Spanish food and drink vocabulary is essential for navigating menus and markets. From fruits like manzanas to meats like pollo, you'll learn key ingredients. Beverages range from café to cerveza, while adjectives help describe flavors and textures.
Understanding food categories enhances your dining experience. Appetizers (aperitivos) and main courses (platos principales) are crucial, along with desserts (postres) and snacks (bocadillos). This knowledge will make ordering and discussing meals much easier.
Food vocabulary in Spanish
Fruits
- Essential Spanish vocabulary for fruits includes:
- manzana (apple)
- plátano (banana)
- naranja (orange)
- fresa (strawberry)
- uva (grape)
- sandía (watermelon)
- Other common fruits to know are:
- pera (pear)
- durazno or melocotón (peach)
- piña (pineapple)
- limón (lemon)
Vegetables
- Key vegetables to know in Spanish are:
- lechuga (lettuce)
- tomate (tomato)
- zanahoria (carrot)
- cebolla (onion)
- papa (potato)
- maíz (corn)
- Additional vegetables include:
- brócoli (broccoli)
- espinaca (spinach)
- calabaza (squash)
- ajo (garlic)
Meats and dairy
- Common meats in Spanish include:
- pollo (chicken)
- carne de res (beef)
- cerdo (pork)
- pavo (turkey)
- pescado (fish)
- Other meats to be familiar with are:
- cordero (lamb)
- jamón (ham)
- salchicha (sausage)
- tocino (bacon)
- Essential dairy products to recognize are:
- leche (milk)
- queso (cheese)
- yogur (yogurt)
- mantequilla (butter)
- huevos (eggs)
Beverages vocabulary
Non-alcoholic drinks
- Non-alcoholic beverages to know are:
- agua (water)
- jugo (juice)
- café (coffee)
- té (tea)
- refresco or soda (soft drink)
- Specific types of non-alcoholic drinks include:
- jugo de naranja (orange juice)
- café con leche (coffee with milk)
- té helado (iced tea)
- limonada (lemonade)
Alcoholic beverages
- Essential vocabulary for alcoholic drinks includes:
- vino (wine)
- cerveza (beer)
- tequila
- ron (rum)
- vodka
- Specific types of wine are:
- vino tinto (red wine)
- vino blanco (white wine)
- vino espumoso (sparkling wine)
- Common beer varieties are:
- cerveza clara (light beer)
- cerveza oscura (dark beer)
- Other drinks to be familiar with are:
- cóctel (cocktail)
- licor (liquor)
- champán (champagne)
- whisky
- ginebra (gin)
Describing food and drink
Taste and texture
- Adjectives for taste include:
- delicioso/a (delicious)
- dulce (sweet)
- amargo/a (bitter)
- salado/a (salty)
- ácido/a (sour)
- picante (spicy)
- Texture can be described with words like:
- crujiente (crunchy)
- suave (soft)
- cremoso/a (creamy)
- jugoso/a (juicy)
- seco/a (dry)
- duro/a (hard)
- blando/a (soft)
Appearance and temperature
- Appearance adjectives to know are:
- colorido/a (colorful)
- oscuro/a (dark)
- claro/a (light)
- grande (big)
- pequeño/a (small)
- redondo/a (round)
- Additional appearance words include:
- brillante (shiny)
- opaco/a (dull)
- atractivo/a (attractive)
- feo/a (ugly)
- Temperature is expressed with:
- caliente (hot)
- frío/a (cold)
- templado/a (room temperature)
- tibio/a (warm)
Food categories
Appetizers, main courses and sides
- Appetizers in Spanish are called aperitivos or entremeses. Examples are:
- sopa (soup)
- ensalada (salad)
- tapas (small plates)
- nachos
- croquetas (croquettes)
- Main courses are known as platos principales. Common ones are:
- paella (rice dish)
- tacos
- enchiladas
- carne asada (grilled meat)
- pescado frito (fried fish)
- Side dishes served with a main course are called acompañamientos. These include:
- arroz (rice)
- frijoles (beans)
- verduras (vegetables)
- puré de papas (mashed potatoes)
- pan (bread)
Desserts and snacks
- Postres means desserts. Typical Spanish desserts are:
- flan (custard)
- pastel (cake)
- helado (ice cream)
- churros (fried dough)
- tarta de manzana (apple pie)
- Other popular desserts include:
- arroz con leche (rice pudding)
- natillas (custard)
- galletas (cookies)
- chocolate
- The word for snacks is bocadillos or meriendas. Popular snacks are:
- papas fritas (chips)
- galletas saladas (crackers)
- palomitas (popcorn)
- frutos secos (nuts)