Morning Routine
1. Despertarse
Despertar (no se at the end)means “to awaken.” This is the word you use when discussing an outside agent who/that wakes a person, like an alarm clock or your mother.
To discuss someone being woken up by something or by someone else, you can use pronouns like me, te and le to indicate who’s being awoken. In this case, the verb wouldn’t be considered reflexive. For instance, you might say mi madre me despierta (my mother wakes me up).
Despertarse, on the other hand, is used to communicate when someone has woken up without provocation, or when they’ve woken themselves up. For instance, me despierto en la mañana (I wake up in the morning), mi madre se despierta a las ocho (my mother wakes up at eight).
2. Levantarse
In the context of daily activities, levantarse means “to get up.”
While this is similar to despertarse, they don’t have quite the same meaning. Levantarse can be used to refer to getting out of bed, getting out of a chair, etc. It helps to remember that levantar means “to raise,” so levantarse literally means “to raise oneself.”
Despertarse, however, only means “to wake up,” so it’s only used when someone has been sleeping. Even if you’ve woken up, you might still be laying in bed. So, you could say “me desperté a las ocho y me levanté a las ocho y media.” (I woke up at eight and I got out of bed at eight thirty.)
3. Hacer la cama
Hacer la cama means “to make the bed.” Unfortunately, it’s more fun to say than to do.
4. Vestirse
While vestir means “to wear,” the reflexive vestirse means “to get dressed.”
5. Ponerse la ropa
Ponerse la ropa means “to put on clothes.” While the meaning is very similar to vestirse, there are some slight differences.
Generally, vestirse is only used when you’re putting on clothes but weren’t already dressed. Ponerse, on the other hand, can also be used when putting on additional garments like a jacket.
6. Afeitarse
Afeitarse means “to shave oneself.” For instance, ¿te afeitas? (do you shave?).
If you, for whatever reason, are shaving someone else (no judgement, a hobby is a hobby), you’d use afeitar in combination with the appropriate pronoun.While it wouldn’t technically be reflexive because you’re acting on someone else, you’d still use pronouns like te, me and le to indicate who’s being shaved. For instance, le afeito al perro (I shave the dog).
7. Maquillarse/pintarse
Both maquillarse and pintarse can be used to mean “to put makeup on oneself.”
When it isn’t reflexive, maquillar means “to make up,” so you can use this if you’re putting makeup on someone else. Again, you’d still use the pronouns me, te and le to clarify who’s being made up.
On the other hand, when pintar isn’t reflexive, it usually means “to paint,” so pintarse is sort of like “to paint oneself.”
8. Ir a…(trabajo, colegio, etc.)
Ir a means “to go to.” It’s a great way to discuss where you’re heading for the day. For instance, you might pair it with el trabajo (work), el colegio (school) or la tienda (store).
Remember, though, that when a is followed by el, we combine it to al, so you would actually use ir al trabajo or ir al colegio.
Hygiene
9. Ducharse
Ducharse means “to take a shower.” For instance, you might say ella se ducha cada mañana (she showers every morning).
When it isn’t reflexive, duchar can mean “to shower” (as in someone or something else) or “to drench.” However, remember: We’d still use me, te and le to indicate who’s being showered. For instance, you might say mi novio me ducha con regalos (my boyfriend showers me with gifts).
10. Bañarse
Bañarse means “to take a bath.” In Latin America, however, it’s also often used to mean “to take a shower” or “to swim.”
Bañar, on the other hand, means “to bathe” when you’re referring to someone bathing someone other than themselves. But don’t forget to still use me, te and le to indicate who’s being bathed!
11. Lavarse
Lavarse means “to clean/wash oneself.” You can also pair it with other words to specifically describe what you’re cleaning. For instance, lavarse el pelo is an everyday phrase that means “to wash one’s hair.”
When it’s not reflexive, lavar alone simply means “to wash” or “to launder.” So, you can say “lavo la ropa” (I wash/launder clothes) or “mi esposo lava los platos” (my husband washes the dishes).
12. Lavarse/cepillarse los dientes
Lavarse los dientes literally means “to wash one’s teeth.” However, it’s frequently used to refer to brushing teeth.
Cepillarse los dientes, on the other hand, literally means “to brush one’s teeth.”
13. Cepillarse el pelo/cabello
If you haven’t already guessed, cepillar means “to brush.” Therefore, cepillarse el pelo and cepillarse el cabello both mean “to brush one’s hair.”
14. Peinarse
Peinar means to comb, and with this verb, it’s usually understood that you’re referring to your hair. So, think of peinarse as “to comb one’s hair.”
Meal Time
15. Comer
Comer means “to eat.” However, in Spain and Mexico, comer can also mean “to have for lunch,” while in parts of Latin America, it can mean “to have for dinner.”
16. Hacer la comida
Hacer la comida means “to prepare the food.” While you might be familiar with cocinar (to cook), hacer la comida better captures the entire meal preparation process rather than just the cooking aspect.
17. Desayunar
Desayunar means “to have breakfast” or “to have for breakfast.”
Similarly, the noun desayuno means “breakfast.”
18. Almorzar
Almorzar means “to have lunch.” It can also mean “to have for lunch.”
Similarly, in Spain, it can mean “to have a mid-morning snack” or “to have as a mid-morning snack.” The noun almuerzo means “lunch.”
19. Cenar
Cenar means “to have dinner or “to have for dinner.”
Cena, on the other hand, is the noun for “dinner.”
20. Descanso
Descanso often means “rest.” However, it’s also used to mean “coffee break,” though this is inconsistent and requires some contextual interpretation. If you want to be clearer, you can also refer to it as un descanso para café (a break for coffee).
21. Merendar
Merendar means “to have an afternoon snack” or “to have afternoon tea.” Similarly, it can mean “to have for an afternoon snack” or “to have for afternoon tea.”
In Latin America, it can be “to have supper,” “to have dinner” or “to have an evening snack.”
22. Picar
Picar can have a wide variety of meanings including “to sting” or “to chop.” However, perhaps most importantly, picar can mean “to snack on.” This is important vocabulary for any chip fan… and who isn’t a chip fan?
Bedtime Routine
23. Llegar a casa
Llegar a casa means “to arrive home.”
24. Quitarse la ropa
Quitarse la ropa means “to take off one’s clothes.”
It helps to remember that quitar alone means “to remove.”
25. Desvestirse/desnudarse
Desvestirse and desnudarse bothmean “to undress oneself,” but desnudarse has the slightly more specific meaning of “to get naked.”
26. Acostarse
Acostarse means “to lie down” or “to go to bed” (i.e. the most important thing you do all day).
If you put someone else to bed (like a child), you can use acostar, but don’t forget to use me, te and le to indicate whom. For instance, le acuesto al niño (I put the child to bed).
27. Dormirse
Dormirse usually means “to fall asleep,” but it can also mean “to oversleep”—context is key.
When it isn’t part of the reflexive dormirse, dormir means “to sleep.” It can also be used to mean “to stay overnight.”
Common Activities
28. Trabajar
Trabajar means “to work.” Similarly, un trabajo is “a job” an ir al trabajo is the phrase for “to go to work.”
29. Estudiar
Estudiar means “to study.”
30. Ver la televisión/tele
Ver la televisión or ver la tele means “to watch television.” Tele is simply an informal version of televisión—it’s like saying “TV” rather than “television.”
31. Escuchar música
Escuchar música means “to listen to music.”
32. Mandar
Mandar literally means “to order” or “to send,” but nowadays, it also means “to text.”
(Fluentu.com)
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