🍽️ Meals
In this section you'll learn useful Spanish vocabulary for meals, eating, drinking, and talking about when and what you eat.
🟢 Basic Meals
☀️ Breakfast → Desayuno
🍽️ Lunch → Almuerzo / Comida
🌙 Dinner → Cena
🍎 Snack → Merienda
🍰 Dessert → Postre
🍴 Meal / Food → Comida
🟡 Eating & Drinking
🍴 To eat → Comer
🥤 To drink → Beber
👨🍳 To cook → Cocinar
🍽️ To have breakfast → Desayunar
☀️ To have lunch → Almorzar
🌙 To have dinner → Cenar
🍳 To prepare → Preparar
🍽️ To serve → Servir
🍽️ Parts of a Meal
🥗 Appetizer / Starter → Entrante / Aperitivo
🍲 First course → Primer plato
🍗 Main course → Plato principal
🥗 Side dish → Guarnición / Acompañamiento
🍰 Dessert → Postre
🥤 Drink / Beverage → Bebida
😋 Useful Meal Expressions
😋 I'm hungry → Tengo hambre
🥤 I'm thirsty → Tengo sed
😊 Enjoy your meal! → ¡Buen provecho!
🍽️ I'm full → Estoy lleno / Estoy llena
😋 It's delicious → Está delicioso / Está deliciosa
🍴 Let's eat! → ¡A comer!
🌎 Meal Times & Regional Vocabulary
☀️ Desayuno refers to breakfast, but what people eat and when they eat it varies widely across the Spanish-speaking world.
🍽️ The words almuerzo and comida can both refer to a midday meal, depending on the country and region.
🍎 Merienda commonly refers to a light snack or small meal, often eaten in the afternoon, although customs vary by region.
🌙 Cena means dinner or the evening meal. The typical time for dinner varies considerably between Spanish-speaking countries.
🧠 Useful Grammar Tip
Spanish has verbs formed directly from the names of several meals.
Desayuno a las ocho.
I have breakfast at eight.
Almorzamos juntos.
We have lunch together.
Cenamos en casa.
We have dinner at home.
Desayuno a las ocho.
I have breakfast at eight.
Almorzamos juntos.
We have lunch together.
Cenamos en casa.
We have dinner at home.
To talk about hunger and thirst, Spanish uses the verb tener rather than estar.
Tengo hambre.
I'm hungry.
Tengo sed.
I'm thirsty.
Tengo hambre.
I'm hungry.
Tengo sed.
I'm thirsty.
💬 Common Meal Phrases
☀️ Desayuno a las siete de la mañana.
I have breakfast at seven in the morning.
I have breakfast at seven in the morning.
🍽️ Comemos juntos todos los días.
We eat together every day.
We eat together every day.
🌙 ¿Qué vamos a cenar esta noche?
What are we going to have for dinner tonight?
What are we going to have for dinner tonight?
🍰 ¿Quieres postre después de comer?
Do you want dessert after eating?
Do you want dessert after eating?
💬 Everyday Conversations
At home
A: ¿Qué hay para el almuerzo?
B: Hoy hay sopa, arroz y pollo.
A: What's for lunch?
B: Today there's soup, rice, and chicken.
A: ¿Qué hay para el almuerzo?
B: Hoy hay sopa, arroz y pollo.
A: What's for lunch?
B: Today there's soup, rice, and chicken.
Making dinner plans
A: ¿A qué hora cenamos?
B: Cenamos a las ocho.
A: What time are we having dinner?
B: We're having dinner at eight.
A: ¿A qué hora cenamos?
B: Cenamos a las ocho.
A: What time are we having dinner?
B: We're having dinner at eight.
After the meal
A: ¿Quieres un poco de postre?
B: No, gracias. Estoy lleno.
A: Would you like some dessert?
B: No, thank you. I'm full.
A: ¿Quieres un poco de postre?
B: No, gracias. Estoy lleno.
A: Would you like some dessert?
B: No, thank you. I'm full.
📝 Example Sentences
🍲 La sopa está caliente y deliciosa.
The soup is hot and delicious.
The soup is hot and delicious.
🥤 Bebo agua con todas las comidas.
I drink water with all my meals.
I drink water with all my meals.
👨🍳 Mi madre cocina muy bien los fines de semana.
My mother cooks really well on weekends.
My mother cooks really well on weekends.
🍎 Como una merienda ligera por la tarde.
I eat a light snack in the afternoon.
I eat a light snack in the afternoon.
🍽️ Almorzamos juntos al mediodía.
We have lunch together at noon.
We have lunch together at noon.
🌙 Normalmente cenamos en casa.
We normally have dinner at home.
We normally have dinner at home.
🏆 Final Practice
Try saying each phrase before pressing play.
- Tengo hambre.
- Tengo sed.
- ¿Qué hay para el almuerzo?
- ¿A qué hora cenamos?
- La comida está deliciosa.
- ¡Buen provecho!