Spanish Words That Start With X
🇪🇸 Spanish · 30 cards · B2 · by Lucía Herrera
X is the rarest initial letter in Spanish, and almost every word on this list comes from one of three places: Greek roots (xeno- "foreign", xero- "dry", xilo- "wood", xanto- "yellow"), Nahuatl words used in Mexico, or Galician spellings such as xacobeo. Grouped that way, the letter stops looking random.
The real trap is pronunciation. At the start of a learned word, Spanish speakers say the x as a plain s: xilófono sounds like silófono. In the Nahuatl words it is the English sh: xoloitzcuintle is sholoitscuintle. I flag this on the cards where it matters, because it is the first thing my students get wrong.
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.
The Reji iPhone app is being rebuilt and returns to the App Store soon.
All 30 cards
| # | Spanish | English | Example | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | xilófono Masculine. Initial x is normally pronounced like s: "silófono". | xylophone | Mi hija toca el xilófono en la escuela. My daughter plays the xylophone at school. | |
| 2 | xenofobia Feminine. From Greek xeno- "foreign"; pronounced "senofobia". | xenophobia | Acusaron al partido de fomentar la xenofobia. They accused the party of fuelling xenophobia. | |
| 3 | xenófobo Adjective and noun; feminine xenófoba. Pronounced "senófobo". | xenophobic; xenophobe | No pienso aguantar sus comentarios xenófobos. I'm not going to put up with his xenophobic comments. | |
| 4 | xenón Masculine; chemical element Xe. Stressed on the last syllable, with a written accent. | xenon | Los faros de xenón iluminan mucho más. Xenon headlights give off much more light. | |
| 5 | xilografía Feminine. Refers both to the technique and to a single print. | woodcut, xylography | La exposición incluye xilografías japonesas del siglo XIX. The exhibition includes 19th-century Japanese woodcuts. | |
| 6 | xerografía Feminine. Literally "dry writing"; the technology behind photocopiers. | xerography, dry photocopying | La xerografía cambió las oficinas para siempre. Xerography changed offices forever. | |
| 7 | xerocopia Feminine. Formal, mostly on official forms; in daily speech people say fotocopia or just copia. | photocopy | Traiga una xerocopia de su identificación. Bring a photocopy of your ID. | |
| 8 | xerocopiar One of the very few Spanish verbs starting with x-; regular -ar verb. Everyday word: fotocopiar. | to photocopy | Voy a xerocopiar el contrato antes de firmarlo. I'm going to photocopy the contract before signing it. | |
| 9 | xoloitzcuintle Masculine. Mexico; from Nahuatl, pronounced "sholoitscuintle" and usually shortened to xolo. | Xoloitzcuintli, Mexican hairless dog | Mi vecina tiene un xoloitzcuintle precioso. My neighbour has a gorgeous Mexican hairless dog. | |
| 10 | xocoyote Mexico, affectionate and colloquial; feminine xocoyota. Nahuatl origin, said "shocoyote". | youngest child of the family | Como es el xocoyote, todos lo consienten. Since he's the youngest, everyone spoils him. | |
| 11 | xoconostle Masculine. Mexico, cooking. Pronounced "shoconostle"; much sourer than an ordinary tuna (prickly pear). | xoconostle, sour prickly pear | Le puse xoconostle al caldo de res. I added xoconostle to the beef broth. | |
| 12 | xitomate Masculine. Mexico; older variant of jitomate, said "shitomate". Careful: in central Mexico tomate means tomatillo, not the red tomato. | tomato (red tomato) | Mi abuela todavía dice xitomate en lugar de jitomate. My grandmother still says xitomate instead of jitomate. | |
| 13 | xacobeo Spain; Galician spelling, heard as "shacobeo" or "jacobeo". Mostly in Año Xacobeo; the Spanish form is jacobeo. | relating to St James / the Camino de Santiago | El año xacobeo llena el Camino de peregrinos. The Jacobean year fills the Camino with pilgrims. | |
| 14 | xenófilo Adjective and noun; feminine xenófila. Rare, the transparent opposite of xenófobo. | xenophilic, fond of foreigners; xenophile | Es muy xenófilo: adora todo lo extranjero. He's very xenophilic: he adores everything foreign. | |
| 15 | xenofilia Feminine. Much less frequent than xenofobia. | xenophilia, love of the foreign | Su xenofilia lo llevó a vivir en cinco países. His love of foreign things led him to live in five countries. | |
| 16 | xilofonista Same form for men and women: el xilofonista / la xilofonista. | xylophone player | El xilofonista de la orquesta es cubano. The orchestra's xylophone player is Cuban. | |
| 17 | xilógrafo Masculine; feminine xilógrafa. | woodcut artist, wood engraver | El xilógrafo talla la madera con mucha paciencia. The woodcut artist carves the wood very patiently. | |
| 18 | xilográfico Agrees in gender and number: técnica xilográfica, grabados xilográficos. | woodcut (adj.), xylographic | Compré un grabado xilográfico en el mercado. I bought a woodcut print at the market. | |
| 19 | xerófilo Adjective; common in botany and gardening texts. From xero- "dry". | drought-loving, xerophilous | El romero es una planta xerófila. Rosemary is a drought-loving plant. | |
| 20 | xerófito Masculine noun, also used as an adjective: vegetación xerófita. | xerophyte, drought-adapted plant | En esa zona solo crecen xerófitos y matorrales. Only xerophytes and scrub grow in that area. | |
| 21 | xilema Masculine despite the -a ending: el xilema. Standard school biology term. | xylem | El xilema transporta el agua por el tallo. The xylem carries water through the stem. | |
| 22 | xilosa Feminine; a wood sugar, the raw material for the sweetener xilitol. | xylose | La xilosa se extrae de la madera. Xylose is extracted from wood. | |
| 23 | xileno Masculine; chemistry and lab register. | xylene | En el laboratorio usamos xileno como disolvente. In the lab we use xylene as a solvent. | |
| 24 | xantofila Feminine, no written accent. From xanto- "yellow"; a biology-class word. | xanthophyll | Las xantofilas dan el color amarillo a las hojas. Xanthophylls give leaves their yellow colour. | |
| 25 | xantoma Masculine: el xantoma. Medical register; often linked to high cholesterol. | xanthoma (yellowish skin deposit) | Le salió un xantoma en el párpado. He got a xanthoma on his eyelid. | |
| 26 | xerostomía Feminine, medical register; patients normally say boca seca. | dry mouth, xerostomia | Ese medicamento me provoca xerostomía. That medication gives me dry mouth. | |
| 27 | xeroftalmia Feminine. The spelling xeroftalmía, with an accent, is also accepted. | xerophthalmia, dry eye | La falta de vitamina A causa xeroftalmia. Vitamin A deficiency causes xerophthalmia. | |
| 28 | xifoides Invariable adjective; in practice it appears only in apéndice xifoides. | xiphoid | Le dolía justo debajo del apéndice xifoides. It hurt right below the xiphoid process. | |
| 29 | xenotrasplante Masculine; the variant xenotransplante also appears in the press. | xenotransplant (animal-to-human transplant) | El xenotrasplante de riñón sigue siendo experimental. Kidney xenotransplantation is still experimental. | |
| 30 | xenobiótico Noun and adjective; pharmacology and toxicology register. | xenobiotic (substance foreign to the body) | El hígado metaboliza los xenobióticos. The liver metabolises xenobiotics. |
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 is the letter X pronounced at the beginning of a Spanish word?
- In learned words of Greek origin (xilófono, xenofobia, xerografía) the normal pronunciation is a plain s: "silófono", "senofobia"; only in very careful speech do some speakers articulate /ks/. In Mexican words from Nahuatl (xoloitzcuintle, xocoyote, xoconostle, xitomate) the x sounds like English sh. In Galician-influenced words such as xacobeo you will hear both "shacobeo" and "jacobeo".
- How many Spanish words really start with X?
- The Real Academia's dictionary has only a few dozen entries under X, and most are technical. Four Greek prefixes account for the bulk of them: xeno- (foreign), xero- (dry), xilo- (wood) and xanto- (yellow). Add a handful of Mexican words from Nahuatl and a few Galician spellings and that is essentially the whole letter. This deck covers the 30 you are most likely to meet.
- Are there any Spanish verbs that start with X?
- Almost none. Xerocopiar (to photocopy) is the main one in the dictionary, together with the rarer xerografiar. Both are regular -ar verbs. In everyday speech people say fotocopiar or sacar una copia, so you will not hear xerocopiar outside offices and official paperwork.
- Is xerocopia a normal word or should I say fotocopia?
- Say fotocopia, or simply copia. Xerocopia and xerocopiar are correct but belong to bureaucratic language: official forms, university requirements, notary documents, especially in parts of Latin America. Asking in a shop for "una xerocopia" would sound oddly formal.
More Spanish decks: spanish words starting with x
100 Basic Spanish Words for Beginners (A1)
The 100 most useful Spanish words for beginners (A1): greetings, pronouns, core verbs, question words, everyday nouns, adjectives and connectors, with examples.
100 Most Common Spanish Verbs (with yo & tú forms)
The 100 Spanish verbs you will hear every day, each with its meaning, the yo and tú present-tense forms, and a short natural example. For A1 beginners.
Colors in Spanish: 25 Words with Gender Rules
Learn 25 Spanish color words for beginners: basic colors, shades like celeste and turquesa, plus light/dark combinations and gender agreement notes.
Common Spanish Phrases for Beginners (50 Essentials)
Fifty everyday Spanish phrases for absolute beginners: greetings, thank-yous, apologies and survival questions, with notes on tú vs. usted and Spain vs. Mexico usage.
Hard Spanish Words to Pronounce (rr, j, ñ + slang)
Thirty Spanish words my students stumble over: the trilled rr, the raspy j, ñ, vowel pile-ups, long words and a few slang traps. With tips and examples.
Irregular Spanish Verbs: 40 You Really Need (A2)
Forty common irregular Spanish verbs for A2 learners: stem changes, irregular yo forms and preterites, each with a natural example sentence and a usage note.
Numbers in Spanish 1–100 (Plus Dates and Prices)
Spanish numbers from 0 to 100, plus hundreds, mil, un millón and the ordinals first–tenth, with cards for prices, ages and dates. For A1 beginners.
Spanish Adjectives: The 100 Most Useful
The 100 Spanish adjectives beginners really need, with natural examples, gender-agreement notes and warnings about ser vs estar. Ideal for A1 learners.