Basic words in Valencian
110 words in Valencian on the topic “basic words”: sí — yes, no — no, bé — well, malament — badly. 110 words can be played from recordings.
110 words on the topic
- síyesSí with an accent is yes; si without one is if. Only the written mark tells them apart
- nonoOne word serves as no and as the negation before a verb: no entenc — I don't understand
- béwellThe adverb: it answers how. The adjective good is bo, and before a noun it even shrinks: bon dia
- malamentbadlyThe partner of bé. Bad about a thing is dolent: el temps és dolent — the weather is foul
- molt bévery wellMolt means very and stands right before the word it boosts
- més o menysso-soLiterally more or less. The same phrase means about: més o menys vint — about twenty
- el metremeter (unit)The meter; the jump was two of them, not a centimeter more
- el centímetrecentimeterThe centimeter; the child grew three of them in a year
- el quilòmetrekilometerThe kilometer; from the town to the beach there are five
- el litreliterFrom the Greek litra — a unit of weight, become a measure of volume. Buy a liter of milk, please
- el gramgramThe gram; put a hundred of sugar into the dough
- el pesweightThe weight; of the rucksack it tires my shoulders
- la llargadalengthThe length; of the pool it is twenty-five meters
- l'ampladawidthThe width; of the corridor it doesn't reach a meter
- l'alturaheightFrom alt — high: the height of towers and mountains. About a person they say alçada. The tower's height amazes the tourists
- la fondàriadepthThe depth; of the children's pool it is half a meter
- aproximadamentapproximatelyApproximately; about ten thousand people live here
- gairebéalmostAlmost; the film has almost ended — hurry in
- en puntsharp (on the dot)Literally on the point: a les huit en punt — at eight sharp, not a minute later. It stands after the time like a full stop at the end of a phrase. And eight here is huit: the Valencian giveaway; the central norm says vuit
- de mitjanaon averageOf middle — on average; snow falls here two days a year
- el dobletwice as muchLiterally the double; this flat costs twice as much as ours
- la xifrafigure (number)The cipher — the figure; of visitors it grows every summer
- el quarta quarter (of an hour)The entry is fourth — now the quarter of an hour; it has passed and he still hasn't come
- pesarto weighWeigh; the seller weighs the melon in front of the buyer
- innecessariunnecessaryThe un-necessary; this purchase was — now I see
- buitemptyThe empty; the fridge is — time to go shopping
- el fetfactThe fact; it is that the train doesn't stop here anymore
- la preguntaquestionThe entry is the question; I have one — when do you close on Friday?
- importantimportantImportant; take the important documents and the ID
- positiupositiveThe positive; a positive test here is the welcome kind, this time
- negatiunegativeThe negative; a negative balance of the month explains everything without words
- en comparació ambcompared toComparison with; compared to other years this summer is cool
- igual quethe same asEqual that; I want the same cake as last year's birthday
- l'avantatgeadvantageMasculine: «l'avantatge». «Avantatges i desavantatges» — the classic decision sheet
- el desavantatgedrawbackThe dis-advantage; of the old flat it is felt every winter in the bill
- les conseqüènciesconsequencesAlways plural — the consequences; of a fair contract they are seen fast
- tenir en compteto take into accountHave in account; one must that in August the city empties
- el més probable és quemost likelyMore probable — most likely; we'll be late: train strike
- seguramentsurelySure-ly; they have gone to bed — it's past two
- la probabilitatprobabilityThe probability; of rain it rises to ninety percent
- la suposiciósuppositionThe supposition; it is only that, not an accusation
- sembla queit looks likeIt seems that; today it will rain — the birds fly low
- deu serit must beLiterally it owes to be — it must be; where is Pau? Still on the train
- no pot serit can't beIt cannot be; that the same grandma won again
- com a mínimat leastLiterally at-to the minimum; we got home dry
- en qualsevol casin any caseAny case; tomorrow we'll call the doctor anyway
- per si de casjust in caseFor if of case — just in case; take the umbrella
- siif only (had)The if of the -és form; if I had free time, I would learn a third language
- sempre queprovided thatAlways that — provided that; I'll leave it to you if you're back by ten
- fins i tot sieven ifEven and-if; even if it rains, the feast will be on the square
- en aquest casin that caseThis case; if there's no train, in that case we'll go by car
- si nootherwiseIf not; careful with the paella, otherwise it will burn
- llavorsthen (in that case)The entry is llavors again — the then of consequence; if it rains, then we lunch indoors
- per tal queso thatFor the sake of that; we study so that the children have a better future
- com sias ifAs if; he rents the flat as if he means to live in it for twenty years
- en lloc derather thanIn the place of; instead of complaining, you cook for a week
- en generalmostlyIn general; mostly we give Saturdays to the family
- per regla generalas a ruleBy the general rule; Valencian trains arrive on time
- quasi tothomalmost everybodyAlmost everybody; they came out to the street to celebrate the victory
- l'excepcióexceptionThe exception; every rule has its own, and this is mine
- etcèteraand so onEt cetera — and so on; the list lacks sugar, oil, flour and so on
- a diferència deunlikeDifference of; unlike his brother, he runs up the stairs
- excepteexceptExcept; everybody signed the agreement except the youngest uncle
- no del totnot quiteNot of the all; that is not quite exact — I saw her from afar
- més o menysmore or lessThe entry is so-so again — the describing kind; how is the repair? More or less: the kitchen breathes
- amb dificultatwith effortWith difficulty; but we finished the cupboard before dark
- val la pena provar-hoit's worth tryingIt is worth the pain to try; the teacher is charming
- caliayou should have seenLiterally it was needed; see grandma's face when she opened the door!
- el millor de totthe best of allBetter of all; it was the silence after the feast
- el pitjor de totthe worst of allThe worst of all; it was that nobody warned anybody
- el més aviat possibleas soon as possibleMore soon possible; call — the seats fly away
- en vain vainIn went — in vain; he ran in vain: the bus had already left
- sortir-se'nto copeGet out of it; alone, with two children and a move, he coped anyway
- l'intentattemptMasculine. «Al primer intent» — at the first try
- és a dirthat is to sayLiterally «is to say». It spells out your own thought, like a footnote read aloud
- resulta queit turned out thatIt results that; the neighbor had known it for days
- com a resultatas a resultAs at-the result; of the rain the fair moves indoors
- du ait leads toIt leads to; every evening before a screen leads to worse sleep
- gràcies athanks toThanks to; the rain, the garden woke up on Friday
- a la primeraon the first tryAt the first; I didn't pass the exam on it, nor on the second
- oorShort as can be. In questions it often closes the list: café o te?
- tambétooAlso and too in one word. It follows what it refers to: jo també — me too
- nomésonlyNarrows the amount or the choice: només deu euros — just ten euros
- jaalreadySits before the verb and marks that the thing has happened: ja he dinat — I've already had lunch
- encarastillFor something ongoing that might have stopped: encara treballe — I'm still working
- massatoo (excessively)Not very but too, beyond what is wanted: massa car — too expensive
- una micaa littleA small amount of something. Una mica de pa — a bit of bread
- plegatstogetherAn adverb with a folksy flavor: anem plegats — let's go together
- no es potnot allowedLiterally it cannot be done. On signs you will meet prohibits, forbidden
- calone mustAn impersonal must with no person in it: cal beure aigua — one must drink water
- per tal dein order toPurpose, spelled out in full: per tal de veure — in order to see. Plain per often does the same job
- siifThe same letters as the yes-word without its accent: sí, yes — si, if
- mentre quewhileTwo things happening at once: mentre jo cuine, tu poses la taula
- ja quesince (given that)Reason with a shrug: since it's raining, we stay in. Built on ja, already
- només cal queas long asLiterally only it is needed that — the one condition that matters
- així quesoLiterally thus that — it opens the consequence: it's nine, so the train has gone
- entrebetweenThe same word as Spanish entre: between two things, among friends
- unsaboutBefore a number it means roughly: unes vint persones — about twenty people
- en comptes deinstead ofLiterally in the place of: arròs en comptes de pa — rice instead of bread
- contraagainstThe same word Spanish uses: jugar contra — to play against
- sensewithoutUnmistakable cousin of Spanish sin: un café sense sucre
- per aforFor a purpose or a recipient: per a la teua mare — for your mother. Plain per is for a cause or a route
- sobreabout (concerning)Sobre is both on top of and about: un llibre sobre animals
- després deafterTwo words in writing, one idea: després de dinar — after lunch
- durantduringLasting through: durant l'estiu — through the summer. Cousin of English duration
- a causa debecause ofCause as an excuse: a causa del tren — because of the train. Built on la causa
- al voltant dearoundAround a point in space: al voltant de la taula — around the table
- a través dethroughLiterally across of: a través de la finestra — through the window
- des de dinsfrom the insidedes de marks the starting point, dins is inside: locked from the inside
- pels voltantsnearbyLiterally by the surroundings: pels voltants del centre — around the center
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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.
What is worth knowing about these words
sí — yes. Sí with an accent is yes; si without one is if. Only the written mark tells them apart.
no — no. One word serves as no and as the negation before a verb: no entenc — I don't understand.
bé — well. The adverb: it answers how. The adjective good is bo, and before a noun it even shrinks: bon dia.
malament — badly. The partner of bé. Bad about a thing is dolent: el temps és dolent — the weather is foul.
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 sí — yes.
- What is this word?
It is el centímetre — centimeter.
- What is this word?
It is l'altura — height.
- What is this word?
It is la xifra — figure (number).
- What is this word?
It is important — important.
Now the other way around: recall the spelling from the meaning. That is harder, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “yes” in Valencian?
Sí with an accent is yes; si without one is if. Only the written mark tells them apart
- How do you say “centimeter” in Valencian?
The centimeter; the child grew three of them in a year
- How do you say “height” in Valencian?
From alt — high: the height of towers and mountains. About a person they say alçada. The tower's height amazes the tourists
- How do you say “figure (number)” in Valencian?
The cipher — the figure; of visitors it grows every summer
- How do you say “important” in Valencian?
Important; take the important documents and the ID
How to learn the set instead of just reading it
Yes, no, good, bad, very. The small change of a language — and no sentence assembles without it.
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.
- Study spread over days wins 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 “yes” in Valencian?
«sí». Sí with an accent is yes; si without one is if. Only the written mark tells them apart. It is one of 110 words in the set “basic words” — the rest are in the table above.
How many basic words do you need to start?
The whole set on this page is 110 words, but there is no need to start with all of it: the words you will need in the next few days are enough. Take them a few at a time — five to seven new ones per session.
Is there audio?
Yes, 110 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.