Spanish · 60 words

60 beautiful Spanish words

Pretty, cute and cool Spanish words, from mariposa to sobremesa, each with its pronunciation, its meaning in English and an example sentence.

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Spanish words worth learning for their sound

Some words are worth learning for how they sound or for what they hold. This page gathers sixty Spanish ones in six groups: cute words, cool words, elegant words, words of the sky and of nature, words of love, and words for feelings English has no word for. Each comes with its pronunciation, its meaning, a short note and an example sentence.

Spanish is a language of open vowels, and many of its loveliest words end in one: mariposa, luna, madrugada. Some have no English twin at all. sobremesa is the time spent talking at the table after a meal, and madrugada the part of the night after midnight and before dawn.

Cute Spanish words

la mariposa[la maɾiˈposa]
butterfly
Often chosen as one of the prettiest words in Spanish, for its open vowels.
Una mariposa entró por la ventana.A butterfly came in through the window.
el cariño[el kaˈɾiɲo]
affection; also darling
Used for love and care, and as a pet name: hola, cariño.
Lo hizo con mucho cariño.She did it with great care.
el abrazo[el aˈβɾaθo]
hug
Many letters and messages in Spanish end with un abrazo, a hug.
Mi abuela me dio un abrazo.My grandmother gave me a hug.
la burbuja[la βuɾˈβuxa]
bubble
The word bubbles too, with its b and u sounds.
El niño hace burbujas de jabón.The boy is blowing soap bubbles.
el besito[el beˈsito]
little kiss
The ending -ito makes a word small and sweet: beso, besito.
Dame un besito.Give me a little kiss.
la luciérnaga[la luˈθjeɾnaɣa]
firefly
From luz, light: the insect that carries a light.
Por la noche vimos una luciérnaga.At night we saw a firefly.
chiquito[tʃiˈkito]
tiny, little
A small word made smaller: chico, chiquito. Common in Latin America.
Tengo un perro chiquito.I have a tiny dog.
el gatito[el ɡaˈtito]
kitten
gato, cat, with the small ending -ito.
El gatito duerme en el sofá.The kitten is sleeping on the sofa.
la sonrisa[la sonˈrisa]
smile
Related to reír, to laugh: a smile is a little laugh.
Tienes una sonrisa preciosa.You have a lovely smile.
el arrullo[el aˈruʎo]
the cooing of doves; a soft lullaby
A word that sounds like the murmur it describes.
El bebé se durmió con el arrullo de su madre.The baby fell asleep to his mother’s lullaby.

Cool Spanish words

el fuego[el ˈfweɣo]
fire
Short, strong and often heard in songs.
Nos sentamos junto al fuego.We sat by the fire.
el destino[el desˈtino]
destiny; destination
The same word for where you are going and where life takes you.
Creo que fue el destino.I think it was destiny.
la tormenta[la toɾˈmenta]
storm
Also a storm of feelings: una tormenta de emociones.
Esta noche viene una tormenta.A storm is coming tonight.
el relámpago[el reˈlampaɣo]
flash of lightning
Stressed on the third syllable from the end, like many dramatic Spanish words.
Un relámpago iluminó el cielo.A flash of lightning lit up the sky.
el guerrero[el ɡeˈreɾo]
warrior
From guerra, war, which also gave English the word guerrilla.
Luchó como un guerrero.He fought like a warrior.
la leyenda[la leˈʝenda]
legend
As in English, a great player or singer can be a leyenda.
Este jugador es una leyenda.This player is a legend.
eterno[eˈteɾno]
eternal
Becomes eterna next to a feminine word: amor eterno, vida eterna.
Nada es eterno.Nothing is eternal.
valiente[baˈljente]
brave
The same for men and women, so it suits anyone.
Fuiste muy valiente.You were very brave.
el trueno[el ˈtɾweno]
thunder
The sound after the relámpago, the flash.
El trueno asustó al perro.The thunder frightened the dog.
el lobo[el ˈloβo]
wolf
A popular name for dogs, and a surname too.
Un lobo aullaba en el bosque.A wolf was howling in the forest.

Elegant Spanish words

la madrugada[la maðɾuˈɣaða]
the hours after midnight and before dawn
English needs a whole phrase for it; Spanish has one word.
Llegamos a casa de madrugada.We got home in the early hours.
efímero[eˈfimeɾo]
short-lived
Like the English ephemeral, from the Greek for lasting a day.
La belleza de las flores es efímera.The beauty of flowers is short-lived.
el susurro[el suˈsuro]
whisper
Say it slowly and it sounds like a whisper.
Oí un susurro detrás de la puerta.I heard a whisper behind the door.
la serenidad[la seɾeniˈðað]
calm, serenity
From sereno, calm and clear.
El mar me da serenidad.The sea gives me a sense of calm.
inefable[ineˈfaβle]
beyond words
From the Latin for what cannot be spoken.
Sentí una alegría inefable.I felt a joy beyond words.
el terciopelo[el teɾθjoˈpelo]
velvet
Literally a third of hair: a cloth once woven with three threads.
Lleva un vestido de terciopelo.She is wearing a velvet dress.
la elegancia[la eleˈɣanθja]
elegance
A word that looks almost the same in many European languages.
Baila con mucha elegancia.She dances with great elegance.
el encanto[el enˈkanto]
charm
From encantar, to enchant; me encanta means I love it.
Esta ciudad tiene mucho encanto.This town has a lot of charm.
el ensueño[el enˈsweɲo]
dream, daydream
de ensueño means dreamlike: una casa de ensueño, a dream house.
Fue un viaje de ensueño.It was a dream trip.
la penumbra[la peˈnumbɾa]
half-light, shadow
From the Latin for almost shadow; English uses the same word in astronomy.
Leía en la penumbra de su cuarto.She was reading in the half-light of her room.

Spanish words for the sky and nature

el amanecer[el amaneˈθeɾ]
sunrise, dawn
Also a verb: amanece, the day is breaking.
Vimos el amanecer desde la playa.We watched the sunrise from the beach.
el atardecer[el ataɾðeˈθeɾ]
sunset, early evening
From tarde, afternoon: the moment the afternoon ends.
El atardecer en el mar es precioso.The sunset over the sea is beautiful.
la luna[la ˈluna]
moon
Also a common girl’s name.
Esta noche hay luna llena.Tonight there is a full moon.
la estrella[la esˈtɾeʎa]
star
Used for film stars too, and as a name.
Pide un deseo a una estrella.Make a wish on a star.
el arcoíris[el aɾkoˈiɾis]
rainbow
Literally the arch of Iris, the Greek goddess of the rainbow.
Después de la lluvia salió un arcoíris.After the rain a rainbow came out.
la brisa[la ˈβɾisa]
breeze
brisa marina is the sea breeze.
Sopla una brisa suave.A gentle breeze is blowing.
el rocío[el roˈθio]
dew
Also a girl’s name, Rocío, very common in Spain.
Por la mañana las flores tienen rocío.In the morning the flowers are covered in dew.
la primavera[la pɾimaˈβeɾa]
spring
From Latin, literally the first summer.
En primavera todo florece.In spring everything blooms.
el cielo[el ˈθjelo]
sky; heaven; darling
mi cielo, my sky, is a sweet name for someone you love.
Hoy el cielo está muy azul.Today the sky is very blue.
la ola[la ˈola]
wave
It sounds exactly like hola, hello, whose h is silent.
Una ola grande llegó a la playa.A big wave reached the beach.

Spanish words of love

el amor[el aˈmoɾ]
love
mi amor, my love, is the most common pet name in Spanish.
El amor lo cambia todo.Love changes everything.
querer[keˈɾeɾ]
to love; to want
te quiero is I love you, gentler than te amo.
Te quiero mucho.I love you very much.
la ternura[la teɾˈnuɾa]
tenderness
From tierno, tender, as in soft bread or a young child.
Miraba a su hijo con ternura.She looked at her son with tenderness.
el corazón[el koɾaˈθon]
heart
de corazón, from the heart, means sincerely.
Te lo digo de corazón.I mean it from the heart.
la pasión[la paˈsjon]
passion
Stressed on the last syllable, as the accent shows.
Habla de la música con pasión.He talks about music with passion.
enamorarse[enamoˈɾaɾse]
to fall in love
Built from amor: to get into love.
Se enamoraron en Sevilla.They fell in love in Seville.
el beso[el ˈbeso]
kiss
besos, kisses, is a common way to end a message to friends.
Le dio un beso en la mejilla.He gave her a kiss on the cheek.
mi vida[mi ˈβiða]
my life; my darling
A pet name that says someone means everything to you.
Buenos días, mi vida.Good morning, my darling.
la media naranja[la ˈmeðja naˈɾaŋxa]
other half, soulmate
Literally half an orange: the one who completes you.
Ella es mi media naranja.She is my other half.
el alma[el ˈalma]feminine
soul
A feminine word that takes el for the sound: el alma, but las almas.
Te quiero con toda mi alma.I love you with all my soul.

Spanish words for feelings English has no word for

la sobremesa[la soβɾeˈmesa]
time spent talking at the table after a meal
A Spanish habit with no single word in English.
Después de comer, nos quedamos de sobremesa.After lunch we stayed at the table, talking.
estrenar[estɾeˈnaɾ]
to use or wear something for the first time
el estreno is also the first night of a film or a play.
Hoy estreno zapatos.Today I’m wearing new shoes for the first time.
la añoranza[la aɲoˈɾanθa]
longing for something or someone you miss
Gentler than sadness, warmer than memory.
Siento añoranza por mi pueblo.I miss my home town.
el anhelo[el aˈnelo]
deep wish, longing
A word of poems and songs.
Tenía un gran anhelo de libertad.He had a great longing for freedom.
la morriña[la moˈriɲa]
homesickness, especially among people from Galicia
Borrowed from Galician, the language of northwestern Spain.
Lejos de Galicia, sentía morriña.Far from Galicia, he felt homesick.
friolero[fɾjoˈleɾo]
someone who always feels the cold
English needs a sentence; Spanish has one word.
Soy muy friolero.I always feel the cold.
la vergüenza ajena[la βeɾˈɣwenθa aˈxena]
embarrassment felt for someone else
Literally other people’s shame.
Sentí vergüenza ajena al verlo cantar.I felt embarrassed for him when he sang.
la ilusión[la iluˈsjon]
hopeful excitement about something
Not illusion: me hace ilusión means I am looking forward to it.
Me hace mucha ilusión verte.I’m really looking forward to seeing you.
la querencia[la keˈɾenθja]
a place where you feel at home
From bullfighting, where it is the spot the bull keeps going back to.
Todos tenemos querencia por algún lugar.We all have a place where we feel at home.
el duende[el ˈdwende]
a magic power in art; also an elf
The poet Federico García Lorca made it the soul of flamenco.
Su manera de bailar tiene duende.Her way of dancing has duende.

Meet these words in easy stories

Using a Spanish word for a name or a design

Keep the article in mind. Spanish nouns are masculine or feminine, and the article shows which: la luna, el cielo. A few feminine nouns take el for the sound, like el alma; the list marks them. Adjectives change too: eterno becomes eterna next to a feminine noun.

Then meet the word in a sentence. A word learnt from a list is easy to forget; a word met in a story stays. Lingard’s Spanish stories for beginners let you tap any word for its meaning in that sentence and keep it for short reviews.

Questions about these words

What is the most beautiful word in Spanish?: There is no single answer. Two words that come up again and again are mariposa, for its sound, and sobremesa, for a habit most languages have no word for.
Which Spanish words have no English translation?: sobremesa, madrugada, estrenar, to use or wear something for the first time, vergüenza ajena, embarrassment felt for someone else, and duende, the mysterious power of flamenco.
How do I pronounce these words?: Spanish is spelled as it sounds, so once you know the letters you can read every word here. The pronunciation given is that of Spain: z, and c before e or i, sound like English th. In Latin America they sound like s.

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