100 Spanish Words You Should Know

Obviously, you're not going to be able to say everything you want to say with only 100 Spanish words — although you could do surprisingly well with fewer than 1,000. But if you can learn these 100 words and understand how they're used, you'll be a long way toward being able to communicate freely in Spanish.

Definitions below are for quick reference; all the words can be translated in additional ways.

Top 100 Spanish Words

1. gracias (thanks)
2. ser (be)
3. a (to)
4. ir (to go)
5. estar (to be)
6. bueno (good)
7. de (of, from)
8. su (your, her, his, their)
9. hacer (to do, to make)
10. amigo (friend)
11. por favor (please)
12. no (no)
13. en (on, in)
14. haber ("to have" as an auxiliary verb)
15. tener (to have, to possess)
16. un, uno, una (a, one)
17. ahora (now)
18. y (and)
19. que, qué (that, what)
20. por (for, by)
21. amar (to love)
22. quién (who)
23. para (for, to)
24. venir (to come)
25. porque (because)
26. el, la, los, las (the)
27. antes (before)
28. más (more)
29. bien ("well" as an adverb)
30. aquí, allí (here, there)
31. querer (to want, to love)
32. hola (hello)
33. tú (you)
34. poder (to be able)
35. gustar (to be pleasing)
36. poner (to put)
37. casi (almost)
38. saber (to know)
39. como (like, as)
40. donde (where)
41. dar (to give)
42. pero (but)
43. se (itself, herself, himself, themselves)
44. mucho (much)
45. nuevo (new)
46. cuando (when)
47. chico, chica (boy, girl)
48. entender (to understand)
49. si (if)
50. o (or)
51. feliz (happy)
52. todo (all, every)
53. mismo (same)
54. muy (very)
55. nunca (never)
56. yo, me (I, me)
57. sí (yes)
58. grande, gran (big, great)
59. deber (to owe, should)
60. usted (you)
61. bajo (low, under)
62. otro (other)
63. salir (to leave)
64. hora (hour; see also lesson on telling time)
65. desde (from)
66. ver (to see)
67. malo, mal (bad)
68. pensar (to think)
69. hasta (until)
70. tanto, tan (used in making comparisons)
71. entre (between, among)
72. durante (during)
73. llevar (to wear, to carry)
74. siempre (always)
75. empezar (to begin)
76. él, ella, ellos, ellas (he, she, they)
77. leer (to read)
78. cosa (thing)
79. sacar (to take out, to remove)
80. conocer (to know)
81. primero (first)
82. andar (to walk)
83. sobre (over, about)
84. echar (to throw)
85. sin (without)
86. decir (to say)
87. trabajar (to work)
88. nosotros (we, us)
89. también (also)
90. adiós (goodbye)
91. comer (to eat)
92. triste (sad)
93. país (country)
94. escuchar (to listen, to listen to)
95. hombre (man)
96. mujer (woman)
97. le (indirect-object pronoun)
98. creer (to believe, to think)
99. encontrar (to find)
100. beber (to drink)

And a Few More

Here are some other words that very well could have made the list:

101. hablar (to speak)
102. ese, esa (demonstrative "that"; also see the demonstrative pronouns)
103. baño (bathroom)
104. después (afterwards, later)
105. gente (people)
106. ciudad (city)
106. sentir (to feel)
107. llegar (to arrive)
108. pequeño (small)
109. escribir (to write)
110. año (year)
111. menos (minus, except)
112. lo (various uses)
113. cual (that, which)
114. este, esta (this)
115. dejar (to leave)
116. parte (part)
117. nada (nothing)
118. cada (each)
119. seguir (to continue, to follow)
120. partir (to divide)
121. ya (still, already)
122. parecer (to seem)