Vocabulario — Spanish Study Guide

Read before you drill. This guide covers all 151 words in the vocabulary drill. Go through each category, read the Spanish word, the English meaning, and the example sentence. Then when you drill, the words won't be strangers.

How to Study Vocabulary

Step 1: Read through a category. Don't try to memorize — just get familiar. Read the Spanish word out loud, look at the English, read the example sentence.

Step 2: Go back through the same category and cover the English column. Can you remember what each word means?

Step 3: Open the vocabulary drill and do that category only. Multiple choice first, then type it.

Step 4: The words you miss — go back to this guide and read them again. Repetition over time beats cramming.

Priority Order

Start with the categories most useful to you right now:

🌮 Mexican Slang — These come up constantly in real conversation. Learn these first.

💪 Verbs — 48 high-frequency verbs you'll use every day.

🔗 Connectors — These are B2-level linking words that make your Spanish sound sophisticated.

❤️ Emotions — Describing how you feel is essential at B2.

Ready to drill? Open Vocabulary Drill →

These 48 verbs go beyond the basics. You already know hablar, comer, ir — these are the next level. Many of them express nuance that English speakers miss in Spanish.

Essential Action Verbs

agregar

to add

Agrega un poco de sal. — Add a little salt.

alcanzar

to reach / to be enough

No me alcanza el dinero. — I don’t have enough money.

apoyar

to support

Te apoyo en tu decisión. — I support your decision.

aprovechar

to take advantage of / to make the most of

Aprovecha el tiempo. — Make the most of your time.

atreverse

to dare

No me atrevo a decírselo. — I don’t dare tell him.

averiguar

to find out

Voy a averiguar qué pasó. — I’m going to find out what happened.

caber

to fit

No cabe en la maleta. — It doesn’t fit in the suitcase.

carecer

to lack

Carece de experiencia. — He lacks experience.

comprometer

to commit / to compromise

Se comprometió a ayudar. — He committed to helping.

confiar

to trust

Confío en ti. — I trust you.

convencer

to convince

Me convenció de ir. — She convinced me to go.

darse cuenta

to realize

Me di cuenta demasiado tarde. — I realized too late.

depender

to depend

Depende de ti. — It depends on you.

destacar

to stand out

Destaca entre todos. — She stands out among everyone.

disfrutar

to enjoy

Disfruta el momento. — Enjoy the moment.

durar

to last

La reunión duró dos horas. — The meeting lasted two hours.

echar de menos

to miss (someone/something)

Te echo de menos. — I miss you.

enfrentar

to face / to confront

Hay que enfrentar el problema. — We have to face the problem.

enterarse

to find out / to hear about

Me enteré por las noticias. — I found out through the news.

exigir

to demand / to require

Exige demasiado. — He demands too much.

fingir

to pretend / to fake

Fingió no saber nada. — She pretended not to know anything.

lograr

to achieve / to manage to

Por fin lo logré. — I finally managed to do it.

merecer

to deserve

Te lo mereces. — You deserve it.

negar

to deny

Negó todo. — He denied everything.

ofrecer

to offer

Me ofreció ayuda. — She offered me help.

opinar

to think / to have an opinion

¿Qué opinas? — What do you think?

planear

to plan

Planeamos ir a México. — We’re planning to go to Mexico.

proponer

to propose / to suggest

Propongo que comamos juntos. — I suggest we eat together.

rechazar

to reject / to turn down

Rechazó la oferta. — She turned down the offer.

reconocer

to recognize / to admit

Reconozco que me equivoqué. — I admit I was wrong.

resolver

to solve / to resolve

Resolvió el problema. — He solved the problem.

resultar

to turn out

Resultó ser mentira. — It turned out to be a lie.

suponer

to suppose / to assume

Supongo que sí. — I suppose so.

tardar

to take time / to be late

No tardes. — Don’t be late.

tratar de

to try to

Trato de mejorar cada día. — I try to improve every day.

valer

to be worth

No vale la pena. — It’s not worth it.

Drill these words →

Being able to describe emotions precisely is a big part of B2. These adjectives all use estar (not ser) because they describe temporary states.

Remember: Almost all of these use estar — estoy agotado, estoy frustrado, estoy emocionado. They describe how you feel right now, not who you are.

How You Feel

agotado/a

exhausted

Estoy agotado después del trabajo. — I’m exhausted after work.

agradecido/a

grateful

Estoy muy agradecido. — I’m very grateful.

ansioso/a

anxious / eager

Estoy ansioso por los resultados. — I’m anxious about the results.

asombrado/a

amazed / astonished

Me quedé asombrado. — I was amazed.

avergonzado/a

embarrassed / ashamed

Me sentí muy avergonzado. — I felt very embarrassed.

celoso/a

jealous

Se puso celoso. — He got jealous.

decepcionado/a

disappointed

Estoy muy decepcionado. — I’m very disappointed.

desesperado/a

desperate / hopeless

Está desesperado. — He’s desperate.

emocionado/a

excited / moved

Estoy muy emocionado. — I’m really excited.

frustrado/a

frustrated

Me siento muy frustrado. — I feel very frustrated.

harto/a

fed up / sick of

Estoy harto de esperar. — I’m fed up with waiting.

herido/a

hurt / wounded

Me sentí muy herido. — I felt very hurt.

incómodo/a

uncomfortable

Me sentí muy incómodo. — I felt very uncomfortable.

molesto/a

annoyed / bothered

Estoy muy molesto. — I’m very annoyed.

orgulloso/a

proud

Estoy orgulloso de ti. — I’m proud of you.

tranquilo/a

calm / relaxed

Tómatelo tranquilo. — Take it easy.

Drill emotions →

This is the vocabulary that will make you sound like you actually live in Mexico — not like you learned Spanish from a textbook. None of these will appear in a standard dictionary course. Learn these and Mexicans will love you for it.

Note: Some of these (like güey, pedo, chingar) are considered vulgar but are extremely common in casual Mexican speech. You should understand them even if you choose not to use them.

Essential Mexican Slang

ahorita

right now / in a moment / soon (context-dependent!)

The most famously ambiguous word in Mexican Spanish. Ahorita can mean "right this second," "in a few minutes," or "sometime today." Context and tone tell you which. Don’t rely on it meaning "immediately."

Ahorita vengo. — I’ll be right back. (could mean 5 min or 30 min)

ándale

come on / go ahead / that’s right / okay

One of the most versatile words in Mexico. Used as encouragement, agreement, permission, or to hurry someone up.

Ándale, vamos. — Come on, let’s go.

caer bien / caer mal

to like someone / to dislike someone

This is how Mexicans say whether they like a person. Not gustar — caer bien/mal. Me cae bien = I like him (as a person). Me cae mal = I can’t stand him.

Me cae muy bien tu amigo. — I really like your friend.

chido/a

cool / awesome / great

The most common Mexican word for "cool." Used constantly by everyone under 50. Also chida for feminine. Very positive.

Eso está muy chido. — That’s really cool.

cuate

buddy / close friend

From Nahuatl (the Aztec language). A warm, affectionate word for a close friend. More intimate than amigo.

Es mi cuate de toda la vida. — He’s been my buddy my whole life.

echar la mano

to lend a hand / to help out

Very natural Mexican expression for helping someone. ¿Me echas la mano? = Can you help me out?

¿Me echas la mano con esto? — Can you help me with this?

güey / wey

dude / man / bro

The most common filler word in Mexican Spanish. Used between friends constantly. Technically means "ox" (castrated bull) but functions like "dude." Perfectly normal between friends, but don’t say it to your boss or a stranger.

¿Qué onda, güey? — What’s up, dude?

hacer el paro

to do someone a favor / to help out / to have someone’s back

One of the most Mexican expressions there is. Hazme el paro = do me a favor. Me hizo el paro = he had my back.

Hazme el paro y no digas nada. — Do me a favor and don’t say anything.

lana

money / cash

Very common slang for money. Also: feria, varo, billete. No traigo lana = I don’t have any cash on me.

No tengo lana. — I’m broke / I have no cash.

luego luego

right away / immediately

Unlike ahorita, this one actually means immediately. Doubling a word intensifies it — right-right now.

Vengo luego luego. — I’ll be there right away.

neta

truth / real talk / for real

La neta = the truth, for real. La neta no sé = honestly I don’t know. Very casual and very Mexican.

La neta, no me gustó. — To be honest, I didn’t like it.

no manches

no way / are you serious / wow

A mild exclamation — polite version of a stronger word. Used for surprise, disbelief, or mild frustration. Safe to use around anyone.

¡No manches, qué caro! — No way, that’s so expensive!

órale

okay / alright / wow / let’s go

Another extremely versatile Mexican word. Can express agreement, surprise, encouragement, or just acknowledgment. You’ll hear it dozens of times a day.

Órale, nos vemos. — Alright, see you later.

padre / padrísimo

cool / great / amazing

Padre = cool, great. Padrísimo = superlative — really amazing. Nothing to do with "father" in this usage.

Estuvo padrísimo el concierto. — The concert was amazing.

qué onda

what’s up / what’s going on

The classic Mexican greeting. ¿Qué onda? = what’s up? ¿Qué onda contigo? = what’s going on with you? Also used to assess a situation: ¿Qué onda con él? = what’s the deal with him?

¿Qué onda, cómo estás? — What’s up, how are you?

aventarse

to go for it / to dare / to do something bold

Literally "to throw yourself." Used when someone takes a risk or does something daring. Aviéntate = go for it!

Me aventé y lo hice. — I went for it and did it.

Drill Mexican slang →

Words for describing people and getting around the city. Mexicans use several of these constantly — especially flojo, latoso, pesado, and cotorro.

Describing People

callado/a

quiet / reserved

Es muy callado. — He’s very quiet.

confiable

trustworthy / reliable

Es una persona muy confiable. — She’s a very reliable person.

cotorro/a

fun / chatty / lively (Mexico)

Es muy cotorro en las fiestas. — He’s really fun at parties.

flojo/a

lazy

No seas flojo. — Don’t be lazy.

grosero/a

rude / crude

Fue muy grosero conmigo. — He was very rude to me.

latoso/a

annoying / bothersome (Mexico)

No seas latoso. — Don’t be annoying.

payaso/a

clown / goofball

No seas payaso. — Stop clowning around.

presumido/a

boastful / show-off

Es muy presumido. — He’s such a show-off.

pesado/a

annoying / a drag / heavy

Ese tipo es muy pesado. — That guy is really annoying.

sangrón/sangrona

stuck-up / snobbish (Mexico)

Se hace el sangrón. — He acts stuck-up.

Travel & City

atravesar

to cross / to go through

Hay que atravesar la ciudad. — We have to cross the city.

camión

bus (Mexico)

Agarro el camión en la esquina. — I catch the bus at the corner.

cuadra

city block

Está a dos cuadras. — It’s two blocks away.

esquina

corner

Te espero en la esquina. — I’ll wait for you at the corner.

glorieta

traffic circle / roundabout

Da vuelta en la glorieta. — Turn at the roundabout.

semáforo

traffic light

Para en el semáforo. — Stop at the traffic light.

tope

speed bump (Mexico)

Hay un tope adelante. — There’s a speed bump ahead.

Food

antojo

craving / street food snack

Tengo antojo de tacos. — I’m craving tacos.

botana

snack / appetizer (Mexico)

Pusieron botana en la fiesta. — They put out snacks at the party.

enchilarse

to get a burning sensation from chili

Me enchilé con la salsa. — The salsa burned my mouth.

guisado

stew / cooked dish (Mexico)

Hice un guisado de pollo. — I made a chicken stew.

picoso/a

spicy (Mexico, preferred over picante)

Está muy picoso. — It’s very spicy.

Drill people & places →

These abstract nouns appear constantly in conversation, news, and writing. Knowing them lets you talk about situations, problems, and ideas — not just objects.

Useful Abstract Nouns

acuerdo

agreement / deal

Llegamos a un acuerdo. — We reached an agreement.

apoyo

support / help

Gracias por tu apoyo. — Thanks for your support.

asunto

matter / issue / subject

Es un asunto delicado. — It’s a delicate matter.

cambio

change / exchange

Necesitamos un cambio. — We need a change.

consecuencia

consequence

Piensa en las consecuencias. — Think about the consequences.

costumbre

habit / custom

Es su costumbre. — It’s his habit.

culpa

fault / guilt / blame

No es mi culpa. — It’s not my fault.

dato

fact / piece of data / information

Dame más datos. — Give me more information.

duda

doubt

Sin ninguna duda. — Without any doubt.

esfuerzo

effort

Vale el esfuerzo. — It’s worth the effort.

mentira

lie

Es una mentira. — It’s a lie.

Spanish	English	Example
sin embargo	however / nevertheless	Sin embargo, no fue fácil. — However, it wasn’t easy.
a pesar de	despite / in spite of	A pesar de todo, lo logró. — Despite everything, she achieved it.
aunque	although / even though / even if	Aunque llueva, vamos. — Even if it rains, we’re going.
por lo tanto	therefore	Por lo tanto, hay que actuar. — Therefore, we must act.
ya que	since / because / given that	Ya que estás aquí, ayúdame. — Since you’re here, help me.
además	furthermore / also / besides	Además, hay otro problema. — Furthermore, there’s another problem.
en cambio	on the other hand / instead	Ella no vino; en cambio, él sí. — She didn’t come; he did instead.
en cuanto	as soon as	En cuanto llegue, te aviso. — As soon as he arrives, I’ll let you know.
siempre y cuando	as long as / provided that	Puedes ir siempre y cuando termines. — You can go as long as you finish.
en todo caso	in any case / at any rate	En todo caso, llámame. — In any case, call me.