The basic classroom objects in Spanish are el bolígrafo or el boli (pen), el lápiz (pencil), la goma (rubber), la regla (ruler), el sacapuntas (sharpener), las tijeras (scissors), el cuaderno (exercise book), el estuche (pencil case) and la mochila (school bag). School supplies as a whole are el material escolar in Spain and los útiles escolares in much of Latin America.
Classroom objects in Spanish
In the pronunciation column, capitals mark the stressed syllable. “h” stands for the jota, a throaty sound like the ch in Scottish “loch”. “th” is the Spain pronunciation of z, and of c before e or i; in Latin America it is “s”.
In the pencil case
| Spanish | English | Say it like |
|---|---|---|
| el estuche | pencil case (Spain) | es-TOO-cheh |
| el bolígrafo, el boli | pen, biro | boh-LEE-grah-foh, BOH-lee |
| el lápiz (los lápices) | pencil | LAH-peeth / LAH-pees |
| los lápices de colores | colouring pencils | LAH-pee-thes deh koh-LOH-res |
| la goma (de borrar) | rubber, eraser | GOH-mah |
| el sacapuntas | pencil sharpener | sah-kah-POON-tahs |
| la regla | ruler | REH-glah |
| las tijeras | scissors | tee-HEH-rahs |
| el pegamento | glue | peh-gah-MEN-toh |
| el rotulador | felt-tip pen (Spain) | roh-too-lah-DOR |
| el subrayador | highlighter | soo-brah-yah-DOR |
| la calculadora | calculator | kahl-koo-lah-DOH-rah |
| el compás | compasses | kom-PAHS |
In the classroom and the school bag
| Spanish | English | Say it like |
|---|---|---|
| la mochila | school bag, rucksack | moh-CHEE-lah |
| el cuaderno | exercise book | kwah-DAIR-noh |
| la libreta | notebook | lee-BREH-tah |
| el libro | book | LEE-broh |
| el diccionario | dictionary | deek-thyoh-NAH-ryoh |
| la carpeta | folder | kar-PEH-tah |
| la hoja | sheet of paper | OH-hah |
| la pizarra | board (Spain) | pee-THAH-rrah |
| la tiza | chalk | TEE-thah |
| la mesa | table, desk | MEH-sah |
| la silla | chair | SEE-yah |
| el ordenador | computer (Spain) | or-deh-nah-DOR |
| la puerta / la ventana | door / window | PWAIR-tah / ben-TAH-nah |
Grammar you need with classroom objects
- Z becomes c in the plural. el lápiz, los lápices. The written accent stays: the stress is still on the first syllable, LAH-pee-thes.
- Sacapuntas is the same in the plural. el sacapuntas, los sacapuntas. So is el lavavajillas at home: compound words ending in -s do not change.
- Scissors are plural. unas tijeras (a pair of scissors); Las tijeras están en la mesa.
- No article after tener in the negative, often in the positive. No tengo regla, ¿Tienes boli? Both ¿Tienes un boli? and ¿Tienes boli? are natural.
- Colours agree and come after the noun. un boli azul, una regla roja, unas tijeras amarillas.
Asking and apologising
¿Me prestas un boli, por favor?Can I borrow a pen, please?
¿Tienes una goma?Have you got a rubber?
Se me ha olvidado el cuaderno.I’ve forgotten my exercise book. (Spain)
Se me olvidó el cuaderno.I forgot my exercise book. (Latin America)
No tengo estuche.I haven’t got a pencil case.
En mi estuche hay dos lápices, una goma y un sacapuntas.In my pencil case there are two pencils, a rubber and a sharpener.
The phrase se me ha olvidado (“it has forgotten itself on me”) avoids blaming yourself, which pupils find funny and remember.
Spain and Latin America
Classroom words vary a lot between countries. Teach the variety you use and recognise the others.
| Spain | Latin America | English |
|---|---|---|
| el material escolar | los útiles escolares | school supplies |
| el estuche | la cartuchera (Argentina) and other words | pencil case |
| el bolígrafo, el boli | la pluma (Mexico), la birome (Argentina) | pen |
| la goma | el borrador (several countries) | rubber |
| el rotulador | el marcador, el plumón (several countries) | felt-tip pen |
| la pizarra | el pizarrón | board |
| el ordenador | la computadora | computer |
In Spain, el borrador is the board rubber, not the one in the pencil case. And a British pupil’s “rubber” is safest translated as la goma de borrar.
Idioms
| Spanish | Literally | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| quedarse en blanco | to stay in white | to go blank |
| poner los puntos sobre las íes | to put the dots on the i’s | to spell it out, dot the i’s |
| hacer borrón y cuenta nueva | to make a blot and a new account | to wipe the slate clean |
Quedarse en blanco is a useful one before exams: Me quedé en blanco en el examen.
Typical mistakes of English-speaking learners
- Carpeta is not carpet: it is a folder. A carpet is la alfombra.
- “Lápizes”: it is lápices.
- “Un tijera”: use unas tijeras.
- Librería is not library: it is a bookshop. The library is la biblioteca.
- Missing accents: bolígrafo, lápiz, compás.
- Pronouncing the j of tijeras as in English: it is the throaty jota.
In class: classroom objects as a word of the day
This is the one topic where every word is already in the room: pupils can hold up the real object.
- Show the picture (a pencil sharpener) and the English word: “sharpener”.
- Ask ¿Cómo se dice en español? Pupils write their guess on mini whiteboards.
- Reveal el sacapuntas with its pronunciation. The class repeats it, then two pupils alone. Break it up: saca + puntas, “takes out points”.
- Show the example sentence: ¿Me prestas tu sacapuntas, por favor?
- Give the reuse task: pupils ask a partner to lend them the object, and the partner answers Sí, toma or Lo siento, no tengo.
- Recall yesterday’s word: every pupil holds up the object when you say it.
That is exactly what a daily routine does: one word a day, in a sentence pupils will need again that same lesson.
Games with real objects
A Kim’s game works well: put six objects on the visualiser, hide them, remove one and ask ¿Qué falta? Pupils answer Falta la regla. For a quick A1 check, say ¡Levantad el lápiz! and the class holds it up.
- A1The object with its article: Es un lápiz. Es una regla.
- A2Requests and descriptions: ¿Me prestas tu regla? La mía está en casa.
- B1Past excuses: Ayer se me olvidó la mochila en el autobús.
- B2Opinions on school equipment: Es mejor que los alumnos usen cuadernos en vez de tabletas.
At KS2, real objects and es un / es una are enough. At KS3, insist on plurals and on asking politely. At GCSE, this vocabulary comes back in school life and in excuses in the past.
For extra vocabulary between lessons, the free site unapalabrapordia.es, created by the maker of VocaDial, publishes an illustrated Spanish word every day, translated into French, English and German, with its pronunciation and an example sentence recorded in all four languages.
The “La palabra” module does it for you
A picture and the word in the pupils’ language: the class works out how to say it, then the word is revealed with its pronunciation and an example sentence to reuse. No preparation needed: try everything free for 15 days of use.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say "pencil case" in Spanish?
El estuche in Spain. Latin America has several words, for example la cartuchera in Argentina. “What’s in your pencil case?” is ¿Qué hay en tu estuche?
What is the plural of lápiz?
Los lápices: the z becomes c before e, as in la luz, las luces. “Colouring pencils” are los lápices de colores.
How do you ask to borrow a pen in Spanish?
¿Me prestas un boli, por favor? to a classmate, or ¿Me presta un bolígrafo, por favor? with usted. ¿Tienes un boli? also works.
Is it la tijera or las tijeras?
Usually las tijeras, in the plural, like English “scissors”: unas tijeras is “a pair of scissors”. The singular la tijera is also accepted and heard.
Does pluma mean pen in Spanish?
In Mexico and parts of Central America, yes, la pluma is an ordinary pen. In Spain it means a feather, or a fountain pen (la pluma estilográfica); a ballpoint is el bolígrafo.