Palabra Lexi · common words in Spanish
How to say "to drink" in Spanish
"To drink" in Spanish is beber, pronounced beh-BER (stress on the syllable in capitals).
| Spanish | beber |
|---|---|
| Pronunciation | beh-BER |
| Meaning | to drink |
| Part of speech | verb |
| Frequency | #42 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.
How to pronounce beber
Beber is pronounced beh-BER, in IPA /beˈbeɾ/. Beber has two syllables, beh-BER, with the stress on the second. There is no written accent because the word follows the basic rule: words ending in a consonant other than -n or -s are stressed on the last syllable.
Listen: normal and slow speed, in your browser's Spanish voice. IPA: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.
Example sentences
El castor bebe en el río.
The beaver drinks in the river.
Ellos beben jugo de naranja.
They drink orange juice.
¿Qué quieres beber?
What do you want to drink?
"To drink" in Spain and Latin America
In Latin America tomar is the usual word for drinking: ¿Qué vas a tomar? (What will you have?).
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 beber
beber [beh-BER] sounds like the English “baby bear”. Picture this:
A baby bear kneels by the stream to drink, dipping his nose into the cold water.
A sound-alike plus a vivid scene is the keyword method, a well-studied way to learn vocabulary. How it works.
Practice beber
Two quick games, right here: no sign-up, nothing is sent anywhere.