Spanish food and drink words: 30 words with example sentences

Food and drink words are the quickest to pay off in a Spanish-speaking country: at the market, in restaurants and at home. Some words vary by region; for example, juice is “el zumo” in Spain but “el jugo” in many parts of Latin America. We compiled these 30 words ourselves; they are not taken from an official list (beginner, around A1–A2). Where a word varies by region we say so.

How to use this list

• Practise “Quiero …” (“I would like …”) before you read a menu.
• Learn “tener hambre / tener sed” as whole phrases.
• Choose regional variants (zumo/jugo, plátano/banana) by the country you will visit.

The 30-word list

Spanish	English	Example sentence	Translation
el pan	bread	Quiero un poco de pan.	I would like some bread.
el agua	water	¿Puedo tomar un vaso de agua?	Can I have a glass of water?
la leche	milk	Pongo leche en el café.	I put milk in my coffee.
el café	coffee	Bebo café por la mañana.	I drink coffee in the morning.
el té	tea	¿Quieres té?	Would you like tea?
el arroz	rice	Comemos pollo con arroz.	We eat chicken with rice.
la carne	meat	Ella no come carne.	She does not eat meat.
el pollo	chicken	El pollo está delicioso.	The chicken is delicious.
el pescado	fish	El pescado es bueno para la salud.	Fish is good for your health.
el huevo	egg	Desayuno un huevo.	I have an egg for breakfast.
el queso	cheese	Me gusta el queso con pan.	I like cheese with bread.
la fruta	fruit	La fruta es sana.	Fruit is healthy.
la manzana	apple	Como una manzana al día.	I eat an apple a day.
el plátano	banana	Él lleva un plátano al trabajo.	He takes a banana to work.
la verdura	vegetable	Come más verdura.	Eat more vegetables.
el tomate	tomato	Añade un tomate a la ensalada.	Add a tomato to the salad.
la patata	potato	Quiero patatas fritas.	I want fried potatoes.
la cebolla	onion	Ella corta la cebolla.	She cuts the onion.
la sal	salt	¿Me pasas la sal?	Can you pass me the salt?
el azúcar	sugar	Tomo el té sin azúcar.	I take my tea without sugar.
la sopa	soup	La sopa está caliente.	The soup is hot.
la ensalada	salad	Quiero una ensalada, por favor.	I would like a salad, please.
el zumo	juice	Un zumo de naranja, por favor.	An orange juice, please.
tener hambre	to be hungry	Tengo mucha hambre.	I am very hungry.
tener sed	to be thirsty	Los niños tienen sed.	The children are thirsty.
delicioso	delicious	Este pastel es delicioso.	This cake is delicious.
el menú	menu	¿Podemos ver el menú?	Can we see the menu?
la cuenta	bill	La cuenta, por favor.	The bill, please.
pedir	to order, to ask for	Queremos pedir ahora.	We want to order now.
la comida	food, meal	La comida aquí es muy buena.	The food here is very good.

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. bread
2. milk
3. tea
4. fish
5. cheese

Show the answers

1. el pan
2. la leche
3. el té
4. el pescado
5. el queso

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.