaning below, then check the answers.

1. to wake up
2. breakfast
3. school
4. bed
5. early

Show the answers

1. despertarse
2. el desayuno
3. la escuela
4. la cama
5. temprano

Making the list stick

Reading a list once is not enough; you need to review words spread over time. Pick 5 words a day, try to recall their meanings that evening without looking, and test yourself again a few days later. We explain the idea in what is spaced repetition. For a general starting point in Spanish, see the Spanish guide.

In Frigya you can add Spanish, choose any of the A1–C2 levels, meet new words in Discover and reinforce them with spaced repetition in Learn; you can start without an account. Download Frigya.