Ultimate B1 Spanish Vocabulary List

In this article, we are going to go over the ultimate B1 Spanish vocabulary list!

The vocab will be broken up into 5 categories, verb forms you should know, and vocabulary related to Directions, Emotions, Countries & Nationalities, and Professions.

Are you ready to take your Spanish to the next level? ¡Vamos!

What Does It Mean To Have A B1 Level?

Having a B1 level in Spanish means that you know about 1,900 words and have studied for a total of about 400 hours. Some of the things you can do with a B1 level in Spanish include:

• Understand the main points of clear, standard text that are relevant to you

• Write short letters expressing emotions, wishes, and experiences

• Able to handle small issues that may arise while traveling

• Able to have a basic conversation

• Understand the main points of podcasts, videos, and radio (when spoken slowly & clearly)

• Present oneself with ease

• Ask for recommendations, directions, help, etc.

The B1 Spanish Vocabulary List

In this list, we will have 5 categories including verbs & verb forms, directional vocabulary, vocabulary relating to emotions, countries, and professions.

All of these words that I have chosen to put on this list were chosen based on what a B1 learner should be able to understand and produce. Let’s start!

B1 Spanish: Verbs & Verbs Forms

In this section, we'll go over the 3 verb forms that I want to introduce to you (if you don't already know them). All three of these are extremely important and are used probably 50 times a day each for an average native speaker. Let's take a look!

Conditional Tense - Preguntaría

The conditional tense is used most commonly to describe something that you would do in a certain situation (hypothetical). For example - "I would ask her that question, but she seems busy right now".

Below we will look at 2 verbs in the conditional tense, and how it looks with each subject. The best part about this tense is that it is sooo easy! Just add ía and you're basically done. Let's check it out!

Subject	Conditional Tense (Preguntar)
Yo	Preguntaría
Tú	Preguntarías
Él/Ella/Usted	Preguntaría
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes	Preguntarían
Nosotros	Preguntaríamos
Vosotros (Spain)	Preguntaríais

Subject	Conditional Tense (Aprender)
Yo	Aprendería
Tú	Aprenderías
Él/Ella/Usted	Aprendería
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes	Aprenderían
Nosotros	Aprenderíamos
Vosotros (Spain)	Aprenderíais

Subjunctive Form - Tengas

The subjunctive form in Spanish is used to express doubt, uncertainty, wishes, emotions, and hypothetical or unreal situations.

For example - I hope you can come to the house tonight or "espero que puedas venir a la casa esta noche". Let's take a look at how 2 common verbs look in the subjective form.

Subject	Subjunctive Form (Tener)
Yo	Tenga
Tú	Tengas
Él/Ella/Usted	Tenga
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes	Tengan
Nosotros	Tengamos
Vosotros (Spain)	Tengáis

Subject	Subjunctive Form (Ir)
Yo	Vaya
Tú	Vayas
Él/Ella/Usted	Vaya
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes	Vayan
Nosotros	Vayamos
Vosotros (Spain)	Vayáis

Imperative Mood - Corre

The imperative mood in Spanish is used for giving direct commands or instructions. It is concise and typically ends in -a, -e, or -i for regular verbs.

For example, "¡Habla!" (Speak!) or "¡Come!" (Eat!). The imperative mood can only be used for certain subjects, for example, you can't give a command to yourself.

Therefore, the imperative mood can only be used for - You (Plural/Informal/Formal), and we.

Subject	Imperative Mood (Correr)
Tú	¡Corre!
Usted	¡Corra!
Ustedes	¡Corran!
Nosotros	¡Corramos!
Vosotros (Spain)	¡Corred!

Subject	Imperative Mood (Hablar)
Tú	¡Habla!
Usted	¡Hable!
Ustedes	¡Hablen!
Nosotros	¡Hablemos!
Vosotros (Spain)	¡Hablad!

B1 Verbs That You Should Know

The following verbs are some of those which you probably haven't learned yet if you're an A2 or if you just started being a B1. These verbs will unlock new abilities that will facilitate your conversations even more!

As a daily Spanish speaker, I can promise you that I use almost all of these daily.

B1 Verb	Meaning
Platicar	To chat
Bromear	To joke
Reírse	To laugh
Divertirse	To have fun
Fumar	To smoke
Orinar	To pee
Agregar	To add
Obtener	To obtain / To get
Pasear	To stroll
Saborear	To taste

B1 Directional Vocabulary In Spanish

The directional vocabulary will be great to learn (especially) for those who use their phone in Spanish.

Why you ask?

Because when your phone is in Spanish and you use Google Maps to navigate you somewhere - it will be talking to you in Spanish! 😭🤣

Word/Phrase	Meaning
Girar	To turn
Gira a la izquierda (Tú)	Turn left
Gira a la derecha (Tú)	Turn right
Sigue recto	Continue straight
Detente al final de la calle (Tú)	Stop at the end of the street
Toma la autopista (Tú)	Take the highway
Norte	North
Este	East
Sur	South
Oeste	West
Date la vuelta (Tú)	Turn around

B1 Spanish: Best Adjectives To Learn

All of the B1 adjectives that I have added to this list will help expand your ability to describe, and in turn, make you sound more intelligent and well-read in Spanish.

However, all of these words are to some degree commonly used, and easily understood!

English + Basic Spanish Word	B1 Synonyms
Happy (Feliz)	Contento/a, Alegre, Satisfecho/a, Dichoso/a
Sad (Triste)	Desdichado/a, Melancólico/a, Miserable
Excited (Emocionado/a)	Ansioso/a
Scared (Asustado/a)	Espantado/a, Aterrorizado/a, Temeroso/a
Small (Pequeño/a)	Chiquito/a
Delicious (Delicioso/a)	Rico/a, Riquísimo/a, Exquisito/a

B1 Spanish: Best Nouns To Learn

Now let's take a look at some of the most used B1 Spanish nouns. All of these nouns can be found within the 2,000 most common words used in the Spanish language. This means that after learning them, you won't have a hard time hearing them in context. Let's go over them together!

B1 Spanish Noun	Meaning
La naturaleza	Nature
La empresa	Company
La moda	Fashion
La sorpresa	Surprise
El desafío	Challenge
La mente	Mind
El ruido	Noise
El sueño	Dream
La meta	Goal
La habilidad	Skill

Vocabulary Relating To Countries & Nationalities

If you are like me, you probably have been learning the most necessary words first so that you can have conversations as soon as possible.

However, now that you are starting to get the ability to conversate with natives, you're probably going to want to know how to say all of the countries and nationalities of native Spanish speakers.

Let's take a look!

Country (In English)	Country Name (Nationality)
Argentina	Argentina (argentino/a)
Bolivia	Bolivia (boliviano/a)
Chile	Chile (chileno/a)
Colombia	Colombia (colombiano/a)
Costa Rica	Costa Rica (costarricense)
Cuba	Cuba (cubano/a)
Dominican Republic	República Dominicana (dominicano/a)
Ecuador	Ecuador (ecuatoriano/a)
El Salvador	El Salvador (salvadoreño/a)
Equatorial Guinea	Guinea Ecuatorial (ecuatoguineano/a)
Guatemala	Guatemala (guatemalteco/a)
Honduras	Honduras (hondureño/a)
Mexico	México (mexicano/a)
Nicaragua	Nicaragua (nicaragüense)
Panama	Panamá (panameño/a)
Paraguay	Paraguay (paraguayo/a)
Peru	Perú (peruano/a)
Spain	España (español/a)
Uruguay	Uruguay (uruguayo/a)
Venezuela	Venezuela (venezolano/a)

B1 Vocabulary List: Professions

You probably already know a majority of these, but take note of the ones that you don't. These are the 20 most common professions and how to refer to them in Spanish!

Profession In English	Profession In Spanish
Doctor	Médico/a
Nurse	Enfermero/a
Teacher | Professor	Maestro/a | Profesor/a
Engineer	Ingeniero/a
Lawyer	Abogado/a
Accountant	Contador/a
Architect	Arquitecto/a
Psychologist	Psicólogo/a
Journalist	Periodista
Programmer	Programador/a
Carpenter	Carpintero/a
Electrician	Electricista
Secretary	Secretario/a
Receptionist	Recepcionista
Chef | Cook	Chef | Cocinero/a
Police Officer	Policía
Firefighter	Bombero/a
Social Worker	Trabajador/a Social
Salesperson	Vendedor/a
Pharmacist	Farmacéutico/a

If you are interested in learning words that make you sound smarter in Spanish, check out this article!

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B1 Vocabulary List: Food

These are still pretty basic food words, but from my experience - we as learners won't use a ton of food vocabulary (unless we're chefs). For that reason this is a short list of only 10 common food words that you need to know with a B1 level in Spanish.

Food In Spanish	Food In English
La fruta	Fruit
La verdura	Vegetable
Los mariscos	Seafood
Las patatas fritas	French fries
El helado	Icecream
El pastel	Cake
Los dulces	Sweets / Candy
El yogur	Yogurt
El postre	Dessert
La galleta	Cookie