500 Spanish Words for DELE Exam Preparation

Spanish academic vocabulary for studying at a Spanish-speaking university: universidad, profesor, clase, semestre, título, beca. Covers following a lecture, structuring an essay, and handling enrolment, deadlines and coursework.

Spanish vocabulary for talking about mental health properly: la ansiedad, la depresión, el estrés, el agotamiento, la terapia, el terapeuta. Plus the wording that keeps a difficult conversation respectful rather than clinical.

Spanish vocabulary for environmental topics: el cambio climático, el calentamiento global, el medio ambiente, la contaminación, la sostenibilidad. Covers recycling and waste, renewable energy and the terms used in news reports.

Spanish proverbs still used in ordinary conversation, from más vale tarde que nunca to en boca cerrada no entran moscas. Each with its literal sense, what it actually means and the nearest English equivalent.

Word pairs where Mexican and Peninsular Spanish part ways: carro and coche, camión and autobús, banqueta and acera, cajuela and maletero. Includes the words best avoided on one side of the Atlantic, shown side by side.

Spanish idioms that make no sense translated word by word — meter la pata, tomar el pelo, dar en el clavo, echar una mano. Each comes with its real meaning, the closest English equivalent and the situation that prompts it.

Spanish slang as it is actually spoken rather than taught: tío, guay, mola, currar, flipar, pasta, chaval. Each entry says what it means, how informal it sounds and in which countries it will actually be understood.

Spanish vocabulary for celebrations: la boda, el cumpleaños, la fiesta, la celebración, el día festivo, el regalo, la invitación. Plus everyone involved in a wedding and the toasts and congratulations that are expected.

Spanish vocabulary for music: la canción, el cantante, la banda, el concierto, la guitarra, el piano, la batería. Covers genres and instruments plus everything around a live show, from tickets and the queue to the encore.

Spanish words and phrases pulled from series people actually watch — La Casa de Papel, Vis a Vis, El Juego del Calamar, La Reina del Flow. Each with the context it appears in, so it is recognisable next time on screen.

Spanish words learners regularly get wrong — vergüenza, murciélago, ferrocarril, arquitectura, pelirrojo — grouped by the sound behind the mistake: rolled r, the silent h and vowels that shift under an English accent.

Romantic Spanish phrases in the order a relationship tends to follow: me gustas, te quiero, te amo, te extraño — with a note on how serious each one sounds. Plus compliments, asking someone out and everyday endearments.