Basic Spanish Vocabulary: Family

I go on with my posts on basic Spanish vocabulary. Today is for the family members and relatives in Spanish.

Most of such words follows the rule that if the masculine form ends with an "o", the feminine form ends with an "a". For example hermano means brother and hermana means sister. Below, I list the words for the family members following this rule.

(el) hijo son

(la) hija daughter

(el) hermano   brother

(la) hermana   sister

(el) tío uncle

(la) tía aunt

(el) sobrino nephew

(la) sobrina niece

(el) abuelo grandfather

(la) abuela grandmother

(el) nieto grandson

(la) nieta granddaughter

(el) cuñado brother in law

(la) cuñada sister in law

(el) suegro father in law

(la) suegra mother in law

(el) primo cousin  (male)

(la) prima cousin  (female)

and the following words are those which differ considerably in the masculine and feminine forms.

(el) padre father

(la) madre mother

(el) marido husband

(la) mujer wife

(el) yerno  son in law

(la) neura  daughter in law

Basic Spanish Vocabulary: Clothes

(la) ropa  clothes
(el) jersey  pullover
(la) camisa shirt
(la) blusa blouse
(la) camiseta  T-shirt
(la) manga  sleeve

• camiseta de manga corta x camiseta de manga larga  (short sleeved t-shirt  x long sleeved t-shirt)

(la) raya  stripe

• camiseta de rayas verdes (T-shirt with green stripes)

(el) sujetador  bra

! (la) gorra means cap and
  (el) gorro means hat, bonnet

(la) chaqueta jacket
(el) vestido dress
(la) falda skirt
(la) minifalda miniskirt

(el) bolso bag
(el) pijama pyjamas
(el) suéter sweater

(el) traje suit
(la) bufanda scarf
(el) abrigo coat
(el) chaleco waistcoat
(la) pajarita bow tie
(el) cinturón belt

(el) anillo ring
(el) collar necklace
(el) reloj watch


The following words are used mostly in plural:

pantolones trousers

sandalias sandal

zapatos shoes

bragas  panties

calzoncillos  pants

botas boots
medias tights
vaqueros jeans
guantes  gloves






Sizes
(la) talla size
pequeño/-a small
mediano/-a medium
grande large


While describing clothes, knowledge of spanish colors is also essential.

Basic Spanish Vocabulary: Colors in Spanish

YOU WILL BE REDIRECTED TO MY NEW DOMAIN, WHERE I GO ON WRITING ON SPANISH LANGUAGE REGULARLY. HOPE TO MEET YOU ALL OF YOU THERE!!!!!


We may divide the colors in Spanish in three parts: those which are always feminine, those which can be either feminine or masculine and those which are neutral.

1) Spanish "feminine" Colors

naranja    (orange)

rosa      (pink)

lila   (lilac)

2) The following Spanish colors are neutral

verde   (green)

azul      (blue)

marrón (brown)

beige (beige)

gris (grey)

3) and for the following Spanish colors the masculine and feminine forms are different

(m) negro- (f) negra   (black)

(m) blanco-(f) blanca  (white)

(m) rojo - (f) roja    (red)

(m) amarillo - (f) amarilla (yellow)

That means for the third group of colors, the ending of the adjective will  change based on the article of the noun which it refers to. For example, let us say "red t-shirt" and "white pullover" in Spanish.

• t-shirt is (la) camiseta in Spanish. Because it is feminine, "red-tshirt" is said like camiseta roja. camiseta rojo is wrong!
• pullover is (el) jersey in Spanish. Because it is masculine, "white pullover" is said like "jersey blanco". jersey blanca is wrong!

Since the colors belonging to the first two groups do only have one version, similar descriptions are made like

• camiseta lila-jersey lila, camiseta verde-jersey verde, camiseta naranja-jersey naranja, camiseta azul-jersey azul .....(Hence it does not matter whether the noun is feminine or masculine, always the same form of adjective is used).