🔌 Appliances - Electrodomésticos
Beginner Spanish · Home appliances and problems
Home Appliances in Spanish
Appliance vocabulary becomes much more useful when you can turn something on, turn it off, explain that it is not working, and ask someone to help. Start with common household appliances, then practice the verbs and phrases that make them useful.
Your next small win: name common appliances, ask someone to turn something on or off, describe a simple problem, and say when you need a repair.
Start with common machines
Everyday Home Appliances
These appliances appear often enough at home to make a useful beginner set.
Washing machine
Clothes dryer
Refrigerator
Oven
Dishwasher
Television
Fan
Air conditioner
Name two appliances
Say “the washing machine and the oven.”
La lavadora y el horno.
More kitchen appliances
Coffee maker
Toaster
Blender
Microwave
Freezer
Sandwich maker
Cleaning, comfort, and electronics
Vacuum cleaner
Iron
Heater
Water heater
Computer
Printer
Router
Speaker
Video game console
Regional vocabulary
Appliance names can vary across Spanish-speaking regions.
Refrigerator, regional alternatives
Computer, regional alternatives
Make the appliances useful
Turn On, Turn Off, Plug In
These verbs let you give simple instructions and talk about how household machines are used.
To turn on
To turn off
To plug in
To unplug
To work / function
To repair
Can you turn on the air conditioner?
Can you turn off the fan?
Don't forget to unplug the iron.
Turn off the television before leaving.
Ask someone to turn something off
The fan is running. Ask someone to turn it off.
¿Puedes apagar el ventilador?
Match descriptions to the appliance
Appliances and Agreement
Appliance nouns have grammatical gender. Changing adjectives should agree with the appliance being described.
The washing machine
The coffee maker
The refrigerator
The oven
The washing machine is new.
The oven is new.
Explain what is wrong
Appliance Problems and Repairs
A small set of problem phrases can handle many household situations.
It isn't working.
It won't turn on.
It isn't working properly.
It's broken.
I need to call a technician.
Agreement matters here too: la lavadora está rota, but el horno está roto.
Report a washing machine problem
The washing machine will not turn on, and you think it is broken.
No enciende. Creo que está rota.
Handle everyday appliance situations
Everyday Conversations
Problem with an appliance
What's wrong with the washing machine?
It won't turn on. I think it's broken.
At home
Can you turn off the fan?
Sure, right now.
Build a short problem report
Choose an appliance. Say that it is not working properly, then say that you need to call a technician.
La lavadora no funciona correctamente.
Necesito llamar a un técnico.
More appliances in context
I use the vacuum cleaner to clean the living room.
The clothes dryer is still running.
We turned on the fan because it was very hot.
The printer needs more paper.
Your turn · 8 quick questions
Practice: Home Appliances
Choose the phrase that fits each situation. Focus on turning appliances on and off, reporting problems, appliance gender, and simple household requests.
Practice complete
You can use appliances and explain basic household problems.
A few appliance phrases to revisit
One last step: report a problem without choices.
Choose an appliance. Say what is wrong with it and what you need to do next.
La lavadora no enciende.
Creo que está rota.
Necesito llamar a un técnico.
The washing machine will not turn on and you think it is broken. Which response fits?
- No enciende. Creo que está rota.
- Está funcionando. Creo que es nueva.
- La secadora todavía está funcionando.
- Apaga la televisión antes de salir.
La lavadora is feminine, so the lesson uses rota. No enciende means that it will not turn on.
No enciende. Creo que está rota.
It is hot and you want someone to turn on the air conditioner. What do you ask?
- ¿Puedes encender el aire acondicionado?
- ¿Puedes apagar el aire acondicionado?
- ¿Puedes reparar el ventilador?
- ¿Puedes desenchufar la televisión?
Encender means “to turn on.”
encender = to turn on
You want someone to turn off the fan. Which question fits?
- ¿Puedes apagar el ventilador?
- ¿Puedes encender el ventilador?
- ¿Puedes enchufar la lavadora?
- ¿Puedes reparar el horno?
Apagar means “to turn off.”
apagar = to turn off
You do not want someone to leave the iron plugged in. What do you say?
- No olvides desenchufar la plancha.
- No olvides encender la plancha.
- No olvides apagar la lavadora rota.
- No olvides reparar la televisión.
Desenchufar means “to unplug.”
No olvides desenchufar la plancha.
You are leaving home and want the television turned off. Which sentence fits?
- Apaga la televisión antes de salir.
- Enciende la televisión antes de salir.
- La televisión necesita un técnico.
- La televisión está funcionando antes de salir.
Apaga is the informal command used here to tell someone to turn the television off.
Apaga la televisión antes de salir.
Which pair uses the correct articles?
- la lavadora / el horno
- el lavadora / la horno
- el cafetera / la refrigerador
- la ventilador / el plancha
The lesson uses la lavadora and el horno.
la lavadora / el horno
An appliance is not working properly and you need professional help. What do you say?
- Necesito llamar a un técnico.
- Necesito encender la aspiradora.
- La secadora es nueva.
- Claro, ahora mismo.
Necesito llamar a un técnico means that you need to call a technician.
Necesito llamar a un técnico.
You use the vacuum cleaner to clean the living room. Which sentence matches?
- Uso la aspiradora para limpiar la sala.
- Uso la lavadora para enfriar la sala.
- Uso el horno para limpiar la sala.
- Uso la impresora para apagar la sala.
Aspiradora means vacuum cleaner, and usar + noun + para + infinitive explains what something is used for.
Uso la aspiradora para limpiar la sala.