Spanish Words That Start With V (30 Essentials)
🇪🇸 Spanish · 30 cards · A2 · by Lucía Herrera
V trips up learners for one simple reason: in Spanish it isn't really a V at all. It sounds exactly like b, which is why tubo and tuvo, or vaya and baya, are perfect homophones. The spelling has to be memorised, not worked out by ear — Spanish children get it wrong too.
Here are thirty V words that come up every week in my lessons: the heavyweight verbs (ver, venir, volver, valer), everyday nouns (vez, vaso, vecino, vergüenza) and a handful of adjectives. The notes flag the traps my students keep falling into: vaso is not a vase, viejo stings when you aim it at a person, and vino is both "wine" and "he came". Read every example out loud — with a b.
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 | ver Irregular: veo, ves, ve; preterite vi, viste, vio. Also used for watching TV or films. | to see, to watch | ¿Viste la luna anoche? Did you see the moon last night? | |
| 2 | venir Irregular: vengo, vienes, viene; preterite vine, viniste. Movement towards the speaker. | to come | ¿Vienes conmigo al mercado? Are you coming with me to the market? | |
| 3 | vivir Regular -ir verb. Means both 'to reside' and 'to be alive'. | to live | Vivo en el centro desde marzo. I've lived in the centre since March. | |
| 4 | volver Stem-changing o→ue: vuelvo, vuelves. 'Volver a + infinitive' means to do something again. | to return, to go back | Vuelvo a casa a las ocho. I'm coming back home at eight. | |
| 5 | la vez Feminine. Plural: veces. Key phrases: a veces (sometimes), otra vez (again). | time, occasion | Es la tercera vez que llamo. This is the third time I've called. | |
| 6 | la vida Feminine. '¡Así es la vida!' = that's life. | life | La vida aquí es muy tranquila. Life here is very peaceful. | |
| 7 | la verdad Feminine. '¿Verdad?' at the end of a sentence works like 'right?' | truth | Dime la verdad, por favor. Tell me the truth, please. | |
| 8 | verde Same form for masculine and feminine. Also means unripe (plátanos verdes); 'estar verde en algo' = to be a beginner at something. | green | Me compré una chaqueta verde. I bought myself a green jacket. | |
| 9 | el viaje Masculine. '¡Buen viaje!' = have a good trip. | trip, journey | El viaje en tren dura dos horas. The train journey takes two hours. | |
| 10 | el vaso Masculine. Not a vase (that's un florero); a wine glass is una copa. | glass (for drinking) | ¿Me pones un vaso de agua? Could you get me a glass of water? | |
| 11 | la ventana Feminine. A shop window is un escaparate (Spain) or un aparador / una vitrina (Latin America). | window | Cierra la ventana, hace frío. Close the window, it's cold. | |
| 12 | viejo Feminine: vieja. For people it sounds blunt or rude; say mayor. In much of Latin America 'mis viejos' means my parents (very informal). | old | Este abrigo ya está muy viejo. This coat is really old now. | |
| 13 | el viernes Masculine, written lowercase; same form in the plural (los viernes = on Fridays). | Friday | Nos vemos el viernes por la tarde. See you on Friday afternoon. | |
| 14 | el viento Masculine. Weather uses hacer: hace viento. | wind | Hoy hace mucho viento. It's very windy today. | |
| 15 | el vecino Feminine form: la vecina. Also 'resident': los vecinos del edificio = the people in the building. | neighbour | Mi vecino tiene tres perros. My neighbour has three dogs. | |
| 16 | viajar Regular -ar verb. Viajar a + destination; viajar en tren/avión. | to travel | Me encanta viajar sola. I love travelling on my own. | |
| 17 | vender Regular -er verb. 'Se vende' on a sign means 'for sale'. | to sell | Vendieron el coche la semana pasada. They sold the car last week. | |
| 18 | el vestido Masculine, even though it's a woman's garment. Also the past participle of vestir. | dress | Llevas un vestido precioso. You're wearing a beautiful dress. | |
| 19 | las vacaciones Feminine and used in the plural. Ir / estar de vacaciones. | holidays, vacation | Estamos de vacaciones en la playa. We're on holiday at the beach. | |
| 20 | valer Irregular: valgo, valdrá. 'Vale la pena' = it's worth it. In Spain '¡Vale!' on its own means OK. | to cost, to be worth | ¿Cuánto vale este libro? How much does this book cost? | |
| 21 | varios Used in the plural; feminine varias. Goes before the noun and needs no article. | several, various | Llevo varios días sin dormir bien. I haven't slept well for several days. | |
| 22 | el verano Masculine. 'En verano', without an article, for the season in general. | summer | En verano vamos al pueblo. In summer we go to the village. | |
| 23 | la voz Feminine despite ending in -z. Plural: voces. En voz alta = out loud. | voice | Habla en voz baja, el niño duerme. Speak quietly, the child is sleeping. | |
| 24 | volar Stem-changing o→ue: vuelo, vuelas. In Mexico, 'volarse algo' is colloquial for swiping/stealing it. | to fly | Los pájaros vuelan muy alto. The birds are flying very high. | |
| 25 | vacío Feminine: vacía. The verb is vaciar (to empty). | empty | El restaurante estaba casi vacío. The restaurant was almost empty. | |
| 26 | valiente Same form for both genders. Noun: la valentía (courage). | brave | Hay que ser valiente para empezar de cero. You have to be brave to start from scratch. | |
| 27 | la velocidad Feminine. A speeding fine is una multa por exceso de velocidad. | speed | Reduce la velocidad, que hay curvas. Slow down, there are bends ahead. | |
| 28 | la vergüenza Feminine; keep the diaeresis on the ü. '¡Qué vergüenza!' = how embarrassing / shame on you. | embarrassment, shame | Me da vergüenza hablar en público. I get embarrassed speaking in public. | |
| 29 | el vino Masculine. Identical to 'vino' = he/she came (preterite of venir); context tells them apart. | wine | ¿Nos tomamos una copa de vino? Shall we have a glass of wine? | |
| 30 | visitar Regular -ar verb. With people you need the personal 'a': visitar a alguien. | to visit | Voy a visitar a mis abuelos. I'm going to visit my grandparents. |
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
- Is the Spanish V pronounced like the English V?
- No. In Spanish, v and b are the same sound: a full [b] at the start of a phrase or after m/n, and a softer version between vowels. So 'vaso' starts like the b in 'boy', and 'vivir' has two soft b-like sounds. Never use the English lip-and-teeth v. Because the letters sound identical, spelling with v has to be learned word by word.
- What is the difference between vaso, copa and florero?
- Un vaso is a straight drinking glass or tumbler (un vaso de agua). Una copa is a stemmed glass, so wine and cocktails come in una copa, and 'tomar una copa' means to go for a drink. Un florero is a vase for flowers. English 'vase' is never vaso.
- When should I use viejo, mayor or antiguo?
- Use viejo for objects (un coche viejo) and avoid it for people — 'un hombre viejo' sounds blunt, so Spanish prefers mayor (una señora mayor). Antiguo means ancient or former: un edificio antiguo (an old building), mi antiguo jefe (my former boss).
- Which everyday phrases use vez?
- Vez appears in many fixed expressions: a veces (sometimes), otra vez (again), una vez (once), dos veces (twice), muchas veces (often), de vez en cuando (from time to time), por primera vez (for the first time) and en vez de (instead of). Remember the plural is veces, with c.
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