Palabra Lexi · words by topic · Spanish
Spanish Words: Daily Routine — with Pronunciation and Memory Hooks
Level A1 · beginner · 16 words
Wake up, have breakfast, work, have dinner, go to bed, always and sometimes: the words for describing an ordinary day.
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.
Daily Routine in Spanish: word list
| Spanish | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| despertarse | des-per-TAR-seh | to wake up |
| levantarse | leh-ban-TAR-seh | to get up |
| ducharse | doo-CHAR-seh | to shower |
| vestirse | bes-TEER-seh | to get dressed |
| desayunar | deh-sah-yoo-NAR | to have breakfast |
| almorzar | al-mor-THAR | to have lunch |
| cenar | theh-NAR | to have dinner |
| descansar | des-kan-SAR | to rest |
| limpiar | leem-PYAR | to clean |
| lavar | lah-BAR | to wash |
| planchar | plan-CHAR | to iron |
| acostarse | ah-kos-TAR-seh | to go to bed |
| tarde | TAHR-deh | late |
| siempre | SYEHM-preh | always |
| nunca | NOON-kah | never |
| a veces | ah BEH-sehs | sometimes |
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.
despertarse [des-per-TAR-seh] — to wake up
Sounds like: “desperate tarts”. Desperate for warm tarts, you wake up at dawn as their smell drifts in from the bakery.
Me despierto a las siete — I wake up at seven
ducharse [doo-CHAR-seh] — to shower
Sounds like: “do charts”. You do charts in your head every morning while you shower under hot water.
Me ducho por la mañana — I shower in the morning
planchar [plan-CHAR] — to iron
Sounds like: “plancha-r”. She irons — steam and a crease.
planchar la camisa — to iron the shirt
tarde [TAHR-deh] — late
Sounds like: “tardy”. Tardy afternoon: the siesta ran late and dragged the whole evening with it.
Buenas tardes — good afternoon
nunca [NOON-kah] — never
Sounds like: “nun car”. A nun in a race car? Never — she says she never drives faster than a bicycle.
Nunca llego tarde — I never arrive late
a veces [ah BEH-sehs] — sometimes
Sounds like: “a vase is”. A vase is sometimes on the table, sometimes on the shelf — it never stays put.
A veces voy al cine — Sometimes I go to the cinema