People and family in Spanish
134 words Spanish words on the topic “people and family”: el amigo — friend, la familia — family, la madre — mother, el padre — father. 134 words can be played from recordings.
134 words on the topic
- el amigofriendA heavier word than English friend: an acquaintance is un conocido, a colleague un colega
- la familiafamilyA false friend: this is family, not surname — the surname is el apellido. Stress on the i: fah-MEE-lyah
- la madremotherThe neutral word, for documents and for talking about someone else. The affectionate mom is mamá, stress at the end
- el padrefatherThe affectionate one is papá, stress at the end. The accent mark decides everything: papá is dad, papa is a potato and the Pope
- el hijochildA child as somebody's son or daughter. In the plural los hijos means children in general; a kid regardless of parents is el niño
- la personapersonAlways feminine, even about a man: una persona alta. People in general are la gente, and the verb with it stays singular
- el hombremanA man, and mankind in the broad sense. In conversation hombre! is just listen! or come on!
- la mujerwomanThe j is a harsh throaty h: moo-HER
- el chicoyoung manA young man, a guy. The bookish one is el joven; Latin America prefers el muchacho. As an adjective chico means small
- la chicayoung womanThe pair of el chico. One word covers girl and young woman; age comes from context, not the word
- el ancianoelderly manThe c before i is a soft th in Spain and an s in Latin America: ahn-SYAH-noh
- el desconocidostrangerLiterally unknown: conocido is an acquaintance, des- cancels it. As an adjective the same word means unfamiliar
- la multitudcrowdA crowd of people. A pile of things gets a different word — un montón
- el hijosonThe h is silent and j is a throaty h: EE-hoh
- el pelohairSingular here: tengo el pelo corto, I have short hair
- altotallAbout people, buildings and prices alike. On its own, ¡Alto! means stop!
- bajolowLow in stature. The same word is the preposition under: bajo la mesa
- jovenyoungUnchanged by gender; in the plural jóvenes, with an accent
- la barbabeardA beard. The chin is la barbilla, literally a little beard
- el bigotemustacheSingular here: lleva bigote means he wears a mustache
- delgadoslimThe polite way to say it. Flaco sounds harsher, close to scrawny
- gordofatBlunt; about people it stings, so un poco gordito softens it. The big lottery prize is el gordo too
- guapogood-lookingSaid of a person's looks. A thing is never guapo — that is bonito
- el aspectoappearanceTiene buen aspecto means he looks good — said of food just the same
- amablekindFrom amar, to love. One form for both genders: un vecino amable, una vecina amable
- alegrecheerfulA trait of character, so it goes with ser. The same form for men and women
- inteligentecleverOne form for both genders. The colloquial listo covers both 'clever' and 'ready'
- malomeanMean about people, bad about things. Before a masculine noun it drops the o: un mal hombre
- tranquilocalmA calm character and a soothing word in one: tranquilo alone means 'relax, it's fine'
- educadopoliteLiterally 'well brought up'. Maleducado, the opposite, borders on an insult
- perezosolazyFrom la pereza, laziness. Me da pereza — 'I can't be bothered'
- valientebraveOne form for both genders. A cousin of valer, to be worth: brave as in 'worthy'
- honradohonestHonest in business and money. Sincero is honest in words
- el caráctercharacterThe stress moves in the plural: los caracteres
- rizadocurlyAbout hair: el pelo rizado. Straight is liso, wavy is ondulado. A single curl is un rizo, and rizarse el pelo is to curl one's hair
- calvobaldQuedarse calvo — to go bald. A man with a very short buzz cut is rapado, which is quite another thing
- canosogray-hairedFrom las canas — gray hair, always plural: me están saliendo canas. Canoso is a person going gray; con el pelo blanco is completely white
- la estaturaheight (of a person)Only about people. The height of an object, a building or a mountain is la altura: la altura del techo. To ask about someone's height: ¿cuánto mides? — literally 'how much do you measure'
- esbeltoslenderA compliment: slender and graceful. Delgado is simply thin, neutral; flaco is skinny, closer to a reproach; en forma is in shape. In conversation a Spaniard will more often say delgado
- de estatura mediaof medium heightThe way a person is described in an ad or a police report. The colloquial version is ni alto ni bajo. Medio before the word would mean 'half', so the order is fixed: estatura media
- adelgazarto lose weightFrom delgado, thin. He adelgazado tres kilos — I have lost three kilos, with no preposition at all. A drier synonym is perder peso
- engordarto gain weightThe course file lists two words, but Spanish gets by with one verb, from gordo, fat. He engordado en invierno. The same is said of food: el pan engorda — bread is fattening
- generosogenerousAbout a person and about a portion: una ración generosa — a generous serving. Its exact opposite later in this lesson is tacaño
- pacientetolerantThe same word as el paciente, a patient: in Latin, enduring suffering and being patient are one. One form for both genders. The noun is la paciencia: ten paciencia — hang on
- trabajadorhardworkingAn adjective and a noun at once: es muy trabajador — hardworking; el trabajador — a worker. The feminine is trabajadora
- de fiarreliableThe file lists it as an adjective, but Spanish describes a person with the phrase es una persona de fiar. The adjective fiable exists, yet it describes things and data — a car, statistics — not a friend
- modestomodestModest as in 'does not boast'. Modest out of shyness is tímido, and a modest salary is un sueldo modesto — here the word works as in English
- sociableoutgoingOne form for both genders. Close by are abierto — open, and extrovertido — an extrovert. The opposite is reservado, a reserved person
- atentocaringOne word for 'attentive' and 'caring': está atento en clase — attentive in class; es muy atento con su madre — caring with his mother. Affectionate is a separate word, cariñoso
- serioseriousAbout a person and about a business: una empresa seria — a solid firm. But a serious illness is grave, not seria. ¿En serio? — seriously?
- bien educadowell-manneredOne educado, which the course already knows, means 'polite'. For 'well-mannered' you need bien. The negative, meanwhile, is one word: maleducado
- el sentido del humorsense of humorThe article inside is obligatory: not sentido de humor but del humor. Tener mucho sentido del humor — to have a great sense of humor; no tiene ni pizca — not a drop of it
- tacañostingythe ñ is a soft ny sound: ta-KA-nyo
- testarudostubbornFrom la testa — the head. The colloquial synonym cabezota is also about the head and sounds almost affectionate. Terco is drier and more bookish
- groserorudeOnly about behavior and words. Rough to the touch is áspero, a blunder is un error garrafal, crude work is tosco — English 'rough' covers more ground than this word does
- descaradoshamelessLiterally 'without a face': here la cara stands for conscience. Hence tener mucha cara — to have a lot of nerve. ¡Qué caradura! — what a piece of work
- astutocunningCrafty as a fox, with a shade of praise for the mind. When the trickery is cheating, it is tramposo. And listo simply means sharp, without any reproach
- habladortalkativeFrom hablar. Not necessarily a reproach: es muy hablador can sound approving. The same meaning as an idiom: habla por los codos
- despistadoabsent-mindedFrom la pista, a track: the one who lost the track. Estar despistado is to be distracted for a moment, ser despistado is to be like that in life. The ser and estar difference works literally here
- de mal geniohot-temperedThe file lists it as an adjective, but Spanish describes it with a phrase built on el genio — temper, disposition (and, yes, 'genius'). Tiene mal genio — he has a short fuse; saltar a la mínima — to flare up over nothing
- indiferenteindifferentAbout a person — indifferent; about a choice — it makes no difference: me es indiferente means 'I don't care'. One form for both genders
- el hábitohabitA personal habit, especially in the pair buenos y malos hábitos. The course already knows la costumbre as a custom, but in the frame tengo la costumbre de it also means a habit — the words share the field
- la amigafemale friendThe feminine partner of el amigo. Mi amiga is a friend and nothing more: a girlfriend in a couple is mi novia. The diminutive amiguita sounds condescending
- el conocidoacquaintanceFrom conocer. Un conocido mío — an acquaintance of mine, not a friend. As an adjective the same word means famous: un actor muy conocido
- el talentotalentTener talento para — to have a knack for. The conversational version: se le dan bien los idiomas. El don is a gift, a loftier word
- nacerto be bornThe first person grows a z: nazco. About yourself, past tense: nací en Moscú. El nacimiento is birth — and la Navidad shares the root
- la infanciachildhoodEn mi infancia sounds bookish; in speech people say de pequeño. Infantil means children's — and often childish, a rebuke
- la juventudyouthThe age and the people: la juventud de hoy. The conversational version is de joven — when I was young
- la vida adultaadult lifeHacerse mayor is to grow up — literally to become older. Ser mayor de edad is to be of age, eighteen in Spain
- la generacióngenerationLa generación de mis padres. La brecha generacional is the generation gap. The plural sheds the accent: las generaciones
- la ciudad natalhometownNatal comes from nacer: native by birth, and nothing else. A dear person is a different word altogether: querido, or de la familia
- llevar cinco años en el paísto have lived in the country for five yearsLlevar plus a span of time is how Spanish counts duration: llevo cinco años aquí — present tense, though the story began long ago. A past llevé would mean it is all over
- el recuerdomemoryThe same word as the souvenir the course knows: a memory and a keepsake at once. In the plural los recuerdos is also regards: dale recuerdos
- una foto antiguaold photographAntiguo is old by age, viejo worn out or aged about people. La foto is feminine despite the o — a clipped la fotografía
- el destinofateFate and destination: el destino del vuelo on the departures board is the second one. El azar is chance, la suerte luck
- empezar una vida nuevato start a new lifeNuevo after the noun means a new, different life; before it, una nueva vida, just another one. The nuance is thin but heard. Empezar de cero — to start from scratch
- formar una familiato start a familyFormar is to form; children come with a different verb, tener hijos. Sentar la cabeza — to settle down — is the colloquial twin
- ricorichThe same word already means 'tasty' in this course. The verbs keep them apart: es rico — he's rich; está rico — it's tasty
- pobrepoorBefore the noun it shifts meaning: un hombre pobre — a man without money; un pobre hombre — a poor soul. Word order is the meaning here
- el compañero de pisoroommateIn Spain flats are rented jointly, hence de piso rather than de habitación. The neighbor across the landing is el vecino
- el amigo de la infanciachildhood friendLa infancia is childhood, a word you've met. Warmer still: un amigo de toda la vida — a friend for life
- famosofamousUn actor famoso — known to everyone. Conocido is known on a smaller scale, and un conocido as a noun is just an acquaintance
- fuertepowerfulPhysically strong and loud at once: habla más fuerte — speak up. La fuerza is strength
- sensatosensibleFits people and decisions alike. Sensible is a false friend — it means sensitive
- la bondadkindnessFrom bueno. La amabilidad is courteousness, the surface manner; la bondad is the soul's own kindness
- el autocontrolself-controlKeeping yourself in hand. La sangre fría, cold blood, is the cool head you need in danger
- la pacienciapatienceTener paciencia is to be patient. El paciente, the patient in a hospital, shares the root: the one who endures
- el egoísmoselfishnessthe o-í splits into two syllables: e-go-EE-smo
- la perezalazinessMe da pereza is I can't be bothered. El perezoso is a lazybones and the sloth, the animal that embodies it
- la cabezoneríastubbornnessFrom la cabeza, head: ser un cabezón is to be a big-headed mule. The bookish twin is la terquedad
- la curiosidadcuriosityPor curiosidad is out of curiosity. Curioso means curious and odd at once: qué curioso
- la honradezintegrityHonrado is upright, someone who won't take what isn't theirs. La honestidad is honesty in words
- el ingenioresourcefulnessEl ingenio is quick wit and inventiveness at once. Tener recursos is knowing how to wriggle out
- la despreocupacióncarefree attitudeDespreocupado is carefree, sometimes just relaxed, without judgment. La imprudencia is recklessness — that one blames
- decididodecisiveThe participle of decidir. Estar decidido a is to be set on doing it
- tímidoshystress on the first syllable: TEE-mee-doh
- susceptibleeasily offendedA false friend: it means touchy, not receptive in the English sense. Se ofende por todo — takes offense at everything
- de trato fácileasygoingNo single adjective: de trato fácil is easy to deal with. Conformista is a go-alonger — a different shade
- meticulosometiculousMinucioso says the same. Tiquismiquis is fussy — colloquial and said with a smirk
- orgullosopridefulOne word covers both proud and self-regarding: el orgullo is pride and self-esteem. The sentence decides which is meant
- servicialhelpfulFrom servir, to serve and to help. Atento is attentive, amable is pleasant and obliging
- reservadoreservedThe same word on a door sign means booked, taken. Of a person it means kept-to-himself, a shut door
- directobluntHablar sin rodeos is to talk without detours; brusco is abrupt and already disapproving. With the article, el directo in the course is a live broadcast — same word, other job
- impredecibleunpredictableFrom predecir, to predict. Imprevisible says the same, more often about the weather
- obedecerto obeyThe yo form inserts a z: obedezco. In speech hacer caso does the work: no me hace caso, he ignores me
- presumirto show offPresumir de algo is to brag about something. Fardar is the same, in younger speech
- cotillearto gossipEl cotilleo is gossip, el cotilla a gossip. In Latin America they say chismear
- fingirto feignHacerse el tonto is to play the fool — a productive pattern: hacerse el plus an adjective
- contenerseto hold backMorderse la lengua is to bite your tongue. Contener without se is to contain, to hold something in
- gastar una bromato play a prankIt's gastar, not hacer: gastar una broma a alguien. Tomar el pelo is to pull someone's leg
- contar una trolato tell a fibMentir in the course is to lie. La trola is Spain's colloquial fib; the neutral phrase is decir una mentira
- escuchar a escondidasto eavesdropA escondidas is on the sly, from esconder, to hide. Oír sin querer is to overhear by accident
- meterse donde no le llamanto muscle inLiterally to get in where they don't call you. Ser un pesado is to be a pest; no dejar en paz, to give no peace
- cumplir la palabrato keep one's wordSpanish doesn't hold a word, it fulfills it: cumplir su palabra. To break it is faltar a su palabra
- merecerseto deserveMerecer and merecerse both work, but with se it sounds more personal: te lo mereces, you've earned it
- reprocharto reproachEl reproche is the reproach. In speech they say echar en cara: me lo echó en cara, he threw it in my face
- alabarto commendElogiar in the course is to praise and felicitar to congratulate. Alabar is the same act, a touch more solemn; at home they just say está muy bien
- juzgarto judgeCondenar in the course is to condemn and to sentence in court. Juzgar is to judge a person: no juzgues sin saber
- dejar tiradoto let someone downLiterally to leave someone lying there — let down, abandoned in a hard moment. Fallar a alguien is the same, drier
- adrededeliberatelyA propósito in the course is on purpose. Adrede is the same, a bit more colloquial; in Spain they also say aposta
- por una tonteríaover something sillyLa tontería is a silly thing, nonsense. Por tonto is out of plain foolishness, scolding yourself
- con buena intenciónwith the best intentionsCon la mejor intención says the same with more weight. Sentar mal is to go down badly — the frequent sequel
- eso está feothat's not niceFeo is ugly to look at and ugly as an act. No está bien is that won't do, milder
- no lo hace con mala ideahe doesn't mean any harmCon mala idea is with bad intent. Sin querer is by accident, not meaning to
- la confianzatrustConfiar en is to trust someone. De confianza means trusted: una persona de confianza, the one you hand keys to
- la envidiaenvyMe da envidia is I envy him, built like gustar. La envidia sana is the benign kind, the envy that spurs you on
- la lástimapitystress on the first syllable: LAS-tee-mah
- la influenciainfluenceInfluir en is to influence. In the plural, tener influencias means having connections that open doors
- la autoridadauthorityBoth power and standing: una autoridad en la materia is an authority on the subject; las autoridades, the authorities
- mutuamentemutuallyMutuo is mutual. The reply to a good wish is igualmente, not mutuamente — different words with close senses
- de igual a igualas equalsHablar de igual a igual is to talk as equals. En igualdad de condiciones is on equal terms
- hacer buenas migasto hit it offLas migas are bread crumbs and a shepherd's dish: to get along is to crumb well together. Llevarse bien is getting along as a standing state
- mantenerse al margento stay on the sidelinesEl margen is the margin of a page and the edge of things. No meterse, to not get in, is the colloquial cousin
- gentepeopleGrammatically singular: la gente es amable — 'people are kind', with the verb in the singular
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.
- Un amigo mío vive en SevillaA friend of mine lives in Seville
- El domingo come junta toda la familiaOn Sunday the whole family has dinner together
- Mi madre me llama todos los díasMy mother calls me every day
- Mi padre trabaja de conductorMy father works as a driver
- Tienen dos hijos, un niño y una niñaThey have two children, a boy and a girl
- Hay una persona esperando en la puertaThere's a person waiting at the door
What is worth knowing about these words
el amigo — friend. A heavier word than English friend: an acquaintance is un conocido, a colleague un colega
la familia — family. A false friend: this is family, not surname — the surname is el apellido. Stress on the i: fah-MEE-lyah
la madre — mother. The neutral word, for documents and for talking about someone else. The affectionate mom is mamá, stress at the end
el padre — father. The affectionate one is papá, stress at the end. The accent mark decides everything: papá is dad, papa is a potato and the Pope
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 amigo — friend.
- What is this word?
It is la mujer — woman.
- What is this word?
It is el pelo — hair.
- What is this word?
It is gordo — fat.
- What is this word?
It is tranquilo — calm.
Now the other way around: recall the spelling from the meaning. That is harder, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “friend” in Spanish?
A heavier word than English friend: an acquaintance is un conocido, a colleague un colega
- How do you say “woman” in Spanish?
Woman and wife in one word: mi mujer — my wife. The plural is las mujeres
- How do you say “hair” in Spanish?
Singular here: tengo el pelo corto, I have short hair
- How do you say “fat” in Spanish?
Blunt; about people it stings, so un poco gordito softens it. The big lottery prize is el gordo too
- How do you say “calm” in Spanish?
A calm character and a soothing word in one: tranquilo alone means 'relax, it's fine'
How to learn the set instead of just reading it
Mum, friend, child, neighbour. The first thing people ask you about, and the first thing you tell about yourself.
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 “friend” in Spanish?
«el amigo». A heavier word than English friend: an acquaintance is un conocido, a colleague un colega. It is one of 134 words in the set “people and family” — the rest are in the table above.
How many family words do you need to start?
A dozen is enough. The set of 134 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, 134 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.