🏠 House Vocabulary in Spanish: Vocab, Grammar, Exercises
One of the first things we learn to talk about when attending a Spanish language school is our house. It doesn’t matter if yours is small or if you live in a castle, you’ll need the same basic Spanish vocabulary to talk about it. Are you ready to do it in Spanish?
In this blog post, we’ve gathered the most essential things you might need. But don’t worry, we have four additional specific house vocabulary posts to learn all those words related to the most important rooms of every house: the kitchen, the bedroom, the bathroom, the living and dining room.
Table of contents
- The house in Spanish
- Essential grammar
2.1 Locating things in Spanish with ESTAR
2.2 ESTAR or HABER? That’s the important question
2.3 Adjectives to describe the house in Spanish
2.4 Asking about quantity in Spanish - Spanish idioms with the word HOUSE
3.1 Practical exercise - Specific rooms of the house in Spanish
The house in Spanish
Let’s start with the basics because, as we say in Spanish, you cannot start building a house at the roof. In the infographic below, you’ll learn the most important vocabulary of the house in Spanish and you can also learn their pronunciation by clicking on the speaker icon of each word.
Now it’s time to practice all these new words. Are you ready?
Essential grammar for house vocabulary in Spanish
We know that grammar can be intimidating sometimes, but don’t worry we’re here to guide you through this learning road. You only have the essential things here, but if you’re want to keep learning we have plenty of content in our learner’s blog.
Locating things in Spanish with ESTAR
- ¿Dónde está el baño? - Where is the bathroom?
- ¿Dónde están las toallas? - Where are the towels?
- El salón está entre la cocina y el comedor. - The living room is between the kitchen and the dining room.
We use the verb ESTAR to locate things, animals, people, and places. It’s a very important verb that you’re going to use constantly in Spanish. So you need to learn it by heart. Here you have the conjugation of the verb ESTAR:
| ESTAR | |
|---|---|
|
yo |
estoy |
|
tú |
estás |
|
él, ella (usted) |
está |
|
nosotros, nosotras |
estamos |
|
vosotros, vosotras |
estáis |
|
ellos, ellas (ustedes) |
están |
Now that you’ve learned the verb, it’s time to learn some key words and expressions that you’ll need to place things.
ESTAR or HABER? That's the important question
-
En mi casa hay tres dormitorios y un baño. El baño está al lado del dormitorio principal.
There are three bedrooms and one bathroom in my house. The bathroom is next to the master bedroom. -
Hay un jardín en casa de Marta. Está al lado del garaje.
There's a garden in Marta's house. It's next to the garage.
After learning about ESTAR the next step is understanding the difference between ESTAR and HABER. It’s very simple, we use HAY (the present form of the verb HABER) to talk about unknown or new things:
-
Hay un baño en mi apartamento.
There's a bathroom in my apartment.
This is new information for the person we’re talking to.
-
El baño está al final del pasillo.
The bathroom is at the end of the hallway.
This is no longer new information or something unknown.
If you want to learn when to use HAY or ESTAR, have a look at the chart down bellow:
| HAY | ESTAR |
|---|---|
|
un(a), unos(as) - a, a few |
el, la, los, las - the |
|
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6... |
mi(s), tu(s), su(s)... - my, your, his/her... |
|
mucho(a), muchos(as), poco... - much, many, few/little... |
este(as), ese(a), estos(as)... - this, that, these... |
|
nouns without an article: hay baños, hay vino, etc. - there are bathrooms, there's wine, etc. |
proper nouns: María, Rosa, París, Madrid... |
Adjectives to describe the house in Spanish
Adjectives are those words that we use to describe people, objects, animals or places. In order to talk about someone’s house in Spanish, you need to expand your vocabulary and learn some of the most used for house description.
Are you curious to know what are the adjectives that describe the house in Spanish? Let’s start!
Let’s see a few examples first:
- Mi casa es moderna. - My house is modern.
- Mi cocina es luminosa. - My kitchen is bright.
- Mi dormitorio es grande. - My bedroom is big.
- Mi baño es pequeño. - My bathroom is small.
- El jardín es muy bonito. - The garden is beautiful.
- La puerta es muy antigua. - The door is very old.
As you have already seen, adjectives in Spanish must agree in number (singular or plural) and gender (masculine or feminine) with the noun they’re with.
| SINGULAR | PLURAL |
|---|---|
|
-o (masculine) moderno: El dormitorio es moderno. |
+s modernos: los dormitorios son modernos. |
|
-a (feminine) moderna: La casa es moderna. |
+s modernas: Las casas son modernas. |
Here are some examples where you can also listen the pronunciation in Spanish and check the differences of gender and number:
[mp3j track=”https://letsspeakspanish.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Mi-casa-es-moderna..mp3″ title=”” ind=”n” volslider=”n” flow=”y”]Mi casa es moderna.
[mp3j track=”https://letsspeakspanish.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Mi-dormitorio-es-pequeno.-.mp3″ title=”” ind=”n” volslider=”n” flow=”y”] Mi dormitorio es pequeño.
[mp3j track=”https://letsspeakspanish.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Las-puertas-son-bonitas.-.mp3″ title=”” ind=”n” volslider=”n” flow=”y”] Las puertas son bonitas.
[mp3j track=”https://letsspeakspanish.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Los-banos-son-feos.mp3″ title=”” ind=”n” volslider=”n” flow=”y”] Los baños son feos.
Want to learn more?
Check this blog post about Masculine and feminine, singular and plural in Spanish! Explained by our beloved teachers 😉
In the chart below you can find a list with the most common adjectives to describe a house in Spanish.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
|
grande - big |
pequeño(a) - small |
|
antiguo(a) - old |
moderno(a) - modern |
|
viejo(a) - old |
nuevo(a) - new |
|
feo(a) - ugly |
bonito(a) - beautiful |
|
cómodo(a) - comfortable |
incómodo(a) - uncomfortable |
|
luminoso(a) - bright |
oscuro(a) - dark |
|
estrecho(a) - narrow |
ancho(a) - wide |
|
ruidoso(a) - noisy |
tranquilo(a) - quiet |
We use these words with the verb SER. This irregular verb is the one you need for describing a house in Spanish. Let’s have a look at the conjugation of the verb SER:
| SER | |
|---|---|
|
yo |
soy |
|
tú |
eres |
|
él, ella (usted) |
es |
|
nosotros, nosotras |
somos |
|
vosotros, vosotras |
sois |
|
ellos, ellas (ustedes) |
son |
Let’s practice the adjectives with these two exercises!
Asking about quantity in Spanish
- To ask about quantity in Spanish we use ¿Cuánto?
- The most frequent answer is a number or a word that expresses quantity (dos, tres millones, mucho, bastantes, pocas…)
- This interrogative pronoun has a masculine and a feminine form, and it must also agree with the noun in plural or singular.
✍🏼 We use ¿Cuántos? ¿Cuántas? in plural with countable nouns:
-
¿Cuántos dormitorios hay en tu casa?
How many bedrooms are there in your house? -
¿Cuántas ventanas hay en tu salón?
How many windows are there in your living room?
✍🏼 We use ¿Cuánto? ¿Cuánta? in singular with uncountable nouns:
-
¿Cuánto tiempo pasas en la cocina?
How much time do you spend in the kitchen? -
¿Cuánta agua usa tu lavavajillas?
How much water does your dishwasher use?
✍🏼 We use ¿Cuánto? – (only in this form) with verbs:
-
¿Cuánto cuesta la casa nueva de Andrea?
How much does Andrea's new house cost?
| ♂ MASCULINO | ♀ FEMENINO | |
|---|---|---|
|
Singular |
¿Cuánto…? |
¿Cuánta…? |
|
Plural |
¿Cuántos…? |
¿Cuántas..? |
Spanish idioms with the word HOUSE
Spanish language is very rich in idiomatic expressions. If you want to master the language you’ll find this final section very useful. Try using them in your exchanges with native speakers, they’ll be really impressed!
-
Tirar la casa por la ventana - to spend too much money
Mi padre tiró la casa por la ventana para celebrar la boda. - My father spent too much on my wedding. -
En casa de herrero, cuchillo de palo - failing to use your skills or knowledge for the benefit of the people close to you
Mi padre es electricista, pero nuestras lámparas no funcionan. En casa de herrero, cuchillo de palo. - My father is an electrician, but our lamps don't work. *The shoemaker's son always goes barefoot*. -
Empezar la casa por el tejado - to do things the wrong way round
¿Por qué has comprado un coche si no tienes carné? Estás empezando la casa por el tejado. - Why have you bought a car if you don't have a license? You're doing things the wrong way round. -
Casa de tócame Roque - a house without rules or order
¿Crees que puedes venir cuando quieras? ¡Esta no es la casa de tócame Roque! - Do you think that you can come whenever you want? This is not a house without rules. -
Caérsele a alguien la casa encima - to not stand being home
Cuando mis hijos están de acampada se me cae la casa encima. - When my children go camping I can't stand being home. -
Como Pedro por su casa - like someone who owned the place
El nuevo secretario va por la oficina como Pedro por su casa. - The new secretary goes around the office like he owned the place. -
La ropa sucia se lava en casa - to solve the problems in private
¿Por qué estás hablando de nuestros problemas? La ropa sucia se lava en casa. - Why are you talking about our issues? Problems are solved in private. -
Una mentira como una casa - a huge lie
Me dijo una mentira como una casa, pero yo no le creí. - He told me a huge lie, but I didn't believe him.
LET’S PRACTICE!
Now, as you know quite a lot practice your comprehension skills by listening to our podcast that talks about the house in Spanish!
Talking about Your House in Spanish
– Spanish vocabulary in the house: rooms and location
– The different uses of the verbs “ser” and “estar”
Specific rooms of the house in Spanish
Follow these links below to learn and practice specific house vocabulary!
Want To Learn Spanish The Fastest Way Possible?
With a flexible class schedule, you decide when’s the best time to take private Spanish lessons!
We teach you according to our 24 Level System to Spanish Fluency®, where we clearly define your next goals to be accomplished fast so you stay motivated all the way to Spanish fluency.
