Vocabulary: countries, nationalities and greetings

Spanish-speaking countries and places, nationalities and languages, and the greetings you use every day.

Practise this lesson free (8 questions)

Countries and places

Medellín is a city in Colombia; Buenos Aires is the capital of Argentina. Las Islas Canarias are in the Atlantic, las Islas Baleares in the Mediterranean.
SpanishEnglish
EspañaSpain
el Reino Unidothe United Kingdom
EuropaEurope
ÁfricaAfrica
LatinoaméricaLatin America
MéxicoMexico
ArgentinaArgentina
ColombiaColombia
PerúPeru
ChileChile
CubaCuba
VenezuelaVenezuela
las Islas Canariasthe Canary Islands
las Islas Balearesthe Balearic Islands
Buenos AiresBuenos Aires (capital of Argentina)

Nationalities and languages

No capital letters for nationalities or languages. Masculine forms ending in a consonant add -a: español, española; inglés, inglesa.
SpanishEnglish
español / españolaSpanish
británico / británicaBritish
inglés / inglesaEnglish
francés / francesaFrench
mexicano / mexicanaMexican
argentino / argentinaArgentinian
colombiano / colombianaColombian
peruano / peruanaPeruvian
chileno / chilenaChilean
cubano / cubanaCuban
latino / latinaLatin American, Latino
europeo / europeaEuropean
hispanohablanteSpanish-speaking
el castellanoCastilian (the Spanish language)

Greetings and social phrases

Buenos días until lunch, buenas tardes in the afternoon and early evening, buenas noches at night.
SpanishEnglish
¡Buenos días!Good morning!
¡Buenas tardes!Good afternoon!
¡Buenas noches!Good night!
¡Hasta luego!See you later!
¡Hasta pronto!See you soon!
¿Qué tal?How are things?
Encantado / EncantadaPleased to meet you
¡Bienvenido!Welcome!
Lo sientoI'm sorry
PerdónExcuse me, pardon
Por favorPlease
GraciasThank you
juntos / juntastogether
Worked example

Translate: My cousin is Colombian and she speaks Spanish and English.

  1. My cousin (female) = mi prima
  2. Colombian (feminine) = colombiana, no capital
  3. Spanish and English = español e inglés (y becomes e before i-)

Answer: Mi prima es colombiana y habla español e inglés.

Key idea

España, el Reino Unido, Latinoamérica, México, Argentina, Colombia, las Islas Canarias. Español / española, británico, inglés / inglesa, mexicano, latino, hispanohablante, el castellano: no capitals. ¡Buenos días!, ¡Buenas tardes!, ¡Hasta luego!, ¿Qué tal?, Encantado, Lo siento.

Common mistakes
Quick check

Try two quick questions

See if it has sunk in. Answers are marked straight away.

Extra practice

2 more questions

Try each one, then tap to check.

  1. What does Latinoamérica mean?

    1. the United Kingdom
    2. Colombia
    3. Latin America
    4. Cuba
    Show the answer

    Answer: Latin America

    Latinoamérica = Latin America.

  2. Which is the Spanish for "Africa"?

    1. África
    2. España
    3. Argentina
    4. las Islas Canarias
    Show the answer

    Answer: África

    Africa = África.

Check you have got it

Answer 8 quick questions with instant marking. If you get one wrong, GCSE-ready shows you why and gives you another go. It is free, and you do not need an account.

Practise this lesson free (8 questions)All GCSE and International GCSE Spanish lessons

Video for this lesson coming soon. Subscribe on YouTube

Sources and references

Last updated 2 October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we will fix it.

Related lessons