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About This Quiz
Buenos dias, amigos! If you're interested in Spanish -- and the fact that you're reading this suggests that you are -- we've got a few facts to whet your appetite for our quiz.
First: more than 400 million people worldwide speak Spanish, making it the second-most spoken language on the planet. Only Chinese has more speakers. Second: Spanish speakers can be found on nearly every continent, with the largest number in South America, followed by North America and Europe. Third: Spanish is the official language of 21 nations.
With such a worldwide domain, Spanish has a lot of regional variations. In fact, in Spain, you'll sometimes hear the language called "Castellano," identifying Spain's particular variety of the language, called Castilian Spanish. There are a lot more regional differences in Spanish, most of them dealing with what individual words and phrases mean. So there are plenty of opportunities to make a faux pas! It's best to stick to the basics until you learn what means what. As with English, there are plenty of innocent-seeming words that actually have sexual meanings!
With all that in mind, we've put together this quiz on some essential Spanish words and phrases. Do you know "bien" from "bueno," or "tardes" from "noches"? Prove it now with our quiz!
What does "hombre" mean?
hunger
hamburger
man
Yes, this one is "man." It sounds a little better in Spanish than in the Latin from which it descended. That's "homo," which has taken on a derogatory meaning.
little boy
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What is a "libro"?
a bible
a book
"Libros" are books. You'll notice the similarity to the English word, "library."
a chair
a coin
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A "dia" is a ____.
father
day
This word is masculine despite ending in "a." "El dia" is masculine and "la noche" is feminine. Many early cultures had a male sun god and a female moon goddess, and the idea that the sun and daytime were "masculine" and the moon and night "feminine" remained embedded in certain languages.
house
desk
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What is a "gato"?
a cat
Nope, it's not "gate!" Once you know, you can see the similarity to "cat" in English and "chat" in French.
a clue
a gate
a friend
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"San" or "Santa" means ______.
city
hill
saint
You see this all the time in city names, like San Francisco, named for Saint Francis. "Todos Santos" means "All Saints," a common name for a church.
word
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What day is "hoy"?
Halloween
Christmas
today
"Hoy" means "today." It's also the name of a Spanish-language newspaper printed in the United States.
tomorrow
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What is "comida"?
food
"Comida," meaning "food," is derived from the verb "comer." That means, of course, "to eat."
a living room
a type of dance
a city bus
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What is an "iglesia"?
a church
In the English-speaking world, this is best known as a last name, "Iglesias." But it means "church," and is related to the English word "ecclesiastical."
a book
a promontory of land
a singer-songwriter
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"Amor" is which emotion?
jealousy
love
This is another term that people drop casually into conversations in English. It helps that it's virtually the same in French: "amour."
hate
this is not an emotion
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"Buenas tardes" means _______.
Good day
Good afternoon
"Tardes" is the Spanish word for "afternoon." It can mean "good evening" in some areas, where the dinner hour is eight or nine, and the afternoon stretches into what North Americans consider the evening.
Good night
Goodbye, generally
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A "casa" is a _______.
bedroom
color
house
You might have known this one. "Casa de ____" is a popular way to name restaurants. Or maybe you just saw the Will Ferrell comedy, "Casa de mi Padre."
pencil
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"Querido/Querida" means:
dear
"Querer" in Spanish means "to want or desire," but can also mean "to love." So "querido" means "beloved." It's not a crude expression of wanting somebody.
delighted
hungry
completed
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"Chico/chica" means a/an _____.
little boy/girl
teenage boy/girl
This term designates older children. The words for a little boy or girl are "nino" and "nina," (with a tilde over the "n").
happy person
attractive person
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Azucar means ...
to hold
to run
to buy
sugar
Some Spanish teachers will tell you that only verbs can end in -ar, -er, or -ir. They are not quite right. There are exceptions, like "mujer" and "azucar."
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What would do most likely do with your "perro"?
ride it
eat it
wear it
pet and play with it
"Perro" is Spanish for dog. "Cachorro" is "puppy" -- like in English, they are seemingly unrelated words.
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A "camino" is a _____.
little boy
fruit
truck
road
There's an easy way to remember this one. California's major coastal highway, Highway 101, is El Camino Real: "The royal road."
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What is a "cocina"?
a church
a kitchen
This is a useful word in traveling. Many restaurants are named "Cocina de _____," with the proprietor's name or a town name.
a school
a sports stadium
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"Nosotros" means ...
People
Numbers
They
We
There's a remarkable difference between the simplicity of the two-letter "we" in English and the three-syllable "nosotros" in Spanish. You might be more familiar with the possessive form, "nuestro/nuestra." It comes up in book and movie titles, like "Nuestra Tierra" or "Nuestra Familia."
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If something is lower than your position, it is _______ you.
abajo de
The verb "bajar" means to lower or put down, while "bajo/baja" means "low." This is why Baja California is the peninsula right below California.
alto de
retrato de
cerca de
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"Tu" means ____
if
the
their
you
Spanish has a familiar and a formal "you." The familiar form is "tu," and the formal is "usted." Verbs, too, change depending on which noun you're using.
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Your "madre" is your _________.
garden
mother
"Madre" and "padre" are the words for mother and father. "Padres," plural, means parents.
school
pet
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Your "hijo" is your _____.
child
When the gender is known, "hijo" means "son" and "hija" is daughter. But like other words in Spanish, the masculine noun stands in for either one when gender isn't known. In addition, this word is often seen as a contraction: "mijo" for "mi hijo."
home
pet
bank account
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What is a "coche"?
a car
"Coche" or the easier-to-recognize "carro" both mean car. Don't be fooled by "cockroach," which is "cucaracha."
a cockroach
a house
a dog
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If a woman is "linda," what is she?
beautiful
"Linda" (pronounced "leen-da"), is one of the highest compliments you can give a woman's looks. Lighter terms, like "preciosa," or "hermosa," are for lower levels of attractiveness.
pretty
kind
smart
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An "arbol" is a ____.
university
pillar
stone
tree
This word means "tree." It's related to English words like "arboretum" and, of course, the minor holiday of Arbor Day.
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You'd use the word "estimado/estimada" to _______.
apologize to someone
thank someone
open a letter
This means "esteemed," and is how you'd start a business letter or one to a person you don't know well. It's traditional, like "dear" in English.
ask directions
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If a Spanish speaker says "Salud!" to you, you have most likely ...
entered a room
had a baby
had a minor car crash
sneezed
This means "Health!" In many Latin American cultures, the first sneeze is greeted with "Salud," then "Amor," then "Dinero." Health, love and money are valued in that order.
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What does "embarazada" mean?
aboard a ship
embarrassed
pregnant
This is one of the dreaded "false cognates" your Spanish teacher warned you about. "Embarazada" is "pregnant," *not* "embarrassed."
sick
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"Presentar" means ______.
to disappear
to give as a gift
to make an introduction of/to someone
Burn this one into your memory: In Spanish, you "present" someone; you don't "introduce" them. Why? Because "introducir" is a verb relating specifically to sexual penetration. Awkward!
to look around
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A "mujer" is a/an ____.
apple
foreigner
wineglass
woman
This is another odd noun. It looks more like a verb, with its "-er" ending.
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The best translation of "caballero" is ______.
horseman
gentleman
Though literally it means "horseman," this term denotes a gentleman. It's a distinction passed down from Latin, in which men who rode horseback instead of walking were assumed to be noblemen.
dude
pal
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What are you asking when you ask "como se dice"?
Where is the ...?
Are you ... ?
How do you say ...?
When learning Spanish from a native speaker, you'll use this one a lot. You miaght ask, "Come se dice 'Nice to meet you'?"
Do you like ...?
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"De donde?" is an informal way of asking ______.
How old are you?
How are you?
What are you doing?
Where are you from?
This is a fairly informal way of saying it, and can even be challenging (e.g., "You're in the wrong place.") In conversation with a new acquaintance, you'd more likely say, "De donde es usted?"
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"Equivocarse" means to _______.
drive slowly
make a mistake
The "-se" on the end means a verb is reflexive, referring back to the subject. In other words, no one but you can make your mistakes. (Deep, eh?)
ride horseback
check yourself before you wreck yourself
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If someone says "Obrigado" to you, you are most likely _____.
seeing them first thing in the morning
passing them in a hallway
serving them food
in Brazil or Portugal
Just wanted to see if you're on your toes! "Obrigado/obrigada" means "thank you" in Portguese, and is used in Portguese-speaking nations.
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You Got:
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