I is the ninth letter of the alphabet and the third of the five vowels. It is a high-frequency letter in Spanish.
Es una idea brillante.
It’s a brilliant idea.La imagen está borrosa.
The image is blurred.
The letter I may appear in initial, middle, or final position in the word:
- Words starting with I: iglú (igloo), inspector (inspector), imposible (impossible).
- Words with I in them: guitarra (guitar), piso (floor), liso (straight).
- Words ending in I: colibrí (hummingbird), perdí (I lost), corrí (I ran).
Pronunciation tip: The letter I is one of the two closed vowels in Spanish (the other one being U). To pronounce it, the lips are only half-open, the tongue is forward and close to the palate, much like as for the English e in “me”, but shorter. Unlike its English counterpart, it always has the same pronunciation regardless of adjacent sounds or position in the word:
Quick tips:
- A large number of words starting with I are formed with the negative prefixes in-, im-, i-: inactivo (inactive), impossible (impossible), ilógico (illogical).
- The letter I never occurs in word-final position, being replaced with Y: ley (law), buey (ox).
- When initial I is followed by another vowel, the word must be written with H: hielo (ice), hiena (hyena).
- See also: Spanish alphabet
Spanish nouns that start with I
| isla island | instante instant | instinto instinct |
| invierno winter | iluminación lighting | ingrediente ingredient |
| idioma language | Inglaterra England | igualdad equality |
| iglesia church | índice index | ícono icon |
| insecto insect | inodoro toilet | infarto heart attack |
| información information | incendio fire | impresora printer |
| invitación invitation | inundación flood | Islandia Iceland |
| infancia childhood | informe report | impuesto tax |
| inteligencia intelligence | inquilino tenant | infierno hell |
| ingeniero engineer | instrumento instrument | interrupción interruption |
Mi padre es ingeniero.
My father is an engineer.¿Tocas algún instrumento musical?
Do you play any musical instrument?El invierno pasado fue muy frío.
Last winter was very cold.Perdón por la interrupción.
Sorry for the interruption.
- See also: Spanish nouns
Spanish adjectives that start with I
| importante important | independiente independent | incierto uncertain |
| incorrecto incorrect | injusto unfair | internacional international |
| interesante interesting | inocente innocent | inusual unusual |
| imposible impossible | inaudito unprecedented | impermeable waterproof |
| ideal ideal | inmenso immense | inapropiado inappropriate |
| incómodo uncomfortable | inaceptable unacceptable | inflamable flammable |
| impar odd (number) | inseguro dangerous | ilegal illegal |
| increíble incredible | inútil useless | innecesario unnecessary |
| intenso intense | ilógico illogical | inhóspito inhospitable |
| intencional intentional | inalámbrico wireless | insoportable unbearable |
El incendio fue intencional.
The fire was intentional.¡Qué aroma intenso tiene este café!
What an intense aroma this coffee has!Lo que dice es ilógico.
What he says is illogical.El 1 es un número impar.
1 is an odd number.
Adjectives starting with I to describe a person
| inteligente intelligent | infantil childish | inescrupuloso unscrupulous |
| inocente innocent | infeliz unhappy | iluso naive |
| indeciso indecisive | intolerante intolerant | impuntual unpunctual |
| impulsivo impulsive | inquieto restless | irritable irritable |
| impaciente impatient | ignorante ignorant | irresponsable irresponsible |
Eva es una estudiante inteligente y siempre tiene buenas notas.
Eva is an intelligent student and always gets good grades.A pesar de que es adulto, Víctor es infantil.
Even though he is an adult, Victor is childish.
- See also: Spanish adjectives
Spanish verbs that start with I
| ir to go | insistir to insist | imprimir to print |
| invitar to invite | incluir to include | ingresar to go in |
| intentar to try | incrementar to increase | ignorar to ignore |
| informar to inform | indicar to point out | identificar to identify |
| iluminar to light up | importar to matter | inferir infer |
| inspirar to inspire | imaginar to imagine | interferir interfere |
| investigar to investigate, research | interesar to interest | ilusionar to get excited about |
| instalar to install | impresionar to impress | inundar to flood |
| involucrar to involve | imponer to impose | inaugurar to inaugurate |
| interpretar to interpret, perform, play | imitar to imitate | infectar to infect |
Voy a invitar a todos mis amigos a mi cumpleaños.
I'm going to invite all my friends for my birthday.¿Qué intentas hacer?
What are you trying to do?La policía no pudo identificar al delincuente.
The police were not able to identify the criminal.Debo imprimir mi tarea.
I have to print out my homework.
- See also: Spanish verbs
Spanish adverbs that start with I
| incluso even | inicialmente initially | incondicionalmente unconditionally |
| igualmente equally | insistentemente insistently | independientemente independently |
| inmediatamente immediately | íntimamente intimately | irracionalmente irrationally |
| indudablemente undoubtedly | injustamente unjustly | indiferentemente indifferently |
| idealmente ideally | intensamente intensely | incomprensiblemente incomprehensibly |
| inconscientemente unconsciously | inútilmente uselessly | ingenuamente naively |
| inexplicablemente inexplicably | imprudentemente carelessly, recklessly | inusualmente unusually |
| indirectamente indirectly | impacientemente impatiently | irregularmente irregularly |
| inesperadamente unexpectedly | instantáneamente instantly | indefinidamente indefinitely |
| inevitablemente inevitably | incoherentemente incoherently | inadvertidamente inadvertently |
Idealmente, el proyecto debería durar dos meses.
Ideally, the project should last two months.El bebé se quedó dormido instantáneamente.
The baby fell asleep instantly.Lo condenaron injustamente por un crimen que no cometió.
He was unjustly convicted of a crime he didn’t commit.Me gusta salir a correr, incluso en invierno.
I like to go jogging, even in winter.
More everyday Spanish words that start with I
Some more everyday Spanish words that start with I include:
internet
Internet
iglú
igloo
intención
intention
indicio
sign, indication
intimidad
intimacy
individual
individual
inscribir
register
irritación
irritation
izar
hoist (a flag)
You may also like:
Practice: Spanish words with I
References
- Wordreference.com, “indicar,” accessed October 14, 2024, https://www.wordreference.com/
- Oxford Spanish Dictionary, 3rd edition on CD-ROM, Oxford University Press.
- Merriam-Webster Dictionary, accessed October 14, 2024, under “naively,” https://www.merriam-webster.com/
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