List of Spanish expressions in common English

Here are some words or phrases from the Spanish that are sometimes used in English.

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A

  • Adiós – farewell
  • Amigo – friend

B

  • Buenas noches – good night
  • Buenas tardes – good afternoon
  • Bueno – nice
  • Buenos días – good day

C

E

  • El Dorado (lit. the golden one) – a mythical golden city
  • El Niño (lit. the boy child (referring to the Christ child) – a major temperature fluctuation in the tropical Pacific Ocean, so named because it often started around Christmas time near Peru

F

  • Fiesta – party
  • Flamenco (lit. "Flemish") – a style of Andalusian dance, song and music

G

H

  • Hasta la vista – see you later
  • Hasta mañana – see you tomorrow
  • Hombre – man

J

  • Jalapeño – a type of spicy chilli
  • Junta – a group of leaders, usually military officers in a coup d'état.
  • Juzgado (cf. "hoosegow") – a place of confinement, literally "judge's court"

L

  • Llano – plains, grassland
  • Loco – crazy

M

  • Machete – a large broad-bladed knife used as a cutting tool or weapon
  • Macho – masculine man (also Machismo, the abstract noun form)
  • Madre – mother
  • Mañana (lit. "tomorrow") – I'll do it later.
  • Mano a mano (lit. "hand to hand") – a confrontation with cooperation
  • Mariachi – a type of musical group, originally from Mexico
  • Matador (lit. "killer") – a bullfighter whose task it is to make the kill
  • Mesa – flat-topped mountain
  • Mi casa es su casa – (lit: my house is your house) – make yourself welcome
  • Mulatto (from mulato) – a person of mixed race

N

  • Nada – nothing
  • No comprende – Do(es) not understand
  • No problema – Okay (no hay problema in Spanish), often misspoken by English speakers as "No problemo"
  • Número uno – Number one

O

  • Olé – an interjection, an expression of approval or triumph, similiar to the Italian bravo

P

  • Padre – father
  • Patio – an open paved area adjacent to a home (from the Spanish word for an inner courtyard)
  • Piñata – a game using a colorful suspended candy-and-toy-filled container that children try to break open with a stick
  • Pícaro – hardened rogue; star of the picaresque novel
  • Piñón – pine nuts
  • Plaza (lit. "place") – a public square
  • Poncho – a garment made of cloth or other material that has a hole in the middle for the head
  • Pronto – immediately
  • Pueblo (lit. "village") – the distinctive towns of the Pueblo people, tribes of native Americans.
  • Puta – slang for prostitute, often used for cursing.

Q

  • ¿Qué pasa? – "What's going on?"

R

S

  • Salsa – a spicy Mexican-style usually tomato-based sauce (in Spanish, any kind of sauce or gravy), also a style of Latin music or dancing
  • Sangría – a wine cooler drink.
  • Señorita – ("Miss", dim. of Señora – "Mrs.") unmarried girl or woman
  • Sierra (lit. "saw") – a mountain range
  • Siesta – a nap
  • Sombrero – a very large-brimmed hat (in Spanish, it refers to any kind of hat)
  • Suave – smooth
  • Supremo (lit. "supreme") – the top man

T

  • Tapas (lit. "covers") – finger food
  • Toreador or torero – bullfighter
  • Taco – A shell made of cornmeal fill with meat, cheese and/or vegetables

V

  • Vamos – let's go
  • Vaquero – cowboy (cf. "buckaroo")

W

  • Wop – insult for olive-skinned people (from guapo – goodlooking through Italian guappone, "bravado man")

Y

  • Yo quiero – I want (popularized by the "Yo Quiero Taco Bell" campaign)

Z

Zarzuela – Spanish lyrical opera


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