The 1,000 most common Spanish words

Ranked by how often each word appears in spoken and written Spanish, with English and German translations, part of speech, CEFR level and an example sentence. These 1,000 words account for roughly 85% of everyday conversation.

Updated September 2026 Free to browse

Rank Spanish English Part of speech CEFR Example

966 comienza begins verb · comenzar A2 La obra comienza ahora.

968 darle to give him/her verb · dar A2 Quiero darle las gracias.

972 encontró found verb · encontrar A1 Encontró las llaves.

975 siente feels verb · sentir A2 Se siente mejor.

977 comprar to buy verb A1 Voy a comprar pan.

980 habrá there will be verb · haber A2 Habrá que esperar.

981 recibir to receive verb A2 Voy a recibir el paquete.

983 contar to count; to tell verb A2 Te voy a contar algo.

985 dejado left verb · dejar A2 Ha dejado el trabajo.

987 dieron they gave verb · dar A1 Me dieron la noticia.

993 ocurre happens, occurs verb · ocurrir A2 ¿Qué te ocurre?

998 trabaja works verb · trabajar A1 Trabaja en un banco.