Spanish-English Glossary of Computer and Internet Terms

If you travel to a country where Spanish is spoken, chances are that sooner or later you'll be using a computer, probably to use the Internet, or possibly for study or business. For English speakers, the Spanish of computers and the Internet can be surprisingly easy — in areas of technology, many English words have been adopted into Spanish, and many English words in the sciences come to us via Latin or Greek, also sources of Spanish words.

Even so, Spanish vocabulary related to computers and the Internet remains in a state of flux: Some purists have objected to the direct import of English words, so while sometimes a computer mouse will be referred to simply as a mouse (pronounced as maus), sometimes the word ratón is used. And some words are used in different ways by different people and publications; for example, you'll see references both to la Internet (because of the word for the network, red, is feminine) and el Internet (because new words in the language typically are masculine by default). And frequently the internet is left uncapitalized.

These qualifications should be kept in mind if using the following list of computer and Internet terms. Although the terms given here are all used by Spanish speakers somewhere, the word choice may depend on the region and the preference of the individual speaker. In some cases, there also may be alternatives or spellings that aren't listed here.

address (in email or on a website) — la dirección
"at" symbol — la arroba
backslash — la barra invertida, la barra inversa, la contrabarra
backup — la copia de seguridad (verb, hacer una copia/archivo de seguridad)
bandwidth — la amplitud de banda
battery — la pila
bookmark — el favorito, el marcador, el marcapáginas
browser — el navegador (web), el browser
bug — el fallo, el error, el bug
button (as on a mouse) — el botón
byte, kilobyte, megabyte — byte, kilobyte, megabyte
cable — el cable
card — la tarjeta
CD-ROM — CD-ROM
click (noun) — el clic
click (verb) — hacer clic, cliquear, presionar, pulsar
computer — la computadora (sometimes el computador), el ordenador
cursor — el cursor
cut and paste — cortar y pegar
data — los datos
desktop (of a computer screen) — el escritorio, la pantalla
digital — digital
domain — el dominio
dot (in Internet addresses) — el punto
download — descargar
driver — el controlador de dispositivo, el driver
email — el correo electrónico, el email
erase, delete — borrar
file — el archivo
flash memory — la memoria flash
folder — la carpeta
frequently asked questions, FAQ — las preguntas más frecuentes, las preguntas de uso frecuente, las preguntas (más) comunes, las FAQ, las PUF
hard drive — el disco duro
hertz, megahertz, gigahertz — hertz, megahertz, gigahertz
high resolution — resolución alta, definición alta
home page — la página inicial, la página principal, la portada
icon — el icono
install — instalar
Internet — la internet, el internet, la Red
key (of a keyboard) — la tecla
keyboard — el teclado
keyword — la palabra clave
laptop (computer) — el plegable, la computadora portátil, el ordenador portátil
LCD — LCD
link — el enlace, la conexión, el vínculo
memory — la memoria
menu — el menú
message — el mensaje
modem — el módem
mouse — el ratón, el mouse
multitasking — la multitarea
network — la red
operating system — el sistema operativo, el código operacional
password — la contraseña
print (verb) — imprimir
printer — la impresora
processor — el procesador
program — el programa (verb, programar)
RAM — la RAM
save (a file or document) — guardar
screen — la pantalla
screensaver — el salvapantallas
search engine — el buscador, el servidor de búsqueda,
server — el servidor
slash (/) — la barra, la barra oblicua
software — el software
spam — el correo basura, el spam
streaming — streaming
toolbar — la barra de herramientas
USB, USB port — USB, puerto USB
video — el video
virus — el virus
web page — la página web (plural las páginas web)
website — el web (plural los webs), el sitio web (plural los sitios web)
window — la ventana
wireless — inalámbrico