Spanish vocabulary · 30 words
Spanish directions and transport vocabulary
The words you need to get somewhere in Spanish: the places in town, the ways to travel there, and the small words that ask and answer where. Destinations take a (voy al banco), the mode of transport takes en with no article (voy en tren), and está with cerca or lejos tells you how far.
Good to know
- ¿dónde está…? asks where something is; ¿adónde vas? asks where someone is going.
- a + el becomes al: voy al banco, but voy a la farmacia.
- Mode of transport takes en with no article: voy en tren, voy en metro.
- al lado de means next to: la farmacia está al lado del banco (de + el = del).
Getting around
| Spanish | Meaning | Audio |
|---|---|---|
| estaciónfem. (la) | station | |
| trenmasc. (el) | train | |
| metromasc. (el) | metro, subway | |
| autobúsmasc. (el) | bus | |
| taximasc. (el) | taxi | |
| bicicletafem. (la) | bicycle |
Places in town
| Spanish | Meaning | Audio |
|---|---|---|
| bancomasc. (el) | bank | |
| farmaciafem. (la) | pharmacy | |
| hospitalmasc. (el) | hospital | |
| correomasc. (el) | post office | |
| supermercadomasc. (el) | supermarket | |
| mercadomasc. (el) | market | |
| tiendafem. (la) | store | |
| parquemasc. (el) | park | |
| escuelafem. (la) | school | |
| cinemasc. (el) | movie theater | |
| playafem. (la) | beach |
Asking and giving directions
| Spanish | Meaning | Audio |
|---|---|---|
| dónde | where | |
| adónde | where to? | |
| está | is (somewhere) | |
| cerca | near, close | |
| lejos | far | |
| ladomasc. (el) | side | |
| aquí | here | |
| allí | there | |
| voy | I'm going / I go | |
| vas | you're going / you go | |
| a | to | |
| al | to the (el-words) | |
| en | in / on / at |
Test yourself
Five of the 30 words on this page, meaning to word. Pick an answer to check it; nothing is saved.
1.Which Spanish word means "station"?
2.Which Spanish word means "bank"?
3.Which Spanish word means "store"?
4.Which Spanish word means "where to?"?
5.Which Spanish word means "there"?
Practice this in Open Lingo
This page comes from the Open Lingo course. In the app it is a short interactive lesson with listening, speaking and spaced-repetition review. Free, and no account needed to try it.
Keep going
- Grammar guideIr a + infinitiveHow to talk about the future in Spanish with ir a + infinitive (voy a nadar, vamos a viajar), the present tense of ir, and the al contraction.
- Grammar guideSer vs estar vs hayThe difference between ser, estar and hay in Spanish: what something is, where it is, and whether it exists at all, with course examples and a quiz.
- Word listRooms of the house in Spanish, and the things in themSpanish vocabulary for the home: rooms (cocina, baño, dormitorio, sala), furniture (mesa, silla, cama) and the words for saying where things are.
- ToolNumbers 1 to 100 and converterEvery Spanish number from 0 to 100 in a printable table, a converter that writes out any number up to 999,999, and the rules for veinti-, y, cien and ciento.