Words you already have

la silla / la mesa

chair / table

You already saysilya / mesa / lamesa

Never "la lamesa" — the article is already inside.

la cuchara / el tenedor / el cuchillo

spoon / fork / knife

You already saykutsara / tinidor / kutsilyo

el vaso / el plato

glass / plate

You already saybaso / plato

Spanish spells vaso with a v.

la ventana / el cuarto / el baño / la cama

window / room / bathroom / bed

You already saybintana / kuwarto / banyo / kama

los zapatos / las medias / la toalla / el jabón

shoes / socks / towel / soap

You already saysapatos / medyas / tuwalya / sabon

One shoe = un zapato.

el reloj / la hora

clock / the time

You already sayrelos / oras

¿Qué hora es?

el coche / el tren / la calle

car / train / street

You already saykotse / tren / kalye

Spain says coche, never carro.

la escuela / el libro / el papel / el lápiz

school / book / paper / pencil

You already sayeskuwela / libro / papel / lapis

la cuenta / el recibo / el número / el color

bill / receipt / number / colour

You already saykuwenta / resibo / numero / kolor

El color — it’s masculine.

el trabajo / la oficina / la familia

work / office / family

You already saytrabaho / opisina / pamilya

el hospital / el mercado / el gobierno

hospital / market / government

You already sayospital / merkado / gobyerno

The h is silent.

la merienda

the mid-afternoon snack

You already saymerienda

Same thing, mid-afternoon.

¿cómo está?

how are you?

You already saykumusta

In Spain people mostly say ¿qué tal?

puto

rice cake

Say insteadpastel de arroz

In Spain: a serious insult — male prostitute, and a slur against gay men. Say pastel de arroz, or just point.

konyo

posh, English-mixing

In Spain: a crude word for female genitals, also a swear word. Never use it.

ostiya

communion wafer

Say insteadla Sagrada Forma / la comunión

The wafer, yes — but ¡hostia! is one of the strongest swear words in Spain, and una hostia is a punch in the face.

seguro

certain, safe — and el seguro means insurance

Sounds like yoursiguro

You mean maybe, probably — the exact reverse. For "maybe" say quizás or a lo mejor.

siempre

always, and nothing else

Sounds like yoursiyempre

You mean of course. For "of course" say claro or por supuesto.

¡Basta!

Enough! Stop it! — sharp, close to rude

Sounds like yourbasta

You mean as long as / anyway.

libre

free as in available, not occupied

Sounds like yourlibre

You mean free of charge. Free of charge is gratis.

pera

a pear

Sounds like yourpera

You mean money. Money is el dinero.

manteca

lard, animal fat

Sounds like yourmantika

You mean cooking oil. Cooking oil is el aceite.

casi

almost

Sounds like yourkasi

You mean because. Kasi sounds exactly like casi. Say porque.

Pascua

reads first as Easter in Spain

Sounds like yourPasko

You mean Christmas. Christmas is la Navidad.

el malo / el villano

the villain

Sounds like yourkontrabida

Kontrabida is not a Spanish word.

fila

a row of seats

Sounds like yourpila

You mean queue. A queue is la cola — hacer cola.

derecha

to the right

Sounds like yourdiretso

You mean straight ahead. Derecho does mean straight, but it sounds like derecha. Say todo recto.

coche

car

You may have learnedcarro

In Spain, carro is a cart or a shopping trolley.

ordenador

computer

You may have learnedcomputadora

móvil

mobile phone

You may have learnedcelular

conducir

to drive

You may have learnedmanejar

In Spain, manejar means to handle or manage.

patata

potato

You may have learnedpapa

el Papa is the Pope.

zumo

juice

You may have learnedjugo

In Spain, jugo means meat juices.

billete (travel) / entrada (a show)

ticket

You may have learnedboleto / pasaje

piso

flat / apartment

You may have learneddepartamento

In Spain, departamento is a department.

ahora mismo / en un momento

right now / in a moment

You may have learnedahorita

Ahorita is not used in Spain — say ahora mismo, en un momento, or enseguida. And ahora here means now or very soon — not the vague "sometime today" it can mean in Latin America.

coger

to take

You may have learned that coger is a rude word. In Spain it is completely ordinary — coger el metro, coger número, coja la línea 3. The warning you have heard is a Latin American warning; here it is on the bus signs. Use it, and do not flinch when you hear it.

¿Perdón? / ¿Cómo dice?

Sorry? / What did you say?

You may have learned¿Mande?

¿Mande? is Mexican and gets a blank look here.

¿Me pone…? / ¿Me da…?

Could you give me…?

You may have learned¿Me regala…?

In Spain regalar means to give as a gift. Asking a baker to regalar you bread is asking for it free.

Acabo de llegar.

I just arrived.

You may have learnedRecién llegué.

Recién + past tense is Latin American.

aparcar

to park

You may have learnedestacionar / parquear

rellenar el impreso

to fill in a form

You may have learnedllenar el formulario

vosotros

the informal "you all"

You may have learnedustedes (to a group of friends)

In Spain, ustedes to a group of friends sounds cold and distant — say vosotros ("¿Tenéis…?"). To staff at a counter, ¿Tienen…? is still correct.

dinero

money

You may have learnedplata

plata is the metal silver.

alquiler

rent

You may have learnedrenta

la renta is your income — la declaración de la renta is the tax return.

acera

pavement / sidewalk

You may have learnedbanqueta / vereda

a banqueta is a stool.

termini

Deadline

Looks liketérmino

The Spanish word is plazo.

estimat / s'estima

Granted, upheld

Looks likeEstimado

Looks like Spanish Estimado ("Dear") — but Catalan letters open with Benvolgut / Benvolguda, never Estimat.

desestimar

To reject a claim or appeal.

Looks liketo underestimate

adreça vs direcció

Adreça is your address; direcció on a form is a department, on a bus the destination.

Looks likedirección

cognoms

Surnames (apellidos).

cal / no cal

You must / there is no need.

No Spanish cousin.

cap

No, none.

Looks likehead

No cal aportar cap document means you need no document. Also cap de setmana is weekend, and CAP is the health centre.

alta / baixa

Alta = being registered (Social Security, utility, padró) and hospital discharge. Baixa = being removed or cancelled and sick leave.

Opposite feelings, same two words.

feiner vs hàbil

Saturday is feiner on a bus timetable, and never hàbil for a deadline.

Looks likeworking day

feiners vs laborables

The same day type — Catalan and Spanish for the same timetable column.

Looks liketwo different day types

dies hàbils vs dies naturals

Working days vs calendar days.

Looks likedays

On a 10-day notice that is a week’s difference.

rebut

A charge or receipt (noun) and "received" (from rebre).

import

The amount of money.

Looks likeimport

quota

A recurring fee — community charge, membership, instalment.

Looks likea limit

any

Year.

Looks likeany

Dia / Mes / Any — day / month / year.

canvi

Change (money) and exchange (goods).

llum

Electricity, on any bill or contract.

Looks likelight

planta vs pis

Planta is the level; pis is the flat.

Looks likefloor

3r 2a means third floor, second door.

principal / entresol / baixos

Named levels below the 1st.

Looks likeordinary floor numbers

A block can run baixos → entresol → principal → 1r, so "1r" can be four flights up.

sortida

Exit, departure — and a school trip on a school letter.

Looks likeexit

derivació

A referral to a specialist.

Looks likederivation

mostra

A sample — urine, blood, stool.

Looks likea display, a show

dejú

Fasting.

Cal venir en dejú means come without eating.

fiança

The rental deposit.

Looks likebail

conveni

The collective agreement that sets your minimum pay and hours.

Looks likea convention

preinscripció vs matrícula

Applying vs actually enrolling.

Looks likeenrolment

Doing only the first loses the place.

provisional vs definitiva

Provisional can be changed by an al·legació; definitiva only by a recurs.

Looks likethe list

arrendador vs arrendatari

Landlord vs tenant.

You are the arrendatari.

cancel·lar el bitllet

Validate your ticket.

Looks likecancel your ticket

Títol cancel·lat en origen means correctly validated at the start. Reading this as "cancelled" is how people think a valid ticket is dead — or fail to validate at all and get fined.

no circula

This train is cancelled.

Looks likeit does not circulate / it is not in circulation

The plainest word for the most consequential message.

demora

Delay — Rodalies’ real-time word.

Looks likea delay in the legal sense, or nothing at all

Retard on the same network means the compensation certificate, not the wait.

enllaç vs transbordament

Enllaç is the passage you walk through, and the word on the sign.

Looks likeconnection

Transbordament is the fare event that may require you to re-validate.

via vs andana

Via is the track number; andana is the platform you stand on.

Looks likeplatform

termini

Deadline

The deadline on every letter. It is not Spanish término — a Spanish speaker who thinks it means "term" walks straight past the date.

dies hàbils

Working days

Tells you how much time the termini actually gives you. Weekends and holidays do not count.

requeriment

Formal demand

They are demanding something. Ignore it and your application is legally abandoned — closed, not refused.

esmena

The fix, the correction

The fix a requeriment is asking for. Spanish uses subsanación, so this word is invisible to a Spanish reader.

cal / no cal

"You must" / "no need to"

The commonest instruction in official Catalan and it has no Spanish cousin. Learning it unlocks whole sentences.

cap

None

Means none. No cal aportar cap document is the opposite of what it looks like. Negation is where misreadings get expensive.

aportar

To provide, to bring

"Bring us this." The verb that tells you a document is required of you.

justificant

Proof slip

Your proof — of submitting, of attending, of the train being late. The one piece of paper never to throw away.

cita prèvia

Appointment

No appointment, no service. This is the difference between a solved problem and a wasted day off.

resolució

The decision

Everything you do next depends on whether it says provisional or definitiva.

denegat

Refused

Recognise it in one second, then read the motius de denegació underneath.

desestimat / estimat

Rejected / upheld

Estimat here does not mean "Dear." Getting this backwards means celebrating a refusal.

recurs

Appeal

Your appeal. Has its own termini — usually one month — that starts the moment the refusal is notified.

al·legacions

Formal objections

The cheap early challenge, before a provisional decision becomes final. Most people never use it because they do not know the word.

caducat / vigent

Expired / valid

Your TIE, health card and padró all have a date, and an expired document is refused at the counter whatever your situation.

renovació

Renewal

Non-EU residents must renew the padró every two years or be struck off — and being struck off breaks health cover and school applications.

alta / baixa

Registered / removed

The pair that runs work, health, housing and every utility, in opposite directions. Your Social Security alta is what makes a work permit real.

adreça

Address

Not direcció. It is the field you fill in on every form, and getting it wrong sends your notifications somewhere you will never read them.

cognoms

Surnames

Filipino naming and Spanish forms disagree constantly; a mismatch between your padró, your TIE and your payslip is a problem you will spend months undoing.

conveni

Sector collective agreement

Your sector’s collective agreement. It sets the legal minimum pay, hours and overtime for domestic work, care, hospitality and cleaning — usually more than you were offered. It is public and searchable.