100 essential Spanish nouns you need to know

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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''.

Examples of masculine and feminine nouns in Spanish

Masculine nouns in Spanish Feminine nouns in Spanish
el camarero - the waiter el camarero - the waiter
el maestro - the teacher la maestra - the teacher
el señor - the gentleman a señora - the lady
el árbitro - the referee la árbitra - the referee

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.

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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.”

  1. 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.

Possessive Pronouns

Singular Plural
First person (singular) mi, mía, mío (my, mine, mine) mis, mías, míos (my, mine, mine)
Second person (singular) tu, tuyo, tuya (your, yours, yours) tus, tuyos, tuyas (your, yours, yours)
Third person (singular) su, suyo, suya (his, hers) sus, suyos, suyas (his, hers)
First person (plural) nuestro, nuestra (ours, ours) nuestros, nuestras (ours, ours)
Second person (plural) vuestro, vuestra (yours, yours) vuestros, vuestras (yours, yours)
Third person (plural) su, suyo, suya (their, theirs, theirs) sus, suyos, suyas (their, theirs, theirs)
  • 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

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