When you travel in Spanish, a small set of words carries you a long way: the transport (tren, autobús, avión, taxi), the places you head for (estación, aeropuerto, hotel, mercado), and the directions that get you there (izquierda, derecha, cerca, lejos). Learn the list below, with audio, and you can find your way, ask where something is, and catch the right bus.
The travel words
This is the getting-around slice of Vocabcord's A1 Spanish set: how you travel, where you go, and which way to turn. Tap the play button on any row to hear it.
| Spanish | English | In a sentence |
|---|---|---|
| coche | car | My car is blue. |
| autobús | bus | The bus is late. |
| tren | train | The train arrives at noon. |
| avión | plane | We took a plane. |
| bicicleta | bicycle | I ride a bicycle. |
| taxi | taxi | Call me a taxi. |
| calle | street | A quiet street. |
| ciudad | city | I love this city. |
| pueblo | town | A small town. |
| país | country | What country are you from? |
| tienda | store | The store closes at nine. |
| mercado | market | Fresh fish at the market. |
| parque | park | Walk in the park. |
| biblioteca | library | Quiet in the library. |
| estación | station | The train station is busy. |
| aeropuerto | airport | Meet me at the airport. |
| hotel | hotel | Our hotel is nice. |
| aquí | here | Come here. |
| allí | there | Look over there. |
| cerca | near | Near the river. |
| lejos | far | It's not far. |
| izquierda | left | Turn left at the corner. |
| derecha | right | Take the first right. |
| arriba | up | Look up at the sky. |
| abajo | down | Sit down here. |
| mar | sea | Swim in the sea. |
| montaña | mountain | A high mountain. |
| playa | beach | A sandy beach. |
Asking the way: left, right, near, far
To ask where something is, pair these words with ¿Dónde está...? (where is...?): ¿Dónde está la estación? Then listen for the answer. A la derecha is to the right, a la izquierda to the left, todo recto straight on. Cerca means it is close, lejos that you have a walk ahead. And aquí (here) and allí (there) do a lot of quiet work when you can point.
Catching the bus: coger or tomar?
To say you take or catch a form of transport, Spain reaches for coger: coger el tren, coger el autobús. Take care with that verb in much of Latin America, where coger is vulgar slang; there the safe, neutral choice is tomar, as in tomar el autobús. Gender matters here as well: el tren and el avión are masculine, while la bicicleta is feminine.
Where are you headed?
The big-picture words frame any trip. A ciudad is a city, a pueblo a small town, a país a whole country. And the classic holiday choices line up neatly: playa for the beach, montaña for the mountains, mar for the sea itself.
Front-load the ones you will need first
Before a trip, the words worth drilling are the ones that get you from the plane to your bed: estación, taxi, hotel, and a la derecha. Learn those cold and the rest can fill in once you arrive, when every sign, announcement, and overheard direction turns into free practice. Travel vocabulary is unusual that way, because the place itself does most of the teaching.
Common questions
How do you ask where something is in Spanish?
Use ¿Dónde está...? followed by the place, as in ¿Dónde está el hotel? (where is the hotel?) or ¿Dónde está la estación? (where is the station?).
How do you say left and right in Spanish?
Left is izquierda and right is derecha. To give or follow directions you usually add a la: a la izquierda (to the left), a la derecha (to the right).
Is it coger or tomar el autobús?
In Spain, coger el autobús is the everyday way to say catch the bus. In much of Latin America coger is vulgar, so tomar el autobús is the safer choice there. Both mean to take the bus.
How do you say the airport and the train station in Spanish?
The airport is el aeropuerto and the station is la estación (you can say la estación de tren to be specific). Note the genders: el aeropuerto but la estación.
