This is a list of 40 common words for talking about food in Spanish, each with IPA, audio, a translation and an example sentence. Play any word to hear it, check yourself in the quiz and download the list for Anki or Quizlet.
Food in Spanish: el pan, el arroz, la pasta, el queso, el huevo, el pollo, la carne de vacuno. The table below gives all 40 words with IPA, audio, a translation and an example sentence. A quiz of 10 questions checks what you remember, and the list can be downloaded for a spreadsheet, Quizlet or Anki.
| Word | Translation | Example |
|---|---|---|
| el pan /pan/ | bread | Compro el pan fresco cada mañana. I buy fresh bread every morning. |
| el arroz /aroθ/ | rice | Hoy comemos arroz con verduras. Today we eat rice with vegetables. |
| la pasta /pasta/ | pasta | Preparo pasta para toda la familia. I prepare pasta for the whole family. |
| el queso /keso/ | cheese | Este queso combina bien con pan. This cheese goes well with bread. |
| el huevo /weβo/ | egg | Desayuno un huevo cocido los domingos. I have a boiled egg for breakfast on Sundays. |
| el pollo /poʎo/ | chicken | Cenamos pollo asado con patatas. We have roast chicken with potatoes for dinner. |
| la carne de vacuno /kaɾne ðe βakuno/ | beef | Mi padre cocina carne de vacuno los sábados. My father cooks beef on Saturdays. |
| el cerdo /θeɾðo/ | pork | Hoy preparo cerdo con manzanas. Today I am preparing pork with apples. |
| el pescado /peskaðo/ | fish | Comemos pescado fresco junto al mar. We eat fresh fish by the sea. |
| la sopa /sopa/ | soup | La sopa caliente nos espera en la mesa. The hot soup is waiting for us on the table. |
| la ensalada /ensalaða/ | salad | Pido una ensalada para acompañar la comida. I order a salad to go with the meal. |
| el bocadillo /bokaðiʎo/ | sandwich | Llevo un bocadillo al trabajo cada día. I take a sandwich to work every day. |
| la pizza /pitsa/ | pizza | Pedimos una pizza grande para compartir. We order a large pizza to share. |
| la mantequilla /mantekiʎa/ | butter | Unto mantequilla en la tostada del desayuno. I spread butter on the breakfast toast. |
| el azúcar /aθukaɾ/ Azúcar can be masculine or feminine; masculine usage is more common. | sugar | Añado poco azúcar al café cada mañana. I add a little sugar to my coffee every morning. |
| la sal /sal/ | salt | La sopa necesita un poco de sal. The soup needs a little salt. |
| la pimienta /pimjɛnta/ | pepper | Añade pimienta negra a la carne. Add black pepper to the meat. |
| el aceite /aθeɪte/ | oil | Frío las patatas con aceite de oliva. I fry the potatoes in olive oil. |
| la harina /aɾina/ | flour | Necesitamos harina para hacer el bizcocho. We need flour to make the cake. |
| la miel /mjel/ | honey | Pongo miel en el yogur natural. I put honey in the plain yogurt. |
| la mermelada /meɾmelaða/ | jam | Mi hermana desayuna mermelada de fresa. My sister has strawberry jam for breakfast. |
| el chocolate /tʃokolate/ | chocolate | A los niños les gusta el chocolate. The children like chocolate. |
| el pastel /pastel/ | cake | Preparamos un pastel para su cumpleaños. We prepare a cake for her birthday. |
| la galleta /ɡaʎeta/ | cookie | Tomo una galleta con el café. I have a cookie with my coffee. |
| el helado /elaðo/ | ice cream | Comemos un helado después de cenar. We eat ice cream after dinner. |
| el yogur /ʝoɣuɾ/ | yoghurt | Como yogur con fruta por la mañana. I eat yoghurt with fruit in the morning. |
| el desayuno /desaʝuno/ | breakfast | Mi desayuno incluye café y tostadas. My breakfast includes coffee and toast. |
| la comida /komiða/ | lunch | La comida es a las dos. Lunch is at two. |
| la cena /θena/ | dinner | La cena empieza cuando llega Ana. Dinner starts when Ana arrives. |
| la merienda /meɾjɛnda/ | snack | Los niños toman la merienda después del colegio. The children have a snack after school. |
| el postre /postɾe/ | dessert | ¿Quieres fruta o helado de postre? Do you want fruit or ice cream for dessert? |
| la carne /kaɾne/ | meat | No como carne durante la semana. I do not eat meat during the week. |
| la salchicha /saltʃitʃa/ | sausage | Corto la salchicha antes de cocinarla. I cut the sausage before cooking it. |
| el jamón /xamon/ | ham | Compramos jamón para los bocadillos. We buy ham for the sandwiches. |
| las patatas fritas de bolsa /patatas fɾitas ðe βolsa/ | potato chips | Compramos patatas fritas de bolsa para la fiesta. We bought potato chips for the party. |
| los fideos /fiðeos/ | noodles | La sopa lleva fideos muy finos. The soup has very thin noodles in it. |
| la salsa /salsa/ | sauce | Esta salsa combina con la pasta. This sauce goes well with pasta. |
| el vinagre /binaɣɾe/ | vinegar | Echo vinagre en la ensalada. I pour vinegar on the salad. |
| el ajo /axo/ | garlic | Añadimos ajo picado a la salsa. We add chopped garlic to the sauce. |
| la cebolla /θeβoʎa/ | onion | Corto la cebolla para la tortilla. I cut the onion for the omelet. |
The list on this page has 40 words. The first ones are el pan (bread), el arroz (rice), la pasta (pasta). Each comes with IPA, audio, a translation and an example sentence.
Take the quiz on this page, then download the list for Anki or Quizlet and review a few words every day. In Lingo7 you can read books in Spanish with a translation under every sentence and meet the same words in context.
Press the play button next to a word or an example sentence to hear it.