It started with ojalá.
I was half-asleep at a bus stop in Alicante, holding a coffee that was already too cold, when the woman next to me said, “Ojalá no llueva.” I’d heard the word before, but that morning it clicked: the little rise at the end, the shrug in her shoulders — pure poetry in a throwaway wish.
Later I learned ojalá came from Arabic — inshallah — “if God wills it.” I didn’t learn this in class; I learned it because I Googled it on my phone instead of talking to the man who sat down and started unwrapping a hard-boiled egg.
Spain is littered with these Arabic echoes. Not in a romantic, faded-history kind of way — they’re alive in street markets, shouted at football matches, printed on shop awnings that haven’t been repainted since the ‘80s.
Here are a few you probably know without realising:
- Aceituna (olive) – You can smell it in the air driving past Jaén in summer.
- Azúcar (sugar) – Always sounds better than “sugar,” even when you spill it everywhere.
- Naranja (orange) – The word rolls off your tongue like you’re already peeling it.
- Jirafa (giraffe) – Not that you see many, but still.
- Almohada (pillow) – Which makes sense when you fall asleep after too much azúcar.
There are 55 of these in everyday Spanish, and yes, you could read them in a neat bullet-point list. Or you could just listen the next time you’re in a bakery queue. The woman in front might ask for aceite (oil), someone else will mention azafrán (saffron), and suddenly you’re hearing a conversation that’s been going on for 800 years.
The full list is below, but it’s better if you catch them out in the wild. Like bird-watching, but for syllables.
(Insert full list here — but casually, like you’re scribbling them on a napkin for a friend.)
(I probably forgot some, but that’s part of the fun.)
- aceituna – olive
- aceite – oil
- azúcar – sugar
- naranja – orange
- arroz – rice
- limón – lemon
- sandía – watermelon
- azafrán – saffron
- alcachofa – artichoke
- berenjena – aubergine/eggplant
- jarabe – syrup
- taza – cup
- alfombra – carpet
- almohada – pillow
- almohadilla – small cushion/pad
- aduana – customs (at the border, not the police kind)
- tarifa – tariff, fee
- barrio – neighbourhood
- almacén – store/warehouse
- aldea – village
- alquería – farmhouse
- azotea – rooftop terrace
- alcázar – fortress/palace
- alcázaba – citadel
- algarrobo – carob tree
- albahaca – basil
- alfalfa – alfalfa
- alfiler – pin
- alquimia – alchemy
- alcohol – alcohol (yep, same word)
- álgebra – algebra
- cifra – figure/number
- cero – zero
- ojalá – hopefully/if only
- fulano – so-and-so/guy
- rehén – hostage
- máscara – mask
- tambor – drum
- laúd – lute
- jirafa – giraffe
- aljibe – water cistern
- noria – water wheel
- azulejo – tile
- azotar – to whip/lash
- zanahoria – carrot
- zahúrda – pigsty
- albornoz – bathrobe
- marfil – ivory
- almacabra – cemetery
- alcantarilla – drain/sewer
- alcalde – mayor
- alcaide – governor/custodian
- adelfa – oleander
- alhaja – jewel
- azahar – orange blossom
