Food in Spanish: fruit, vegetables, meat, fish and staples, with the names that change by country
Food words change a lot from country to country. An avocado, a strawberry and a green bean each have a different name in Buenos Aires and in Madrid, and a tortilla is a different dish in Mexico and in Spain. This page has the common words first, then the table of names that change, then the meals and when they are eaten.
Fruit
| English | Spanish | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| fruit | la fruta | El fruto is the botanical word, or the result of something |
| apple | la manzana | |
| orange | la naranja | |
| lemon | el limón | In Mexico limón is the small green lime |
| lime | la lima | Spain. See the regional table |
| banana | el plátano or la banana | See the regional table |
| strawberry | la fresa or la frutilla | See the regional table |
| grape | la uva | |
| pear | la pera | |
| peach | el melocotón or el durazno | See the regional table |
| pineapple | la piña or el ananá | See the regional table |
| watermelon | la sandía | |
| melon | el melón | |
| mango | el mango | |
| avocado | el aguacate or la palta | See the regional table |
| passion fruit | el maracuyá | Also fruta de la pasión in Spain |
Vegetables
| English | Spanish | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| vegetables | las verduras | Also los vegetales in Latin America |
| potato | la papa or la patata | Patata in Spain, papa everywhere else |
| tomato | el tomate | el jitomate in central Mexico |
| onion | la cebolla | |
| garlic | el ajo | |
| carrot | la zanahoria | |
| lettuce | la lechuga | |
| cucumber | el pepino | |
| pepper (bell) | el pimiento | See the regional table |
| chilli | el chile, la guindilla, el ají | See the regional table |
| sweetcorn | el maíz | Corn on the cob changes by country |
| green beans | las judías verdes | See the regional table |
| peas | los guisantes | See the regional table |
| beans (dried) | los frijoles, las alubias | See the regional table |
| chickpeas | los garbanzos | |
| spinach | las espinacas | Usually plural |
| mushroom | el champiñón or el hongo | Hongo is any fungus |
| pumpkin | la calabaza | See the regional table |
| beetroot | la remolacha | el betabel in Mexico |
Meat and fish
| English | Spanish | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| meat | la carne | In Argentina, carne on its own means beef |
| chicken | el pollo | La gallina is the live hen |
| beef | la carne de res, la ternera | See the regional table |
| pork | el cerdo | el puerco in Mexico |
| ham | el jamón | Jamón serrano and jamón ibérico are the cured hams of Spain |
| bacon | el tocino, el beicon, la tocineta, la panceta | See the regional table |
| sausage | la salchicha | el chorizo is a spiced sausage, different in Spain and Argentina |
| minced meat | la carne molida or la carne picada | Molida in Mexico and Colombia, picada in Spain and Argentina |
| steak | el bistec or el filete | Argentina orders by cut: el bife de chorizo, el vacío, la entraña |
| fish (to eat) | el pescado | |
| fish (alive) | el pez | Pescado is fish that has been caught |
| prawns | las gambas, los camarones, los langostinos | See the regional table |
| tuna | el atún | |
| salmon | el salmón | |
| seafood | los mariscos | el marisco in Spain |
Dairy, bread and staples
| English | Spanish | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| milk | la leche | |
| cheese | el queso | |
| butter | la mantequilla or la manteca | See the note below |
| cream | la crema or la nata | Nata in Spain, crema in Latin America |
| egg | el huevo | |
| bread | el pan | |
| sliced bread | el pan de molde, el pan de caja, el pan tajado, el pan lactal | Spain, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina in that order |
| oil | el aceite | Aceite de oliva, olive oil |
| salt | la sal | Feminine |
| pepper | la pimienta | Feminine, and different from pimiento |
| sugar | el azúcar | |
| honey | la miel | Feminine |
| pasta | la pasta | Also los fideos for noodles and thin pasta |
| rice | el arroz | Plural arroces, for rice dishes |
| juice | el jugo or el zumo | Zumo in Spain, jugo everywhere else |
| water | el agua | Feminine, with el in the singular: el agua fría |
Regional differences
| English | Mexico | Spain | Colombia | Argentina |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| avocado | el aguacate | el aguacate | el aguacate | la palta |
| strawberry | la fresa | la fresa | la fresa | la frutilla |
| peach | el durazno | el melocotón | el durazno | el durazno |
| pineapple | la piña | la piña | la piña | el ananá |
| banana | el plátano | el plátano | el banano | la banana |
| lime | el limón | la lima | el limón | la lima |
| potato | la papa | la patata | la papa | la papa |
| bell pepper | el pimiento morrón | el pimiento | el pimentón | el morrón |
| chilli | el chile | la guindilla | el ají | el ají |
| corn on the cob | el elote | la mazorca | la mazorca | el choclo |
| green beans | los ejotes | las judías verdes | las habichuelas | las chauchas |
| peas | los chícharos | los guisantes | las arvejas | las arvejas |
| beans (dried) | los frijoles | las alubias or las judías | los fríjoles | los porotos |
| pumpkin, squash | la calabaza | la calabaza | la ahuyama | el zapallo |
| beef | la carne de res | la ternera | la carne de res | la carne |
| pork | el puerco or el cerdo | el cerdo | el cerdo | el cerdo |
| bacon | el tocino | el beicon or la panceta | la tocineta | la panceta |
| prawns | los camarones | las gambas or los langostinos | los camarones | los langostinos or los camarones |
| butter | la mantequilla | la mantequilla | la mantequilla | la manteca |
| juice | el jugo | el zumo | el jugo | el jugo |
| popcorn | las palomitas | las palomitas | las crispetas | el pochoclo |
| cake | el pastel | la tarta | la torta or el ponqué | la torta |
The traps in that table:
Plátano in Colombia is the plantain, the large starchy one you cook. The sweet yellow fruit is el banano. In Mexico and Spain plátano is the sweet one, and a plantain is plátano macho in Mexico.
Limón in Mexico and Colombia is the small green citrus you squeeze on tacos and into drinks. In Spain limón is the yellow lemon and lima the green lime.
Manteca in Argentina is butter. In Spain and Mexico manteca is lard, so in a recipe from there it means something else.
Tortilla in Mexico is the flat corn or wheat bread. In Spain tortilla is an omelette, and tortilla de patatas or tortilla española is the thick potato omelette. Argentines use tortilla for an omelette as well.
Tomate in central Mexico can mean the green tomatillo. The red tomato is el jitomate there. In the north of Mexico, tomate is the red one.
Papa without an accent is the potato. Papá is dad and el Papa, with a capital, is the Pope.
Torta in Mexico is a sandwich in a bread roll. In Colombia and Argentina torta is a cake.
Meals and when they happen
| Mexico | Spain | Colombia | Argentina | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Breakfast | el desayuno | el desayuno | el desayuno | el desayuno |
| Mid-morning snack | el almuerzo or el tentempié | las medias nueves | ||
| Lunch | la comida, around 2 to 4 p.m. | la comida, around 2 to 3.30 p.m. | el almuerzo, around 12 to 2 p.m. | el almuerzo, around 1 p.m. |
| Afternoon snack | la merienda | las onces | la merienda | |
| Dinner | la cena, often light | la cena, around 9 to 10.30 p.m. | la comida or la cena, around 7 p.m. | la cena, 9 p.m. or later |
Almuerzo means lunch in Colombia and Argentina. In Spain it can mean lunch or, in many regions, a mid-morning snack, and lunch is more often la comida. La comida also means “food” everywhere. In Colombia la comida is often the evening meal.
La merienda in Argentina, around five, is the time for tea or mate with medialunas and facturas. Las onces in Colombia is the afternoon coffee or hot chocolate with bread and cheese.
Dinner in Spain and Argentina is late. Restaurants in Madrid and Buenos Aires fill up after nine, and a table at eight is early.
What trips learners up
Pescado or pez. A fish in the sea or a tank is un pez. Fish on your plate or at the fishmonger is el pescado.
Learn the gender with the word. La sal, la miel, la leche and la carne are feminine. El pan, el arroz and el café are masculine. El agua is feminine and has el only because it starts with a stressed a: el agua, las aguas, el agua está fría.
Uncountable nouns. You ask for pan, arroz and agua without an article in most orders: ¿Hay pan?
Pimiento and pimienta. El pimiento is the vegetable. La pimienta is the black pepper you grind.
Vegetales and verduras. Verduras means vegetables in general everywhere. Vegetales is common in Latin America and sounds less natural in Spain.
Huevo in Mexico. Huevos is also slang for testicles in Mexico and elsewhere, and Mexicans use it a lot in wordplay.
Saying what you eat
| You want to say | Spanish | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| I’m vegetarian | Soy vegetariano / vegetariana. | |
| I’m vegan | Soy vegano / vegana. | |
| I don’t eat meat | No como carne. | Some people count chicken as not meat. Say ni pollo ni pescado if you mean it |
| I’m allergic to nuts | Soy alérgico a los frutos secos. | In Latin America also a las nueces |
| Does it have gluten? | ¿Lleva gluten? | ¿Tiene gluten? is also common |
| It’s delicious | Está riquísimo. or Está delicioso. | Also está buenísimo |
| I’m hungry | Tengo hambre. | Tener, not estar |
The words in real sentences
- ¿Me pone un kilo de tomates y medio de cebollas? Can I have a kilo of tomatoes and half a kilo of onions? (Spain)
- Quiero un jugo de naranja natural. I’d like a fresh orange juice.
- Compré palta y frutillas en la verdulería. I bought avocado and strawberries at the greengrocer’s. (Argentina)
- Los tacos llevan cebolla, cilantro y limón. The tacos come with onion, coriander and lime. (Mexico)
- ¿Qué pescado tienen hoy? What fish do you have today?
- No como carne, pero sí pescado. I don’t eat meat, but I do eat fish.
- Para el almuerzo hay arroz, fríjoles y plátano. For lunch there’s rice, beans and plantain. (Colombia)
- Esta tortilla de patatas está riquísima. This potato omelette is delicious. (Spain)
- ¿Me pasas la sal, por favor? Can you pass me the salt, please?
- Tengo hambre, ¿vamos a comer algo? I’m hungry, shall we go and eat something?
Questions people ask
How do you say avocado in Spanish? Aguacate in Mexico, Spain and Colombia, and palta in Argentina, Chile, Peru and Uruguay.
Is it papa or patata? Patata in Spain and papa in Latin America. Both are understood, and people in the Canary Islands in Spain say papa too.
What is the difference between plátano and banana? In Mexico and Spain plátano is the banana. In Colombia plátano is the plantain and banano the banana. In Argentina it is banana.
What does “comida” mean? Food, and also a meal. In Spain and Mexico la comida is lunch. In Colombia it often means dinner.
What time do people eat dinner in Spain? Usually between nine and half past ten at night. Lunch is the main meal, around two or three.
How do you say strawberry in Argentina? Frutilla. Fresa is understood there too.
What is a tortilla in Spain? An omelette, most often the thick potato one, tortilla de patatas. In Spain the Mexican flatbread is called tortilla mexicana or tortilla de maíz.
Practise these words
comida, fruta, manzana, naranja, fresa, pollo, carne, pescado, pan, arroz, huevo, leche, queso. Vozelu is a free website for practising Spanish, and it has each of these. You see a sentence with one word missing, you type the word, and a native voice reads the sentence back. Practise the words on this page.