Spain vs Latin American Spanish: 50 everyday words that differ

Why Spanish differs between Spain and Latin America

Spanish spread to the Americas from the late fifteenth century and then developed separately for five hundred years. Each region kept some older words, borrowed from local languages such as Nahuatl and Quechua, and invented new terms for new things — cars, phones and computers among them.

The result is a shared core grammar and vocabulary with regional layers on top. Most differences are everyday nouns: things you use, eat and wear. They rarely cause real misunderstandings, but using the local word makes you sound natural.

50 everyday words: Spain vs Latin America

The left column is the word used in Spain. The middle column gives common Latin American equivalents; MX marks Mexico, AR Argentina, CL Chile and CO Colombia. Many Latin American countries share the same word, but usage varies.

Vosotros and ustedes

The biggest grammar difference is how you speak to a group. In Spain, vosotros is the informal plural "you" — vosotros sois, ¿qué queréis? — and ustedes is formal. In Latin America, ustedes is used for every group, formal or not.

If you learn Spain Spanish you need the vosotros forms of every verb. They are regular and easy to recognise, and WordNest's examples and diary corrections use them the way people do in Spain.

• •Spain: ¿Vosotros venís a la fiesta? — Are you (all) coming to the party?
• •Latin America: ¿Ustedes vienen a la fiesta?
• •Both: Ustedes son muy amables. (formal, to a group)

Pronunciation: the sound of z and c

In most of Spain, z and c before e or i are pronounced like the English "th" in "think": gracias sounds like "grathias" and zapato like "thapato". In Latin America, the Canary Islands and parts of Andalusia they sound like s.

This is called distinción, and it is the clearest sign of a Spain accent. WordNest's Spain voice uses it, so you hear it every time you play the audio.

Talking about the past: he comido or comí

Spain uses the pretérito perfecto (he comido, has visto) for anything that happened today or in a period that is not over yet: Hoy he trabajado mucho. Much of Latin America prefers the simple past here: Hoy trabajé mucho.

Both are correct Spanish. If you want to sound like Spain, use the perfecto with hoy, esta mañana, esta semana and este año.

Words that change meaning

A few words are neutral in Spain and rude or odd elsewhere. The best-known is coger: in Spain it simply means to take or to catch (coger el autobús), but in Mexico, Argentina and several other countries it is vulgar, so people there say tomar.

The opposite happens too. Learn the Spain word for Spain, keep the Latin American one for recognition, and you will be understood everywhere.

Which Spanish should you learn?

Learn the variety of the place where you will use it. If you live in Spain, work with Spanish colleagues or plan to take the DELE in Spain, choose Spain Spanish. Everything else — grammar, most vocabulary, spelling — is shared, so switching later is a matter of words, not of starting again.