The core Spanish prepositions are con (with), sin (without), para (for), sobre (about, on), entre (between), debajo (under), encima (over), dentro (inside), and fuera (outside). Those nine make up the whole A1 preposition set in Vocabcord's 33,233-phrase Spanish corpus, and A2 adds 8 more for talking about time, place, and cause. Here is the full list, level by level, with audio on every A1 word.
The A1 core: 9 prepositions
This is the preposition slice of Vocabcord's A1 Spanish set, the small words that hold a sentence together. Tap the play button on any row to hear it.
| Spanish | English | In a sentence |
|---|---|---|
| con | with | Coffee with milk. |
| sin | without | Tea without sugar. |
| para | for | For my friend. |
| sobre | about | A story about love. |
| entre | between | Between you and me. |
| debajo | under | Under the table. |
| encima | over | Over the bridge. |
| dentro | inside | Inside the box. |
| fuera | outside | Outside the house. |
Why a, de, en, and por aren't on this list
Four of the most common Spanish prepositions, a (to), de (of, from), en (in, on), and por (by, through, because of), have no standalone entry in Vocabcord's corpus, and that is a deliberate gap rather than an oversight. A flashcard needs one dominant meaning to teach well, and these four do not have one: en alone means nothing until it lands on en la mesa (on the table) or en casa (at home). So instead of a bare word, the corpus teaches them baked into full sentences. Voy al trabajo (I'm going to work) and Me voy a casa (I'm going home) carry a. Papá está en el trabajo (Dad is at work) carries en. And por shows up constantly in set phrases you already know without noticing it as a preposition, starting with por favor (please) and Gracias por tu ayuda (thanks for your help).
Para gets the opposite treatment, its own A1 entry, because it does carry one dominant sense a beginner can lean on: destination and purpose. That asymmetry between para (flashcard-friendly) and por (sentence-only, for now) is a genuine gap in today's corpus: the classic por-versus-para distinction still needs its own dedicated audio entry.
The A2 set: 8 more, for time, place, and cause
Past the A1 core, Vocabcord's A2 grammar set adds 8 more prepositions, most of them doing the work English hands to a phrase rather than one word. Durante covers duration (Hablamos durante el descanso, we talked during the break), and hasta covers a deadline (Espera aquí hasta que yo vuelva, wait here until I come back). Two describe direction and opposition: hacia (Caminó hacia la puerta, he walked toward the door) and contra (Se apoyó contra la pared, he leaned against the wall). And three are built from smaller words stacked together: al lado de (beside), en lugar de (instead of), and a causa de (because of), all following the same de-ending pattern as the corpus's own Fuimos en autobús en lugar de en tren (we went by bus instead of by train).
One entry does double duty: a través de gets two corpus rows, through (Caminamos a través del parque, we walked through the park) and across (Nadaron a través del río, they swam across the river), the same three words teaching two related English prepositions from one piece of audio.
Entre means both 'between' and 'among'
Spanish spends one preposition where English spends two. The A1 corpus glosses entre as between (Entre tú y yo, between you and me), and the A2 set glosses the same word as among (Se sentó entre sus amigos, he sat among his friends). English splits the two ideas, between for a small, named set and among for a larger, vaguer group, but Spanish never bothers: reach for entre either way, and let the noun that follows carry the distinction.
How the words stick without a study schedule
Prepositions are the words learners skip past to get to the nouns and verbs, and then keep tripping over for years because they never got a real turn. Vocabcord skips the scheduling problem by riding on one habit you already keep: every time you plug in your phone to charge, one phrase plays out loud from your level, spaced by how well you know it, grounded on the frequency-ranked corpus behind this page. Get Vocabcord on the App Store and start with the nine basics above.
Common questions
What are the prepositions in Spanish?
The A1 set is nine words: con (with), sin (without), para (for), sobre (about, on), entre (between), debajo (under), encima (over), dentro (inside), and fuera (outside). A2 adds 8 more: durante, hasta, hacia, contra, al lado de, en lugar de, a causa de, and a través de.
How many prepositions are there in Spanish?
Vocabcord's corpus carries 17 preposition entries across A1 and A2, 9 at A1 and 8 at A2. Spanish has more prepositions than that in total, including a, de, en, and por, which the corpus teaches inside full sentences rather than as standalone flashcards.
Is para a preposition in Spanish?
Yes. Para means for, or in order to, and is one of the nine A1 prepositions in Vocabcord's corpus: Para mi amigo (for my friend).
What is the difference between por and para in Spanish?
Both translate roughly to English 'for', but they split different ideas: para points at a destination or purpose, while por covers cause, duration, or exchange. Vocabcord's corpus currently teaches para as its own A1 word; por does not have a dedicated entry yet, though it appears constantly inside other phrases such as por favor (please).
What does entre mean in Spanish?
Entre covers both English words between and among: Entre tú y yo (between you and me) and Se sentó entre sus amigos (he sat among his friends).
