Basic Vocabulary – with phonetics
¡Buenos días!
bweh-nohs dee-ahs
Good morning!
¡Buenas tardes!
bweh-nahs tard-ehs
Good afternoon!/Good
evening
¡Buenas noches!
bweh-nahs noh-chehs
Good evening! / Good
night!
¡Hola!
oh-lah /
Hi!
Adiós.
ah-dee-ohs
Por favor.
por fah-bor
Please.
Good bye.
*’v’ is usually sounded as a soft
*note the the ‘h’ is silent and not
pronounced
‘b’.
Hasta la vista / Hasta
luego.
ah-stah lah bees-tah / ahstah loo-eh-goh
See you / See you later.
Hasta pronto.
ah-stah prohn-toh
See you soon.
Hasta mañana.
ah-stah mahn-yahn-ah
See you tomorrow.
(Muchas) Gracias.
(moo-chahs) grah-see-ahs
Thank you (very much).
De nada.
day nah-thah
You're welcome.
Bienvenidos
bee-en-beh-nee-thohs
Welcome
¿Cómo estás?
koh-moh ay-stahs
How are you? (informal)
¿Qué tal?
kay tahl
How are you?
Bien / Muy bien
bee-ehn / moo-ee bee-ehn
Good / Very good
Mucho gusto. /
Encantado/a.
moo-choh goo-stoh / encahn-tah-doh/ah
Nice to meet you.
No tengo….
No tehn-goh
I don’t have…
Mal / Muy mal / regular /
fatal
mahl / moo ee mahl /
/reg-oo-lar / fah - tahl
Bad / Very bad / so-so/
terrible
Fenomenal
feh- nohm- ehn- al
Brilliant/great
Sí / No
see / noh
Yes / No
* note accent on sí. Without
accent - if
¿Cómo te llamas?
koh-moh tay yah-mahs
What is your name?
Me llamo...
may yah-moh
My name is...
¿De dónde eres?
day dohn-day eh-rehs
Where are you from?
(informal)
(Yo) soy de Escocia
yoh soy day ehs coth-ehah
I'm fromScotland
¿Cuántos años tienes?
cwahn-tohs ahn-yohs teeayn-ays
How old are you?
(Yo) tengo _____ años.
(yoh) tehn-goh _____ ahnyohs
I am _____ years old.
¿Hablas español?
ah-blahs eh-spahn-yol
Do you speak Spanish? (f
¿Hablas inglés?
ah-blahs een-glehs
Do you speak English?
(informal)
¿Entiendes?
ehn-tee-ehn-dehs
Do you understand?
(No) Entiendo.
(noh) ehn-tee-ehn-doh
I (don't) understand.
¿Puede ayudarme?
pweh-deh ah-yoo-thar-meh
Can you help me?
*d is almost a ‘th’ sound.
Claro que sí
klah-roh kay see
Of course
¿Cómo?
koh-moh
What? Pardon ?
¿Dónde está / Dónde
están... ?
dohn-deh eh-stah / dohndeh eh-stahn
Where is ... / Where are ...
?
Voy a pasar lista
Boy a pahsar leesta
I’m going to do the
register
Aquí/presente
ah-kee/pray- sent-eh
Here./present
No importa.
noh eem-por-tah
It doesn't matter.
¿Qué pasa?
keh pah-sah
What's happening?
Ni idea.
nee- ee-deh-ah
I no idea.
Mi nombre es,,
Mee nom-bray ehs
My first name is
Apellido(s)
Apeh yee-thoh
Surname
Hay
eye
There is / are
Soy hijo único
Soy ee-ch-o oon-ee-koh
I am an only child (male)
(No) Hablo...
(noh) ah-bloh
I (don't) speak...
No lo sé./ No sé.
noh loh seh/ noh seh
I (don't) know.
¿Cómo se dice ____ en
español?
koh-moh seh dee- thay___ on
eh-spahn-yol
How do you say ____ in
Spanish?
¿Cómo se escribe……?
Koh-moh say ehscree beh
How do you spell….
(No) me gusta(n)
Noh-meh goostah
I (don’t) like
Pronunciation - Castilian Spanish / Castellano
Spanish
Letter
a
e
i
o
u
ch
ll
v
ñ
h
rr
d
j
g
qu
ay
z
accent
English Sound
ah
eh
familia / Menorca
verde / café
ee
pizarra / libro
oh
frío / mirlo
oo
cutre
ch
chorizo / mucho /
y
me llamo / caballo/ Valladolid
Usually a soft b
vivir / Valencia / vacaciones
ny (as in canyon)
niño
H is not sounded.
hotel /
rr a roll of the tongue.
Difference between pero and perro
almost like a th when in between 2 vowels
David / Madrid
Hard at beginning of a word but softer than English cansado/a
hard h or as the ch in loch
jardín
g, sometimes a h or as the ch of loch
inteligente / Gijón
k
que / quiosco
Eye
hay / mayo
Usually th sound
lápiz / pizarra
Accents are used to distinguish between two words or for emphasizing where
the stress should be.
All letters are sounded apart from the letter ‘h’.
C in front of ‘i or ‘e is pronounced as a ‘th’ sound’ in Spain apart from some areas where they use the
South American ‘ s’ sound instead e.g gracias / Barcelona.
Stress: Spanish stresses a certain syllable in a word. If a word ends in a consonant, except n or s, the stress
is on the last syllable. If a word ends in a vowel, or s or n, the stress is on the second-to-last syllable. For
words that do no follow these rules, an accent is written over the vowel so that you will know to stress that
syllable, as in el pájaro (bird)
The Real Academia, the governing body for the use of language and spelling in Spain, no longer considers the
ch, ll or rr to be separate letters of the alphabet. These letters will still appear separately in older dictionaries.
Similarly, there have been a number of rulings on spelling which have helped to simplify the language. E.g.
psicólogo now sicólogo, septiembre now setiembre. However, both spellings are still deemed as correct.
Please Note. Days of the week, months of the year and nationalities do not have capital letters except at the
start of a sentence.
Helping them to SUCCEED
You may find a few things may have changed since you
were at school.
As we all know, being a parent, carer or guardian, can be a daunting challenge at
times, particularly when dealing with teenagers. And even more so when trying to get
them to study or do their homework.
Being available, supportive and encouraging will go a long way to
their confidence and contribute to alleviating any worries,
anxieties they may have as they come to terms with Secondary school.
help build
concerns or
There are no quick fixes, just hard work on your part to get them to establish some
good study habits.
So How Can I Help?
Start by getting them organised. This is a vital area.
Nowadays some
people expect the
door of opportunity
to be opened with a
remote control. M.
Charles Wheeler
 Discuss with your child how he/she intends to organise their homework for
Spanish.
 All pupils should learn vocabulary and grammar points as a matter of routine.
Therefore, no child can claim to have no homework.
 Check their student planner and their jotter for teacher’s comments.
 Test them on their vocabulary.
 Access to a good Spanish dictionary at home, would certainly be advantageous.
 Ask them to explain to you what they have learned so far in Spanish.
 The following link offers some advice on the study of a foreign language and the
contribution that parents or carers can make in the pupil’s overall development:

http://www.suite101.com/content/how-parents-can-help-children-learn-another-language-at-home-a258642
Routines are half the battle.
In addition to their language work, the pupils are expected to complete
investigative project to enhance their knowledge and understanding of
other countries. The research, planning and compiling of the report is
an
life in
undertaken throughout the whole session and is linked to the relevant themes and topics in the
schemes of work.
Pupils may work independently or in pairs or groups.
In line with the ‘Curriculum for Excellence’ the Department recognises that it has an important role to
play in fostering and developing a knowledge, understanding, sensitivity and tolerance of different
cultures and backgrounds, preparing pupils for citizenship and international mobility within the context
of an ever-increasing global society.
S1 Homework Project
FIESTAS AND FESTIVALS IN SPAIN
The project must be presented in the following way:






A front cover page with illustrations, a heading, your name and class
A contents page
An introduction
The main body of the project which should include lots of pictures or drawings
A conclusion
Your evaluation of your work, how you feel about it, what you enjoyed, learned, what
you might do differently the next time.
The project must not be plagiarised from books or the internet: It must be written in your own
words.
You can work with a partner if you wish but the project must be done in your own time.
YOUR TEACHER WILL ADVISE YOU AS TO THE DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION.
Checklist: Front cover sheet; contents page; conclusion- what did you learn.
Remember, you can use photographs, pictures, drawings, maps etc. to
highlight or explain any part of the project.
You must provide a minimum of ten pages if working on your own. Copying and
pasting sheets from the internet is unacceptable. Do it in your own words as far
as possible.
Basic Vocabulary
Numbers / Ordinals
0
cero
theh-roh
1
uno
oo-noh
first
2
dos
dohs
second segundo
3
tres
trehs
third
tercero
4
cuatro
cwah-troh
fourth
cuarto
primero
5
cinco
theen-koh
fifth
quinto
6
seis
seh-ees
sixth
sexto
7
siete
see-eh-tay
seventh séptimo
8
ocho
oh-choh
eighth
octavo
9
nueve
noo-eh-bay
ninth
noveno
10
diez
dee-ehth
tenth
décimo
11
once
ohn-thay
12
doce
doh-thay
13
trece
tray-say
14
catorce
kah-tor-theh
15
quince
keen-theh
16
dieciseis
dee-eh-thays ee seh ees
17
diecisiete
dee-eh-thay ee see-ay-tay
18
dieciocho
dee-eh-thay ee oh-choh
19
diecinueve dee-eth thay ee noo-eh-beh
20
veinte
bayn-tay
21
veintiuno
bayn-tay ee oo-noh
22
veintidós
bayn-tay ee dohs
30
treinta
trayn-tah
40
cuarenta
Kwar ehn-tah
50
cincuenta theen-cwehn-tah
60
sesenta
seh-sehn-tah
70
setenta
seh-tehn-tah
80
ochenta
oh-chehn-tah
90
noventa
noh-behn-tah
100
cien(to)
thee-ehn-(toh)
1000 mil
meel
La fecha = date
The Spaniards do not tend to use ordinal numbers with dates except for the first. For example. Es el primero de mayo it is
the 1st of May
Hoy es miércoles, veintinueve de abril
Today is Wednesday 29 April
Hoy es el primero de mayo
Hoy es dos de mayo
Days of the Week
Monday
lunes
loo-nehs
Tuesday
martes
mar-tehs
Wednesday
miércoles
mee-ehr-coh-lehs
Thursday
jueves
jweh-bays
Friday
viernes
bee-ehr-nehs
Saturday
sábado
sah-bah-doh
Sunday
domingo
doh-meen-goh
the day
el día
el dee-ah
the week
la semana
lah seh-mahn-ah
the weekend el fin de semana ell feen deh seh-mahn-ah
today
hoy
oy
tomorrow
mañana
mahn-yahn-ah
my birthday
mi cumpleaños
mee coom-pleh-ahn-yohs
Months of the Year
January
enero
ay-nair-oh
February
febrero
feh-bre-roh
March
marzo
mar-thoh
April
abril
ah-breel
May
mayo
My - oh
June
junio
hoo-nee-oh
July
julio
hoo-lee-oh
August
agosto
ah-gohs-toh
September
se(p)tiembre
seh-tee-ehm-bray
October
octubre
ohk-too-breh
November
noviembre
noh-bee-ehm-breh
December
diciembre
dee-thee-ehm-breh
the month
el mes
el mes
the first of [a month] el primero de [month] el pree-mehr-oh deh_____
el año
the year
spring
la primavera
summer el verano
En verano – in summer ; En invierno – in winter
el ahn-yoh
winter
el invierno
autumn el otoño
Question Words
what
qué
which
who
quién(es)
how much cuánto (-a)
how
cómo
how many cuántos (-as)
when
cuándo
whom
a quién(es)
whose
de quién(es)
where dónde
cuál(es)
por qué
why
Examples
¿Dónde vives?
Where do you live?
¿Vivo en Glasgow en el oeste de Escocia
I live in Glasgow in the west of Scotland.
¿Cuándo es tu cumpleaños?
When is your birthday?
Mi cumpleaños es el dos de octubre
My birthday is the second of October
Family and Pets
family
la familia
grandfather
el abuelo
dog
el perro
parents
los padres
grandmother
la abuela
cat
el gato
grandson
el nieto
bird
el pájaro
fish
el pez
husband el marido
wife
la mujer
granddaughter la nieta
father
el padre
uncle
el tío
horse
el caballo
mother
la madre
aunt
la tía
tortoise
la tortuga
son
el hijo
nephew
el sobrino
lizard
el lagarto
daughter la hija
niece
la sobrina
snake
la serpiente
children los hijos
cousin (m)
el primo
rabbit
el conejo
sister
la hermana
cousin (f)
la prima
guinea pig el conejo de indias
brother
el hermano
relatives
los parientes
mouse
el ratón
Twins los gemelos
Mi hermano mayor = my older(big) brother
Mi hermana menor = My younger (little) sister
Tienes hermanos o hermanas?
Do you have any brothers and sisters?
No tengo hermanos. Soy hijo único = I don’t have any brothers or sisters. I am an only child Soy hija única if you are
a girl.
¿Tienes mascotas en casa?
Do you have any pets at home?
MODERN LANGUAGES DEPARTMENT
Helping them to SUCCEED.
A Beginner’s Guide to Spanish
‘If you talk to a man in a language he
understands, that goes to his head. If
you talk to him in his language, that
goes to his heart.
Nelson Mandela