Spanish Words That Start With R (30 Essentials)
🇪🇸 Spanish · 30 cards · A2 · by Lucía Herrera
These thirty words come straight from the notebook I keep while tutoring. R-words cause two problems at once. The sound: a word-initial r is a full trill, exactly like the rr in perro, so rato, ropa and rojo need the rolled sound most learners save for double letters. The meaning: rico switches between 'tasty' and 'wealthy' depending on ser or estar, al rato means 'later on' in Mexico but not in Spain, recordar and acordarse de take different grammar, and rollo is Spain-only slang. I've flagged all of that in the notes. Read every example aloud and hold that initial trill until it stops feeling strange.
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 | rojo Adjective; agrees in gender and number: roja, rojos, rojas. Ponerse rojo = to blush. | red | Me compré un vestido rojo para la boda. I bought myself a red dress for the wedding. | |
| 2 | ropa Feminine and uncountable: la ropa, not «las ropas». One item is una prenda. | clothes, clothing | Tengo que tender la ropa antes de salir. I have to hang out the washing before going out. | |
| 3 | rápido Adjective (un coche rápido) and, in everyday speech, adverb (habla rápido). Rápidamente sounds more formal. | fast, quick; quickly | Habla muy rápido y no le entiendo nada. He talks really fast and I don't understand a thing. | |
| 4 | rico Estar rico = tastes good; ser rico = wealthy. Mixing them up is the classic mistake. | tasty, delicious; rich (wealthy) | El pastel te quedó muy rico. The cake you made turned out delicious. | |
| 5 | raro In everyday speech it means 'odd', not 'rare'. For 'rare' say poco común or poco frecuente. | strange, weird; (less often) rare | Qué raro, no contesta el teléfono. How strange, she isn't answering the phone. | |
| 6 | razón Feminine: la razón, las razones. Tener razón = to be right; don't say «estar correcto» about a person. | reason; being right (tener razón) | Tienes razón, mejor vamos mañana. You're right, we'd better go tomorrow. | |
| 7 | reloj Masculine; plural relojes. Many speakers barely pronounce the final -j. Reloj de pulsera = wristwatch. | watch, clock | Se me paró el reloj otra vez. My watch stopped again. | |
| 8 | río Masculine. Spelled exactly like río 'I laugh' (yo río, from reír). | river | Nos bañábamos en el río todo el verano. We used to swim in the river all summer long. | |
| 9 | regalo Masculine. Verb: regalar (to give as a gift); de regalo = free, as a gift. | gift, present | ¿Ya le compraste el regalo a tu hermana? Have you bought your sister's present yet? | |
| 10 | ruido Masculine. Set phrase: hacer ruido. | noise | Los vecinos hacen mucho ruido por la noche. The neighbours make a lot of noise at night. | |
| 11 | rato Masculine. Un rato = a while everywhere; in Mexico al rato = later on, while in Spain you'd say luego or ahora. | a while, a short time | Nos vemos al rato, voy al súper. See you in a bit, I'm off to the supermarket. | |
| 12 | ratón Masculine; also the computer mouse. Plural ratones (the accent disappears). | mouse | Hay un ratón en la cocina. There's a mouse in the kitchen. | |
| 13 | rodilla Feminine. With body parts Spanish uses the article, not a possessive: me duele la rodilla. | knee | Me duele la rodilla desde el partido. My knee has hurt since the match. | |
| 14 | risa Feminine. Dar risa a alguien = to make someone laugh. | laughter, a laugh | Me dio mucha risa su comentario. His comment really cracked me up. | |
| 15 | receta Feminine. At the pharmacy: receta médica. Verb: recetar (to prescribe). | recipe; prescription | ¿Me pasas la receta de la tortilla? Can you send me the recipe for the omelette? | |
| 16 | recuerdo Masculine. Also the yo form of recordar. For memory as a faculty, use la memoria. | memory (of something); souvenir | Guardo muy buenos recuerdos de ese viaje. I have very good memories of that trip. | |
| 17 | recibir Regular -ir verb. For 'to get' meaning obtain, use conseguir. | to receive, to get | Recibí tu mensaje, perdona la tardanza. I got your message, sorry for the delay. | |
| 18 | recordar Stem change o→ue: recuerdo, recuerdas. Recordar algo, but acordarse DE algo. | to remember; to remind | No recuerdo dónde dejé las llaves. I don't remember where I left the keys. | |
| 19 | responder Responder a un correo / a una pregunta. Contestar is a close synonym. | to answer, to reply | No me respondas con ese tono. Don't answer me in that tone. | |
| 20 | regresar Very common in Latin America; in Spain volver is the default. In Mexico also transitive: regresar un libro. | to return, to come back | Regreso en cinco minutos. I'll be back in five minutes. | |
| 21 | repetir Stem change e→i: repito, repites. At the table, ¿quieres repetir? = do you want more? | to repeat; to have seconds (food) | ¿Puedes repetir más despacio, por favor? Could you repeat that more slowly, please? | |
| 22 | romper Irregular past participle: roto. Romper con alguien = to break up with someone. | to break, to tear | Se me rompió el vaso sin querer. I accidentally broke the glass. | |
| 23 | reírse Normally reflexive: me río, te ríes, se ríe. Reírse DE alguien = to laugh at someone; mind the accents. | to laugh | No te rías, hablo en serio. Don't laugh, I'm being serious. | |
| 24 | recoger Spelling change before -o/-a: yo recojo. In Spain also 'to tidy up': recoger la casa. | to pick up, to collect | Paso a recogerte a las ocho. I'll come pick you up at eight. | |
| 25 | resolver Stem change o→ue: resuelvo. Irregular participle: resuelto. | to solve, to sort out | Ya resolvimos el problema del wifi. We've already sorted out the wifi problem. | |
| 26 | reservar Regular. Noun: una reserva (Spain), una reservación (Mexico). | to book, to reserve | Reservé mesa para cuatro personas. I booked a table for four. | |
| 27 | relajarse Reflexive for people; non-reflexive relajar takes an object: relajar los hombros. | to relax, to chill out | Relájate, todavía hay tiempo de sobra. Relax, there's still plenty of time. | |
| 28 | redondo Adjective: redonda, redondos. Idiom: salir redondo = to turn out perfectly. | round | La mesa es redonda y cabemos todos. The table is round and we all fit. | |
| 29 | resaca Feminine; informal but not rude. In Mexico people say cruda: estoy crudo/a. | hangover | Tengo una resaca horrible, no me hables. I have a terrible hangover, don't talk to me. | |
| 30 | rollo Masculine, very colloquial and mainly Spain. Buen rollo / mal rollo = good or bad vibes. | drag, hassle; vibe | ¡Qué rollo tener que madrugar un domingo! What a drag having to get up early on a Sunday! |
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 a Spanish word that starts with R?
- An R at the start of a word is always a strong trill, the same sound as the rr in perro. So ropa, rojo and rato all begin with a rolled R even though they are written with one letter. A single r is the soft tap only between vowels or in clusters like tr, pr, br (pero, tres). After l, n or s it goes back to the trill: alrededor, Enrique, Israel.
- What's the difference between recordar and acordarse de?
- They mean the same thing, but the grammar differs. Recordar takes a direct object: no recuerdo su nombre. Acordarse is reflexive and always needs de: no me acuerdo de su nombre. Recordar is slightly more formal and is also the verb for 'to remind': recuérdame llamar al médico. Both change o to ue in the stressed forms (recuerdo, me acuerdo).
- Is it regresar or volver for 'to come back'?
- Both are correct and interchangeable in most contexts. Volver is the default in Spain and is the only option in volver a hacer algo (to do something again), which regresar cannot express. Regresar is very frequent in Mexico and the rest of Latin America for returning to a place, and there it can also be transitive: regresé el libro a la biblioteca.
- Why does rico mean both 'tasty' and 'rich'?
- The verb decides. Estar rico describes flavour: esta sopa está muy rica. Ser rico describes wealth: su familia es rica. Be careful with people: ¡qué rico está! said about a person means you find them attractive, so keep estar rico for food and ser rico for money.
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