Food & Drinks in Spanish (pt. 3) – Lesson 34

Food and drinks in Spanish: part 3

In part 1 we learned the drinks, and in part 2 some basic foods and the 4 meals of the day: el desayuno, el almuerzo, la merienda and la cena. Today, in part 3: fruits, plus some seasonings, oil and butter.

Fruits in Spanish

To make it plural, add an s to both words: la → las, fruta → frutas. Now let’s look at some popular fruits:

Remember zumo de manzana and zumo de naranja from part 1? Now you know where those come from! In naranja, the j is that strong, throaty h: “na-RAN-ha”. And just like in English, naranja is also the color orange. There’s a separate lesson about colors later.

Banana: plátano or banana?

Notice the tilde in plátano: the stress is on the first a, “PLA-ta-no”. In Spain, plátano is the normal word. In some countries, like Argentina, you’ll hear banana. And in parts of Latin America, plátano actually means the plantain: the bigger, starchy cooking banana. When in doubt, look at what’s on the plate!

Vegetables

We saw this one in the restaurant lesson too. We won’t go through all the vegetables today, but there’s one you need to know, because it’s easy to mix up…

Pimienta or pimiento? Two kinds of pepper

In English, “pepper” can be the black spice or the vegetable. In Spanish they’re two different words, and only one letter is different: la pimienta is the spice (salt and pepper), el pimiento is the vegetable (a red or green bell pepper). This is the “other word” I promised in the restaurant lesson!

Salt, sugar, oil and butter

Aceite de oliva is literally “oil of the olive”. In Spain, olive oil is everywhere: for cooking, on bread, on salads. In many other countries, butter is more common. In mantequilla, the double l sounds like a y: “man-te-KEE-ya”. (In Argentina, more like “man-te-KEE-sha”.)

Using the words

Me gusta from lesson 32, and sin and con from lesson 22: you’re already combining a lot!

Do you need to learn every blue lesson?

From now on, here’s something important: you don’t have to learn every single blue vocabulary lesson. Some topics might not be relevant for you. For example, there’s a later lesson about going to school, and if you’re not in school anymore, you can skip that list.

So every time you see a blue lesson, ask yourself: do I want to learn this? It never hurts to learn everything, of course. But I also know your time and energy are valuable, so choose what matters to you. (The green fundamentals and yellow verbs, though: those you really want to learn!)

Recap: fruits, seasonings and more

Spanish	English
la fruta / las frutas	the fruit / the fruits
la manzana	the apple
la naranja	the orange
el plátano / la banana	the banana
la sandía	the watermelon
■■■■■■■■	■■■■■■■■
■■■■■■■■	■■■■■■■■
■■■■■■■■	■■■■■■■■

+ 9 more words & phrases

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Practice: fruits and seasonings

Say it out loud first, then click to check.

1. How do you say “the apple”?

La manzana.

2. How do you say “the grapes”? And “a grape”?

Las uvas and una uva.

3. Ask someone to pass you the pepper (spice).

¿Me pasas la pimienta?

4. A red bell pepper is…

un pimiento (rojo).

5. Say “I like watermelon”.

Me gusta la sandía.

6. Order a coffee without sugar.

Un café sin azúcar, por favor.

Quiz: fruits and seasonings

10 questions. Easy as pie… or should I say, ¡pan comido!

Frequently asked questions

Is it “la azúcar” or “el azúcar”?

Usually el azúcar. Azúcar can actually be masculine or feminine, so you’ll sometimes hear la azúcar too, especially in parts of Latin America. Stick with el azúcar and you’re fine.

What does “pan comido” mean?

Literally “eaten bread”: it’s the Spanish way to say “a piece of cake” or “super easy”. Bonus expression!

Before you go to the next lesson

That’s part 3 of food and drinks. Pick the words you’ll actually use, and grab the free reference sheet below. See you in the next lesson. ¡Hasta luego!