Everyday life and routine in Catalan
14 words Catalan words on the topic “everyday life and routine”: el treball — work, treballar — to work, despertar-se — to wake up, aixecar-se — to get up. 14 words can be played from recordings.
14 words on the topic
- el treballworkThe double ll is one fused ly sound: truh-BAL. Work as the place, and tinc treball — I'm busy
- treballarto workTo work on something is treballar en; to work as something is treballar de
- despertar-seto wake upReflexive: to wake oneself — em desperto. El despertador — the alarm clock: the same family
- aixecar-seto get upReflexive, Latin 'to lift upward': to lift oneself — m'aixeco. About prices rising, the same verb without -se
- rentar-seto wash upReflexive: to wash oneself — em rento. Without -se the same verb washes the dishes: rentar els plats
- pentinar-seto comb one's hairReflexive, from el pentinat, the hairstyle: em pentino. With el cabell it combs the hair — still about oneself
- afaitar-seto shaveReflexive: s'afaita al bany — he shaves in the bathroom. Stress the last a
- vestir-seto get dressedReflexive: to dress oneself. Em vesteixo — I get dressed: mind the -ixo, as in començo
- despullar-seto get undressedReflexive, from la pell, the skin: literally to un-skin. Es despulla abans del bany — he undresses before the bath
- seureto sit downTo sit down and to sit are one word: seure. Seu aquí — sit here: the verb is both the pose and the motion
- ficar-se al llitto go to bedLiterally 'to get oneself into the bed': no ceremony. El llit — the bed: a word of its own
- jeureto lie (resting)Literally 'to lie': rest here is lying — el gat jeu al sol. Descansar is resting in general, you knew it: the pose is what divides them
- dormirto sleepDoors without an i at the end: dormo, dorms, dorm. L'avi dorm la migdiada — grandpa takes his after-lunch nap
- abrigarto keep warmTo warm by wrapping: from l'abric, the coat. What covers, warms: a blanket, a sweater, a fire
How it sounds in a sentence
A word list is a blank. Conversation is made of sentences, and these are the ones the words fit into most often.
- Surto del treball a les sisI leave work at six
- Començo a treballar a les nouI start work at nine
- Em desperto a les set cada diaI wake up at seven every day
- M'aixeco a les set i mitjaI get up at half past seven
- Em rento les mans abans de dinarI wash my hands before lunch
- Et pentines davant del mirallYou comb your hair in front of the mirror
What is worth knowing about these words
el treball — work. The double ll is one fused ly sound: truh-BAL. Work as the place, and tinc treball — I'm busy
treballar — to work. To work on something is treballar en; to work as something is treballar de
despertar-se — to wake up. Reflexive: to wake oneself — em desperto. El despertador — the alarm clock: the same family
aixecar-se — to get up. Reflexive, Latin 'to lift upward': to lift oneself — m'aixeco. About prices rising, the same verb without -se
Test yourself
First by ear — the way you will meet the word in conversation. Click the speaker and pick the translation.
- What is this word?
It is el treball — work.
- What is this word?
It is pentinar-se — to comb one's hair.
- What is this word?
It is ficar-se al llit — to go to bed.
- What is this word?
It is treballar — to work.
- What is this word?
It is afaitar-se — to shave.
Now the other way around: recall the spelling from the meaning. That is harder, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “work” in Catalan?
The double ll is one fused ly sound: truh-BAL. Work as the place, and tinc treball — I'm busy
- How do you say “to comb one's hair” in Catalan?
Reflexive, from el pentinat, the hairstyle: em pentino. With el cabell it combs the hair — still about oneself
- How do you say “to go to bed” in Catalan?
Literally 'to get oneself into the bed': no ceremony. El llit — the bed: a word of its own
- How do you say “to work” in Catalan?
To work on something is treballar en; to work as something is treballar de
- How do you say “to shave” in Catalan?
Reflexive: s'afaita al bany — he shaves in the bathroom. Stress the last a
How to learn the set instead of just reading it
Work, home, rest, errands. The words the answer to “how are things?” is made of.
A list is read in a minute and forgotten in a day. What works: hide the translation, try to recall, get it wrong — and come back to the same words tomorrow.
- Recalling beats re-reading. Covering the translation and trying to remember it does more than reading it ten more times.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · 188 experiments, 272 comparisons. g = 0.61; against plain re-reading 0.51, against passive review 0.93.
- This holds not only in experiments but in ordinary classrooms, with real students.checked many timesMawson & Kang, 2025, Behavioral Sciences 15(6):771 · 22 studies, d = 0.54 (confidence interval 0.31–0.77). The authors warn that individual studies disagree widely.
Frequently asked
How do you say “work” in Catalan?
«el treball». The double ll is one fused ly sound: truh-BAL. Work as the place, and tinc treball — I'm busy. It is one of 14 words in the set “everyday life and routine” — the rest are in the table above.
How many everyday words do you need to start?
A dozen is enough. The set of 14 words on this page covers nearly every everyday case on the topic — but it is best taken a few at a time, not all at once.
Is there audio?
Yes, 14 words on this page can be played — click the speaker next to the word. The sound works on any phone, and nothing needs to be installed.