Spanish Words That Start With J
🇪🇸 Spanish · 30 cards · A2 · by Lucía Herrera
The letter J is where my students' accent gets tested: that raspy sound from the back of the throat, nothing like the J in "jam". These 30 words come straight from my notebook — the everyday ones first (joven, jugar, jueves, jamón), then the ones that cause real trouble: jamás next to nunca, jugo next to Spain's zumo, jalar, which nobody says in Valencia and everybody says in Mexico City. I've included joder too, because you'll hear it in your first week in Spain and you should know exactly how strong it is. Read every example out loud; the J needs practice, not just recognition.
Flip through the cards, then switch to Quiz. Tap the play button on any row to hear it. The full table below is there to read, print or copy into your own flashcard app.
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All 30 cards
| # | Spanish | English | Example | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | joven Adjective and noun, same form for both genders. Plural takes an accent: jóvenes. | young; young person | Mi hermano todavía es muy joven. My brother is still very young. | |
| 2 | jugar Stem-changing: juego, juegas, juega. Spain: jugar al fútbol; much of Latin America: jugar fútbol. | to play (a game or sport) | ¿Quieres jugar al fútbol el sábado? Do you want to play football on Saturday? | |
| 3 | juego Masculine. Also the yo form of jugar: yo juego. | game | Este juego de mesa dura dos horas. This board game lasts two hours. | |
| 4 | jefe Masculine; feminine is jefa. In Mexico, ¡jefe! is also a friendly way to address a man you don't know. | boss | Mi jefe me dio el día libre. My boss gave me the day off. | |
| 5 | jueves Masculine, same form in singular and plural: el jueves, los jueves. Days are not capitalised. | Thursday | Nos vemos el jueves por la tarde. See you Thursday afternoon. | |
| 6 | junio Months are written in lowercase in Spanish. | June | Las clases terminan en junio. Classes finish in June. | |
| 7 | julio Say en julio, never 'en el julio'. | July | En julio aquí hace un calor horrible. In July it's horribly hot here. | |
| 8 | juntos Agrees with the people involved: juntos (men or mixed), juntas (women only). | together | Vamos juntos en mi coche. Let's go together in my car. | |
| 9 | jamón Masculine. In Spain, jamón serrano is cured; jamón cocido or jamón de york is the boiled kind. | ham | Compré jamón para los sándwiches. I bought ham for the sandwiches. | |
| 10 | jardín Masculine. Plural loses the accent: jardines. | garden | Hay flores nuevas en el jardín. There are new flowers in the garden. | |
| 11 | jabón Masculine. Plural: jabones. | soap | Se acabó el jabón del baño. The soap in the bathroom has run out. | |
| 12 | jugo Masculine. Standard in Latin America; in Spain the drink is zumo and jugo means the juices of meat or fruit. | juice | Un jugo de naranja, por favor. An orange juice, please. | |
| 13 | jamás More emphatic than nunca. Nunca jamás = never ever. | never, not ever | Jamás he probado el sushi. I have never tried sushi. | |
| 14 | joya Feminine. Also used for a person or thing you treasure: eres una joya. | jewel, piece of jewellery | Guarda sus joyas en una caja de madera. She keeps her jewellery in a wooden box. | |
| 15 | juguete Masculine. | toy | El perro rompió su juguete nuevo. The dog broke its new toy. | |
| 16 | jugador Masculine; feminine jugadora. | player; gambler | Es el mejor jugador del equipo. He's the best player on the team. | |
| 17 | justo Adjective (justo/justa). As an adverb it means exactly or right then: justo lo que quería, llegó justo a tiempo. | fair, just; exactly | No me parece justo pagar el doble. It doesn't seem fair to me to pay double. | |
| 18 | juez Feminine jueza is now normal, and la juez is also correct. Plural: jueces. | judge | El juez escuchó a los testigos. The judge listened to the witnesses. | |
| 19 | justicia Feminine. | justice | Solo pedimos justicia para las víctimas. We're only asking for justice for the victims. | |
| 20 | jaula Feminine. | cage | El pájaro se escapó de la jaula. The bird escaped from the cage. | |
| 21 | jirafa Feminine even when the animal is male. | giraffe | La jirafa tiene el cuello larguísimo. The giraffe has a really long neck. | |
| 22 | jarra Feminine. In Spain, una jarra de cerveza is a large beer mug. | jug, pitcher | Trae una jarra de agua fría. Bring a jug of cold water. | |
| 23 | jalar Mexico and much of Latin America; Spain says tirar de. In Mexico it also means to work or function: el coche ya no jala. | to pull | Jala la puerta, no la empujes. Pull the door, don't push it. | |
| 24 | juzgar Spelling change z → c before e: juzgué, juzgue. | to judge | No juzgues sin conocer la historia completa. Don't judge without knowing the whole story. | |
| 25 | juntar Reflexive juntarse means to meet up, or to move in with a partner. | to put together, to collect | Juntamos dinero para el regalo de boda. We collected money for the wedding present. | |
| 26 | jornada Feminine. In football, la jornada is the round of matches. | working day; day (of an event) | Mi jornada laboral es de ocho horas. My working day is eight hours long. | |
| 27 | jubilarse Always reflexive in this sense. A retired person is un jubilado / una jubilada. | to retire (from work) | Mi padre se jubila el año que viene. My father retires next year. | |
| 28 | juventud Feminine. Also means young people as a group: la juventud de hoy. | youth | Pasé mi juventud en un pueblo pequeño. I spent my youth in a small village. | |
| 29 | jerga Feminine. In Mexico, una jerga is also a floor cloth. | slang, jargon | No entiendo la jerga de los médicos. I don't understand doctors' jargon. | |
| 30 | joder Vulgar. Very frequent as an interjection in Spain and fairly mild there among friends; in Mexico it sounds foreign and chingar is used instead. Avoid it with strangers or at work. | to screw up, to annoy; damn! | ¡Joder, se me olvidó la cartera! Damn, I forgot my wallet! |
Native Spanish speaker from Valencia, now in Mexico City. I tutor Spanish online and keep a notebook of the words my students trip over. Every deck here comes from that notebook.
Questions about this deck
- How do you pronounce J in Spanish?
- Like a harsh English H made at the back of the throat: jamón is roughly ha-MON, jefe is HEH-feh. In Spain and central Mexico it rasps; in the Caribbean and parts of Central America it is softer, close to an English H. It never sounds like the J in "jam".
- Is it jugo or zumo for juice?
- Both are correct, but they split by region. In Latin America you order un jugo de naranja. In Spain you order un zumo; there, jugo means the juices of meat or the liquid squeezed from something, so asking for jugo de naranja in a Madrid bar sounds odd, though everyone will understand you.
- What is the difference between jamás and nunca?
- Both mean never, and nunca is the everyday choice. Jamás is more emphatic and slightly more dramatic or literary: Jamás volveré a ese restaurante. You can combine them for maximum force: nunca jamás. In questions jamás can mean "ever", but that use sounds bookish; ¿Alguna vez has...? is the normal way to ask.
- How offensive is joder?
- It is vulgar, but its strength depends on where you are. In Spain, ¡Joder! is an everyday exclamation of frustration among friends and family, roughly "damn". As a verb it means to annoy someone or to break something: me estás jodiendo, se jodió el móvil. In Mexico it is much rarer and chingar fills that role. Keep it out of formal settings anywhere.
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