200 Most Common Words in Spanish (In Order)

Man invented language to satisfy his deep need to complain.

-Lily Tomlin

PLEASE COMPLETE BEFORE CLASS BEGINS

NAME:

DATE:

ALL THE WORDS I KNOW IN SPANISH:

(or previous exposure to Spanish)

Leave this sheet on the front of your packet when you have finished filling it out and turn to page 3. See how many of the words on the following page you can guess the meaning of.

Last Day Freewrite

Write a 100 word story using any of the vocabulary you have learned. Relax. Breathe. Focus only on the number of words you can get to come out naturally.

______

______
YOU ALREADY KNOW SPANISH!

COGNATES (WORDS THAT SOUND LIKE ENGLISH)

Can you guess the meanings of these words?

acción,
acepta la invitación
actividad
actor

admirador

alergias

alérgica

ángel

animal

animalito

artista
atención

atlético

atractivo

autor

banco

bebé (como un bebé)

búfalo

café
capitalismo

chino

chocolate

círculo

clasificados

colección
color

comparado con

común
comunismo

comunicaban
condición

contento
cuestión
cultura

decide
decisión
dentista
día

diferente

difícil de impresionar

director
doctor
economista

electrónico

elefante

elegante

emperador

enorme

ensalada

entra

era difícil concentrarse

es un secreto

especial
especialista

espía

esposa / esposo

Euros

exactamente

experto

falso

familia

famoso
favor
figura

flores

fruta
función

generosa

gorila

hamburguesa

hotel

idea

ilegal

importante / importantísimo

Increíble

inspiró

inteligente

interesante
interior

intérprete

Japón

león
lista

médico

millón de dólares

millonario

misión secreta

mosquito necesidad

no tenía ningún admirador

no usaba desodorante

normal
novelista
occasion
oportunidad
optimismo

parquet

perfecta

pero

pizza

plástico

popular
posibilidad
posición,

prepara

problema

profesor

rapidísimo

rápido

rata

ratón

reaccionó

realidad

realmente
relación

responde

restaurante (americano, italiano, francés, mexicano)

reunión familiar

románticamente / romántico / romance

se le ocurrió

serpiente situación sociedad socialismo

sopa

suficiente

teléfono celular

tigre

trillón
turista
turismo

vacación

visita

TURN THE PAGE TO COVER OF YOUR PACKET WHEN YOU ARE FINISHED.

1-866-WWW-FLUE(NCY)

FLUENCY FAST BEGINNING SPANISH (curriculum 4)

by Blaine Ray & Karen Rowan

Objectives:

1. Participants will be able to use the target vocabulary, as well as basic introductory vocabulary.

2. Participants will be able to recognize and use vocabulary in the present tense

3. Participants will be able to write 100 words in 10-15 minutes of uninterrupted writing time

4. Students will be able to read and understand MORE in the target language than they were able to when they arrived.

Methods:

Each day participants will be presented with vocabulary and advanced grammatical structures from the thematic unit. Techniques used include TPR (Total Physical Response), TPRS (Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling), songs, long-term memory techniques, acting, storytelling, reading, translation and conversation.

Outcomes:

Outcomes vary by student depending on previous exposure to the language or other languages. Our first goal is that each student leaves the class knowing more Spanish that when he or she arrived. Our second goal is that once the myth has been dispelled that learning a language is difficult, that the student go on to continue learning the language.
What YOU must know about acquiring a language through TPRS in order to be successful:

There is no such thing as a person who isn’t good at learning languages.

Everything you learned in school about how to learn languages was wrong. You were forcing your brain to function in a way it was never designed to. That was not the fault of your brain. (This does not mean everything you were taught was wrong…. You did not learn what your teacher intended to teach.)

The trick to acquiring another language is ridiculously simple:

You must hear a lot of the language and you must completely, entirely, totally, 100% understand what is being said. In fact…. if you’re doing it right… it feels effortless. It feels involuntary.

You must be relaxed and not feel pressured to speak or perform. There’s no need to try to repeat what you hear. Just concentrate on trying to understand. Stop me and ask for translation or to slow down.

Turn off the part of your brain that wants to turn this into work…. wants to memorize… wants to study… wants to analyze…. wants to cram information into the short term memory instead of the long-term memory….

To do that you must:

A. Have fun.

B. Listen. Be aware of when your attention wanders and think of ways that you can contribute details to the story.

C. Stop and signal me whenever you don’t understand even one word.

D. Laugh. It releases endorphins that contribute to long term retention. Plus… it’s supposed to be funny.

G. Take breaks and move around. A little physical movement makes the brain dump feel-good chemicals into the body that also increase long-term memory.

H. Read, read and re-read. As you read you’ll understand more and more. Use the vocab list, but don’t look everything up in a dictionary.

REFERENCE MATERIALS

100 most common words in spanish (in order): / 1. el / la / the
2. de / Of / 3. que / that / what / 4. y / and
5. a / To / 6. en / in / 7. un / A
8. ser / to be / 9. se / pron, reflexive marker, himself / herself / 10. no / No
11. haber / to have, hay, había / 12. por / for / 13. con / with
14. su / his, hers, theirs / 15. para / for / 16.como / like, as
17.estar / to be / 18.tener / to have / 19.le
20.lo / the (lo mejor es estudiar mucho) / 21. lo / it. (lo compré en la tienda) / 22.todo / all
23. pero / but / 24. más / more / 25. hacer / to do, make
26. o / or / 27. poder / to be able to / 28.decir / to say, tell
29. este / this / 30. ir / to go / 31. otro / other
32. ese / that / 33. la / it (fem.) / 34. si / if, whether
35. me / pron, me, ¿cuándo me va a llamar? / 36. ya / already, still / 37. ver / to see
38. porque / because / 39. dar / to give / 40. cuando / when
41. él / he / 42. muy / very / 43. sin / without
44. vez / time / 45. mucho / a lot / 46. saber / to know
47. qué / what, that / 48. sobre / about / 49. mi / my
50. alguno / some / 51. mismo / same / 52. yo / I
53. también / also / 54. hasta / until / 55. año / year
56. dos / two / 57. querer / to want / 58. entre / between
59. así / like that / 60. primero / first / 61. desde / since
62. grande / large, great, big / 63. eso / that / 64. ni / not, neither
65. nos / us / 66. llegar / arrive / 67. pasar / to pass
68. tiempo / time, weather / 69. ella / her / she / 70. sí / yes
71. día / the day / 72. uno / one / 73. bien / well
74. poco / a little / 75. deber / should / 76. entonces / then
77. poner / to put / 78. cosa / Thing / 79. tanto / so much
80. hombre / the man / 81. parecer / to appear / 82. nuestro / our
83. tan / so much / 84. donde / where / 85. ahora / now
86. parte / part / 87. después / After / 88. vida / life
89. quedar / to stay / 90. siempre / always / 91. creer / to believe
92. hablar / to talk / 93. llevar / to wear, carry / 94. dejar / to leave
95. nada / nothing / 96. cada / Each / 97. seguir / to follow
98. menos / minus, less / 99. nuevo / new / 100. encontrar / to find, meet
200 most common words in Spanish (in order):
101. algo / something / 102. sólo / only, just / 103. pues / then, well then
104. llamar / to call / 105. venir / to come / 106. pensar / to think
107. aquel / that (over there) / 108.momento / moment, time / 109. sino / but rather
110. esto / this / 111. salir / to leave / 112. volver / to return
113. forma / form, shape, way / 114. antes / Before / 115. bueno / good
116. casa / house / 117. aunque / even though / 118. mundo / world
119. tres / three / 120. tal / Such / 121. mejor / better
122. tomar / to take, drink / 123. cierto / True / 124. conocer / to meet, know
125. hacía / toward, towards / 126. cómo / how? / 127. mujer / woman
128. vivir / to live / 129. aquí / Here / 130. caso / case / ocasión
131. sentir / to feel / 132. luego / Later / 133. país / country
134. tratar / to try / 135. lugar / Place / 136. te / you (¿no te han hablado?)
137. persona / person / 138. mayor / larger, older, main / 139. último / last, final
140. propio / own / 141. quién / who, whom / 142. mirar / to look, watch
143. hora / hour / 144. ninguno / none, nobody / 145. trabajo / work (noun)
146. casi / almost / 147. punto / point, dot, period / 148. durante / during
149. cualquier / any, anyone / 150. mano / Hand / 151. (150) nunca / never
152. manera / way, manner / 153. cual / which, who, whom / 154. mientras / meanwhile, while, whereas, as long as
155. contar / To count, tell / 156 fin / End / 157.tipo / Type, kind
158. gente / People / 159. además / In addition to, also, as well, besides / 160. solo / lonely, alone
161. empezar / To begin / 162. ejemplo / Example (por ejemplo, for example) / 163. esperar / To wait
164. hoy / Today / 165. lado / Side (al lado, beside) / 166. hijo / Son, pl, children
167. allí / There / 168. este / This one / 169. problema / problem
170. cuenta / Bill, account / 171. medio / Means, middle / 172. contra / Against, opposite
173. buscar / To look for / 174. dentro / Within, inside / 175. largo / long
176. palabra / Word / 177. existir / To exist / 178. niño / child
179.entrar / To enter / 180. embargo / Sin embargo, however, nevertheless / 181.único / Only, unique, sole
182. padre / Father / 183. trabajar / To work / 184. pequeño / small
185. alto / Tall / 186. cambio / Change / 187. escribir / To write
188. cuatro / Four / 189. ahí / There / 190. perder / To lose
191. nosotros / We / 192. historia / History, story / 193. idea / idea
194. agua / Water / 195. producir / To produce / 196. noche / night
197. cuidad / City / 198. modo / Way, manner / 199. nombre / name
200. ocurrir / To occur

Good words ranked between 200-300: familia, realidad, pedir (to ask for) recibir (to receive)importante, leer (to read), calle (street), libro (book), amigo, oír (to hear), gracias, verdad (true / truth), señor, cuestión, difícil, normal

HIGHEST FREQUENCY SPANISH WORDS AND WORDS THAT SOUND LIKE ENGLISH (COGNATES)

ANIMALES
HIGH FREQ / COGNATES
Caballo / Horse / león
Perro / Dog / Rata
Gato / Cat / Insecto
Pájaro / Bird / Ratón
Ave / Bird / Serpiente
Vaca / Cow / Tigre
Toro / bull / Elefante
mosquito
BODY PARTS
Mano / hand / estómago
ojo / eye / nervio
Cabeza / head / músculo
cara / face / vena
pie / foot / esqueleto
lengua / tongue / intestino
sangre / blood / retina
boca / mouth
corazón / heart
FOODS
agua / water / café
carne / meat / té
vino / wine / pasta
Leche / milk / chocolate,
Pan / bread / sopa,
Fruta / fruit / tomate,
Huevo / egg / whisky,
Azúcar / sugar / crema,
(cerveza is 3134!) / caramelo,
coco,
limón,
cereal,
ensalada,
tortilla,
ingrediente
hamburguesa
CLOTHING
HIGH FREQ / COGNATES
Traje / suit / Bota
Zapato / shoe / Botón
Vestido / dress / chaqueta,
Camisa / short / Blusa
Pantalón / pants
Sombrero / hat
Abrigo / coat
Falda / skirt
TRANSPORTATION WORDS
Calle / Street / metro
Camino / Road / avenida,
tráfico,
tránsito,
aeropuerto,
tren,
vehículo,
automóvil,
carro,
Auto
taxi,
bote,
bicicleta,
autobús,
helicóptero,
moto
FAMILY WORDS
Hijo / son / children / mamá,
padre, / father / papá,
madre, / mother
hermano, / brother
hija, / daughter
esposa, / wife
marido, / husband
hermana, / sister
abuelo / grandfather
tío / uncle
TIME WORDS
HIGH FREQ / COGNATES / Cognate months
vez / Time (one time) / momento / febrero
tiempo / Time / pasado / marzo
fecha / date / presente / abril
mañana / tomorrow / morning / futuro / mayo
tarde / late / afternoon / segundo / junio
noche / night / minuto / julio
enero / january / hora / agosto
día / septiembre
década / octubre
generación / noviembre
diciembre
Professions
jefe / boss
professions that sound like English
autor, / arquitecto
medico, / investigador
profesor, / técnico
director, / conductor
artista / historiador
policia, / administrador
secretario, / fotógrafo
poeta / piloto,
ministro / senador,
militar / novelista,
actor / inspector,
oficial / economista,
agente / psicólogo,
guardia / actriz,
especialista / editor,
pintor / intérprete,
capitán / diplomático
músico / sargento,
filósofo / agricultor
científico
VERBS OF MOVEMENT
HIGH FREQ / COGNATES
ir / to go / pasar
salir / to leave / entrar
caer / to fall / mover
correr / to run / avanzar
Subir / to go up, borrad
andar / to walk
bajar / to coger
viajar / to travel
conducir / to drive
Manejar / to drive
caminar / to walk
Saltar / to jump
COLORS
HIGH FREQ / COGNATES
Blanco / white
Negro / black
rojo / red
verde / green
azul / blue
NATIONALITIES THAT ARE COGNATES
latino / latinoamericano / hispanoamericano / español
argentino / chileno / mexicano / cubano
peruano / colombiano / boliviano / venezolano
paraguayo / uruguayo / nicaragüense / panameño
dominicano / puertorriqueño / guatemalteco / salvadoreño
costarricense / hondureño / Ingles / francés
italiano / europeo / americano / chino
romano / japonés / ruso / árabe
británico / turco / portugués / holandés
brasileño / canadiense / húngaro / australiano

EL PRESENTE

PRESENT TENSE

Person / -AR / -ER / -IR
yo
tú
él / ella nosotros
ellos / Hablo
hablas
habla
hablamos
hablan / I talk
you talk
s/he talks
we talk
they talk / Como
comes
come
comimos
comen / I eat
you eat
s/he eats
we eat
they eat / vivo
vives
vive
vivimos
viven / I live
you live
s/he lives
we live
they live
EL PRESENTE IRREGULAR
Caigo
conozco
digo
doy
hago
pongo
salgo
soy
tengo
traigo
vengo
veo
oigo
sé
voy
estoy / I fall
I know/ meet
I say
I give
I make/do
I put
I leave
I am
I have
I bring
I come
I see
I hear
I know
I go
I am

Present progressive

Estoy hablando / I am talking
Estoy comiendo / I am eating
Estoy viviendo / I am living

EL PASADO

EL PRETÉRITO

(una vez o tiempo definido)

persona / -AR / -ER / -IR / Irregulares
(casi todos)
yo
tú
él / ella nosotros
ellos / hablé
hablaste
habló
hablamos
hablaron / I talked
you talked
s/he talked
we talked
they talked / Comí
comiste
comió
comimos
comieron / I ate
you ate
s/he ate
we ate
they ate / di
diste
dio
dimos
dieron* / I gave
you gave
s/he gave
we gave
they gave
The preterite is used for the “events in the story” that occurred in the past.
Cuando se cayó, se pegó la cabeza y se desmayó.
When he fell, he hit his head and fainted.
EL PRETÉRITO IRREGULAR
fui
fui
di
vine
tuve
hice
puse
estuve
quise
supe
pude
dije
traje
anduve / I was
I went
I gave
I came
I had
I made
I put
I was
I wanted
I found out
I could
I said
I brought
I walked

*Some irregular ellos forms end in –jeron: trajeron, dijeron

The preterite is also used for actions that occurred over a defined period of time.

Por lo tanto comió dos empanadas más y regresó a su oficina y no hizo nada por quinientos veintitrés días.

Therefore, he ate two more turnovers and returned to his office and didn’t do anything else for 523 days.

EL IMPERFECTO

(acción continua por un tiempo indefinido)

persona / -AR / -ER / -IR
yo
tú
él / ella
nosotros
ellos / hablaba
hablabas
hablaba
hablábamos
hablaban / I used to talk
you used to talk
he used to talk
we used to talk
they talked / Comía
comías
comía
comíamos
comían / I was eating
you were eating
s/he was eating
we were eating
they were eating

EL IMPERFECTO IRREGULAR

Ser / Ir / Ver
era
eras
era
éramos
eran / iba
ibas
iba
íbamos
iban / veía
veías
veía
veíamos
veían

The imperfect is used to describe ongoing actions, non-events and what was happening in the story (not what happened).

There was a man who used to call himself Ray.

Non-event:Había un hombre que se llamaba Raimundo.

Ray was losing a lot of money paying this cook.

On-going action: Raimundo perdía mucho dinero pagándole...

LOS VERBOS (él / ella / Ud.)

El presente / El pretérito / El imperfecto
Da / Dio / Daba
Es / Fue / Era
Está / Estuvo / Estaba
Se equivocal / se equivocó / Se equivocaba
Estornuda / Estornudó / Estornudaba
Mete / Metió / Metía
Necesita / Necesitó / Necesitaba
Quiere / Quiso / Quería
Se siente / se sintió / Se sentía
Tiene / Tuvo / Tenía
Va / Fue / Iba
The preterite is also used to interrupt an ongoing action in the imperfect.
Raimundo empezó a esperar y mientras esperaba, tosió.
Ray began to wait and while he was waiting, he coughed.

COUNTING IN SPANISH

0 cero

1 uno60 sesenta

2 dos70 setenta

3 tres80 ochenta

4 cuatro90 noventa

5 cinco100 cien

6 seis100 cien (ciento)

7 siete105 ciento cinco

8 ocho113 ciento trece

9 nueve117 ciento diecisiete

10 diez122 ciento veintidós

11 once134 ciento treinta y cuatro

12 doce148 ciento cuarenta y ocho

13 trece160 ciento sesenta

14 catorce200 doscientos

15 quince250 doscientos cincuenta

16 dieciséis277 doscientos setenta y siete

17 diecisiete300 trescientos

18 dieciocho400 cuatrocientos

19 diecinueve500 quinientos

20 veinte600 seiscientos

21 veinte y uno (veintiuno)700 setecientos

22 veinte y dos (veintidós) 800 ochocientos

23 veinte y trés (veintitrés) 900 novecientos

24 veinte y cuatro (veinticuatro)1000 mil

25 veinte y cinco (veinticinco)1.004 mil cuatro

26 veinte y séis (veintiséis)1.015 mil quince

27 veinte y siete (veintisiete) 1.031 mil treinta y uno

28 veinte y ocho (veintiocho)1.492 mil

29 veinte y nueve (veintinueve)1.861 mil ochocientos sesenta y ocho

30 treinta2.000 dos mil

31 treinta y uno 10.000 diez mil

32 treinta y dos40.139 cuarenta mil ciento treinta y nueve

33 treinta y tres 100.000 cien mil

34 treinta y cuatro785.026 siete cientos ochenta y cinco mil veintiséis

35 treinta y cinco1.000.000 un millón

36 treinta y seis50.000.000 cincuenta millones

40 cuarenta

50 cincuenta

SPANISH ALPHABET AND PRONUNCIATION GUIDE

Alphabet: a b c ch d e f g h i j k l m n ñ o p q r s t u v w x y z

Pronunciation:

VowelsConsonants

A – fatherSimilar to English with the following exceptions:

E- eightB, V – similar sounds

I- ski Ch – same as in English

O – open D – between two vowels or at the end of a word is like a “th”

U – lute G – followed by “a,” “o,” “u,” or a consonant is like the “g” in the

Y – eEnglish word “green”;

H – always silent in Spanish

J – heavily aspirated “h”

K – found only in foreign words, pronounced as in English

Ll – like the English “y” in yes

Ñ – like the ny sound as in canyon or the ni sound as in onion

R – like the sound of the double “d” in ladder or the double “t” in butter; rolled at the beginning of a word

Rr – rolled like the old “Ruffles have ridges” commercial

Z – pronounced like the letter “s”

BEGINNING SPANISH USEFUL PHRASES

¿Cómo estás? (familiar)How are you?

¿Cómo está? (formal)How are you?

Estoy bien, gracias. ¿Y tú? (familiar)I am well, thank you. And you?

Estoy bien, gracias. ¿Y usted? (formal)I am well, thank you. And you?

¿Adónde vas? (familiar) Where are you going?

¿Adónde va? (formal)Where are you going?

(Yo) Me voy a…..I am going….

¿Qué hora es?What time is it? (What hour is it?)

Es la una (y…..)It is one…… (singular)

Son las dos (Son las tres. Son las cuatro)It’s 2:00.... (plural)

¿Cómo te llamas? (familiar)What is your name? (What do you call yourself?)

¿Cómo se llama? (formal)What is your name? (What do you call yourself?)

(Yo) Me llamo…..My name is…. (I call myself)

¿Cómo se llama él?What is his name? (What does he call himself?)

¿Cómo se llama ella?What is her name? (What does she call herself?)

¿De qué color es….?What color is…?

¿Cuántos años tienes? (familiar)How old are you? (How many years do you have?)

¿Cuántos años tiene? (formal)How old are you?

Tengo.... años.I am…years old.(I have….years.)

Independent Reading Strategy

When I come to a word I don’t know… I think about the story

I look at the context

I say the word

I see if there is anything I know in the word

I put in a “blank” and attempt to guess the meaning

……...And if I still can’t figure it out… I skip it!

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