Spanish work vocabulary: 25 words for jobs and the office in Spain

🇪🇸 SpanishB125 words

Whether you are looking for a job or already work with Spanish colleagues, these words cover contracts, meetings, schedules and office life, including Spain-specific terms such as la nómina, el paro and la jornada intensiva.

Where you will use it: Job hunting, the office and working life in Spain.

Spanish words for work and the office — The word list

Meanings and translations are in English.

Spanish	Meaning and example
la nómina	Payslip; salary payment.“He revisado la nómina de este mes.”I've checked this month's payslip.
el paro	Unemployment; unemployment benefit in everyday usage.“Lleva dos meses en el paro.”He's been unemployed for two months.
la jornada intensiva	Working day with no long midday break.“En verano tenemos jornada intensiva hasta las tres.”In summer we work straight through until three.
el contrato indefinido	Employment contract with no fixed end date.“Me han ofrecido un contrato indefinido.”I've been offered a permanent contract.
el currículum	CV; résumé.“He enviado mi currículum esta mañana.”I've sent my CV this morning.
la entrevista de trabajo	Job interview.“Mañana tengo una entrevista de trabajo.”I have a job interview tomorrow.
la oferta de empleo	Job vacancy; job advert.“Esta oferta de empleo pide experiencia previa.”This job advert asks for previous experience.
el puesto	Position; job.“El puesto requiere conocimientos de inglés.”The position requires knowledge of English.
el sueldo	Salary; pay.“El sueldo se abona por transferencia bancaria.”The salary is paid by bank transfer.
la jornada laboral	Working day; working hours.“Mi jornada laboral empieza a las ocho.”My working day starts at eight.
el turno	Shift.“Esta semana trabajo en el turno de tarde.”This week I'm working the afternoon shift.
las horas extra	Overtime.“Hoy no hemos hecho horas extra.”We haven't worked overtime today.
las vacaciones	Holiday; annual leave.“¿Cuándo vais a pedir las vacaciones?”When are you going to request your annual leave?
el permiso retribuido	Paid leave.“Consulta las condiciones de tu permiso retribuido.”Check the terms of your paid leave.
el teletrabajo	Remote working; working from home.“El teletrabajo me permite evitar los desplazamientos.”Working from home lets me avoid commuting.
la reunión	Meeting.“La reunión empieza dentro de diez minutos.”The meeting starts in ten minutes.
el correo electrónico	Email.“Os he enviado los documentos por correo electrónico.”I've sent you the documents by email.
el archivo adjunto	Email attachment; attached file.“No puedo abrir el archivo adjunto.”I can't open the attachment.
el plazo de entrega	Delivery deadline.“Tenemos que acordar el plazo de entrega.”We need to agree on the delivery deadline.
la tarea	Task.“Hemos terminado la tarea antes de comer.”We've finished the task before lunch.
el equipo	Team.“Nuestro equipo se reúne todos los lunes.”Our team meets every Monday.
el jefe / la jefa	Boss; manager.“La jefa nos ha explicado los cambios.”The manager has explained the changes to us.
el compañero / la compañera	Colleague; workmate.“Mi compañera me ayuda con el informe.”My colleague is helping me with the report.
el convenio colectivo	Collective labour agreement.“El convenio colectivo regula nuestras condiciones laborales.”The collective agreement regulates our working conditions.
el periodo de prueba	Probationary period.“El contrato incluye un periodo de prueba.”The contract includes a probationary period.

Tips for learning Spanish words

Learn the article with the nounWrite el billete or la cuenta, not just the noun: the article tells you the gender, and adjectives agree with it.
Say every example aloudSpanish is spelled almost exactly as it sounds. Play the audio, then read the example aloud — it trains your ear and your pronunciation at once.
Type the accentsIn WordNest a missing accent counts as a mistake. Typing está, mañana and también correctly from the start saves relearning them later.

Spanish as spoken in Spain

Spanish is spoken in more than twenty countries, and everyday words differ between them: a car is a coche in Spain and a carro in much of Latin America, a phone is a móvil rather than a celular. These lists follow Spain's usage — vosotros, coger el tren, el ordenador — and WordNest's examples, audio and AI corrections use the same standard. You will still be understood everywhere.

Add five or six of these words a day rather than the whole list at once, keep the example sentence on the card, and review them when they come due. WordNest schedules each word across seven growing intervals — same day, then 1, 3, 7, 14, 30 and 60 days — so the list is still with you months later. Read how spaced repetition works if you want the reasoning behind those numbers.

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Questions about this list

Is this Spanish from Spain or Latin America?

Spanish as spoken in Spain. Where Latin America usually uses a different word, the list gives the Spain one — for example coche instead of carro — but every word is understood across the Spanish-speaking world.

How do I practise Spanish words for work and the office?

Start with five words, listen and say each example aloud. Then recall the Spanish word from its English meaning and review it over several days.

How many words are in this list?

This list contains 25 words and phrases with English meanings and example sentences. It is a starting set, not a complete course.

Study these words with spaced repetition

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