Connector words · Conectores
18 Spanish words — each with a picture, audio and an example sentence. The small words that turn vocabulary into sentences — the single fastest boost to sounding fluent.
| Picture | English | Spanish · Español | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 | and | y | Before a word starting with an i sound it becomes e: padre e hijo. |
 | or | o | Before a word starting with o it becomes u: siete u ocho. |
 | but | pero | After a negative, 'but rather' is sino: no es él, sino ella. |
 | because | porque | 🔗 Word familyFrom por + que; it answers ¿por qué? ('why'). |
 | because of | por | por marks a cause; para marks a goal. |
 | in order to | para | Marks goal or recipient: para ti 'for you'; contrasts with por (cause). |
 | although | aunque | With the subjunctive it means 'even if': aunque llueva. |
 | however | sin embargo | Connects two contrasting sentences: 'nevertheless'. |
 | still | todavía | Synonym of aún; todavía no = 'not yet'. |
 | still / even | aún | With the accent it means 'still'; without it (aun) it means 'even'. |
 | while | mientras | mientras que adds contrast: 'whereas'. |
 | then | entonces | Also a spoken filler, like 'so…' at the start of a sentence. |
 | also | también | 🔗 Word familyFrom tan ('so') + bien ('well'). |
 | neither | tampoco | 🔗 Word familyFrom tan + poco ('little'); the negative counterpart of también. |
 | besides | además | Before a noun it takes de: además de eso. |
 | if | si | No accent mark; with one (sí) it means 'yes'. |
 | when | cuando | In questions it takes an accent: ¿cuándo? |
 | like | como | With an accent (cómo) it means 'how'; como is also 'I eat' (from comer). |