Palabra Lexi · common words in Spanish
How to say "car" in Spanish
"Car" in Spanish is coche, pronounced KOH-cheh (stress on the syllable in capitals). It is a masculine noun (el coche, plural los coches). Also: auto (car); carro (car).
| Spanish | coche |
|---|---|
| Pronunciation | KOH-cheh |
| Meaning | car |
| Gender | masculine: el coche |
| Plural | los coches |
| Frequency | #36 in the Palabra list of common Spanish words |
Pronunciation is spelled out in English, one syllable at a time, with the stressed syllable in capitals. The speaker button uses your browser's built-in Spanish voice. Gender and plural: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.
How to pronounce coche
Coche is pronounced KOH-cheh, in IPA /ˈkot͡ʃe/. Coche has two syllables, KOH-cheh, with the stress on the first. There is no written accent because the word follows the basic rule: words ending in a vowel, -n or -s are stressed on the second-to-last syllable.
Listen: normal and slow speed, in your browser's Spanish voice. IPA: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.
Is coche masculine or feminine?
Coche is masculine, so it takes el (the) and un (a): el coche. The plural is los coches. The ending does not tell you the gender here, so learn the word together with its article: el coche.
Example sentences
Un coche nuevo
a new car
El coche es rojo
The car is red
"Car" in Spain and Latin America
Which word you hear depends on the country: coche in Spain, carro in Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela and Central America, auto in Argentina, Chile and Uruguay. All three are understood everywhere.
Regional words and roots: Diccionario de la lengua española (RAE). Spanish varies by region, so treat these as the most common patterns, not strict rules.
How to remember coche
coche [KOH-cheh] sounds like the English “coach”. Picture this:
The coach whistles and the car does push-ups on its wheels in the parking lot.
A sound-alike plus a vivid scene is the keyword method, a well-studied way to learn vocabulary. How it works.
Practice coche
Two quick games, right here: no sign-up, nothing is sent anywhere.