The wardrobe, from head to toe
La ropa (clothes) is singular in Spanish: la ropa está limpia, “the clothes are clean”. Words that differ in Latin America are marked. Tap to hear each one.
Colours change to match the noun
A colour is an adjective (a describing word). It comes after the noun and agrees with it: it changes for gender (whether the noun is masculine, with el, or feminine, with la) and for number (one or more). Only colours ending in -o have four forms.
| Colour | el vestido | la falda | los zapatos | las botas | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| redRROH-hoh | rojo | roja | rojos | rojas | -o / -a, plural -s |
| blueah-THOOL | azul | azul | azules | azules | same for el / la, plural -es |
| greenBEHR-deh | verde | verde | verdes | verdes | same for el / la, plural -es |
| blackNEH-groh | negro | negra | negros | negras | -o / -a, plural -s |
| whiteBLAN-koh | blanco | blanca | blancos | blancas | -o / -a, plural -s |
| greyGREES | gris | gris | grises | grises | same for el / la, plural -es |
| brownmah-RRON | marrón | marrón | marrones | marrones | same for el / la, plural -es |
| pinkRROH-sah | rosa | rosa | rosa | rosa | never changes |
| orangenah-RAN-hah | naranja | naranja | naranja | naranja | never changes |
Red marks a form that differs from the first column. Rosa and naranja are really nouns (a rose, an orange), which is why they never change. More on gender in gender and articles.
Getting dressed: four verbs in one morning
Three of these are reflexive verbs: the action falls on yourself, marked by me, te, se. Spanish uses el / la, not “my”, for your own clothes: me pongo el abrigo. More in reflexive verbs.
- 7:30ponerseMemyselfpongoI-putlosthevaqueros.jeansmeh PON-goh lohs bah-KEH-rohs · “I put my jeans on.”Ponerse: me pongo, te pones, se pone. Los vaqueros, not “mis”.
- 8:00llevarHoytodayllevoI-wearunaachaquetajacketnegra.blackoy YEH-boh OO-nah chah-KEH-tah NEH-grah · “Today I’m wearing a black jacket.”Llevar is not reflexive: you simply wear something.
- 18:00probarse¿MemyselfloitpuedoI-canprobar?try-onmeh loh PWEH-doh proh-BAR · “Can I try it on?”Lo is “it”, the jumper; me + lo both go before puedo.
- 20:00quitarseMemyselfquitoI-removelosthezapatos.shoesmeh KEE-toh lohs thah-PAH-tohs · “I take my shoes off.”Quitarse: me quito, te quitas, se quita.
- 20:05quitarse (command)¡Quítatetake-off-yourselfeltheabrigo!coatKEE-tah-teh el ah-BREE-goh · “Take your coat off!”In a tú command, te is attached to the end of the verb.
La talla and el número
Clothes sizes are la talla; shoe sizes are el número. Spain uses European sizes, so a UK 12 dress is una 40. Say sizes with la or el + the number: uso la 40, calzo un 42.
| UK | US | Spain |
|---|---|---|
| 8 | 4 | 36 |
| 10 | 6 | 38 |
| 12 | 8 | 40 |
| 14 | 10 | 42 |
| 16 | 12 | 44 |
| UK | US (men) | Spain |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | 6 | 38 |
| 6 | 7 | 39 |
| 7 | 8 | 40 / 41 |
| 8 | 9 | 42 |
| 9 | 10 | 43 |
| 10 | 11 | 44 / 45 |
In the clothes shop
A shop assistant (la dependienta) will usually speak to you as usted, the polite “you”. Notice quedar, “to fit”: it works like gustar, so me quedan grandes means “they are big on me”.