Palabra Lexi · words by topic · Spanish
Spanish Words: Transportation — with Pronunciation and Memory Hooks
Level A0 · first words · 20 words
Car, bus, train, ticket, stop, airport: enough to buy a ticket, find your platform and not end up in the wrong town.
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.
Transportation in Spanish: word list
| Spanish | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| coche | KOH-cheh | car |
| autobús | ow-toh-BOOS | bus |
| tren | trehn | train |
| metro | MEH-troh | underground |
| avión | ah-BYOHN | plane |
| barco | BAHR-koh | boat |
| bicicleta | bee-see-KLEH-tah | bicycle |
| taxi | TAH-ksee | taxi |
| moto | MOH-toh | motorbike |
| billete | bee-YEH-teh | ticket |
| parada | pah-RAH-dah | stop |
| aeropuerto | ah-eh-roh-PWER-toh | airport |
| carretera | kah-rreh-TEH-rah | road |
| gasolina | gah-soh-LEE-nah | petrol |
| conducir | kohn-doo-SEER | to drive |
| viajar | byah-HAR | to travel |
| llegar | yeh-GAR | to arrive |
| salir | sah-LEER | to leave |
| maleta | mah-LEH-tah | suitcase |
| pasajero | pah-sah-HEH-roh | passenger |
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.
coche [KOH-cheh] — car
Sounds like: “cotcha”. You yell 'gotcha!' as you slam the car door shut, catching your sleeve in the coche.
Compré un coche nuevo — I bought a new car.
autobús [ow-toh-BOOS] — bus
Sounds like: “auto bus”. Picture an automatic driverless bus rolling through the street, doors opening without any driver inside.
El autobús está lleno. — The bus is full.
tren [trehn] — train
Sounds like: “tren(d)”. A trendy train speeds through the city, covered in bright graffiti art that's the latest trend.
El tren llega a las diez. — The train arrives at ten.
metro [MEH-troh] — underground
Sounds like: “metro”. You picture a giant MEsh gaTE at the station letting travelers descend into the underground tunnels below.
metro (underground) — Voy a tomar el metro para ir al trabajo.
avión [ah-BYOHN] — plane
Sounds like: “a vee-on”. You see a huge glowing neon sign 'ON' painted on a plane's wing at the airport.
El avión despega ahora. — The plane takes off now.
barco [BAHR-koh] — boat
Sounds like: “bar-co”. Picture a floating bar with a co-pilot steering it like a boat across the harbor at sunset.
Subimos al barco temprano. — We boarded the boat early.
bicicleta [bee-see-KLEH-tah] — bicycle
Sounds like: “bicycle-etta”. Picture a little bicycle wearing a tiny skirt like a ballerina named Etta riding down the street.
La bicicleta es roja — The bicycle is red
taxi [TAH-ksee] — taxi
Sounds like: “tax-key”. A tax collector hands you a golden key that unlocks a waiting taxi at the curb.
El taxi es amarillo. — The taxi is yellow.
moto [MOH-toh] — motorbike
Sounds like: “motto”. A biker paints his life motto on the gas tank of his roaring motorbike before racing off.
La moto es rápida — The motorbike is fast
billete [bee-YEH-teh] — ticket
Sounds like: “billet”. Soldiers show a paper billet card as their ticket to enter the barracks and get lodging.
un billete, por favor — one ticket, please
parada [pah-RAH-dah] — stop
Sounds like: “pa-RA-da (like 'parade a')”. A parade suddenly stops at the bus stop, everyone waits there for the marching band to pass.
La parada de autobús está cerca. — The bus stop is nearby.
aeropuerto [ah-eh-roh-PWER-toh] — airport
Sounds like: “airport, duh”. You land at the terminal and think 'airport, duh' - obviously this huge building with planes is the airport.
El aeropuerto está lejos. — The airport is far away.
carretera [kah-rreh-TEH-rah] — road
Sounds like: “cart era”. An old cart from a past era rolls slowly along the bumpy road toward town.
Conduzco por la carretera — I drive on the road
gasolina [gah-soh-LEE-nah] — petrol
Sounds like: “gas-o-lean-a”. A gas station tank leans over as it pumps fuel, splashing gasolina all over the car.
Necesito comprar gasolina — I need to buy petrol
conducir [kohn-doo-SEER] — to drive
Sounds like: “conductor”. The orchestra conductor drives a tiny red car, waving his baton out of the window at every turn.
Aprendo a conducir — I am learning to drive
viajar [byah-HAR] — to travel
Sounds like: “bazaar”. A family travels across the desert by train to visit a bright bazaar full of carpets and lamps.
Me gusta viajar en tren — I like to travel by train
llegar [yeh-GAR] — to arrive
Sounds like: “yay-gar”. A garlic-loving traveler shouts 'yay, garlic!' the moment his train arrives at the station
El tren va a llegar pronto. — The train will arrive soon.
salir [sah-LEER] — to leave
Sounds like: “sailor”. The sailor leaves the harbor, waving goodbye as his ship sails away from shore.
Ella quiere salir — She wants to leave
maleta [mah-LEH-tah] — suitcase
Sounds like: “mallet-ah”. A woman hits her suitcase with a mallet to squeeze it shut before the flight.
maleta — suitcase
pasajero [pah-sah-HEH-roh] — passenger
Sounds like: “pass a hero”. On the bus you pass a hero sitting quietly, he waves back as a fellow passenger.
El pasajero saluda al conductor. — The passenger greets the driver.