“House” in Spanish is la casa, and a flat is el piso in Spain or el departamento or el apartamento in Latin America. The main rooms are la cocina (kitchen), el salón (living room), el comedor (dining room), el dormitorio (bedroom), el cuarto de baño (bathroom) and el jardín (garden).
Rooms of the house 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”. The Spanish h is silent.
| Spanish | English | Say it like |
|---|---|---|
| la casa | house | KAH-sah |
| el piso | flat (Spain), floor, storey | PEE-soh |
| la cocina | kitchen | koh-THEE-nah / koh-SEE-nah |
| el salón | living room (Spain) | sah-LON |
| el comedor | dining room | koh-meh-DOR |
| el dormitorio | bedroom | dor-mee-TOH-ryoh |
| la habitación | room, bedroom | ah-bee-tah-THYON |
| el cuarto de baño, el baño | bathroom | KWAR-toh deh BAH-nyoh |
| el aseo | toilet (Spain) | ah-SEH-oh |
| el pasillo | corridor, hall | pah-SEE-yoh |
| la escalera | stairs | es-kah-LEH-rah |
| el despacho | study | des-PAH-choh |
| el desván | attic, loft | des-BAHN |
| el sótano | basement, cellar | SOH-tah-noh |
| el garaje | garage | gah-RAH-heh |
| el jardín | garden | har-DEEN |
| la terraza | terrace, balcony | teh-RRAH-thah |
| la planta baja | ground floor | PLAHN-tah BAH-hah |
Furniture and household objects
| Spanish | English | Say it like |
|---|---|---|
| la cama | bed | KAH-mah |
| el armario | wardrobe, cupboard | ar-MAH-ryoh |
| la mesa | table | MEH-sah |
| la silla | chair | SEE-yah |
| el sofá | sofa | soh-FAH |
| el sillón | armchair | see-YON |
| la estantería | shelves, bookcase | es-tahn-teh-REE-ah |
| el escritorio | desk | es-kree-TOH-ryoh |
| la lámpara | lamp | LAHM-pah-rah |
| la alfombra | rug, carpet | ahl-FOM-brah |
| el espejo | mirror | es-PEH-hoh |
| la ducha | shower | DOO-chah |
| la bañera | bath (Spain) | bah-NYEH-rah |
| la nevera, el frigorífico | fridge (Spain) | neh-BEH-rah |
| el horno | oven | OR-noh |
| la lavadora | washing machine | lah-bah-DOH-rah |
| el televisor, la tele | TV | teh-leh-bee-SOR |
La televisión is the medium; el televisor is the set in the living room, though la tele covers both in speech.
Hay, está and where things are
- Hay for something new. Hay means “there is” and “there are”, with un, una, a number or no article: Hay una cama, Hay dos dormitorios, No hay jardín.
- Estar for location. A known thing with el or la takes estar: La cocina está en la planta baja, Mis libros están en la estantería. Never ser for where things are.
- De + el = del. al lado del sofá, encima del armario; but al lado de la cama.
- En casa has no article. Estoy en casa (I’m at home); Voy a casa (I’m going home).
- Sharing a room. Comparto dormitorio con mi hermano, with no article.
Prepositions of place
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| en | in, on |
| encima de | on top of |
| debajo de | under |
| al lado de | next to |
| delante de | in front of |
| detrás de | behind |
| entre | between |
| enfrente de | opposite |
Vivo en un piso en el centro de la ciudad.I live in a flat in the town centre.
En mi casa hay tres dormitorios y dos cuartos de baño.In my house there are three bedrooms and two bathrooms.
Mi dormitorio es pequeño, pero me gusta mucho.My bedroom is small, but I like it a lot.
El gato está debajo de la cama.The cat is under the bed.
Me gustaría vivir en una casa grande en el campo.I’d like to live in a big house in the country.
Spain and Latin America
Household words vary more than most. Teach the variety you speak and recognise the others.
| Spain | Latin America | English |
|---|---|---|
| el piso | el departamento, el apartamento | flat |
| el salón | la sala | living room |
| el dormitorio, la habitación | el cuarto, la recámara (Mexico) | bedroom |
| la nevera, el frigorífico | el refrigerador, la heladera (Argentina, Uruguay) | fridge |
| la bañera | la tina, la bañera | bath |
| el suelo | el piso | floor |
| el ordenador | la computadora | computer |
Idioms about the house
| Spanish | Literally | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| como Pedro por su casa | like Pedro through his house | as if you owned the place |
| echar la casa por la ventana | to throw the house out of the window | to spare no expense |
| empezar la casa por el tejado | to start the house with the roof | to put the cart before the horse |
| mi casa es tu casa | my house is your house | make yourself at home |
Typical mistakes of English-speaking learners
- “La cama es en el dormitorio”: location takes estar: está en el dormitorio.
- “Hay el sofá”: hay does not take el or la: Hay un sofá, or El sofá está…
- Carpeta is not carpet: it is a folder. A carpet or rug is la alfombra.
- Ático for attic: in Spain el ático is usually a top-floor flat. The loft is el desván.
- “En la casa” for “at home”: it is en casa.
- Pronouncing the h of habitación and horno, and using an English j in jardín and garaje.
In class: the house as a word of the day
The house gives pupils something concrete to describe from the first term, and a plan of a house is a ready-made game board.
- Show the picture (a mirror) and the English word: “mirror”.
- Ask ¿Cómo se dice en español? Pupils write a guess on mini whiteboards.
- Reveal el espejo with its pronunciation. The class repeats it, then two pupils alone. Point out the jota: es-PEH-hoh.
- Show the example sentence: En mi dormitorio hay un espejo grande al lado del armario.
- Give the reuse task: each pupil says where the object is in their own home, real or imagined, with hay or está.
- Recall yesterday’s word: ¿Cómo se dice “shower”?
That is exactly what a daily routine does: one word at a time, placed in a real room, until pupils can describe a whole house.
Hide and seek
Project a house plan. One pupil secretly hides an object (a cat, a phone) in a room; the class asks ¿Está en la cocina? or ¿Está debajo de la cama? until they find it. It drills estar and prepositions without a worksheet.
Homes are personal. Let pupils describe an invented, dream or famous home as easily as their own, and never ask them to compare the size of their houses.
- A1Rooms and hay: En mi casa hay una cocina y un salón.
- A2Descriptions and location: Mi dormitorio es pequeño; la cama está al lado de la ventana.
- B1Past and future homes: Antes vivía en un piso; ahora vivimos en una casa con jardín.
- B2Ideal homes and conditions: Si pudiera, viviría en una casa cerca del mar.
At KS2, rooms, a picture and hay are enough. At KS3, insist on hay versus está and on del. At GCSE, home and local area are core: move to the imperfect for past homes and the conditional for dream houses.
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 "house" in Spanish?
La casa. “At home” is en casa with no article, and “I’m going home” is Me voy a casa.
How do you say "bedroom" in Spanish?
El dormitorio, la habitación or el cuarto are all used in Spain. In Mexico you will also hear la recámara.
What is the difference between hay and está?
Hay introduces something new, with un, una, a number or no article: Hay un sofá en el salón. Está locates something already known, with el or la: El sofá está en el salón.
Does piso mean floor or flat?
Both. In Spain el piso is a flat, and also a storey: Vivo en el tercer piso. The floor you walk on is el suelo in Spain and often el piso in Latin America.
How do you describe your house in Spanish?
Start with Vivo en una casa or Vivo en un piso, add where (en el centro, en el campo), then list rooms with hay: En mi casa hay tres dormitorios y un jardín pequeño.