B is the second letter of the alphabet and the first of the twenty-two Spanish consonants. It is a very frequent letter in Spanish, appearing before and after the five vowels as well as certain consonants.
¿Le diste un beso?
Did you give him a kiss?Mi bisabuelo vino a América en barco.
My great-grandfather came to America by boat.
The letter B may appear in initial, middle, or final position in the word:
- Words starting with B: blanco (white), borrador (draft), brisa (breeze).
- Words with B in them: abanico (fan), mueble (furniture), subir (go up).
- Words ending in B. They are infrequent, being usually of foreign origin: esnob (snob), web (Internet), baobab (baobab).
Pronunciation tip: The Spanish /b/ is a voiced sound, meaning that the vocal cords vibrate to pronounce it. To articulate it, the lips come together barely touching each other, with air flowing through them. Unlike its English counterpart, it is not a plosive consonant in which airflow is blocked and then released, making the Spanish /b/ a much softer sound:
Quick tips:
- The letter B is usually referred to as be larga (“long” B), be grande (“big” B), or be alta (“high” B) in Latin American countries, as opposed to V, which is called ve corta (“short” V), ve chica (“small” V), or ve baja (“low” V). In Spain, it is referred to as be (B) as opposed to uve (“u” V).
- Though different in spelling, Spanish B and V have the same pronunciation.
- See also: Words with V
Spanish nouns that start with B
| bebé baby | brazo arm | barro mud |
| boca mouth | billete bill (money) | bolsa bag |
| botella bottle | biblioteca library | bondad goodness |
| balón ball | barrio neighborhood | bosque forest |
| baño bathroom, restroom | bolígrafo ballpoint pen | bruja witch |
| bus bus | barba beard | bicicleta bicycle |
| banco bank | batalla battle | belleza beauty |
| bebida drink | bicho bug | bandeja tray |
| bastón walking stick | batería battery | búsqueda search |
| bombilla light bulb | bocina horn (car) | buzón mailbox |
Animals starting with B: ballena (whale), burro (donkey), búfalo (buffalo), búho (owl), buey (ox), bisonte (bison), boa (boa), buitre (vulture), babosa (slug).
Fruits and vegetables starting with B: banana (banana), baya (berry), berenjena (eggplant), brócoli (broccoli), berro (watercress).
Jobs starting with B: biólogo (biologist), bombero (firefighter), bailarín (dancer), bibliotecario (librarian), banquero (banker), barrendero (street cleaner).
Names starting with B: Beatriz, Belén, Bárbara, Brenda, Benjamín, Benicio, Bautista, Bruno.
Voy en bicicleta al trabajo.
I go to work by bike.¿Quieres una bebida?
Do you want a drink?Mi papá es aquel hombre de barba.
My dad is that man with a beard.Haremos un pícnic en el bosque.
We’ll have a picnic in the forest.
- See also: Spanish nouns
Spanish adjectives that start with B
| blanco white | bastante plenty of | biodegradable biodegradable |
| bueno good | bullicioso noisy | barbudo bearded |
| bello beautiful | bendito blessed, holy | brasilero Brazilian |
| blando soft | beneficioso beneficial | biológico biological |
| bajo short, low | boliviano Bolivian | binario binary |
| barato cheap | botanical botanical | británico British |
| básico basic | bimestral bimonthly | bizarro bizarre |
| breve brief | bilingüe bilingual | bípedo bipedal |
| brillante shiny, bright | borroso blurry | burocrático bureaucratic |
| bonito pretty | boscoso wooded | bufo comic |
¿Eres británico o australiano?
Are you British or Australian?Esta bolsa es biodegradable.
This bag is biodegradable.Hay un bonito jardín delante de la casa.
There is a pretty garden in front of the house.Este barrio me parece muy bullicioso y lleno de gente.
This neighborhood seems very noisy and crowded to me.
Adjectives starting with B to describe a person
| bueno good | bravo brave | burlón mocking |
| bondadoso kindhearted | benevolente benevolent | burocrático bureaucratic |
| brillante brilliant | bajo short | bipolar bipolar |
| bonito pretty | bruto brute, clumsy | brutal brutal |
| bohemio bohemian | bobo silly | bullicioso noisy, boisterous |
Bruno es bondadoso; tiene un corazón de oro.
Bruno is kind; he has a heart of gold.¡Qué brillante que es Ana!
How brilliant Ana is!
- See also: Spanish adjectives
Spanish verbs that start with B
| bailar to dance | brindar to give, toast | brotar to sprout |
| besar to kiss | beneficiar to benefit | burlarse to mock |
| beber to drink | batir to beat, whisk | bifurcarse to fork |
| borrar to erase | bloquear to block | blanquear to whiten, bleach |
| bajar to go down | brincar to jump | barnizar to varnish |
| buscar to search | bromear to joke | batallar to battle |
| bañar to bathe | bucear to scuba dive | balbucear to stammer |
| bostezar to yawn | bordar to embroider | bautizar to baptize |
| barrer to sweep | boicotear to boycott | bufar to snort |
| bendecir to bless | broncearse to tan | bombardear to bombard |
No te enfades; estoy bromeando.
Don't get mad; I'm joking.Vamos a bailar todos los fines de semana.
We go dancing every weekend.Estoy buscando mis anteojos; ¿los has visto?
I’m looking for my glasses; have you seen them?Este pueblo fue bombardeado durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial.
This village was bombarded during World War II.
- See also: Spanish verbs
Spanish adverbs that start with B
| bien well | bellamente beautifully | bulliciosamente boisterously |
| bastante quite, enough | banalmente banally | bienalmente biennially |
| básicamente basically | bestialmente bestially | bocarriba face up |
| brevemente briefly | bidireccionalmente bidirectionally | brevísimamente very briefly |
| bonitamente nicely | biológicamente biologically | briosamente spiritedly |
| brutalmente brutally | burocráticamente bureaucratically | benignamente benignly |
| burdamente coarsely | benévolamente benevolently | baratamente cheaply |
| brillantemente brilliantly | blandamente softly | bajamente vilely |
| bondadosamente kindly | buenamente easily, willingly | bárbaramente fiercely |
| bruscamente sharply | burlonamente mockingly | beneficiosamente beneficially |
¿Quién es él?, preguntó bruscamente.
Who is he?, she asked sharply.El hombre se rió burlonamente.
The man laughed mockingly.Esa empresa es manejada burocráticamente.
That company is run bureaucratically.Los niños entraron al aula bulliciosamente.
The children entered the classroom boisterously.
- See also: Spanish adverbs
More everyday Spanish words that start with B
Some more everyday Spanish words that start with B include:
bienvenida
welcome
¡Basta!
Stop!
¡Bah!
Huh!
¡Bingo!
Bingo!
Brasil
Brazil
buena
good (feminine form)
baraja
deck of cards
bazar
dollar store, bazaar
bola
ball
Ellos irán a Brasil para sus vacaciones.
They will go to Brazil for their vacation.
Este bol lo compré en un bazar.
I bought this bowl at a dollar store.
Necesito una baraja de cartas para hacer el truco.
I need a deck of cards to perform the trick.
¡Basta! ¡No me hagas cosquillas!
Stop! Don’t tickle me!
B or V? Spelling tips
- After the letter m:
cambio (change), ambulancia (ambulance), lombriz (worm). - Before another consonant:
blanco (white), abrir (open), absurdo (absurd).
You may also like:
- Words with A
- Words with E
- Words with I
- Words with O
- Words with U
- Spanish words
- Common Spanish phrases
Practice: Spanish words with B
References
- Wordreference.com, “baya,” accessed October 21, 2024, https://www.wordreference.com/
- Oxford Spanish Dictionary, 3rd edition on CD-ROM, Oxford University Press.
- Merriam-Webster Dictionary, accessed October 21, 2024, under “street cleaner,” https://www.merriam-webster.com/
- Real Academia Española, Diccionario panhispánico de dudas, under “bocarriba,” accessed October 21, 2024, https://www.rae.es/
- Enciclopedia del Lenguaje, “Palabras con B,” by Carla Giani. Last updated March 4, 2024, https://lenguaje.com/
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