Spanish is the fourth most spoken language in the world. It is spoken by over 548 million speakers, 474.7 million of which are native speakers. It is the official language of 20 countries — 18 in America, one in Europe, and one in Africa — as well as the territory of Puerto Rico. Spanish is the second most spoken language in the U.S., with over 59.6 million speakers. It is often referred to as “Castellano," because its origins date back to the language of the Castilian Kingdom in medieval Spain. However, the language became known as “Spanish” around the year 1500.
Spanish is part of the Indo-European language family. More specifically, of the Romance branch, which includes the languages that evolved from Latin, such as Italian, French, Portuguese, and Catalan.
Spanish has over 93,000 words that showcase the diverse origins of the language — from its Latin roots to the influence of various Indigenous languages, picking up words along the way from other languages like Greek, Arabic, and German. This diversity is also seen in the many dialects of the language, with two main branches: Peninsular (Spain) and Latin American Spanish. Within these branches, dozens of local dialects with distinct pronunciation and vocabulary items reflect the diversity of culture and geography within the Spanish speaking world. Despite the differences, all dialects of Spanish are mutually intelligible.
Spanish is one of the most useful languages to learn due to the wide variety of places where it is spoken. Many Spanish speaking countries have a wide range of activities that appeal to tourists, and individuals living in the United States will find Spanish speakers in nearly every city and town across the country. Furthermore, Spanish also boasts a rich literary tradition as well as a booming movie and television industry, so there is no shortage of content to explore. So if you’re already learning Spanish or thinking about starting, this guide will help orient you as you navigate your journey alongside this beautiful language.
The history of Spanish can be roughly divided in the following historical eras.
Pre-Roman languages (3rd c. BCE - 2nd c. BCE)
Late Latin (2nd c. CE - 8th c. CE)
Hispano-Romance (8th c. CE - 15th c. CE)
(The group of languages spoken in the Iberian Peninsula; they are predecessors of Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, Galician, and others.)
Modern Spanish (15th c. CE - present day)
The history of the Spanish language began in 218 BC, when troops from the Roman Empire made their way into what is now northeastern Spain. These troops were speakers of what is known as “Vulgar Latin,” which was the Latin spoken by the common people, as opposed to the Classical or Late Latin used in the church and government. As they made their way through the Iberian Peninsula, they established Latin as the lingua franca, or the common means of communication among the people that spoke the different local languages such as: Iberian, Celtiberian (a Celtic language), Lusitanian, Tartessian, Greek, Phoenician, and Basque (aka Euskara). During the initial period of Roman expansion, Vulgar Latin coexisted with the other languages native to the Iberian Peninsula, but eventually, dialects of Vulgar Latin replaced these languages, with the one notable exception of Euskara, which is still spoken in the Basque region of Spain today.
Nearly 600 years later, Roman power had waned on the Iberian peninsula, which was now populated primarily by individuals of Germanic origin. In 476 the Visigoths, another Germanic group, made their way into what is now France and the Iberian Peninsula. Although they spoke Latin, they also spoke an East Germanic language, which ended up contributing words to modern Spanish, such as guerra ("war") from "werra" and ganso ("goose") from "gans." Although the Visigoths were in control of the Peninsula for three centuries, Latin became the language of their elite, which weakened the use of their Germanic language and reinforced the use of Latin by the common people.
In 711, a Muslim army made its way from northern Africa into the southern Iberian Peninsula by crossing the Strait of Gibraltar. Within a decade, they had established control of the majority of the Iberian peninsula, ending Visigoth rule. Generally referred to as Moors, the new Arabic speaking residents of the peninsula established what is known as Al-Andaluz, which refers to the Iberian territory dominated by the Muslims. Here they coexisted with the Latin based Hispano-Romance speakers of the time, giving rise to a language called Mozarabic — a mix of Arabic and the different Romance varieties of the region. Mozarabic became the common language of the people of Al-Andaluz, which resulted in significant influence of Arabic on the languages of the Peninsula. Modern Spanish still uses over 850 words of Arabic origin. One of the most notable characteristics of this influence are the words beginning with "a-" or "-al," which is the equivalent of “the” in Arabic. In many cases, these words merged with the following noun into single words, which resulted in Spanish words such as: Al kaaddi → alcalde ("mayor"), Al qutun → algodón ("cotton"), and Ar ruzz → arroz ("rice").
Although the Moors occupied the majority of the Peninsula, the displaced Christian Kingdoms were still in control of the northernmost territories. In 722, they began what is called the “Reconquista,” a campaign to recover the lands they had lost. The beginning of the Reconquista roughly coincided with the appearance of the “Glosas Emilianenses,” or a series of notes written in a Hispano-Romance that can be thought of as the first written record of something resembling modern Spanish.
As the Christian armies moved south and established new kingdoms, the Hispano-Romance languages thrived in the Peninsula: Galician in the Western regions, Castilian (Kingdom of Castilla), Leones (Kingdom of León), and Aragonese (Kingdom of Aragon) in the central regions, and Catalan in the East. Of particular note, the Castilian language became widespread during this period, and was heavily promoted by the powerful King Alfonso X in the 13th century as the language of culture, law, and politics. His efforts to promote the language resulted in the first efforts to establish a standardized writing system, thus providing the foundations for the Spanish language. Two hundred years later, an alliance of marriage between Isabel of Castilla and Ferdinand of Aragon consolidated the power of the Christian Kingdoms. Granada, the last stronghold of Muslim power, was captured in 1492, ending a conflict that had lasted more than five centuries.
This marks a historic year for the Spanish language in more ways than one. Not only did the Catholic King and Queen retake control of the Iberian Peninsula and provide funding for Chistopher Columbus to embark upon his journey to the Americas, but 1492 also marks when the Spanish language began to be fully codified. Elio de Antonio de Nebrija published the grammar of the Castilian language “Arte de la lengua Castellana," dedicated to Queen Isabel, as well as the second (but most influential) Spanish dictionary "Diccionario latino-español." Notably, the title of Nebrija’s dictionary used the term “español (Spanish), not “Castilian,” like his previously written grammar. Furthermore, in his dedication to the Queen, he notes the importance of language in governance, suggesting that his works would prove useful to the Spanish as they sought to expand their empire to non-Spanish speaking peoples. This occurred in short order, as Christopher Columbus and his expedition arrived in the Caribbean that very same year. This event would go on to shape the evolution of Spanish over the next five centuries.
The Spanish first arrived to the island of Hispaniola — what today is considered to be Haiti and the Dominican Republic — where they made contact with the Taino people. Spanish, and later other languages, borrowed many words from the Taino language to describe things native to the Americas, including words like canoa ("canoe"), huracán ("hurricane"), iguana ("iguana"), and maíz ("maize"). As the process of colonization continued, the Spaniards gained control over the political capitals of the Aztec (speakers of Nahuatl) and Incan empires (speakers of Quechua) — where they established the capitals of the Spanish Viceroyalties in the Americas in modern day Mexico City and Lima. As the Spanish encountered the local people, who spoke many different Indigenous languages, they learned new words to describe new concepts — mainly plants and animals — native to the Americas. These words were also integrated into Spanish as borrowings, but they were typically adapted to make them easier for Spanish speakers to pronounce. For instance, the Nahuatl word xitomatl (pronounced "shitomatl") was adapted to fit the Spanish sounds as jitomate ("tomato").
Over the next 500 years, Spanish existed together with many Indigenous languages, both during the colonial period and in the new nations that formed as the colonies won their independence from Spain. To this day, hundreds of Indigenous languages are still spoken throughout Spanish speaking Latin America, with most of their speakers being at least partially bilingual with Spanish. Through this contact, the American languages continued to influence the local varieties of Spanish. Notably, Nahuatl and Quechua, two of the most widely spoken Indigenous languages, lent hundreds of “americanisms” of Indigenous origin to the standard varieties of Spanish, many of which were adopted by other languages as well.
From Nahuatl: aguacate(avocado), cacahuate(peanut), chocolate(chocolate), jitomate(tomato), chicle(chewing gum), coyote(coyote)
From Quechua: alpaca(alpaca), cancha(tennis court), papa(potato), coca(coca leaf), puma(puma, mountain lion)
From Guaraní: jaguar(jaguar), tapioca(tapioca), tiburón(shark), zarigüeya(possum)
From Mayan: cenote(sinkhole), cigarro(cigar)
Spanish uses the Latin script. The Spanish alphabet has 27 letters, 26 of which it shares with English, plus the unique character ñ. All letters have an uppercase and a lowercase form.
A | B | C | D | E | F | G |
H | I | J | K | L | M | N |
Ñ | O | P | Q | R | S | T |
U | V | W | X | Y | Z |
Although they are not part of the alphabet, Spanish also uses three digraphs, or combinations of two letters to create a new sound.
ch- same as English "ch"
chico(boy)
ll - same as the "y" in "yellow"
llave(key)
rr - rolled "r"
carro(car)
Spanish also uses diacritics (aka "accents") on vowels to mark the prominent sound in the word if it breaks the normal stress pattern of words. Spanish uses only the acute accent (´): á, é, í, ó, ú
árbol(tree)
miércoles(Wednesday)
rubí(ruby)
canción(song)
iglú(igloo)
Spanish uses the umlaut (¨) on top of the letter "u" to mark a non-silent "u" in the syllables "gue" and "gui."
bilingüe(bilingual)
pingüino(penguin)
The basic rules of Spanish grammar are related to the gender of nouns, adjectives, and noun-adjacent words, in addition to how verbs are conjugated and how sentences are formed. Here are eight basic rules of Spanish grammar.
In Spanish, all have a grammatical gender: masculine or feminine. The gender of nouns can be identified by the noun’s ending or the gender of the .
Masculine | Feminine |
|---|---|
libro(book) castillo(castle) el cine(cinema) el avión(airplane) | casa(house) planta(plant) la noche(night) la canción(song) |
Most words that accompany nouns must agree with the noun. This means that words like and , have different forms, depending on the gender of the noun they're used with.
la casa roja
the red door
estos libros pesados
these heavy books
Most classic adjectives follow the noun that they describe.
Llevaba un vestido largo y azul.
She was wearing a long blue dress.
Verbs must be conjugated, meaning they take on endings that depend on the of the sentence. For example:
yo como
I eat
nosotros comemos
we eat
are usually omitted, since you can tell the subject from the form of the verb. For example:
Corrimos el maratón de 5 kilómetros.
We ran the 5k marathon.
Estudié toda la noche.
I studied all night.
To make a sentence negative, you can simply place the word no in front of the verb. There's no need for helping words like "do" or "does."
No tenemos tarea hoy.
We don’t have homework today.
Spanish has two verbs that mean “to be”: serand estar. They are not interchangeable!
Use ser for time, identifying people or things, events, and describing permanent qualities.
Use estar for location and describing temporary qualities.
Spanish has subject-verb-object word order, similar to English.
El niño pateó la pelota.
The boy kicked the ball.
However, the Spanish word order is more flexible!
Mi jefe llamó muy enojado.
Llamó mi jefe muy enojado.
Muy enojado llamó mi jefe.
My boss called very angry.
The Spanish subject pronouns are the following:
Spanish Subject Pronouns | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Singular | Plural | ||
yo | I | nosotros, nosotras | we |
tú, vos | you (familiar) | vosotros, vosotras | you (plural)* |
usted | you (formal) | ||
él | he, it | ellos, ellas | they |
ella | she, it | ||
Spanish has different types of pronouns, just like English. Pronouns are substituted for nouns, often to avoid unnecessary repetition or to refer to unknown people or things. Depending on the function of the noun in a sentence, a different type of pronoun is used. Spanish has the following types of pronouns:
Subject pronouns replace a noun in the position.
María estudia mucho. → Ella estudia mucho.
Maria studies a lot. → She studies a lot.
Direct object pronouns replace a noun that directly undergoes the action of the verb.
Isela compra flores. → Isela las compra.
Isela buys flowers. → Isela buys them
Indirect object pronouns replace a noun that is affected by the action, but does not actually undergo it.
Isela le compra flores.
Isela buys flowers for her/him.
Reflexive pronouns are words like "yourself" or "themselves" that used for the object of a verb when the subject and the object are the same.
Nosotros nos despertamos tarde los domingos.
We wake (ourselves) up late on Sundays.
Possessive pronouns are words like "mine" or "yours," that stand for an object that someone owns.
Esa es tuya y esta es mía.
That one is yours and this one is mine.
Demonstrative pronouns are words like "this" and "that" that we used to "point" to objects, people, or ideas in space and time.
Estos no son mis zapatos.
These are not my shoes.
Relative pronouns are words like "that" and "who" that are used to introduce a that describes the noun they refer back to.
Me gustó mucho la película que me recomendaste.
I really liked the movie that you recommended.
Indefinite pronouns are words like "something" or "many" that refer to unspecified people, places, or things.
Alguien tocó la puerta.
Someone knocked on the door.
Interrogative pronouns are used for asking questions.
¿Quién habrá sido?
Who could it be?
In Spanish, there are four simple tenses: present tense, future tense, and two past tenses, perfect and imperfect.
Mi perro duerme mientras yo cocino.
My dog sleeps while I cook.
Tendré vacaciones en cuanto tenga dinero.
I will go on vacation as soon as I have money.
The preterite is a past tense used for completed events and actions.
Ayer dormí diez horas seguidas.
Yesterday I slept ten hours straight.
The imperfect is a past tense used for descriptions and for habitual or ongoing actions.
Mientras dormía mi hermano veía la televisión.
While I was sleeping my brother was watching tv.
Spanish also has several , which are formed by combining two verbs: the haber(to have) plus the past participle of the main verb. These compound tenses are:
Present perfect (haber in the present tense)
Hoy hemos comido demasiado.
Today we have eaten too much.
Past perfect (haber in the imperfect tense)
Habíamos ido a la tienda antes de que llegaras.
We had gone to the store before you arrived.
Future perfect (haber in the future tense)
Habremos cenado antes de salir.
We will have eaten before leaving.
Spanish also has four , each of which comes in a range of tenses.
The indicative mood is the "default" mood. It's used for facts and can be used in all the tenses listed above.
Santiago es la capital de Chile.
Santiago is the capital of Chile.
Rocio trajo arroz con leche.
Rocio brought rice pudding.
¿Adónde ibas?
Where were you going?
The subjunctive mood is used to express wishes, desires, doubts, and possibilities.
Ojalá estuviera de vacaciones.
I wish I were on vacation.
Quiero que vayas a la tienda.
I want you to go to the store.
No creo que sepan la respuesta.
I don’t think they know the answer.
Si tuviéramos un millón de dólares, viajaríamos por todo el mundo.
If we had a million dollars, we would travel the world.
In Spanish, the subjunctive can be used in four tenses. Follow these links to learn more about each: present subjunctive, imperfect subjunctive, and present and past perfect subjunctive.
The conditional mood is used for conditions in a lot like you might use "would verb" in English.
Nos gustaría tener una casa en la playa.
We would like to have a beach house.
The conditional has two tenses: present conditional, as in compraría(I would buy), and past conditional , as in habría comprado(I would have bought).
The imperative mood is primarily used to give commands, and it's only used in the present tense.
The imperative is used for commands, suggestions, and advice; it is only used in the present tense.
Pásame la sal.
Pass me the salt.
No hables tan fuerte.
Don’t speak so loud.
The most common words in Spanish are de ("of, from"), la ("the-feminine, singular"), que ("that"), el ("the-masculine, singular"), en ("in, at").
The five most common verbs in Spanish are ser ("to be"), haber ("to have"), estar ("to be"), poder ("to be able to"), and tener ("to have").
Verbs in Spanish can be regular (they follow a regular pattern) or irregular (they have irregularities in the stem of the verb or/and ending). The following verbs are the most commonly used in Spanish.
Verb Group | Regular | |
|---|---|---|
-ar | pasar(to pass)llevar(to take)quedar(to remain, to be left)hablar(to speak)dejar(to leave)llamar(to call) | estar(to be)dar(to give)comenzar(to begin)jugar(to plauy)contar(to count)pensar(to think) |
-er | deber(must, to owe)correr(to run)comer(to eat)beber(to drink)vender(to sell)aprender(to learn) | ser(to be)haber(to have)poder(to be able)hacer(to do)tener(to have)ver(to see) |
-ir | vivir(to live)escribir(to write)recibir(to write)abrir(to open)subir(to go up)descubrir(to discover) | decir(to say)ir(to go)pedir(to ask for)venir(to come)sentir(to feel)dormir(to sleep) |
Here is a list of some of the most common descriptive adjectives in Spanish. These types of adjectives come after the noun.
bueno/a(good)
importante(important)
triste(sad)
grande(big)
pequeño/a(small)
inteligente(intelligent)
tonto/a(dumb)
fuerte(strong)
malo/a(bad)
feo/a(ugly)
alto/a(tall)
divertido/a(fun)
aburrido/a(boring)
nuevo/a(new)
viejo/a(old)
débil(weak)
bonito/a(pretty)
feliz(happy)
bajo/a(short)
rico/a(rich)
pobre(poor)
cansado/a(tired)
tranquilo/a(calm)
In Spanish, adjectives match the gender (feminine or masculine) and number (singular or plural) of the noun they modify.
la casa roja
the red house
los zapatos caros
the expensive shoes
If the adjective ends in -o then it has a feminine equivalent ending in -a, but if the adjective ends in -e or a consonant, then the same word is used for both the masculine and feminine.
Spanish also has other types of adjectives, such as possessive adjectives , words like "my" or "our" and demonstrative adjectives , words like "this" and "that." These are always placed before the noun instead.
Nuestras amigas son de Barcelona.
Our (female) friends are from Barcelona.
Este teléfono no es mío.
This phone isn’t mine.
The most common ending for adverbs in Spanish is -mente. This ending is often used to turn adjectives into adverbs, much like we use "-ly" in English.
lentamente
slowly
But, there are also other adverbs that refer to time, place, or quantity. Here are some common ones.
Adverbs of Place |
|---|
allá(over there)cerca(near)lejos(far)dentro(inside)fuera(outside)arriba(above)abajo(below) |
Adverbs of time: | |
|---|---|
ahora(now)luego(later)antes(before)después(after)entonces(then)pronto(soon) | |
Adverbs of quantity |
|---|
muy(very)más(more)menos(less)poco(a little)mucho(a lot)suficiente(enough)bastante(quite)demasiado(too much) |
Adverbs of manner |
|---|
bien(well)mal(wrong)rápido(fast)despacio(slowly) |
If an adverb describes a verb, place the adverb after the verb:
If the adverb modifies an adjective or another adverb place the modifying adverb in front:
The leather bag is quite expensive.
The snail walks very slowly.
Here are the numbers in Spanish from 0 to 19, as well as the multiples of ten and one hundred.
Numbers 0 to 19 | Multiples of 10 | Multiples of 100 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
0 | cero | 10 | diez | 20 | veinte | 200 | doscientos |
1 | uno | 11 | once | 30 | treinta | 300 | trescientos |
2 | dos | 12 | doce | 40 | cuarenta | 400 | cuatrocientos |
3 | tres | 13 | trece | 50 | cincuenta | 500 | quinientos |
4 | cuatro | 14 | catorce | 60 | sesenta | 600 | seiscientos |
5 | cinco | 15 | quince | 70 | setenta | 700 | setecientos |
6 | seis | 16 | dieciséis | 80 | ochenta | 800 | ochocientos |
7 | siete | 17 | diecisiete | 90 | noventa | 900 | novecientos |
8 | ocho | 18 | dieciocho | 100 | cien | 1000 | mil |
9 | nueve | 19 | diecinueve | ||||
Family members in Spanish are referred to based on the gender of the person, similar to most English terms for family members.
Female | Male |
|---|---|
madre, mamá(mother, mom) | padre, papá(father, dad) |
hermana(sister) | hermano(brother) |
hija(daughter) | hijo(son) |
tía(aunt) | tío(uncle) |
prima(female cousin) | primo(male cousin) |
sobrina(niece) | sobrino(nephew) |
abuela(grandmother) | abuelo(grandfather) |
nieta(granddaughter) | nieto(grandson) |
suegra(mother-in-law) | suegro(father-in-law) |
nuera(daughter-in-law) | yerno(son-in-law) |
cuñada(sister-in-law) | cuñado(brother-in-law) |
esposa(wife) | esposo, marido(husband) |
For a group of relatives, Spanish uses the masculine plural term, as long as there is at least one male family member in a group. For example, parents are padres, siblings are hermanos, a group of aunts and uncles are tíos , and so on. The term for "relatives" is parientes.
Some common words to talk about time in Spanish are horas ("hours"), minutos ("minutes"), segundos ("seconds").
Time of the week in Spanish |
|---|
hoy(today)ayer(yesterday)antier(day before yesterday)mañana(tomorrow)pasado mañana(day after tomorrow)día(day)semana(week)día de la semana(weekday)el fin de semana(the weekend) |
Time of day in Spanish |
|---|
la mañana(morning)la tarde(afternoon, evening)la noche(night)el mediodía(noon)la medianoche(midnight)la madrugada(early morning, dawn) |
Days of the week in Spanish |
|---|
lunes(Monday)martes(Tuesday)miércoles(Wednesday)jueves(Thursday)viernes(Friday)sábado(Saturday)domingo(Sunday) |
Seasons in Spanish |
|---|
la primavera(spring)el verano(summer)el otoño(autumn)el invierno(Thursday) |
Months in Spanish | |
|---|---|
enero(January)febrero(February)marzo(March)abril(April)mayo(May)junio(June) | julio(July)agosto(August)septiembre(September)octubre(October)noviembre(November)diciembre(December) |
Spanish boasts a particularly rich literary tradition that spans nine centuries, three continents, and a wide variety of literary styles. Familiarizing yourself with these works can help you learn a lot about the Spanish language and culture. Starting at the beginning, the medieval El cantar del mio Cid is widely regarded as one of the earliest Spanish texts, preserved in codices written in the Castilian Hispano-Romance some time during the 12th century. This epic poem lauds the exploits of Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar, a warlord made famous by his role in the “Reconquista" of the Iberian Peninsula.
Later, during the Golden Age of Spanish literature, Baroque authors such as Miguel de Cervantes, Lope de Vega, and Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz produced some of the most famous literary works of all time. Of particular note, Cervantes' Don Quixote is sometimes referred to as the first modern novel, and is widely considered to be one of the most important books of all time. Lope de Vega was an extremely prolific poet and playwright, composing more than a thousand plays during his lifetime, with over 400 being preserved in libraries today. In the Americas, Sor Juan Inés de la Cruz was by far the most influential author of her time. A child prodigy who was unable to receive an education due to the fact she was a woman, Sor Juana became a nun in order to pursue a life of study and writing. She is perhaps most famous for her poetry, and is regarded by some to be one of the earliest feminists, with poems like Hombres Necios that explicitly called out the hypocrisy of men in their treatment of women.
Later, as the American colonies began to win their independence, the Baroque aesthetic gave way to the enlightenment and later the famous romantic Spanish authors during the 19th century. The majority of the romantics were peninsular authors, and the themes of their work embraced the emotional connection of humans with the natural world. Authors in this category include Spanish author Gustavo Adolfo Becquer, and the Galician poet Rosalia de Castro. Social criticism through satire was also common during this period, such as Jose de Larra’s famous Venga usted mañana, a short story that criticized what the author perceived as a tendency for laziness and procrastination in Spanish society at the time.
The end of the 19th century and beyond developed an increasingly rich literary tradition in the Americas, with Latin American authors rising to prominence as some of the most well known and regarded Spanish language authors. Rubén Darío and José Matí, from Nicaragua and Cuba respectively, are particularly notable poets and essayists that emerged from the Latin American Modernism movement, and were some of the earliest Latin American authors to earn a level of international fame. Rubén Darío is perhaps best known for his high aesthetic poetry such as Azul, whereas Martí was prone to intense social criticism and was instrumental in Cuba winning its independence from Spain. Later, the Argentine author Jorge Luis Borges rose to prominence, who was particularly famous for his philosophical short stories, like those found in his collection Ficciones. During the 1960s, the “Latin American Boom” was a period in which many Latin American authors rose to fame, among them Mario Vargas Llosa, author of La ciudad y los perros, Julio Cortázar, author of Rayuela. Perhaps the most famous “boom” author is Gabriel García Márquez, whose novel “One Hundred Years of Solitude'' solidified the genre of magical realism in the international community. Moving towards the current time, there are a wide variety of Spanish language authors of note, with many works focused on political and social criticisms, as well as testimonials from underrepresented groups, like Rigoberta Manchú’s account of her experience as an Indigenous woman in Guatemala, “I, Rigoberta Manchú: An Indian Woman in Guatemala.”
The following are the most famous books written in Spanish.
Don Quixote - El Ingenioso Hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha (1605, 1615) by Miguel de Cervantes
The story of a low noble who fancies himself a knight, this masterpiece of satire examines and criticizes European art and society and is widely considered to be one of the greatest novels of all time.
One Hundred Years of Solitude - Cien Años de Soledad (1967) by Gabriel García Márquez
This text tells the story of three generations of the Buendía family in rural Colombia in the style of magical realism, a genre made famous by this book.
The House of the Spirits - La casa de los espíritus (1982) by Isabel Allende
Inspired by the tradition of Cien Años de Soledad, this story uses magical realism to tell the story of the political and social upheaval in post colonial Chile through the Trueba family.
Like Water for Chocolate - Como agua para chocolate (1989) by Laura Esquivel
Another text that uses magical realism to bring Latin American history alive, this book tells the story of the Mexican revolution through Tita, the youngest of three sisters who expresses her emotions through her cooking, which has magical effects on those who eat it.
Hopscotch - Rayuela (1963) by Julio Cortázar
This experimental novel includes 155 characters, describing the bohemian lifestyle led by South American artists, writers, and other interesting individuals both abroad in Europe and in Argentina.
The Aleph - El Aleph (1945) by Jorge Luís Borges
This famous short story engages in a discussion of metaphysics centered around an Aleph, which is a point in space that includes all other points in space.
The following are the most famous Spanish poems.
Poem 20 - Poema XX (1924) by Pablo Neruda
This famous poem appears in Neruda’s famous collection “20 Love Poems and a Song of Despair,” telling the story of lost love and the poetry it inspires.
Portrait - Retrato (1906) by Antonio Machado
This poem is a self portrait that describes the poet as he sees himself throughout his life: his childhood in Andalusia, his relationship with women and beauty, and his poetry and identity as a poet.
Simple Verses - Versos Sencillos (1891) by José Martí
This collection by the Cuban poet is most famous for the poem “Yo soy un hombre sincero" (I'm an honest man), a patriotic poem about the Cuban people that was adapted into the folk song “Guantanamera.”
A Philosophical Satire - Las Redondillas (1689) by Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz
One of the first feminists, Sor Juana’s Redondillas points out how many societal ills are caused by men, perhaps best highlighted in her poem "Hombres Necios" (You Foolish Men).
The Song of My Lord - El cantar de mio cid(written around the year 1140), anonymous author
This experimental novel includes 155 characters, describing the bohemian lifestyle led by South American artists, writers, and other interesting individuals both abroad in Europe and in Argentina.
The Aleph - El Aleph (1945) by Jorge Luís Borges
The oldest preserved Spanish (Castilian) poem, this epic tells the story of the exploits of Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar, legendary general in the wars of the Reconquest during the 11th century
The most famous myths and legends in the Spanish-speaking countries often convey themes related to supernatural beings, often scary or wicked, who appear to individuals in order to give them a life lesson. The following myths are not suited for children.
La llorona - the Weeping Woman (Mexico and Central America)
This legend of uncertain origin has many versions. It tells the tale of a woman who drowned her children, and comes out at night to look for them, regretfully weeping “¡Ay mis hijos!” ("Oh my children!")
Los amantes de Teruel - The Lovers of Teruel (Spain)
This is the story of forbidden love between Isabel, the daughter of a wealthy man, and Juan Diego de Marcilla, whose family fell on hard times and became poor. In order to win her hand in marriage, Juan Diego went to make his fortune as a soldier in the war of Reconquest. After five years, he returned with a massive fortune to find Isabel, who had been married by her father to another man that very day. That night Juan Diego snuck into their room to ask her for a kiss. When refused, he died. Later, at his funeral, Isabel kissed Juan Diego’s body and fell dead across him. This legend is loosely based on a true story, and the tomb of the lovers is now a tourist attraction at the church of San Pedro in Teruel.
La Ciguapa (Dominican Republic)
The ciguapas are magical nocturnal beings that are said to bring death to those who see them. They are female, with long dark hair and backwards facing feet and are said to lure men to follow them into the mountains and forests, hypnotizing them with chirping noises. They appear beautiful to some, but are repulsive to others, nonetheless one should not look into their eyes to avoid being bewitched.
El sombrerón - The man with the big hat (Guatemala)
This short man with a big hat is said to come out at night with four mules and a guitar on his back looking to seduce young women with long hair and big eyes. It is said that he roams the streets at night, and when he finds a girl that he likes, he braids her hair, serenades her, and puts soil on her plates or in her food. It is said that the only way to break his spell is by cutting one's hair. Those who fall under his spell eventually die if not cured. This legend encourages young girls to follow cultural norms.
La Cegua - (Central America)
La Cegua is a mythical character who looks like a beautiful woman from behind, but has the face of a horse or sometimes a skull. She often is found bathing, or waiting at night by the side of a solitary road, and can take the appearance of a lover or mother when seen from afar. However, when her victim approaches, she turns into a monster with a decaying horse face, and her victims are said to die from fright. La Cegua is considered to be a warning to unfaithful men and drunkards.
Spanish is spoken in twenty countries (18 countries in Latin America, as well as in Spain and Equatorial Guinea) as an official language. Unofficially, Spanish is also spoken in the United States (about 53 million speakers), Morocco (7 million speakers), Brazil (6.7 million), and many other countries around the world.
About eight percent of the world’s population speaks Spanish — approximately 572 million speakers, 477 million of whom are native speakers. It is the fourth most spoken language in the world after English, Mandarin, and Hindi, and it is the second most spoken language in the United States after English.
Spanish is the official language (or one of the official languages) in 20 countries and in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The countries are ranked based on the number of speakers from largest to smallest.
Mexico
Colombia
Argentina
Spain
Venezuela
Peru
Chile
Ecuador
Cuba
Guatemala
Bolivia
Bolivia
Dominican Republic
El Salvador
Honduras
Nicaragua
Paraguay
Costa Rica
Puerto Rico
Uruguay
Panama
Equatorial Guinea
Spanish has many varieties that can be grouped based on geographical area and linguistic similarity. The two main branches and sub-branches of Spanish are:
Latin American Spanish
Caribbean dialects (Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, coastal Venezuela)
Mexican and Central American dialects (Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Honduras)
Andean dialects (Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia)
Southern cone dialects (Paraguay, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile)
Varieties spoken in the United States: Mexican American (southwestern states), Cuban American (Florida), Puerto Rican and Dominican (New York)
Peninsular Spanish
North-Central dialect (central and northern Spain)
Andalusian dialect (southern Spain)
Canary Island dialect
Note that there is wide variation within these sub-branches, as well as dozens of contact varieties with other languages. For instance, in Paraguay, many people speak a mix of Guaraní and Spanish called Jopará.
While vocabulary and accents can vary considerably, the grammar of Spanish is mostly the same across dialects, making them mutually intelligible. Nevertheless, there are some notable grammatical differences. Here is a brief overview.
Vosotros vs. ustedes
The biggest difference you will find between Peninsular Spanish and Latin American Spanish is the different pronouns and verb conjugations for second person plural (you), as in “You (all) went to the concert.” In this situation, Latin American varieties use the pronoun “ustedes" with the same verb conjugations used for ellos/ellas ("they"). In Spain, most dialects use the pronoun “vosotros/as," as well as conjugations specific to this form:
Ustedes fueron al concierto.
Vosotros fuisteis al concierto.
You (all) went to the concert.
Ustedes lavan y nosotros secamos.
Vosotros lavais y nosotros secamos.
You (all) went to the concert.
Tú vs vos
Another pronoun with notable regional differences is “you” singular informal. “Tú" is used in Spain, Mexico, the Andean varieties, and the Caribbean varieties, whereas “vos" is used in Central America, parts of Colombia and Venezuela, and in the Southern Cone. Tú and vos share the same verb conjugations except in the present tense (indicative and subjunctive) and the imperative. Let’s compare:
Tú hablas mucho.
Vos hablás mucho.
You talk too much.
Ven acá.
Vení acá.
Come here.
Omission of subject pronouns
Most varieties of Spanish omit the subject pronouns, however the Caribbean varieties tend to use them more often than other varieties.
Ya sabes que no quiero ir. vs. Ya tú sabes que no quiero ir.
You already know that I don’t want to go.
Also, the Caribbean dialects tend to place the subject pronouns before the verb when asking questions:
¿Qué quieres tú? vs. ¿Qué tú quieres?
What do you want?
Object pronouns
Object pronouns show lots of variation in the Spanish speaking world. A notable dialectal difference is the non-standard use of the direct object pronouns lo ("him, it") and la ("her, it"), often replaced by the gender neutral pronoun le. For example:
Have you seen Ana today?
Standard →
Yes, I saw her in the afternoon.
Leísta →
Speakers that use this non-standard form are called "leístas" and are mostly found in north-central Spain and some parts of Ecuador and Paraguay.
Present perfect vs. preterite
The preterite tense is used to talk about complete actions in the past. However, in Spain, this tense can be replaced by the present perfect when referring to the near past. For example:
Latin America →
I spoke with my mother this morning.
Spain →
In terms of different Spanish accents, or how people sound, there are many notable differences between the dialects, often to the extent that the origin of the speaker can be easily determined by a trained ear.
The most noticeable difference between Peninsular Spanish and Latin American Spanish is the use of the “th" sound (as in "throw") in Spain for the sequences “za, zo, zu" and "ce, ci." In Latin America these sequences would be pronounced with an “s" sound (as in "silent"). For example:
Spain
⇩
Latin America
⇩
zapato ("shoe") →
“thapato”
"sapato"
cielo ("sky") →
“thielo”
"sielo"
In the Southern Cone varieties, the “y" or "ll" before a vowel is pronounced like the "sh" in "show" or the "s" in "vision," whereas in the rest of the regions it is pronounced as the "y" in "yellow." For example:
Southern Cone
⇩
Other varieties
⇩
llamo ("I call") →
"shamo"
"yamo"
yo ("I") →
"sho"
"yo"
A common distinction between the Spanish dialects is the pronunciation of versus the omission/aspiration of “s" at the end of words or syllables. The s-less dialects are common in the Caribbean, parts of central America and Mexico, Chile, Argentina, and the Andalusian varieties in Southern Spain. For example:
s varieties
⇩
s-less varieties
⇩
hasta las dos ("until two") →
"hasta las dos"
omitted → "a_ta la_ do_"
aspirated → "ahta lah doh"
Learning Spanish has many benefits — it makes travel easier and more rewarding, it opens the door to world famous movies, music, books, and TV shows, and helps you do business in more than 20 countries. As the largest minority language in the USA, many English speakers seek to learn Spanish to better communicate with a growing segment of the population for both business and recreation. As an added bonus, learning a new language can have many cognitive benefits such as delaying cognitive decay such as Alhzeimer’s Disease or even improving memory function! Find out more of the benefits of learning Spanish below.
Spanish is very important for business both in Europe and throughout the Americas — including in the US! In the United States, 18 percent of the workforce is Hispanic, and it is one of the fastest growing population groups, currently with 53 million speakers. By 2030, the US Labor Bureau projects that this number will rise to 20 percent, meaning that one in five workers will be of Hispanic origin. Worldwide, Spanish speakers are one of the fastest growing linguistic groups, increasing by over 70 percent over the last thirty years to represent 7.5 percent of the world population. Therefore, knowing Spanish will help businesses reach a growing customer base, no matter where you live.
Yes, Spanish is very important for travel. Spanish is the official language of over 20 countries, many of which are popular destinations for both business travel and tourism. Latin America boasts incredible cultural diversity, with influences from dozens of Indigenous American, European, and African cultures. It also spans a wide range of geographies, with everything from tropical beaches and jungle to high alpine zones with towering mountain ranges. Travelers visit Latin America for a wide variety of reasons, and there is literally something here for everyone: colonial cities brimming with museums and churches, a rich culinary tradition that includes everything from street food and market stalls to Michelin starred restaurants, and endless opportunity for outdoor adventures like Scuba diving, river rafting, and mountain climbing.
Likewise, Spain offers a rich cultural heritage that reflects the history of the Iberian peninsula, and offers world famous restaurants, museums, and architecture. Spain is also an outdoor mecca for trekkers wanting to follow the famous Camino de Santiago, or climb some of the most difficult rock climbing routes in the world!
But do you really need to know Spanish to travel in the Spanish speaking world? It’s true that in heavily trafficked tourist areas, there will be some people that speak English. However, once off the beaten track, it may be hard to communicate without at least some survival Spanish. Knowing how to ask for and understand directions, order food, and converse with the locals will make for a smoother experience, and may even lead to finding some hidden gems that most tourists miss! In general, the better you are at the local language, the more rewarding your experience will be. Even if you are a beginner, don’t worry, most Spanish speakers will appreciate any effort you make to communicate, so don’t hesitate, and do your best!
The most similar languages to Spanish are those languages that also derived from Latin, aka the Romance languages. However, due to the expansion and evolution of Latin across the European territories, the Romance languages evolved differently and were also influenced by other languages in the different regions. Because of this, Spanish is most similar to Portuguese, Catalán, and Italian, and less similar to French and Romanian (heavy Slavic influence).
The following list shows the percentage of shared vocabulary between Spanish and the most spoken Romance languages:
Portuguese - 89%
Catalan - 85%
Italian - 82%
French - 75%
Romanian - 71%
Portuguese and Spanish are both Romance languages and, furthermore, belong to the Ibero-Romance branch. This means that they are closer to each other, compared to the other Romance languages. They have similar histories and share 89 percent of their vocabulary. Spanish is known to be fairly easy to understand by Portuguese speakers. Here are the main differences:
Future subjunctive tense
Spanish once had a tense for the future subjunctive (e.g. hablare ("that I will speak")), which has been replaced by the present subjunctive, and only a few remnants exist in very formal language. However, Portuguese continues to use this tense for actions that are likely to happen, but haven’t happened yet.
Spanish →
Portuguese →
Quando eles viajarem ao Brasil, falarão outros idiomas.
When they travel to Brazil, they will speak other languages.
Personal infinitive
A unique characteristic of Portuguese is that you can “conjugate” infinitives by adding a person suffix. In Spanish, this is not possible.
Spanish →
Portuguese →
Prepositions contract with articles and demonstrative adjectives
In Spanish, there are only two possible contractions between a preposition and an article. These are a + el = al ("to the") and de + el = del ("of the"). However, in Portuguese, you can contract many prepositions with both definite and indefinite articles, but also with demonstrative adjectives. For example:
em +o (the-masculine) = no (in the)
por +a (the-feminine) = pela (for the)
para +un (the-masculine) = prum (to a)
de +este (this) = deste (from/of this)
a +aquele (that one) = àquele (to that one)
Use of ter as the auxiliary for compound tenses
Both Spanish and Portuguese have two verbs for “to have”: tener / ter and haber / haver. For perfect tenses Spanish only uses the auxiliary haber; whereas Portuguese typically can use both verbs. However, in Brazilian Portuguese ter is the preferred auxiliary verb.
Spanish →
Portuguese →
Eu tenho estudado muito.
I have studied a lot.
Spanish and French are both part of the Romance family. Although they have many similarities in terms of grammar and vocabulary, they differ in some notable aspects. For example:
Partitive articles
French has a set of partitive articles (du, de la, des) that are used in front of undetermined quantities and uncountable nouns, or nouns that cannot be counted like “water” or “music.” Before uncountable nouns, Spanish does not need an article.
French →
Spanish →
Yo como pasta pero no arroz.
I eat pasta but not rice.
Adverbial pronouns “y" and "en"
French uses the pronoun y to substitute a place meaning “there.” In Spanish, such a pronoun does not exist. So instead, an adverb or a prepositional phrase is used.
French →
Spanish →
Yo voy a París. Yo voy ahí/ para allá.
I go to Paris. I go there.
French uses the pronoun en to substitute a quantity. In Spanish, no pronoun is needed in this situation.
French →
Spanish →
Pedro tiene dos hermanas. Él tiene dos.
Peter has two sisters. He has two (of them.)
Two auxiliaries for compound tenses
For compound tenses like the present perfect, Spanish uses the auxiliary haber ("to have"), whereas French uses auxiliary être ("to be") or avoir ("to have"), depending on the type of verb.
French →
J’ai fini mes devoirs.
Je suis parti tôt.
Spanish →
He acabado mi tarea.
I have finished my homework.
He salido temprano.
I have left early.
Use of subject pronouns
In French it is obligatory to use subject pronouns, whereas in Spanish they are usually omitted.
French →
Spanish →
(yo) Quiero dormir.
I want to sleep.
(nosotros) Fuimos a la tienda.
We went to the store.
Italian and Spanish have more similarities than differences, because they are both derived from Latin and they share 82 percent of their vocabulary. However, there are some important differences. Let’s go over them!
Plurals with vowels
In Spanish, plurals are mostly formed by adding an -s or -es to nouns and adjectives. In Italian, plurals are formed by changing the final vowel of the word to a different vowel.
Italian →
Spanish →
la casa→ las casas
the house → the houses
la flor → las flores
the flower → the flowers
In fact, Spanish words can end in both vowels and consonants, whereas most Italian words end in a vowel.
The use of the simple past
Both Italian and Spanish have a simple past and a compound past. In Spanish, the simple past is called the preterite and it’s used for completed actions in the past. The compound past is called the present perfect and it’s used for actions that continue into the present. In Italian, the equivalent tenses are the passato remoto and the passato prossimo. However, currently the passato remoto is only used to talk about events that happened a long time ago and the passato prossimo is the "default" tense to talk about the past. Basically, where Italian uses the passato prossimo, Spanish uses the preterite.
Italian →
Spanish →
Ayer hablé con Marco.
Yesterday, I talked with Marco.
Carla salió temprano.
Carla went out early.
Two auxiliaries for compound tenses
For compound tenses like the present perfect, Spanish uses the auxiliary haber ("to have"). On the other hand, Italian uses the auxiliary essere ("to be") or avere ("to have") depending on the type of verb.
French →
Alberto è uscito con Marco.
Ho mangiato una pizza favolosa.
Spanish →
Albero ha salido con Marco.
Alberto has gone out with Marco.
He comido una pizza fabulosa.
I have eaten a fabulous pizza.
Adverbial pronouns “ci" and "ne"
Italian uses the pronoun “ci" to substitute a place meaning "there." Nothing like this exists in Spanish, so instead an adverb, a prepositional phrase, or nothing is used.
Italian →
Spanish →
Voy a Roma mañana. Voy (allá/ para allá) mañana.
I’m going to Rome tomorrow. I’m going there tomorrow.
Italian uses the pronoun "ne" to substitute a quantity. In Spanish no pronoun is needed in this situation.
Italian →
Spanish →
Faltan dos sillas. Faltan dos.
Two chairs are missing. Two (of them) are missing.
English and Spanish belong to the Indo-European language family. However, as mentioned above, Spanish belongs to the Romance language family and English belongs to the Germanic language family. So, rather than being sisters (like the Romance languages), they are actually distant cousins. Because English has been heavily influenced by French, and French is a sister to Spanish (plus both have lots of words from Greek), English and Spanish actually have many similarities in their vocabulary called cognates. For example:
problema = problem
música = music
economía = economy
Spanish and English share about 30 to 40 percent of their vocabulary, but be aware, they also have false cognates!
carpeta
⇩
binder
≠
carpet
⇩
alfombra
embarazada
⇩
pregnant
≠
embarrassed
⇩
avergonzado/a
sopa
⇩
soup
≠
soap
⇩
jabón
About 90 percent of the shared vocabulary are true cognates, so be careful with the remaining 10 percent.
Now let’s move on to some grammatical differences between English and Spanish.
Lack of gender in nouns, articles, and adjectives
Nouns in Spanish have one of two genders: masculine or feminine. Furthermore, noun-adjacent words have to agree with the noun they go with. English does not have gender for inanimate nouns and also does not require agreement between nouns and adjacent words like articles and adjectives.
Spanish → Salimos ⤷ending for "we"de la casa muy temprano.
English → We left the house really early.
When did you arrive?
Possessive 's
In English, to talk about ownership or relationship, we simply put an ‘s on the noun referring to the “owner.” In Spanish, instead, you have to use the preposition de followed by the "owner."
Spanish → el teléfono de Andrea
English → Andrea’s phone
Ricardo’s sister
So there you have it! This concludes our handy guide about the Spanish Language. Make sure to check out all the articles and resources on individual grammar topics (they include activities and handy tables for free!). And, if you’re ready to join the adventure, why not check out the Mango app – we have specific courses on Latin American Spanish and Castillian Spanish. Start speaking Spanish today!
References:
Penny, R. (2002). A history of the Spanish language. Cambridge University Press.
Eberhard, David M., Gary F. Simons, and Charles D. Fennig (eds.). 2022. Ethnologue: Languages of the World. Twenty-fifth edition. Dallas, Texas: SIL International. Online version: http://www.ethnologue.com.
