Palabra Lexi · words by topic · Spanish
Spanish Words: Places in the City — with Pronunciation and Memory Hooks
Level A0 · first words · 20 words
Street, square, station, pharmacy, bridge: the words you meet on a map and in a stranger's answer when you ask for directions.
Spanish is read almost exactly as it's written: stress falls on the second-to-last syllable when a word ends in a vowel, n or s, otherwise on the last one, and exceptions carry an accent mark (café, estación). Nouns are masculine (el) or feminine (la). Pronunciation below is spelled out in English, stressed syllable in capitals.
Places in the City in Spanish: word list
| Spanish | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| calle | KAH-yeh | street |
| plaza | PLAH-sah | square |
| parque | PAHR-keh | park |
| tienda | TYEN-dah | shop |
| mercado | mehr-KAH-doh | market |
| banco | BAN-koh | bank |
| hospital | ohs-pee-TAHL | hospital |
| farmacia | fahr-MAH-syah | pharmacy |
| escuela | ehs-KWEH-lah | school |
| iglesia | ee-GLEH-syah | church |
| museo | moo-SEH-oh | museum |
| estación | ehs-tah-SYOHN | station |
| puente | PWEHN-teh | bridge |
| esquina | ehs-KEE-nah | corner |
| semáforo | seh-MAH-foh-roh | traffic light |
| edificio | eh-dee-FEE-syoh | building |
| barrio | BAH-rryoh | neighbourhood |
| centro | SEHN-troh | centre |
| ayuntamiento | ah-yoon-tah-MYEHN-toh | town hall |
| cafetería | kah-feh-teh-REE-ah | café |
Memory hooks for these words
A sound-alike is an English word or phrase that sounds like the foreign one. The scene ties it to the meaning: you recall the sound, the sound brings back the picture, the picture brings back the meaning. Read each scene once, then try to recall the meaning a minute later without looking at the list.
calle [KAH-yeh] — street
Sounds like: “collie”. A COLLIE dog runs down the middle of the street, chasing cars and barking loudly.
El perro cruza la calle. — The dog crosses the street.
plaza [PLAH-sah] — square
Sounds like: “plaza”. Picture a shopping plaza with a big open square where fountains splash and pigeons gather.
La plaza está llena de gente. — The plaza (square) is full of people.
parque [PAHR-keh] — park
Sounds like: “par-key”. You find a golden par-key hidden under a bench in the park, unlocking the old fountain gate.
Vamos al parque a jugar — Let's go to the park to play.
tienda [TYEN-dah] — shop
Sounds like: “tee-end-a”. At the tee (golf) end, a shop suddenly appears selling clubs, balls, and drinks.
La tienda está cerrada — The shop is closed
mercado [mehr-KAH-doh] — market
Sounds like: “merchant-oh”. A merchant shouts prices loudly at his crowded market stall, waving vegetables at customers.
Hay muchas tiendas en el mercado. — There are many shops in the market.
banco [BAN-koh] — bank
Sounds like: “bank oh”. You walk into a bank, shout 'bank, oh!' as you see gold coins piled on the counter
El banco está cerca — The bank is nearby
hospital [ohs-pee-TAHL] — hospital
Sounds like: “host pit hall”. A host stands in a deep pit inside a hall, handing out bandages to injured guests.
Ella trabaja en el hospital — She works in the hospital.
farmacia [fahr-MAH-syah] — pharmacy
Sounds like: “farm asia”. A farm in Asia sells medicine instead of crops, with bottles lined up on wooden carts.
farmacia — pharmacy
escuela [ehs-KWEH-lah] — school
Sounds like: “escalator”. Kids ride a giant escalator up into the school building every morning before the bell rings.
Voy a la escuela — I go to school
iglesia [ee-GLEH-syah] — church
Sounds like: “eagle sea”. An eagle flies over the sea toward the church, landing on its tall white steeple.
La iglesia está cerca — The church is nearby
museo [moo-SEH-oh] — museum
Sounds like: “muse-o”. A muse stands frozen like a statue inside a marble museum hall, inspiring painters around her.
Vamos al museo de arte — We go to the art museum
estación [ehs-tah-SYOHN] — station
Sounds like: “station”. Picture a train station sign that literally says ESTACIÓN in bright letters above the platform.
La estación está cerca — The station is nearby.
puente [PWEHN-teh] — bridge
Sounds like: “pwen-tay”. You point a laser pen right onto the bridge as you walk across it slowly.
Cruzamos el puente — We cross the bridge
esquina [ehs-KEE-nah] — corner
Sounds like: “skinny”. A skinny man squeezes sideways around the street corner, barely fitting past the sharp building edge.
la esquina — the corner
semáforo [seh-MAH-foh-roh] — traffic light
Sounds like: “semi four”. A semi truck stops for four seconds at the traffic light, waiting for the green signal to flash.
Cruza cuando el semáforo esté verde. — Cross when the traffic light is green.
edificio [eh-dee-FEE-syoh] — building
Sounds like: “edify-city-oh”. A giant building rises to edify a whole city, glowing with windows shouting 'oh!' at sunset.
Vivo en ese edificio — I live in that building
barrio [BAH-rryoh] — neighbourhood
Sounds like: “bar-yo”. You open your own bar right on your street, and the whole neighbourhood comes to visit.
Mi barrio es muy seguro — My neighbourhood is very safe.
centro [SEHN-troh] — centre
Sounds like: “cent row”. Picture a single row of shiny cent coins arranged exactly in the middle of a table, marking the centre point.
El centro de la ciudad — The centre of the city
ayuntamiento [ah-yoon-tah-MYEHN-toh] — town hall
Sounds like: “a yawn to meant o”. A yawn to meant going to the sleepy town hall where clerks stamp boring papers slowly
El ayuntamiento cierra a las cinco. — The town hall closes at five.
cafetería [kah-feh-teh-REE-ah] — café
Sounds like: “cafe tearia (cafe + tear-ya)”. You spill hot coffee and tear your napkin crying at a busy café table.
Vamos a la cafetería — Let's go to the café