Free Spanish lessons

Online beginner Spanish lessons with audio

Spanish greetings

You probably already know that "¡Hola!" means "Hi!", but Spanish greetings and pleasantries don't stop there. This lesson covers the most common greetings you'll hear, including the more casual greetings you probably won't find in your textbook ...

Question words in Spanish

Asking questions in Spanish is quite similar to asking questions in English. It's really just a matter of learning the vocabulary. There are a couple of small differences, but for the most part these differences actually make it easier...

Formal vs informal "you"

In Spanish there are two ways of saying "you": There's the informal form, and the more formal usted. Whether you use or usted depends on a variety of different factors, but it can be a bit intimidating for English speakers, so here's how to tackle it...

Spanish plurals: How to get more than one!

Spanish is fairly similar to English when it comes to making plurals. There are a few little tricks, but you'll find them pretty intuitive and predictable. So here's how to turn one monkey into many monkeys (because who doesn't want more monkeys?) ...

Definite and indefinite articles

Definite and indefinite articles are words like "the" and "a". They tell us whether we're talking about the dog in the park, or just a dog in the park. It seems like a small difference, but it's quite important, and Spanish adds an extra factor into the mix...

Negating statements and saying "no"

When it comes to turning an affirmative statement (like "I will take out the trash") into a negative statement ("I will not take out the trash"), or answering questions with a "no", Spanish is actually much easier than English. In fact you probably already know how to do it...

How to use adjectives in Spanish

Adjectives are describing words. They're what turn a weekend into a sunny weekend, and a cake into a decadent chocolate cake. If you like sunny weekends and chocolate cake then here are some simple tricks to using adjectives in Spanish...

Ser vs Estar: The two kinds of “to be”

Here's where Spanish throws you a curve ball: There are two ways of saying "is" (and other forms of the verb "to be"). It all depends on whether something is permanent or temporary. In this lesson we'll give you some tricks for using "ser" vs "estar"...

Weather vocabulary!

Welcome to the best conversation starter in the world! You wouldn't think there would be much complicated about the weather, but it can actually be quite confusing for Spanish learners because you need to know three different verbs just to be able to have elevator smalltalk. Check it out...

Feelings and moods

You're probably feeling pretty shattered about needing three verbs for the weather, so here's a lesson to help you talk about those feelings. You only need two verbs for this one. You'll also learn how to talk about various degrees of feeling, which is great if you're only "a little bit" surprised by those three verbs...

False cognates (“false friends”)

There are some words in Spanish that look very similar to words in English, but are actually embarrassingly (or hilariously) different. Getting these wrong can have pretty amusing consequences, so I recommend you commit these to memory...

Telling the time

Welcome to the second best conversation starter in the world! Learn how to ask the time and say the time. Combine this with the weather lesson above, and you'll never be stuck for something to say at dinner parties!

¿Dónde está? or ¿Dónde hay?

Where is a public restroom? Where is Moe's Tavern? Both "estar" and "haber" are verbs you can use to say where something is. So which one do you use? In this lesson we enlist the help of the citizens of Springfield to help explain the difference.

Getting directions

So you're lost, and your phone battery is flat, and you need to get somewhere. Here are some directions you might receive from helpful Spanish-speaking folks on the street.

Comparisons of inequality

How do you say when one thing is better than another thing, or faster than another thing, or less beautiful than another thing? In this lesson you'll learn how to compare two things that aren't equal.

Talking about pain or sickness

If you're not feeling 100%, this lesson will show you how to let everybody around you know that you're hurt or sick. Guaranteed to make you the life of the party!