Essential Food Vocabulary in Spanish – LSFB 029

Learning spanish for beginners podcast

Welcome to a new session of the Learning Spanish for Beginners Podcast.

In this session, we will learn common Food Vocabulary in Spanish that can be used in everyday life.

Whether you are traveling, eating out, or just shopping for groceries, these essential vocabulary words will help you navigate most situations involving food.

I will say each word in English, followed by its translation in Spanish, and then we will review a short example or a tip to make things easier.

This session will focus on the Spanish spoken in Mexico, which you can use to communicate with Spanish speakers from around the world.

Let’s get started!

 

You can listen to the podcast session here:

Basic Food Items:

Let’s start with a few basic words related to food that you can use in everyday life. Here are some common items in English along with their Spanish translations and a few examples:

1. Bread – El pan

  • I like to eat bread for breakfast.
  • Me gusta comer pan en el desayuno.

2. Water – El agua

  • Can I have a glass of water? 
  • ¿Me puede dar un vaso de agua?

3. Milk – La leche

  • The milk is cold.
  • La leche está fría.

4. Egg – El huevo

  • I want scrambled eggs with beans, please.
  • Quiero huevos estrellados con frijoles, por favor.

5. Cheese – El queso

  • The cheese is delicious.
  • El queso es delicioso.

6. Meat – La carne

  • Do you have beef?
  • ¿Tienes carne de res?

7. Fish – El pescado

  • The fish is fresh.
  • El pescado está fresco.

8. Chicken – El pollo

  • I’m going to cook chicken. 
  • Voy a cocinar pollo.

9. Fruit – La fruta

  • I love tropical fruits.
  • Me encantan las frutas tropicales.

10. Vegetable – La verdura

  • Vegetables are healthy.
  • Las verduras son saludables.

 

Fruits – Las Frutas:

Now, let’s review a few common words related to fruits: 

1. Apple – La manzana

2. Banana – El plátano / La banana 

3. Orange – La naranja

4. Strawberry – La fresa

5. Grape – La uva –

6. Watermelon – La sandía

7. Pineapple – La piña

8. Lemon – El limón

9. Melon – El melón

10. Mango – El mango

 

Here are a few examples: 

  • A fruit salad has mango, pineapple, and grapes.
  • Una ensalada de frutas tiene mango, piña y uvas.
  • I like to eat one apple after breakfast
  • Me gusta comer una manzana después del desayuno
  • I don’t like strawberries
  • No me gustan las fresas

 

Vegetables – Los vegetales:

Next, let’s review a few vocabulary words related to vegetables: 

1. Lettuce – La lechuga

2. Tomato – el tomate

3. Onion – la cebolla

4. Carrot – la zanahoria

5. Potato – la papa / la patata

6. Garlic – el ajo

7. Cucumber – el pepino

8. Bell pepper – el pimiento

9. Spinach – la espinaca

10. Broccoli – el brócoli

 

Here are a few examples: 

  • I like lettuce and tomato in my salad.
  • Me gusta la lechuga y el tomate en mi ensalada.
  • She is cooking potatoes with garlic and onion.
  • Ella está cocinando papas con ajo y cebolla.
  • We bought carrots, spinach, and broccoli at the market.
  • Compramos zanahorias, espinaca y brócoli en el mercado.

 

Common Food Words:

Next, we have a few miscellaneous words related to food. Here they are:

1. Breakfast – El desayuno

2. Lunch – El almuerzo

3. Luch time – La hora del almuerzo

4. Dinner – La cena 

5. Food – La comida

6. Dessert – El postre

7. Soup – La sopa

8. Oil – El aceite

9. Salt – La sal

10. Sugar – El azúcar

 

Here are a few examples: 

  • I eat breakfast at seven.
  • Yo como el desayuno a las siete.
  • Lunchtime is at noon.
  • La hora del almuerzo es al mediodía.
  • We are making soup for dinner.
  • Estamos haciendo sopa para la cena.
  • This dessert has too much sugar.
  • Este postre tiene demasiada azúcar.
  • She cooks the meal with salt and oil.
  • Ella cocina la comida con sal y aceite.

 

Snacks & Desserts – Refrigerios/Botanas & Postres:

Now, let’s review a few common words related to snacks and desserts. Here they are:

1. Sweet bread – el pan dulce

2. Cake – el pastel

3. Cookie – la galleta

4. Ice cream – el helado

5. Chocolate – el chocolate

 

Here are a few examples: 

  • I like to eat sweet bread in the morning. 
  • Me gusta comer pan dulce en la mañana.
  • She made a delicious cake for the party. 
  • Ella hizo un pastel delicioso para la fiesta.
  • He brought a cookie for each student. 
  • Él trajo una galleta para cada estudiante.
  • We had ice cream after lunch. 
  • Comimos helado después del almuerzo.
  • They gave me chocolate for my birthday. 
  • Me dieron chocolate por mi cumpleaños.

 

Drinks – Bebidas:

Here are a few additional words that are useful to talk about drinks:

1. Water – El agua

2. Coffee – El café

3. Coffee with milk – El café con leche

4. Tea – El té

5. Juice – El jugo

6. Soda / Soft drink – El refresco

7. Milk – La leche

8. Lemonade – La limonada

9. Wine – El vino

10. Beer – La cerveza

 

Here are a few examples:

  • I drink water every day.
  • Yo bebo agua todos los días.
  • She wants a coffee with milk.
  • Ella quiere un café con leche.
  • We are drinking lemonade.
  • Estamos bebiendo limonada.
  • He doesn’t like soda.
  • A él no le gusta el refresco.
  • They ordered wine and beer.
  • Ellos pidieron vino y cerveza.

 

¡Muy bien! That’s all for today’s session of Learning Spanish for Beginners Podcast. 

Now you’ve got some tasty new vocabulary to help you talk about food in Spanish. From “el pan” to “la fruta” and everything in between.

Remember, the best way to remember new words is to “practice a little every day.” Try saying what you’re eating in Spanish, or label some food items in your kitchen!

 

Download your PDF Transcript

You can download a PDF Transcript right here: (right click and “Save” or “Download”): Get PDF Transcript

 

 

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