Spanish words with I

I is the ninth letter of the alphabet and the third of the five vowels. It is a high-frequency letter in Spanish.

Examples of Spanish words with I:

imagen
image
idea
idea
importante
important
imperio
empire
infancia
childhood
ídolo
idol
inyección
injection
industria
industry
iguana
iguana

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:

imán, pista, comí

spanish words with i including drawings and english translation

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).

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.

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.

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.

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)

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Practice: Spanish words with I

References

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Gary, Marilina (November 10, 2024). Spanish words with I. Encyclopedia of the Spanish Language. https://lenguaje.com/en/spanish-words-with-i/.

About The Author

Author: Marilina Gary

Degree in English Language Teaching (Juan XXIII Institute of Higher Education, Bahía Blanca, Argentina).

Last updated: November 10, 2024

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