100 essential Spanish nouns you need to know

Nouns are a fundamental part of any language. We use them all the time, when we call someone or name the things around us, we are using nouns.

Nouns in Spanish have a gender and number, and they’re classified in different categories. We've put together a list of essential nouns you can use in your daily conversations to help improve your Spanish.

What are nouns?

Nouns (sustantivos) are the words we use to name living things (people, animals and plants), objects, places, feelings and ideas.

Gender

Nouns in Spanish have a gender: feminine or masculine. This means that every word that names a person, place, thing or idea is either feminine or masculine.

How do you know if a noun is masculine or feminine? You can tell the gender of a noun in Spanish by looking at the letters at the end of the word. You´ve got to see what letter(s) the word ends with. It's important to know the gender of nouns in Spanish because the gender of the noun changes the article or adjective you´ll use with the noun.

• Female nouns use the articles la (the) or una (a/an), and they´re used with adjectives that end in -a.
• Masculine nouns are used with articles like el (the) or un (a/an), and they're used with adjectives that end in -o.

Let's take a look at some examples of masculine and feminine nouns in Spanish.

Note: _To make the feminine of a noun, you have to replace the final “o” for an “a''.

There are a few exceptions, with masculine nouns that end in -a:

• el aroma - the aroma, the scent
• el Canadá - Canada
• el clima - the climate
• el cometa - the comet
• el cura - the priest
• el día - the day
• el diagrama - the diagram, the outline
• el dilema - the dilemma
• el diploma - the diploma
• el drama - the drama
• el enigma - the enigma

There are also some exceptions where feminine nouns end in -o:

• la dinamo - the dynamo
• la foto - the photo
• la mano - the hand
• la moto - the motorcycle
• la radio - the radio

To find out more about Spanish feminine and masculine nouns, read our easy guide on genders and nouns.

Number

In Spanish, nouns also have a number, which means that a word can be singular or plural.

Singular nouns in Spanish are those that name a single element.

Plural nouns in Spanish name more than one element.

How do you know if a noun is singular or plural? Again, look at the end of the word. If the noun ends in ‘s’ it is a plural. Much like in English.

For example: casas - houses, árboles - trees, lámparas - lamps.

To make singular nouns plural you have to add an “s” or “es” at the end.

What are the different types of Spanish nouns?

There are eight different types of nouns in Spanish.

Spanish nouns are classified into different categories that we'll explore below.

Common nouns and proper nouns

Common nouns allow us to name things, people or animals of the same class or species in a general way.

For example: padre - father, perro - dog, mujer - woman and mesa - table.

Proper nouns allow us to name a subject or object in an individual way, differentiating it from the rest of the group to which it belongs.

They can name people like Mary, Andrea, García or Smith and geographical places, such as Argentina, Mexico City or America.

Remember that proper nouns are always written with the initial capital letter.

Concrete and abstract and nouns

Concrete nouns name tangible elements, in other words, items which can be perceived with the five senses.

For example: foto - picture, motocicleta - motorcycle, and puerta - door.

Abstract nouns name elements that cannot be perceived with the five senses.

For example: felicidad - happiness, dolor - pain, esperanza - hope and maldad - evil.

Individual and collective nouns

Individual nouns are those that name an individual being or thing, even if it´s plural.

For example: perro - dog, cerdo - pig, mesa - table, silla - chair, and their plurals (perros - dogs, cerdos - pigs, mesas - tables, sillas - chairs).

Collective nouns are words that name a collection or group of people, animals or things without using the plural. So “perros” is an individual noun (plural) while "jauría" is a collective noun.

Here's a list of collective nouns:

• Bandada - Flock: A group of birds; also used to discuss small hoofed animals such as sheep or goats.
• Cardúmen- Shoal: A group of fish.
• Clase - Class: A group of students who are taught together at school, college, or university.
• Colonia- Colony: A group of ants.
• Conjunto - Set: A tidy group of matched objects such as dishes; also used to describe rules or a social group of people.
• Coro - Choir: A large, organized group of singers.
• Enjambre- Swarm: A group of insects.
• Equipo - Team: Several people or animals who do something together as a group.
• Familia - Family: A group of people who are related to each other, such as a mother, a father, and their children.
• Grupo - Group: A very general term used to describe people, places, things, and animals.
• Junta - Board: A group of people, usually professionals, who take on an advisory role.
• Manada- Pack: A group of canine animals such as wolves or dogs; also used to describe playing cards and packages containing multiple objects.
• Montón - Heap: A mounded collection of items; used interchangeably with “pile.”
• Multitud - Crowd: Usually used to describe a group of people.
• Orquesta - Orchestra: A large, organized group of instrumentalists, led by a conductor.
• Otoño - Fall: Often used to discuss weather, such as rain, snow or hail.
• Pandilla - Gang: Usually used to describe a group of criminals; also used to describe a group of workers, particularly sailors or dock workers.
• Panel - Panel: A group of experts.
• Personal - Staff: A group of people who work in the same place.
• Pila - Pile – An untidy collection of items such as rubbish.
• Pila - Stack: A group of items neatly laid one on top of another, such as a stack of books.
• Racimo - Bunch: Usually a group of smallish objects such as grapes, flowers, keys, or bananas.
• Rebaño - Herd: A group of herbivore animals.
• Series – Series: Used to discuss movies, books, or events that follow one after another.
• Tripulación - Crew: Usually used to denote a group of workers; also used to describe aircraft and ships personnel.
• Tropa - Troupe: A group of actors or acrobats; also used to describe a group of monkeys.

Countable and uncountable nouns

Countable nouns name elements that can be counted, so they can be described using collective nouns (nouns that can be made plural)

For example: avión - airplane, barco - ship, gallina - hen and perro - dog.

Uncountable nouns name elements that cannot be divided in units or counted individually.

For example: calor - heat, lluvia - rain, naturaleza - nature and arroz - rice.

We always refer to rice -arroz - as a whole, never as individual rice grains: a bag of rice, a pound of rice, a bowl of rice, etc.

Gente- people is a collective noun and uncountable.

Gente is a singular noun that refers to a group of individuals. For this reason, it is not used as a plural. You can say mucha gente (too many people), bastante gente (a lot of people) or poca gente (a few people), but not una gente, dos gentes, seis gentes (one people, two peoples, six peoples).

There are only two justified reasons to use the plural “gentes:"

1. It is a stylistic or expressive plural (almost exclusively restricted to the literary language).

An example of this is the book title of Ephraim George Squier “Nicaragua, sus gentes y paisajes” (1852). - “Nicaragua, its people and landscapes.”

2. It is an American usage, typical of areas where gente is a countable and not a collective noun, synonymous with persona (persona).

For example: “Qué se siente cambiar a alguien malo como yo y hacerlo buena gente” (“Noreh - Buena Gente” 00:47-53) - “How does it feel to change someone bad like me and make them good people.”

Other types of nouns and pronouns

Direct object nouns

The direct object is the noun (persona u objeto) that receives the direct action of the verb.

To identify a direct object ask: ¿Qué? o ¿A quién? (What? or Whom?)

The direct object is usually a thing and does not have a preposition in front of it. But it can also be a person and in this case it always has the preposition “a” in front of it.

Let’s take a look at the direct object nouns in Spanish:

Los niños comieron pastel. - The children ate cake.

Ask yourself, “What did the children eat?” The answer is the direct object, which in this case is “cake.”

Let’s try another example:

Los padres abrazan a sus hijos. - The parents hug their children.

What’s the direct object in this sentence? Ask yourself, “Whom do the parents hug?” The answer is “children.” So, “children'' is the direct object.

Possessive pronouns

Possessive pronouns are pronouns that replace the noun and express possession or belonging. They agree in gender and number with the possessed object and not with the possessor.

These are the possessive pronouns.

• Ese carro es mío. - That car is mine.

• No toques esa porción de pizza, es mía. - Don't touch that slice of pizza, it's mine.

• Creo que esas llaves son mías. - I think those keys are mine.

• Me parece que este cuaderno es el tuyo. - I think this notebook is yours.

• ¡Lo mío es tuyo! - Mine is yours!

• Lo que ocurrió fue responsabilidad nuestra. - What happened was our responsibility.

• En ese país vivimos nuestros primeros años de casados. - In that country, we lived our first years of marriage.

• ¿Cómo les fue a vuestros alumnos en la excursión? - How did your students do on your field trip?

• Sus padres le hicieron una fiesta en la playa para su cumpleaños. - His parents threw him a beach party for his birthday.

• ¿Le preguntas a María si esa cartera es suya? - Do you ask Maria if that purse is hers?

• Esos cuadernos son suyos, pregúntale si te los presta. - Those notebooks are hers, ask her if she lends them to you.

• Los pantalones son suyos. - The pants are yours.

100 frequently-used Spanish nouns and their meaning

100 commonly used nouns in the Spanish language that you’ll want to get familiar with:

1. Alumnos - Students
2. América - America
3. Andrea: Proper noun
4. Años - Years
5. Árbitra - Referee
6. Árbitro - Referee
7. Árboles - Trees
8. Argentina - Argentina
9. Aroma - Aroma, scent
10. Arroz - Rice
11. Avión - Airplane
12. Bandada - Flock: A group of birds; also used to discuss small hoofed animals such as sheep or goats
13. Barco - Ship
14. Calor - Heat
15. Camarera - Waitress
16. Camarero - Waiter
17. Canadá - Canada
18. Cardúmen - Shoal: A group of fish
19. Cartera - Purse
20. Casa - House
21. Casas - Houses
22. Cerdo - Pig
23. Ciudad de México - Mexico City
24. Clase - Class: A group of students who are taught together at school, college, or university
25. Clima - Climate
26. Colonia - Colony: A group of ants
27. Cometa - Comet
28. Conjunto - Set: A tidy group of matched objects such as dishes; also used to describe rules or a social group of people
29. Coro - Choir: A large, organized group of singers
30. Cuadernos - Notebooks
31. Cumpleaños - Birthdays
32. Cura - Priest
33. Día - Day
34. Diagrama - Diagram, outline
35. Dilema - Dilemma
36. Dinamo - Dynamo
37. Diploma - Diploma
38. Dolor - Pain
39. Drama - Drama
40. Enigma - Enigma
41. Enjambre- Swarm: A group of insects
42. Equipo - Team: Several people or animals who do something together as a group
43. Esperanza - Hope
44. Excursión - Trip
45. Familia - Family: A group of people who are related to each other, such as a mother, a father, and their children
46. Felicidad - Happiness
47. Fiesta - Party
48. Foto - Photo
49. Foto - Picture
50. Gallina - Hen
51. García: Proper noun
52. Género - Gender
53. Grupo - Group: A very general term used to describe people, places, things, and animals
54. Junta - Board: A group of people, usually professionals, who take on an advisory role
55. Lámparas - Lamps
56. Llaves - Keys
57. Lluvia - Rain
58. Maestra - Teacher
59. Maestro - Teacher
60. Maldad – Evil
61. Manada - Pack: A group of canine animals such as wolves or dogs; also used to describe playing cards and packages containing multiple objects
62. Mano - Hand
63. María - Mary
64. Mesa – Table
65. Mono - Monkey
66. Montón - Heap: A mounded collection of items; used interchangeably with “pile.”
67. Moto - Motorcycle
68. Motocicleta - Motorcycle
69. Mujer - Woman
70. Multitud - Crowd: Usually used to describe a group of people
71. Naturaleza - Nature
72. Niños – Children
73. Sustantivos -Nouns
74. Número - Number
75. Orquesta - Orchestra: A large, organized group of instrumentalists, led by a conductor
76. Otoño - Fall: Often used to discuss weather, such as rain, snow or hail.
77. Padre - Father
78. Padres - Parents
79. País - Country
80. Paisaje- Landscapes
81. Pandilla - Gang: Usually used to describe a group of criminals; also used to describe a group of workers, particularly sailors or dock workers
82. Panel - Panel: A group of experts
83. Pantalones - Pants
84. Pastel - Cake
85. Perro - Dog
86. Personal - Staff: A group of people who work in the same place
87. Pila - Pile – An untidy collection of items such as rubbish
88. Pila - Stack: A group of items neatly laid one on top of another, such as a stack of books
89. Puerta - Door
90. Racimo - Bunch: Usually a group of smallish objects such as grapes, flowers, keys, or bananas
91. Radio - Radio
92. Rebaño - Herd: A group of herbivore animals
93. Responsabilidad - Responsibility
94. Señor - Gentleman
95. Señora - Lady
96. Series – Series: used to discuss movies, books, or events that follow one after another
97. Silla – Chair
98. Smith: Proper noun
99. Tripulación - Crew: Usually used to denote a group of workers; also used to describe aircraft and ships personnel
100. Tropa - Troupe: A group of actors or acrobats; also used to describe a group of monkeys