Learn 40 Essential Spanish Nouns for Beginners
Build a base of useful Spanish nouns with Lucía’s beginner lesson. Listen for each word and its pronunciation before trying it in a sentence.
Watch the lesson
Try it yourself
Choose ten nouns you will use this week. Add el or la where appropriate, then make a simple spoken sentence with each one.
Watch the original lesson on YouTube.
Edited lesson transcript and vocabulary
Read the complete substantive lesson in its original order. The English explanation is edited from the published manual captions and compared with the original automatic Spanish track. Every original Spanish word, example and inflected form included from the video was checked against its graphics. Punctuation and caption errors are repaired for reading; contextual translations and labelled learner notes are additions. The original vocabulary selection and order are retained. This is an edited caption-based transcript, not a pronunciation assessment. Music and the brand bumper are omitted.
The noun models keep the original articles and the friend pair. The original spoken repetitions are retained as repeat lines; the articles show the Spanish forms, while the English glosses give the vocabulary meanings.
The timestamp chapters link to the original video. Their start times are approximate.
- 0:00 — Meet Lucía
- 0:17 — Nouns 1–10
- 1:18 — Nouns 11–20
- 2:29 — Nouns 21–30
- 3:33 — Nouns 31–40
- 4:40 — Keep practising
0:00 — Meet Lucía
I’m going to teach you forty basic Spanish nouns you should know.
¡Hola! ¿Qué tal?
Example translation: Hello! How are you?
This is Lucía, from My Daily Spanish. Today we are going to learn forty basic nouns in Spanish. Are you ready? Let’s go!
0:17 — Nouns 1–10
1. 0:17 — el agua
Meaning in this lesson: water
Original repetition: el agua.
Learner note — Agua is feminine: El agua is the correct article-and-noun model. Agua remains feminine: el appears here because the noun begins with stressed a. Use feminine agreement, as in el agua fría, and las aguas in the plural. Source: RAE: agua.
2. 0:22 — la comida
Meaning in this lesson: food
Original repetition: la comida.
3. 0:28 — la bebida
Meaning in this lesson: a drink
Original repetition: la bebida.
4. 0:34 — el hospital
Meaning in this lesson: hospital
Original repetition: el hospital.
5. 0:40 — el autobús
Meaning in this lesson: bus
Original repetition: el autobús.
6. 0:47 — la familia
Meaning in this lesson: family
Original repetition: la familia.
7. 0:53 — la madre
Meaning in this lesson: mother
Original repetition: la madre.
8. 0:59 — el padre
Meaning in this lesson: father
Original repetition: el padre.
9. 1:05 — la hora
Meaning in this lesson: the time / hour
Original repetition: la hora.
10. 1:12 — el idioma
Meaning in this lesson: language
Original repetition: el idioma.
1:18 — Nouns 11–20
11. 1:18 — el edificio
Meaning in this lesson: building
Original repetition: el edificio.
12. 1:24 — el restaurante
Meaning in this lesson: restaurant
Original repetition: el restaurante.
13. 1:32 — la carne
Meaning in this lesson: meat
Original repetition: la carne.
14. 1:38 — el pescado
Meaning in this lesson: fish
Original repetition: el pescado.
Learner note — Pescado and fish: Pescado here means fish caught for food, rather than a living fish in the water. The original English “fish” is correct for this meaning. Source: RAE: pescado.
15. 1:45 — las verduras
Meaning in this lesson: vegetables
Original repetition: las verduras.
16. 1:52 — el bolígrafo
Meaning in this lesson: pen
Original repetition: el bolígrafo.
17. 1:59 — la cama
Meaning in this lesson: bed
Original repetition: la cama.
18. 2:05 — la vida
Meaning in this lesson: life
Original repetition: la vida.
19. 2:11 — la persona
Meaning in this lesson: person
Original repetition: la persona.
20. 2:18 — el amigo / la amiga
Meaning in this lesson: friend
Original repetition: el amigo / la amiga.
2:29 — Nouns 21–30
21. 2:29 — la ciudad
Meaning in this lesson: city
Original repetition: la ciudad.
22. 2:35 — el sol
Meaning in this lesson: sun
Original repetition: el sol.
23. 2:41 — la farmacia
Meaning in this lesson: pharmacy
Original repetition: la farmacia.
24. 2:48 — la ropa
Meaning in this lesson: clothes
Original repetition: la ropa.
25. 2:55 — el zapato
Meaning in this lesson: shoe
Original repetition: el zapato.
26. 3:01 — el animal
Meaning in this lesson: animal
Original repetition: el animal.
27. 3:07 — el perro
Meaning in this lesson: dog
Original repetition: el perro.
28. 3:14 — el gato
Meaning in this lesson: cat
Original repetition: el gato.
29. 3:20 — la casa
Meaning in this lesson: house
Original repetition: la casa.
30. 3:26 — el colegio
Meaning in this lesson: school
Original repetition: el colegio.
3:33 — Nouns 31–40
31. 3:33 — el tenedor
Meaning in this lesson: fork
Original repetition: el tenedor.
32. 3:40 — la policía
Meaning in this lesson: police
Original repetition: la policía.
33. 3:46 — la lluvia
Meaning in this lesson: rain
Original repetition: la lluvia.
34. 3:52 — la mano
Meaning in this lesson: hand
Original repetition: la mano.
35. 3:58 — la película
Meaning in this lesson: movie
Original repetition: la película.
36. 4:06 — la tienda
Meaning in this lesson: store
Original repetition: la tienda.
37. 4:13 — el coche
Meaning in this lesson: car
Original repetition: el coche.
38. 4:19 — el mapa
Meaning in this lesson: map
Original repetition: el mapa.
39. 4:26 — el día
Meaning in this lesson: day
Original repetition: el día.
40. 4:32 — la música
Meaning in this lesson: music
Original repetition: la música.
4:40 — Keep practising
What other nouns do you want to know? Tell me in the comments! Like the video and subscribe for more.
¡Hasta pronto!
Example translation: See you soon!
