Spanish
LEARN
WORDS
father
el padre
(el PAH-dreh)
presents
los regalos
(lohs re-GAH-lohs)
grandfather
el abuelo
(el ah-boo-EH-loh)
grandmother
la abuela
(lah ah-boo-EH-lah)
sister
la hermana
(lah er-MAH-nah)
cake
el pastel
(el pas-TEL)
mother
la madre
(lah MAH-dreh)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
M. J. York is a childrens author and
editor living in Minnesota. She loves
learning about different people
and places.
ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR
Kathleen Petelinsek loves to draw
and paint. She also loves to travel
to exotic countries where people
speak foreign languages. She lives
in Minnesota with her husband, two
daughters, two dogs, a fluffy cat, and
three chickens.
CONTENTS
Introduction to Spanish ........................ 4
My Home Mi casa .............................
In the Morning Por la maana ..................
At School En la escuela .......................
At the Park En el parque ......................
Around Town Por la ciudad ....................
In the Store En la tienda .......................
My Birthday Party Mi esta dev cumpleaos .....
Time for Dinner La hora de la cena ..............
At Night Por la noche .........................
More Useful Words .............................
Introduction to Spanish
Spanish is one of the most common languages in the
world. It has at least 358 million speakers. Many Spanish
speakers live in North and South America. They live
in Spain and the Philippines, too. Mexico has the most
Spanish speakers of any country.
Spanish is a Romance language. Romance languages
grew out of Latin, the language spoken by the ancient
Romans. French, Italian, and Portuguese are Romance
languages too.
Spanish is a little different in each country where it
is spoken. Some phrases are different. Some things are
pronounced differently. But people can still understand
each other. This book shows how the Spanish words are
pronounced in Latin America.
Spanish uses the same alphabet as English. Spanish has
a few more letters, though. Most are pronounced the same
way, but a few are different.
h [ ] is always silent
j [h] like h as in hot
ll [y] like y as in yes
[ny] like ny as in ao (an-yo)
qu [k] like k as in Kate
r [r] like r as in road , but trilled or rolled
rr [rr] always strongly trilled
v [b] like b as in boat
The vowels always make the same sound. They are:
a [ah] like a as in father
e [eh] like e as in feather
i [ee] like ee as in see
o [oh] like o as in long
u [oo] like oo as in food
Sometimes a vowel has an accent mark: , , , , .
The accent mark shows that syllable is stressed.
My Home
Mi casa
(me KAH-sah)
lamp
la lmpara
(lah LAM-pah-rah)
bedroom
la habitacin
(la ah-bee-tah-see-ON)
kitchen
la cocina
(lah ko-SEE-nah)
table
la mesa
(lah MEH-sah)
bathroom
el bao
(el BA-nyo)
window
la ventana
(lah ven-TAH-nah)
sofa
el sof
(el soh-FAH)
cat
el gato
(el GAH-toh)
living room
el saln
(el sah-LON)
chair
la silla
(lah SEE-yah)
television
la televisin
(lah teh-leh-vee-see-ON)
garage
el garaje
(el ga-RAH-heh)
car
el coche
(el KOH-cheh)
Where do you live?
Dnde vives?
(DON-deh VEE-vehs?)
I live in an apartment.
Vivo en un
apartamento.
(VEE-voh en OON ah-par-
tah-MEN-toh.)
dog
el perro
(el PEH-roh)
garden
el jardn
(el har-DEEN)
MORE USEFUL WORDS
I live in a house.
Vivo en una casa.
(VEE-voh EN OOH-nah KAH-sah.)
dresser
la cmoda
(lah KOH-moh-dah)
doll
la mueca
(lah moo-NYEH-kah)
teddy bear
el osito
(el oh-SEE-toh)
pillow
la almohada
(lah al-moh-AH-dah)
In the Morning
Por la maana
(por lah mah-NYAH-nah)
clock
el reloj
(el reh-LHOH)
bed
la cama
(lah KAH-mah)
blanket
la manta
(lah MAN-tah)
dress
el vestido
(el ves-TEE-doh)
shoes
los zapatos
(los sah-PAH-tohs)
closet
el closet
(el KLOH-set)
brush
el cepillo
(el seh-PEE-yoh)
comb
el peine
(el PAY-neh)
shirt
la camisa
(lah kah-MEE-sah)
pants
los pantalones
(los pan-tah-LOH-nes)
skirt
la falda
(la FAHL-dah)
I feel awake (female).
Estoy despierta.
(es-TOY des-pee-EHR-tah.)
MORE USEFUL WORDS
I feel awake (male).
Estoy despierto.
(es-TOY des-pee-EHR-toh.)
I feel sad (male or female).
Estoy triste.
(es-TOY TREES-teh.)
Good morning. Its seven oclock.
Buenos das!
Son las siete.
(boo-EH-nohs DEE-ahs!
son lahs see-EH-teh.)
socks
los calcetines
(lohs kal-seh-TEEN-es)