el carné de conducir
“el carné de conducir” — driving licence in Spanish. Noun, level A2, topic — transport. One document, one word, singular. Also written carnet, pronounced the same. In a live sentence: “Me caduca el carné de conducir en mayo” — My driving licence expires in May. You can hear how it sounds right here. One of 24 words in the set “transport” in the Spanish course.
In short
| Written in Spanish | el carné de conducir |
| Translation | driving licence |
| Other translations | driver's license |
| Part of speech | noun |
| Level | A2 |
- el carné de conducirdriving licence
Why it looks that way
One document, one word, singular. Also written carnet, pronounced the same
A word with a story stays in memory longer than one learned as a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.
In a live sentence
A single word almost never appears alone in conversation. A sentence shows where it fits and what stands next to it.
- Me caduca el carné de conducir en mayoMy driving licence expires in May
Nearby words: transport
Bus, metro, taxi, stop, station. These are words you need to recognize in writing — off a departure board and off a sign.
- la estaciónstationBoth a metro stop and a train station: la estación de metro, la estación de tren
- el metrometroMasculine and never declined: el metro, voy en metro. The same word is the meter of measurement
- el autobúsbusIn the plural the accent disappears: los autobuses. The long-distance coach has a name of its own, el autocar
- el taxitaxiMasculine: el taxi. In Spain you take a cab at the rank, la parada de taxis, not by waving from the curb
- el semáforotraffic lightseh-MAH-foh-roh
- la bicicletabicycleLa bici in speech. To go by bike: ir en bici
- la parada del autobúsbus stopFrom parar, to stop. A metro stop is a different word: la estación
- el abono de transportetravel passIn Madrid this is simply el abono; in Barcelona the card is called la T-casual
- la rutarouteA travel route and a hiking trail alike. A city route's number is la línea
- el paso de peatonescrosswalkEl peatón is a pedestrian. The painted stripes are colloquially la cebra — the zebra
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “transport”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “driving licence” in Spanish?
One document, one word, singular. Also written carnet, pronounced the same
- How do you say “bus stop” in Spanish?
From parar, to stop. A metro stop is a different word: la estación
- How do you say “bus” in Spanish?
In the plural the accent disappears: los autobuses. The long-distance coach has a name of its own, el autocar
- How do you say “crosswalk” in Spanish?
El peatón is a pedestrian. The painted stripes are colloquially la cebra — the zebra
- How do you say “bicycle” in Spanish?
La bici in speech. To go by bike: ir en bici
How not to forget this word
Reading a word and remembering it are different jobs. A day later, little survives of a single reading — and that is not bad memory, that is how memory works.
- This has been tested on foreign words too. The difference shows up most when you test yourself a few days later rather than straight away.checked many timesKim & Webb, 2022, Language Learning 72(2) · 48 experiments, 3,411 participants, 98 comparisons.
- 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.
- An answer you worked out yourself sticks better than one handed to you.checked many timesBertsch et al., 2007, Memory & Cognition 35(2) · 86 studies, 445 comparisons, d = 0.40.
Frequently asked
How do you say “driving licence” in Spanish?
«el carné de conducir». In a live sentence: “Me caduca el carné de conducir en mayo” — My driving licence expires in May. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Noun, level A2, from the set “transport”.
Why does this word look the way it does?
One document, one word, singular. Also written carnet, pronounced the same. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.
Can I hear how it sounds?
Yes, right on this page: click the word and it will play. The sound works on any phone, and nothing needs to be installed.