E is the fifth letter of the alphabet and the second of the five vowels. It is the most frequent letter in the Spanish language, according to the Real Academia Española.
Soy estudiante.
I’m a student.Nos encontraremos en la estación de tren.
We’ll meet at the train station.
The letter E may appear in initial, middle, or final position in the word:
- Words starting with E: elástico (elastic), educación (education), escuchar (to hear).
- Words with E in them: queso (cheese), volver (to come back), centro (center).
- Words ending in E: simple (simple), ambiente (environment), peste (plague).
Pronunciation tip: The letter E in Spanish is an open vowel (the jaw is mid-open, the tongue is in a forward position, and the lips are slightly stretched), much like as for the English e as in “ten”. But unlike its English counterpart, it always has the same pronunciation regardless of adjacent sounds or position in the word:
Fun fact: The letter E is also a conjunction that replaces the word y (meaning “and”) when the following word starts with i or hi: Pedro e Isabel llegarán pronto. / Pedro and Isabel will arrive soon. (And not: Pedro y Isabel…)
- See also: Spanish alphabet
Spanish nouns that start with E
| español Spanish | explicación explanation | equilibrio balance |
| excusa excuse | espina thorn | elemento element |
| ecología ecology | escenario stage | enemigo enemy |
| eclipse eclipse | esperanza hope | error error |
| escultura sculpture | eje axis | esqueleto skeleton |
| esfera sphere | espada sword | espectáculo show |
| enchufe plug, socket | enigma enigma | experiencia experience |
| edulcorante sweetener | examen exam | esquina corner |
| elegancia elegance | estilo style | éxito success |
| esmeralda emerald | escritorio desk | emoción emotion |
Animals starting with E: elefante (elephant), escorpión (scorpion), erizo (hedgehog), escarabajo (beetle), estrella de mar (starfish).
Vegetables starting with E: espárrago (asparagus), endibia (endive), escarola (escarole), ejote (Mexican green bean).
Countries starting with E: España (Spain), Estados Unidos (United States), Egipto (Egypt), Eslovaquia (Slovakia), Emiratos Árabes Unidos (United Arab Emirates).
Jobs starting with E: enfermero (nurse), escritor (writer), economista (economist), editor (editor), embajador (ambassador).
Names starting with E: Eva, Elena, Eugenia, Emilia, Enrique, Esteban, Eduardo, Ezequiel.
Necesito un enchufe para cargar mi Iphone.
I need a socket to charge my Iphone.Tenemos esperanza de que todo va a estar bien.
We have hope that everything is going to be alright.La Tierra gira sobre su eje.
The Earth rotates on its axis.Fue una experiencia inolvidable.
It was an unforgettable experience.
- See also: Spanish nouns
Spanish adjectives that start with E
| excelente excellent | evidente evident | eterno eternal |
| eléctrico electric | enorme enormous | espiritual spiritual |
| eficaz effective | extraño strange | estrecho narrow |
| ecológico ecological | equivocado wrong | espacial spatial |
| especial special | espectacular spectacular | exclusivo exclusive |
| extenso extensive | extremo extreme | exótico exotic |
| extraordinario extraordinary | exigente demanding | exhausto exhausted |
| europeo European | esencial essential | erróneo wrong |
| emocionante moving | egipcio Egyptian | enigmático enigmatic |
| entretenido entertaining | entero entire | excepcional exceptional |
La casa de mi amigo es enorme.
My friend’s house is huge.Canadá tiene un clima extremo.
Canada has an extreme climate.Luces exhausto; necesitas descansar.
You look exhausted; you need to rest.El continente europeo es el segundo más pequeño.
The European continent is the second smallest.
Adjectives starting with E to describe a person
| estudioso studious | eficiente efficient | esbelto slender |
| educado polite | exitoso successful | estricto strict |
| empático empathetic | espontáneo spontaneous | envidioso envious |
| encantador charming | enérgico energetic | egoísta selfish |
| extrovertido outgoing | elegante elegant | escéptico skeptical |
Mi novio es espontáneo y extrovertido.
My boyfriend is spontaneous and outgoing.El profesor es muy estricto con los alumnos.
The teacher is very strict with the students.
- See also: Spanish adjectives
Spanish verbs that start with E
| estar to be | enviar to send | esquiar to ski |
| escribir to write | encender to turn on, light | enfermarse to get sick |
| escuchar to listen to, hear | encontrar to find | educar to educate |
| entender to understand | enfadarse to get angry | examinar to examine |
| estudiar to study | escapar to escape | existir to exist |
| esperar to wait | estornudar to sneeze | enfriar to cool, chill |
| explicar to explain | expresar to express | engañar to deceive |
| elegir to choose | enamorarse to fall in love | ensayar to rehearse |
| entrar to enter | enseñar to teach | envejecer to grow old |
| empezar to begin, start | eliminar to eliminate, delete | envolver to wrap |
¿Puedes envolver la muñeca para regalo?
Can you gift wrap the doll?Déjeme explicar lo que ocurrió.
Let me explain what happened.A Margarita le gusta mucho esquiar.
Margarita loves skiing.El archivo fue eliminado.
The file was deleted.
- See also: Spanish verbs
Spanish adverbs that start with E
| entonces so, then | eficazmente effectively | estrictamente strictly |
| encima on, above, over | equitativamente equally | económicamente economically |
| enfrente opposite, across | eficientemente eficientemente | enérgicamente firmly |
| enseguida right away | enfáticamente emphatically | esencialmente essentially |
| exacto exactly | erróneamente erroneously | equilibradamente in a balanced way |
| especialmente especially | escasamente barely, scarcely | equivocadamente wrongly |
| evidentemente evidently | exactamente exactly | entusiásticamente enthusiastically |
| eventualmente eventually | excesivamente excessively | estúpidamente stupidly |
| excepcionalmente exceptionally | enteramente entirely | elegantemente elegantly |
| extremadamente extremely | eternamente eternally | estéticamente aesthetically |
Enseguida vuelvo.
I’ll be right back.Estaré eternamente agradecida.
I’ll be forever thankful.Este verano ha sido extremadamente caluroso.
This summer has been extremely hot.Laura trabaja eficientemente.
Laura works efficiently.
- See also: Spanish adverbs
More everyday Spanish words that start with E
Some more everyday Spanish words that start with E include:
el
the
él
he
ella
she
ellos, ellas
they
este
this
es
is
eso
that
en
in
eh
hey, eh, huh
El niño está jugando en el jardín.
The boy is playing in the garden.
Él es mi mejor amigo.
He is my best friend.
Eso no es cierto.
That is not true.
A ella le encanta cantar.
She loves singing.
You may also like:
Practice: Spanish words with E
References
- Wordreference.com, “erizo,” accessed October 8, 2024, https://www.wordreference.com/
- Oxford Spanish Dictionary, 3rd edition on CD-ROM, Oxford University Press.
- Merriam-Webster Dictionary, accessed October 8, 2024, under “studious,” https://www.merriam-webster.com/
- Real Academia Española, Fundéu RAE, under “La letra más usada, la palabra más larga y otras curiosidades del español,” accessed October 21, 2024, https://www.fundeu.es/
Was this information useful to you?
Yes NoGreat!, thank you for visiting us :)