Palabra Lexi · words by topic · Spanish
Spanish Words: Household Items — with Pronunciation and Memory Hooks
Level A0 · first words · 20 words
Door, window, table, key, towel: the things around you every day. They're the easiest words to review, since you can name whatever you're looking at.
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.
Household Items in Spanish: word list
| Spanish | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| casa | KAH-sah | house |
| puerta | PWEHR-tah | door |
| ventana | behn-TAH-nah | window |
| mesa | MEH-sah | table |
| silla | SEE-yah | chair |
| cama | KAH-mah | bed |
| cocina | koh-THEE-nah | kitchen |
| baño | BAH-nyoh | bathroom |
| llave | YAH-beh | key |
| lámpara | LAHM-pah-rah | lamp |
| espejo | ehs-PEH-hoh | mirror |
| armario | ahr-MAH-ryoh | wardrobe |
| sofá | soh-FAH | sofa |
| reloj | reh-LOH | clock / watch |
| teléfono | teh-LEH-foh-noh | phone |
| libro | LEE-broh | book |
| bolso | BOL-soh | bag |
| cuchillo | koo-CHEE-yoh | knife |
| vaso | BAH-soh | glass |
| toalla | toh-AH-yah | towel |
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.
casa [KAH-sah] — house
Sounds like: “cash-ah”. You throw a bag of cash-ah into your new house to buy furniture right away.
Mi casa es grande. — My house is big.
puerta [PWEHR-tah] — door
Sounds like: “Porter”. A hotel porter stands right at the door, holding it open for guests walking through the entrance.
La puerta está cerrada. — The door is closed.
ventana [behn-TAH-nah] — window
Sounds like: “vent Ana”. Ana opens a vent above the window, letting fresh air blow her hair as she looks outside.
Cierra la ventana — Close the window
mesa [MEH-sah] — table
Sounds like: “messa”. Someone messes up the table with paint splattered all over its wooden surface.
Pon el plato en la mesa — Put the plate on the table
silla [SEE-yah] — chair
Sounds like: “silly-ah”. A silly clown falls off his chair, landing with a loud thud on the floor.
La silla se rompió — The chair broke
cama [KAH-mah] — bed
Sounds like: “comma”. A giant comma punctuation mark lies flat like a soft bed, and you climb on top to sleep.
La cama es cómoda. — The bed is comfortable.
cocina [koh-THEE-nah] — kitchen
Sounds like: “cousin-a”. Your cousin walks into the kitchen and starts cooking dinner for everyone at the table.
La cocina es grande — The kitchen is big
baño [BAH-nyoh] — bathroom
Sounds like: “bahn-yo”. A train (Bahn) stops right outside the bathroom door, yo shouts the conductor.
El baño está ocupado. — The bathroom is occupied.
llave [YAH-beh] — key
Sounds like: “yah-veh”. You shout 'yah-veh!' while jiggling the stubborn key inside the rusty lock.
¿Dónde está la llave? — Where is the key?
lámpara [LAHM-pah-rah] — lamp
Sounds like: “lamp para”. You buy a lamp 'para' (for) your dark room, plugging it in to see clearly.
Compré una lámpara nueva — I bought a new lamp
espejo [ehs-PEH-hoh] — mirror
Sounds like: “espionage”. A spy in espionage gear stares into a mirror to adjust his disguise before sneaking out.
Me miro en el espejo — I look at myself in the mirror
armario [ahr-MAH-ryoh] — wardrobe
Sounds like: “army arrow”. An army arrow sticks out of the tall wooden wardrobe, pinning its doors shut tight.
El armario está lleno de ropa. — The wardrobe is full of clothes.
sofá [soh-FAH] — sofa
Sounds like: “sofa”. Picture an actual English sofa, plush and wide, sitting exactly where the Spanish word points.
Me siento en el sofá. — I sit on the sofa.
reloj [reh-LOH] — clock / watch
Sounds like: “rely oh”. You rely on the old wall clock to wake you every single morning without fail.
Compré un reloj ayer. — I bought a watch yesterday.
teléfono [teh-LEH-foh-noh] — phone
Sounds like: “telephone”. You literally say telephone into the telephone, ringing loudly on the wooden table nearby.
El teléfono suena. — The phone is ringing.
libro [LEE-broh] — book
Sounds like: “lee-bro”. Your bro is reading a thick book aloud, shouting 'lee-bro' as he flips each heavy page.
El libro es interesante — The book is interesting
bolso [BOL-soh] — bag
Sounds like: “bolt-so”. A heavy bolt is so loose it falls right through a hole in the leather bag.
Compré un bolso nuevo. — I bought a new bag.
cuchillo [koo-CHEE-yoh] — knife
Sounds like: “cuckoo-yo”. A cuckoo bird holds a yo-yo that flips into a sharp knife, slicing the string clean.
El cuchillo está afilado — The knife is sharp
vaso [BAH-soh] — glass
Sounds like: “wasso”. Imagine saying 'wasso' as you clink a glass against another glass at a noisy dinner party.
Rompí el vaso ayer. — I broke the glass yesterday.
toalla [toh-AH-yah] — towel
Sounds like: “to a llama”. You hand a fluffy towel to a llama who dries its wet fur happily after a bath.
La toalla está mojada — The towel is wet