The Correct Word in Spanish

Again
repetition	otra vez
	Dígalo otra vez. Say it again
over again (from the beginning)	de nuevo
	Trata de hacerlo de nuevo. Try to do it again.
do something again	volver a + infinitive (verb)
	Volvió a decir lo mismo. He said the same thing again.

Appear
to appear (in the physical sense)	aparecer
	De repente, José apareció a la puerta. Suddenly, Jose appeared at the door.
to appear (in the figurative sense)	parecer
	Ella parecía divertirse. She appeared to enjoy herself.

Ask
to ask a question	preguntar
	Él me preguntó dónde estaba el centro. He asked me where the downtown was.
to ask for something	pedir
	Ellos pidieron unas Cocas al camarero. They asked the waiter for some Cokes.

Back
the body part	la espalda
backward motion	atrás
	Se está echando para atrás. He is backing out.
in back of	detrás de
to return back	de regreso; de vuelta
	Está de vuelta después de su viaje. He's back now after his trip.
back of the bus, theatre or building	al fondo
	Al fondo a la derecha. All the way back on your right.

Become
to become (to enter a profession)	hacerse; llegar a ser + a noun
	Carlos se hizo médico. Carlos became a doctor.
	Quiero llegar a ser doctor. I want to become a doctor.
to become (condition or state)	ponerse + adjective
	Mi madre se puso triste al oír la noticia desgraciada. My mother became sad upon hearing the unfortunate news.

Burn
burning (such as a candle)	Arder
burning (much more destructive)	incendiar
to burn something	quema
	Estás quemando el bistec. You're burning the steak.

Can
container	la lata

to be physically able	poder
	Puede levantar pesas de 200 libras. He can lift 200-pound weights.
to know how to	saber
	Ella sabe tocar bien la guitarra. She can play the guitar well.

Character
person in a book or play	personaje
	Augusto Pérez es el personaje más importante de la novela Niebla. Augusto Perez is the most important character of the novel Niebla.
personal traits or attributes	carácter
	Tiene un carácter muy bueno. He has a very good character.

Commercial
advertisement (radio, TV)	anuncio
	Los anuncios de televisión insultan al público. Television commercials insult the public.
commerce, business	comercial
	Es un asunto comercial. It is a commercial affair.

Corner
indoors	rincón
	Ponga la lámpera en ese rincón. Put the lamp in that corner.
outdoors	esquina
	Ese guitarrista siempre toca en la esquina de la Avenida Juárez. That guitarist always plays on the corner of Juárez Avenue.

Country
meaning countryside	campo
	Vamos a pasar el fin de semana en el campo. We are going to spend the weekend in the country
meaning nation	país
	¿En qué país nació usted? In what country were you born?
meaning native land	patria
	El soldado defendió a su patria. The soldier defended his country.

Date
date on the calendar	fecha
date (romantic, although also an appointment with a doctor or lawyer, etc.)	cita

Fail
fail an exam	suspender
fail (not succeed)	frascar
	Fracasó en su intento. He did not succeed.
fail (not be working)	estar fallando

Funny
funny makes you laugh	chistoso; gracioso; cómico
funny makes you wonder	extraño; raro

Go
to go	ir
	Vamos al teatro esta noche. We are going to the theater tonight.
to go away	irse
	¡Véte! Scram!
to go out, leave	salir
	Salió hace cinco minutos.
	He left five minutes ago.
to go down	bajar
	Bajó la escalera. He went down the stairs.
to go up	subir
	Subió la escalera. He went up the stairs.

Grass
herb	hierba
pasture	pasto
lawn	césped

Hear
to hear	oír
	Oigo un ruido. I heard a sound.
to listen to	escuchar
	Me gusta escuchar esa música. I like to listen to that music.

Here
here (motion - Come here.)	acá
	Ven acá. Come here.
here (stationary - I'm here)	aquí
	Estoy aquí. I am here.

Know
to know (a fact)	saber
	Yo sé ese poema de memoria. I know that poem by heart.
to know (how to do something)	saber
	Sabe divertirse. He knows how to enjoy himself.
to know (a person or city)	conocer
	Le conozco. I know him.

Leave
to leave, go out	salir de
	Ella salió del apartamento. She left the apartment.
to leave behind	debar
	Dejó una propina para la camarera. He left a tip for the waitress.

Little
in terms of quanity	poco
	Tenemos poco trabajo hoy. We have little work today.
in terms of size	pequeño
	Mi casa es pequeña. My house is small.

Look
look for	buscar
look at	mirar
look (by itself)	verse
	¿Cómo me veo? How do I look?
look like	parecerse (a)
	Ese señor se parece a mi padre. That man looks like my father.
look as if	parecerse
	Parece que va a llover. It looks as if it is going to rain.

Love, like
to love a person	querer
	Ella quiere a su esposa. She loves her husband.
to love a thing	encantar
	A ella le encanta la música de Joaquín Sabina.
	She loves the music of Joaquín Sabina.
to like a person or thing	gustar
	¿Le gusto a ella? Does she like me?

Make
to make something	hacer
	Ese señor hace huaraches. That man makes sandals.
to make someone do something	hacer + infinitive
	Nos hizo escribir una carta a mamá. He made us write a letter to Mother.
to make money	ganar
	Gana mucho más dinero que yo. He makes more money than I do.

Miss
to miss a train	perder
	Perdí el tren. I missed the train.
to miss a person or thing.	echar de menos; estrañar
	Te echo de menos. or Te extraño. I miss you.
to miss an occasion.	faltar a
	Faltó a la fiesta. He missed the party.

Part
part of a whole	parte
	Ella quiere la tercera parte de la torta. She wants a third of the cake.
part in play or film	papel
	Tiene el papel de Hamlet. He has the part of Hamlet.

Party
party (social)	fiesta
	Voy a dar una fiesta. I am going to a party.
party (political)	partido
	Es un miembro del partido conservador. He is a member of the Conservative Party.

Pay
to pay money	pagar
	Paga tus deudas. Pay your debts.
to pay attention	prestar atención; hacer caso
	Estudiantes, presten atención, por favor. Students pay attention please.
	Nunca hace caso del programa. He never pays attention to the program.

People
people in general	gente
persons (individuals)	personas
the people (a race, nation)	pueblo

Play
to play a game, sport, cards	jugar
	Juega a las cartas cada sábado. He plays cards every Saturday.
to play a musical instrument	tocar
	Toca el piano. He plays the piano.
to play a role (part)	hacer un papel
	Hace el papel de Hamlet. He plays the role of Hamlet.

Quiet
keep quiet	cállate (singular); cállense (plural)
quiet not answering	callando
quiet meaning peaceful	tranquilo
	Busquemos un lugar tranquilo para platicar. Let's look for a quiet place to talk.

Realize
to realize, to become aware of	darse cuenta de
	No me di cuenta de que tú estabas aquí. I did not realize you were here.
to realize (achieve) a goal	realizar
	Por fin José realizó su meta de hacerse abogado. Finally José realized his goal of becoming a lawyer.

Return
to come back	volver
	Vuelve a casa a las 10 en punto. Come back home at 10 o'clock sharp.
to return a thing	devolver
	Devuélvame mi libro. Return my book.

Right
a right by law	derecho
	Ella tiene el derecho de expresar su opinión. She has the right to express her opinion.
to the right, on the right	a la derecha
	El museo está a la derecha. The museum is to the right.
to be right	tener razón
	Siempre dice que su amigo tiene razón. He always says his friend is right.

Save
to save (time, money, etc.)	ahorrar
to save by avoiding	evitarse = to avoid
	Me evité un viaje a la tienda cuando llegó con azúcar. I saved myself a trip to the store when she showed up with sugar. (I avoided a trip...)
save by setting aside	guardar
	Guárdame un trozo para más tarde. Save me a piece for later.
save by holding onto	guardar
save by rescuing	salvar
	salvavidas = lifesavers (candy or the flotation device)

Sign
sign for a street	letreros
sign (in math or grammar)	signo
	signo (de) menos = minus sign
sign meaning an indication	señal
	Es una buena señal. It is a good sign.
to sign something	firmar
	una firma = a signature

Spend
to spend money	gastar
	Gastó todo su dinero. I spent all of my money.
to spend time	pasar
	Pasé dos horas en El Prado. I spent two hours in The Prado.

Take
to take from one place to another	llevar
	Juan me llevó a casa. Juan took me home.
	José llevó la silla de la cocina al comedor. José took the chair from the kitchen to the dining room.
to take, grasp; to eat or drink	tomar
	La profesora tomó el libro y comenzó a leer a la clase. The professor took the book and began to read to the class.
to take a picture	sacar una foto
	Me gusta sacar fotos. I like to take pictures.
to take a walk	dar un paseo
	Demos un paseo. Let's take a walk.

There
there (nearby)	ahí
there (within sight, not nearby)	allí
there (not within sight)	allá
	Allá tengo esposa y tres hijos. Back home I have a wife a three kids. (Back there I have a wife and three kids.)

Think
to think of someone or something	pensar (used with the preposition de)
	¿Qué piensa usted de este libro? What do you think of this book?
to think about something	pensar (used with the preposition en)
	Pienso en las vacaciones de verano. I am thinking of summer vacation.

Time
time of day (hour)	hora
	¿A qué hora vamos al baile? At what time are we going to the ballet?
vague or indefinite duration of time	tiempo
	No puedo ir contigo porque no tengo tiempo. I cannot go with you because I don't have time.
occasions or different times	vez
	la primera vez - the first time

Worker
blue-collar worker	trabajador
white-collar worker	empleado, oficinista