C is the third letter of the alphabet and the second consonant. It is a very frequent letter in the Spanish language.
Vivo al final de la calle.
I live down the street.¿Me cuentas un cuento, abuela?
Will you tell me a story, Grandma?
The letter C may appear in initial, middle, or final position in the word:
- Words starting with C: carro (cart), conocer (to know), círculo (circle).
- Words with C in them: vacaciones (vacation), acuerdo (agreement).
- Words ending in C. They are infrequent, as they are usually of foreign origin: bloc (notepad), frac (tailcoat), pícnic (picnic).
Pronunciation tip: The letter C in Spanish has three possible pronunciations depending on the following letter:
- It is pronounced /k/ as in “kilo”, when followed by a, o, u, or a consonant: casa, actuar, clavo.
- It is pronounced /s/ as in “see” (in Latin America), or /θ/ as in “three” (in Spain), when followed by e or i: cereza, receta, cima, ciencia.
- It is pronounced /ch/ as in “cheese” when followed by h: chocolate, leche, choza, mucho.
Fun fact: The letter C is infrequent in word-final position, only appearing in words from foreign origin or onomatopoeia: pícnic (picnic), chic (stylish), clic (click).
- See also: Words with CH
Spanish nouns that start with C
| café coffee | cartera purse, billfold | castillo castle |
| cara face | cama bed | coraje courage |
| cabello hair | cerveza beer | cerebro brain |
| coche car | canción song | cita date (appointment) |
| cine movie theater | chicle chewing gum | cabeza head |
| cosa thing | ceja eyebrow | clase class, type |
| cena dinner | computadora computer | circo circus |
| cigarrillo cigarette | colina hill | colegio school |
| cuchillo knife | cuchara spoon | copa wine glass |
| cuerpo body | cuello neck | clima climate, weather |
| caja box | conocimiento knowledge | cinco five |
Animals starting with C: caballo (horse), cabra (goat), cebra (zebra), cerdo (pig), ciervo (deer), camello (camel), conejo (rabbit), cuervo (raven), cangrejo (crab).
Fruits and vegetables starting with C: cereza (cherry), ciruela (plum), coco (coconut), cebolla (onion), calabaza (pumpkin), col (cabbage), champiñón (mushroom).
Jobs starting with C: científico (scientist), cirujano (surgeon), cantante (singer), carpintero (carpenter), camarero (waiter), cerrajero (locksmith), comerciante (storekeeper).
Names starting with C: Carmen, Cristina, Claudia, Catalina, César, Carlos, Ciro, Cristian.
¿Cuál es tu canción favorita?
What's your favorite song?No está permitido mascar chicle en clase.
It’s not allowed to chew gum in class.Hay cerezas de postre.
There are cherries for dessert.¿Qué hay dentro de esa caja?
What's in that box?
- See also: Spanish nouns
Spanish adjectives that start with C
| caliente hot | cómodo comfortable | congelado frozen |
| caro expensive | cómico funny | culpable guilty |
| contento happy | crujiente crunchy | colorido colorful |
| corto short | caluroso hot (weather) | cien one hundred |
| cercano near | contaminado polluted | concurrido crowded |
| correcto right, correct | crudo raw | conmovedor moving |
| canadiense Canadian | celeste sky blue | clásico classic |
| cansado tired | contagioso contagious | casero homemade |
| común common | cristalino crystal-clear | cerrado closed |
| claro light, clear | cuatro four | casual casual |
¡Qué historia más conmovedora!
What a moving story!¿Dónde queda el banco más cercano?
Where’s the nearest bank?Este cálculo no es correcto.
This calculation isn’t right.Me encanta el pan casero.
I love homemade bread.
Adjectives starting with C to describe a person
| creativo creative | cariñoso loving | caprichoso capricious |
| confiable reliable | corajudo courageous | cobarde cowardly |
| comprensivo understanding | conversador talkative | cruel cruel |
| carismático charismatic | callado reserved | cínico cynical |
| compasivo compassionate | celoso jealous | calvo bald |
Mi padre era cariñoso y afectuoso.
My father was loving and affectionate.Es un líder muy carismático.
He is a very charismatic leader.
- See also: Spanish adjectives
Spanish verbs that start with C
| caminar to walk | crecer to grow | cuidar to look after |
| cantar to sing | conversar to talk | contar to tell |
| comer to eat | comenzar to begin | caber to fit |
| creer to believe | cerrar to close | callar to hush |
| correr to run | cenar to have dinner | casarse to get married |
| conocer to know | cambiar to change | cepillar to brush |
| comprar to buy | celebrar to celebrate | confiar to trust |
| cocinar to cook | charlar to chat (talk) | continuar to continue |
| conducir to drive | caer to fall | cortar to cut |
| conseguir to get, achieve | construir to build | cabalgar to ride a horse |
Hoy cenaremos a las 9 p.m.
Today we’ll have dinner at 9 p.m.No cabe más nada en mi maleta.
There is no more room in my suitcase.El niño se cayó de la bicicleta.
The boy fell off his bike.¿Te has cepillado los dientes?
Have you brushed your teeth?
- See also: Spanish verbs
Spanish adverbs that start with C
| cuándo when | categóricamente categorically | cronológicamente chronologically |
| cómo how | coherentemente coherently | cautelosamente cautiously |
| casi almost, nearly, hardly | contrariamente contrary to | comprensiblemente understandably |
| cerca near | conscientemente consciously | cariñosamente affectionately |
| completamente completely | correctamente correctly | convincentemente convincingly |
| constantemente constantly | ciertamente certainly | constructivamente constructively |
| claramente clearly | cómodamente comfortably | certeramente accurately |
| casualmente by chance, actually | cordialmente cordially | ciegamente blindly |
| cuidadosamente carefully | compulsivamente compulsively | convenientemente conveniently |
| concretamente specifically | considerablemente considerably | curiosamente curiously |
Estoy completamente de acuerdo contigo.
I completely agree with you.Le obedecen ciegamente.
They obey him blindly.Juana se sentó cómodamente en el sillón.
Juana sat comfortably in the armchair.El hombre narró los hechos cronológicamente.
The man narrated the facts chronologically.
- See also: Spanish adverbs
More everyday Spanish words that start with C
Some more everyday Spanish words that start with C include:
con
with
contra
against
cada
each
¡Chau!
Bye!
cuál
which
cuando
when
como
how, as
¡Caramba!
Heavens!
cero
zero
color
color
¡Chau! ¡Hasta mañana!
Bye! See you tomorrow!
¿Cuál prefieres, la verde o la azul?
Which one do you prefer, the green one or the blue one?
Siempre voy al cine con mis amigos.
I always go to the movies with my friends.
Está jugando el Barcelona contra el Real Madrid.
Barcelona is playing against Real Madrid.
C or S? Spelling tips
- The plural form of words ending in z:
actriz (actress) → actrices (actresses),
lombriz (worm) → lombrices (worms) - Certain conjugations of verbs whose infinitive end in -zar:
organizar (to organize) → organicé (I organized) - Diminutive forms ending in -cito/a or cillo/a:
pececito (little fish), pancito (little bread) - Words ending in -ción that derive from verbs ending in -ar, -der, -dir,-tir:
repetir (to repear) → repetición (repetition)
atender (to attend to) → atención (attention)
- Explore more: Spain Spanish vs Latin American Spanish
Words with C according to their sound
| /k/ sound | /s/ (Latin America) /θ/ (Spain) sound | /ch/ sound |
|---|---|---|
| actual current | hacer to do, make | chisme gossip |
| ancla anchor | dulce candy, sweet (adj.) | chuleta chop |
| cruz cross | recibir to receive | sándwich sandwich |
| descubrir to discover | solución solution | Zúrich Zurich |
| tecnología technology | decir to say | chile chili |
| democracia democracy | crecer to grow | chico small |
| cráter crater | entonces then, so | chocar to crash |
| caramelo candy | necesario necessary | chato flat |
| balcón balcony | pronunciación pronunciation | checo Czech |
| eléctrico electric | conducir to drive | chimenea chimney |
You may also like:
Practice: Spanish words with C
References
- Wordreference.com, “caracoles,” accessed October 22, 2024, https://www.wordreference.com/
- Oxford Spanish Dictionary, 3rd edition on CD-ROM, Oxford University Press.
- Merriam-Webster Dictionary, accessed October 22, 2024, under “specifically,” https://www.merriam-webster.com/
- Real Academia Española, Diccionario panhispánico de dudas, under “cerca,” accessed October 22, 2024, https://www.rae.es/
- Enciclopedia del Lenguaje, “Palabras con C,” by Carla Giani. Last updated February 26, 2024, https://lenguaje.com/
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