About this puzzle
These are the first words most people learn in Spanish class: greetings and manners like Hola, Adiós, Gracias, and Por Favor, everyday nouns like Casa, Escuela, Libro, and Agua, the numbers Uno, Dos, and Tres, family, pets, colors, and handy words like Feliz and Mañana. A few words use Spanish letters with marks, like the accented ó in Adiós and the ñ in Mañana and Niño, so solvers get a feel for how Spanish is written.
Each note gives the English meaning plus a quick tip on pronunciation, grammar, or usage, so the puzzle doubles as a vocabulary review. It works well for elementary and middle school Spanish classes, for Hispanic Heritage Month, for homeschool language lessons, and for families learning a little Spanish before a trip.
The 31 words in this puzzle
Every word, with a short note. Handy for teaching the vocabulary before or after solving.
In every version (12)
- Adiós
- Means goodbye. The accent mark shows which syllable to stress: ah-DYOHS. For a more casual goodbye, people often say hasta luego, meaning see you later.
- Agua
- Means water. It is a feminine word, but people say el agua instead of la agua because it starts with a stressed a sound.
- Amigo
- Means friend when talking about a boy or man. For a girl or woman, the word changes to amiga, because many Spanish words change their ending to match gender.
- Casa
- Means house or home. To say at home, Spanish speakers say en casa, as in estoy en casa, I am at home.
- Dos
- Means two. It sounds like the English word dose, and it stays the same no matter what it counts, as in dos gatos, two cats.
- Gato
- Means cat. A kitten is a gatito, because adding -ito to the end of a Spanish word often makes it mean small or cute.
- Gracias
- Means thank you. To say thank you very much, add mucho: muchas gracias. The usual reply is de nada, meaning you're welcome.
- Hola
- Means hello. The h in Spanish is always silent, so it sounds like OH-lah, and you can use it at any time of day.
- Perro
- Means dog. The double r is rolled or trilled, which is different from the single r in pero, a separate word that means but.
- Sol
- Means sun. It is related to English words like solar, and the currency of Peru is also called the sol.
- Tres
- Means three. The r is a single quick tap of the tongue, a sound close to the tt in the way Americans say butter.
- Uno
- Means one. Before a masculine noun it shortens to un, as in un perro, which can mean one dog or simply a dog.
Added in Medium and Hard (8)
- Azul
- Means blue. Unlike many color words, azul stays the same for masculine and feminine words, as in el cielo azul, the blue sky.
- Escuela
- Means school. Many classroom words follow, like maestro or maestra for teacher and cuaderno for notebook.
- Familia
- Means family. Some family words to learn next are abuelo (grandfather), abuela (grandmother), hermano (brother), and hermana (sister).
- Libro
- Means book. It looks a bit like library, but a library in Spanish is a biblioteca, while a librería is a bookstore.
- Madre
- Means mother. In everyday talk, many kids call their mother mamá, with the stress on the last syllable.
- Padre
- Means father. Together, a mother and father are los padres, which is the usual Spanish way to say parents.
- Por Favor
- Means please. It usually goes at the end of a request, as in agua, por favor, which means water, please.
- Rojo
- Means red. The j in Spanish sounds like a breathy English h, so it is said ROH-ho.
Added in Hard (11)
- Amarillo
- Means yellow. The double l usually sounds like an English y, so it is said ah-mah-REE-yoh. The city of Amarillo, Texas, takes its name from this word.
- Comida
- Means food or a meal. It comes from the verb comer, to eat, so tengo hambre, quiero comida means I'm hungry, I want food.
- Feliz
- Means happy. You will hear it in greetings like feliz cumpleaños, happy birthday, and feliz Navidad, merry Christmas.
- Lápiz
- Means pencil. To make it plural, the z changes to c and you add es: one lápiz, two lápices.
- Leche
- Means milk. The ch sounds just like the ch in cheese, so it is said LEH-cheh. Café con leche is coffee with milk.
- Luna
- Means moon. It is the root of the English word lunar, and Monday in Spanish, lunes, is named after the moon too.
- Mañana
- Means tomorrow, and la mañana means the morning. The ñ is its own letter in the Spanish alphabet and sounds like the ny in canyon.
- Manzana
- Means apple. An apple tree is a manzano, and in most of Latin America the z sounds like an English s.
- Niño
- Means boy or child, and niña means girl. The ñ makes a ny sound, so the word is said NEE-nyoh.
- Playa
- Means beach. The ll and y in Spanish often sound like the English y, so it is said PLAH-yah.
- Verde
- Means green. Like most Spanish adjectives, it usually comes after the noun, as in la hoja verde, the green leaf.
A few facts to share while you solve
- Spanish is spoken by hundreds of millions of people and is the official language of about 20 countries, from Spain to Mexico to Argentina.
- The letter ñ is so closely tied to Spanish that it appears in the word español itself.
- Many English words come from Spanish, including patio, canyon, mosquito, tornado, and alligator, which comes from el lagarto, meaning the lizard.
Four versions of this puzzle
Pick a version with the buttons above the grid. Each one has its own grid and answer key, and your progress on each is saved separately in this browser.
| Version | Words | Grid | Directions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Easy | 12 | 9 × 9 | The 12 most familiar words, reading forward across and down. |
| Medium | 20 | 12 × 12 | Twenty words across, down and diagonally. No backwards words. |
| Hard | 31 | 16 × 16 | Every word, in all eight directions including backwards, with look-alike filler letters. |
| Large print | 12 | 10 × 10 | The 12 most familiar words on a small grid with big letters. No backwards words. |
Hard and large print versions
Hard spanish word search: all 31 words on a 16 × 16 grid, hidden forward, backward, up, down and along both diagonals, with filler letters borrowed from the word list. Print it without the word list for an extra challenge. Play the hard version, or see all hard word searches.
Large print spanish word search: the 12 most familiar words on a 10 × 10 grid, printed with big letters and a big word list, and no backwards words. Play the large print version, or see all large print word searches.
Printing this word search
Press Print / PDF above the puzzle. You get a clean one-page sheet with the title, the grid, a word list with tick boxes, and optional name and date lines. The answer key prints on a second page. Prefer a file? Download it as a PDF or an image to print later or drop into a worksheet. Whatever version is showing on screen is the one that prints, and the large print version prints with bigger letters.
How to play online
- Find a word from the list in the grid. Scanning for its first letter is the quickest way.
- Drag across the word from its first letter to its last. On a phone, you can also tap the first letter, then the last.
- Found words get highlighted and crossed off. Stuck? Hint circles the first letter of a word you haven’t found.
Read the full guide to solving word searches, with tips that make big grids much faster.
Questions and answers
Are there accent marks in this Spanish word search?
Yes, a few words use them. Adiós has an accented ó, Lápiz has an accented á, and Mañana and Niño use the letter ñ, all shown in the grid as written. Most words have no special marks, so beginners can focus on vocabulary without worrying much about spelling.
What level of Spanish is this puzzle for?
It is made for beginners, including young kids and anyone in a first-year Spanish class. The words are common greetings, manners, colors, animals, and everyday nouns. After solving, students can practice by saying each word aloud and using it in a short sentence from the notes.
How can teachers use this Spanish word search in class?
Use it as a warm-up at the start of a unit, then have students quiz a partner by reading an English meaning from the notes while the partner says the Spanish word. It also works as a quiet activity during Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from September 15 to October 15.
Is there an answer key for this spanish word search?
Yes. Choose Print / PDF above the puzzle and keep “Add an answer key page” ticked. The key prints on its own page, with every word highlighted. While playing online, Show answers outlines any words you haven’t found yet.
Can I print copies for my class or group?
Yes. Every puzzle on BetterWordSearch is free to print for personal, classroom, library and homeschool use. Print as many copies as you need. To change the words or make several different versions of the grid, use the word search maker.
What changes between Easy, Medium, Hard and Large print?
Easy hides the 12 most familiar words, reading left to right and top to bottom. Medium uses 20 words and adds diagonals. Hard hides all 31 words in every direction, including backwards, with look-alike filler letters. Large print uses the same words as Easy on a small grid and prints with big letters.
