You sit down at a small café in Mexico City. The waiter comes over and asks, "¿Qué le traigo?" ("What can I bring you?"). You want a coffee with milk, some bread and a glass of water. With about twenty words and two polite phrases, you can say all of it in Spanish.
Level: A1.
Every noun has el or la
Spanish nouns are masculine or feminine, and the word for "the" shows which: el for masculine, la for feminine. Learn the article with the noun, as one unit: not "pan" but "el pan".
- Masculine: el pan (bread), el café (coffee), el té (tea), el pollo (chicken), el pescado (fish), el queso (cheese), el huevo (egg), el arroz (rice)
- Feminine: la leche (milk), la carne (meat), la manzana (apple), la fruta (fruit), la sopa (soup), la ensalada (salad)
Many nouns ending in -o are masculine and many ending in -a are feminine, but not all: la leche and la carne end in -e, so you have to learn them.
In the plural, el becomes los and la becomes las: los huevos, las manzanas.
The special case: el agua
Agua (water) is feminine, but it takes el in the singular: el agua. Spanish does this with feminine nouns that start with a stressed a- sound. This el isn't really the masculine article: it comes from ela, an old form of the feminine article. The word is still feminine, so its adjective is feminine too: el agua fría (the cold water). In the plural it goes back to las: las aguas.
Spain and Latin America
This lesson uses the words most common in Latin America, and the cards give both versions. Some everyday foods have a different name in Spain, or in parts of Latin America:
| English | Latin America | Spain |
|---|---|---|
| juice | el jugo | el zumo |
| potato | la papa | la patata |
| waiter | el mesero (Mexico), el mozo (Argentina) | el camarero |
A few words change inside Latin America itself. Avocado is el aguacate in Mexico, Central America, Colombia, Venezuela and the Caribbean (and in Spain), but la palta in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Peru and Uruguay. Strawberry is la fresa in Mexico and Spain, and la frutilla in Argentina, Chile and Uruguay. Either word is usually understood; using the local one just sounds natural.
Meal names shift too. Breakfast is el desayuno and dinner is la cena almost everywhere. Lunch is often el almuerzo in Latin America, but in Mexico and Spain the main midday meal is usually la comida, which also means "food" in general.
Ordering politely
These phrases work in a café or restaurant anywhere:
- Quisiera un café, por favor. I'd like a coffee, please. Quisiera is softer and politer than quiero (I want). Learn it as a set phrase; you don't need its grammar yet.
- Para mí, el pollo con arroz. For me, the chicken with rice.
- Un vaso de agua, por favor. A glass of water, please.
- ¿Me trae la cuenta, por favor? Could you bring me the bill, please?
In bars in Spain you'll also hear ¿Me pone...? for ordering, as in "¿Me pone un café?"
To say you're hungry or thirsty, Spanish uses tener (to have) with a noun: tengo hambre (I'm hungry), tengo sed (I'm thirsty).
Mistakes learners make
- "La agua." Say el agua, but keep the adjective feminine: el agua fría.
- Pez on a menu. El pez is a live fish. Fish as food is el pescado.
- "Estoy hambre." Hunger is something you have: tengo hambre.
- Dropping the accent on té. Té is tea; te without an accent means "you" or "to you", as in "te quiero".
- Learning nouns without el or la. You'll guess the gender wrong on words like la leche and la carne.
Frequently asked questions
Is it el agua or la agua?
El agua. Agua is feminine, but it takes el in the singular because it begins with a stressed a-, and its adjectives stay feminine: el agua fría.
What is the difference between jugo and zumo?
Both mean juice. Jugo is the usual word in Latin America and zumo is the usual word in Spain.
Do you say papa or patata for potato?
Papa in Latin America and the Canary Islands, patata in most of Spain. Don't confuse it with el papa, the Pope, or papá, dad.
How do you order food politely in Spanish?
Start with "Quisiera..." ("I'd like...") and finish with "por favor": "Quisiera el pollo con arroz, por favor."
Try it
Say each card out loud with its el or la before you flip it. Then order your breakfast at that café in Mexico City: ¿Cómo se dice "I'd like a coffee with milk and some bread, please"?