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Let’s learn some fun new nouns for physical items, including the words for “computer”, “cat”, and “key”. We’ll get lots of spoken practice with these nouns in real sentence contexts.
¡Date prisa!
Intro: Join us on a rigorous, step-by-step journey to fluency. I’m Timothy and this is LearnCraft Spanish.
Today we’re going to learn some fun new nouns for physical items, including the words for “computer”, “cat”, and “key”. Let’s begin with the word for “object”, which is objeto. This sounds a lot like the English word, but there’s no C; it’s spelled o-b-j-e-t-o. Objeto. For example:
There is a strange object in the middle of the road.
Hay un objeto extraño en medio del camino.
Of course, the noun “object” is basically a synonym for “thing”. In English, the word “object” sounds a bit more formal than “thing”, and often a bit more specific to a countable physical item. The same is true of objeto in Spanish.
Our next word is the word for “clock”, which is reloj, spelled r-e-l-o-j. This is a masculine noun. For example:
Look at the clock, we’ll be late!
Mira el reloj, ¡llegaremos tarde!
This same word can also mean “watch”, as in “wristwatch”. For example:
This watch was my grandfather’s.
Este reloj era de mi abuelo.
The most common word for “computer” is computadora. For example:
She has spent six hours at the computer.
Ha pasado seis horas frente a la computadora.
Notice the use here of frente a, so this is literally “she has spent six hours opposite the computer” or “she has spent six hours facing the computer”. This idiom is very commonly used with computadora.
Now note that the Spanish language doesn’t have a perfect consensus on how to say “computer”. The word in Spain is el ordenador, and in Latin America, some people say la computadora and some say el computador. But since la computadora is the most common worldwide, we’re going to focus on that translation.
Let’s practice objeto, reloj, and computadora.
Is this your watch? It isn’t working.
¿Es este tu reloj? No está funcionando.
I promised you that you could use the computer.
Te prometí que podías usar la computadora.
Do you promise you’ll give me those objects? Even the computer?
¿Prometes que me vas a dar esos objetos? ¿Hasta la computadora?
There are a lot of objects there, but what I like the most is the watch.
Hay muchos objetos ahí, pero lo que más me gusta es el reloj.
Next let’s learn some objects that you’ll use at the table when eating. The word for “plate” or “dish” is plato. For example:
Why is there an extra plate on the table?
¿Por qué hay un plato de más en la mesa?
The word “cup” translates in many different ways in Spanish, but one of the most general-purpose words for it is vaso, which roughly means “glass” in the sense of “a glass of water”. For example:
Can I have a glass of water?
¿Puedo tomar un vaso de agua?
Next let’s move on to silverware. The words for “spoon” and “knife” are pretty similar; “spoon” is the feminine noun cuchara, and “knife” is the masculine noun cuchillo. For example:
I have two knives and no spoon.
Tengo dos cuchillos y ninguna cuchara.
And then the word for “fork” is tenedor, a masculine noun. Here’s an example that uses all three:
Put the knife, the fork, and the spoon beside the plate.
Pon el cuchillo, el tenedor y la cuchara al lado del plato.
Let’s practice these words.
I swear I’ll give you the plates and glasses right away.
Juro que te daré los platos y vasos enseguida.
Why do you have a knife and a spoon and not a fork?
¿Por qué tienes un cuchillo y una cuchara y no un tenedor?
She can’t believe you don’t have glasses or plates.
Ella no puede creer que no tengas vasos ni platos.
There definitely aren’t spoons, forks, or knives in this little house.
Definitivamente no hay cucharas, tenedores ni cuchillos en esta casita.
Next let’s learn the words for meals. A “meal” in general is comida, the same word that we use for “food”. But in English, we also name specific meals based on the time of day. The most commonly referenced meal is “dinner”, which in Spanish is la cena. For example:
She’s making an awesome meal for dinner.
Está haciendo una comida genial para la cena.
The word for “breakfast” is desayuno, spelled d-e-s-a-y-u-n-o. Desayuno. For example:
Your breakfast is ready!
¡Tu desayuno está listo!
And the word for “lunch” is almuerzo, spelled a-l-m-u-e-r-z-o. Almuerzo. For example:
Did you like your lunch?
¿Te gustó tu almuerzo?
Let’s practice these words.
I like running after eating breakfast.
Me gusta correr después de comer el desayuno.
I wish for there to be a lot of food for dinner.
Deseo que haya mucha comida para la cena.
He promised us he would make breakfast, not lunch.
Nos prometió que haría el desayuno, no el almuerzo.
We’re always together for dinner, but that’s not possible at lunch.
Siempre estamos juntos para la cena, pero eso no es posible en el almuerzo.
The word for “key” is llave. This is a feminine noun, and it’s spelled l-l-a-v-e. Llave. For example:
Do you have the key?
¿Tienes la llave?
The noun for “lock” is la cerradura, spelled c-e-r-r-a-d-u-r-a. Cerradura. For example:
Do you really need three locks on your door?
¿De verdad necesitas tres cerraduras en tu puerta?
And let’s wrap up by covering two more important nouns. The word for “cat” is gato. For example:
I have two cats and a very small dog.
Tengo dos gatos y un perro muy pequeño.
This word easily lends itself to the diminutive. For example:
What a cute little kitty!
¡Qué lindo gatito!
And then our final noun is a very important abstract word: Prisa basically means “haste”. It’s the word you’ll use to talk about being in a hurry. Here’s a typical example:
It’s OK, I’m not in a hurry.
Está bien, no tengo prisa.
So typically you’ll talk about “having” haste, or tener prisa. But it’s also common to talk about “giving yourself” haste, especially in cases where someone does need to hurry up. For example:
Hurry up, come to the car!
¡Date prisa, ven al coche!
Literally “give yourself haste, come to the car!” Try it yourself in this next example, which will use a preterite of Dar.
They didn’t hurry at all.
No se dieron prisa para nada.
Let’s practice llave, cerradura, gato, and prisa.
Hurry, there are three locks and two keys.
Date prisa, hay tres cerraduras y dos llaves.
Run! You have to see my cat.
¡Corre! Tienes que ver a mi gato.
He’s running because he has the key we need for this lock.
Está corriendo porque tiene la llave que necesitamos para esta cerradura.
It was obviously my cat, but now my granny has it.
Obviamente era mi gato, pero ahora lo tiene mi abuelita.
We're not in a hurry, we can stay here.
No tenemos prisa, podemos quedarnos aquí.
For more practice with any of this, feel free to dig deeper at LCSPodcast.com/234. Or if you’re ready, let’s go on to today’s final quiz.
There’s a glass near the computer.
Hay un vaso cerca de la computadora.
I’m wishing for you to give me those objects, especially the clock.
Estoy deseando que me des esos objetos, sobre todo el reloj.
You have to be careful with the cat.
Tienes que tener cuidado con el gato.
She wishes him a happy birthday and gives him a clock.
Le desea un feliz cumpleaños y le da un reloj.
Why are you on the computer if you didn’t eat your breakfast?
¿Por qué estás en la computadora si no comiste tu desayuno?
Promise me you won’t do it, it's absolutely important that you understand it.
Prométeme que no lo harás, es absolutamente importante que lo entiendas.
I wish we had the key to this lock.
Ojalá tuviéramos la llave para esta cerradura.
They are running because there are no plates for breakfast.
Ellos corren porque no hay platos para el desayuno.
I don’t want them to run with all those objects.
No quiero que corran con todos esos objetos.
We’ll eat dinner when she wishes it.
Comeremos la cena cuando ella lo desee.
I’d wish him the best, but he isn’t here.
Le desearía lo mejor, pero él no está aquí.
I want him to run because his friends are in a hurry.
Quiero que corra porque sus amigos tienen prisa.
Hurry up, they don’t have any spoons.
Date prisa, ellos no tienen cucharas.
Do you wish us to leave?
¿Deseas que nos vayamos?
I had sworn that I gave you that yesterday.
Había jurado que te di eso ayer.
They want me to wish for many things, but I only want that key.
Quieren que desee muchas cosas, pero yo solo quiero esa llave.
He runs because he knows that lock isn’t completely safe.
Él corre porque sabe que esa cerradura no es completamente segura.
Hopefully we're together for lunch; I know they wish for the same.
Ojalá estemos juntos para el almuerzo; sé que ellos desean lo mismo.
(plural) Run! You’re the only ones who have the key.
¡Corran! Son los únicos que tienen la llave.
The cat hasn’t been doing well lately, he hasn’t touched his food dish.
El gato no ha estado bien últimamente, no ha tocado su plato de comida.
There are a whole lot of forks and knives.
Hay muchísimos tenedores y cuchillos.
I wished to arrive early, but the little house is very far.
Deseaba llegar temprano, pero la casita está muy lejos.
She wished to have everything you had promised her.
Deseaba tener todo lo que le habías prometido.
You promised me a fork, but you gave me a spoon.
Me prometiste un tenedor, pero me diste una cuchara.
There are a whole lot of glasses, but we need more knives for lunch.
Hay muchísimos vasos, pero necesitamos más cuchillos para el almuerzo.
I totally agree with you, I promise I’ll do it during dinner.
Estoy totalmente de acuerdo contigo, te prometo que lo haré durante la cena.
For more practice with all of this, go to LCSPodcast.com/234, or tune in tomorrow for a big quiz to practice everything we’ve learned this week.
This show is brought to you by LearnCraftSpanish.com. The Spanish voice in this episode was our coach Ximena Lama-Rondón. Our music was performed by the Seattle Marimba Quartet, and I’m Timothy, encouraging you to do the hard work of learning Spanish. Acquiring a second language is one of the most fulfilling things you can do, so start your fluency journey today at LCSPodcast.com.