{"id":106,"date":"2026-09-30T18:33:33","date_gmt":"2026-09-30T17:33:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leweb2ks.dev\/vitrine-vocadial\/en\/resources\/school-subjects-in-spanish\/"},"modified":"2026-09-30T18:33:33","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T17:33:33","slug":"school-subjects-in-spanish","status":"publish","type":"vd_ressource","link":"https:\/\/vocadial.com\/en\/resources\/school-subjects-in-spanish\/","title":{"rendered":"School subjects in Spanish: vocabulary, opinions and a classroom routine"},"content":{"rendered":"

School subjects in Spanish<\/h2>\n\n

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”.<\/p>\n\n

Spanish<\/th>English<\/th>Say it like<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
las matem\u00e1ticas<\/td>maths<\/td>mah-teh-MAH-tee-kahs<\/td><\/tr>
la lengua<\/td>Spanish language lessons (in Spain)<\/td>LEN-gwah<\/td><\/tr>
el ingl\u00e9s<\/td>English<\/td>een-GLES<\/td><\/tr>
el franc\u00e9s<\/td>French<\/td>frahn-THES \/ frahn-SES<\/td><\/tr>
el alem\u00e1n<\/td>German<\/td>ah-leh-MAHN<\/td><\/tr>
el espa\u00f1ol<\/td>Spanish<\/td>es-pah-NYOL<\/td><\/tr>
las ciencias<\/td>science<\/td>THYEN-thyahs \/ SYEN-syahs<\/td><\/tr>
la biolog\u00eda<\/td>biology<\/td>byoh-loh-HEE-ah<\/td><\/tr>
la qu\u00edmica<\/td>chemistry<\/td>KEE-mee-kah<\/td><\/tr>
la f\u00edsica<\/td>physics<\/td>FEE-see-kah<\/td><\/tr>
la historia<\/td>history<\/td>ees-TOH-ryah<\/td><\/tr>
la geograf\u00eda<\/td>geography<\/td>heh-oh-grah-FEE-ah<\/td><\/tr>
la tecnolog\u00eda<\/td>technology, DT<\/td>tek-noh-loh-HEE-ah<\/td><\/tr>
la inform\u00e1tica<\/td>computing, ICT<\/td>een-for-MAH-tee-kah<\/td><\/tr>
el arte, la pl\u00e1stica, el dibujo<\/td>art<\/td>AR-teh, PLAHS-tee-kah, dee-BOO-hoh<\/td><\/tr>
la m\u00fasica<\/td>music<\/td>MOO-see-kah<\/td><\/tr>
la educaci\u00f3n f\u00edsica<\/td>PE<\/td>eh-doo-kah-THYON FEE-see-kah<\/td><\/tr>
la religi\u00f3n<\/td>RE<\/td>reh-lee-HYON<\/td><\/tr>
el teatro<\/td>drama<\/td>teh-AH-troh<\/td><\/tr>
el lat\u00edn<\/td>Latin<\/td>lah-TEEN<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n

Every word ending in -\u00eda<\/span> has a written accent: biolog\u00eda<\/span>, geograf\u00eda<\/span>, tecnolog\u00eda<\/span>. The accent breaks the vowels into two syllables and carries the stress. In Spain, pupils often shorten las matem\u00e1ticas<\/span> to las mates<\/span>.<\/p>\n\n

Words that come with school<\/h3>\n\n
Spanish<\/th>English<\/th>Say it like<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
el horario<\/td>timetable<\/td>oh-RAH-ryoh<\/td><\/tr>
la clase<\/td>lesson, class, classroom<\/td>KLAH-seh<\/td><\/tr>
el recreo<\/td>break<\/td>reh-KREH-oh<\/td><\/tr>
los deberes<\/td>homework (Spain)<\/td>deh-BEH-rehs<\/td><\/tr>
el examen<\/td>exam, test<\/td>ek-SAH-men<\/td><\/tr>
la nota<\/td>mark, grade<\/td>NOH-tah<\/td><\/tr>
aprobar \/ suspender<\/td>to pass \/ to fail (Spain)<\/td>ah-proh-BAR \/ soos-pen-DAIR<\/td><\/tr>
el profesor, la profesora<\/td>teacher (secondary)<\/td>proh-feh-SOR<\/td><\/tr>
el maestro, la maestra<\/td>teacher (primary in Spain)<\/td>mah-ES-troh<\/td><\/tr>
el instituto<\/td>state secondary school (Spain)<\/td>eens-tee-TOO-toh<\/td><\/tr>
el colegio<\/td>school (primary in Spain)<\/td>koh-LEH-hyoh<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n

Grammar for subjects<\/h2>\n\n
  1. Gustar agrees with the subject, not the person.<\/strong> Me gusta la m\u00fasica<\/span> (singular); Me gustan las ciencias<\/span>, Me gustan las matem\u00e1ticas<\/span> (plural). Two singular subjects together are plural too: Me gustan el ingl\u00e9s y el franc\u00e9s.<\/span><\/li>
  2. Opinions take the article.<\/strong> Me encanta el dibujo<\/span>, Odio la qu\u00edmica.<\/span><\/li>
  3. Adjectives agree.<\/strong> La historia es interesante<\/span>, El ingl\u00e9s es f\u00e1cil<\/span>, Las matem\u00e1ticas son dif\u00edciles<\/span>, La f\u00edsica es aburrida.<\/span><\/li>
  4. Timetables use tener, often without the article.<\/strong> Los lunes tengo ingl\u00e9s a primera hora<\/span> (first lesson). Hoy tenemos educaci\u00f3n f\u00edsica.<\/span><\/li>
  5. Teachers take de and no article.<\/strong> el profesor de historia<\/span>, la profesora de franc\u00e9s.<\/span><\/li>
  6. Capitals.<\/strong> Languages are always lower case: el ingl\u00e9s<\/span>. For subjects on a timetable, the Real Academia Espa\u00f1ola recommends a capital (Tengo Matem\u00e1ticas<\/span>), but lower case is very common in school materials. Pick one convention and keep to it.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n

    Talking about school<\/h3>\n\n

    \u00bfCu\u00e1l es tu asignatura favorita?<\/span>What’s your favourite subject?<\/small><\/p>\n\n

    Mi asignatura favorita es la historia porque es muy interesante.<\/span>My favourite subject is history because it’s very interesting.<\/small><\/p>\n\n

    Me gustan las ciencias, pero no me gusta nada la f\u00edsica.<\/span>I like science, but I don’t like physics at all.<\/small><\/p>\n\n

    Los martes tengo dos horas de matem\u00e1ticas.<\/span>On Tuesdays I have two hours of maths.<\/small><\/p>\n\n

    La profesora de ingl\u00e9s es muy simp\u00e1tica.<\/span>The English teacher is very nice.<\/small><\/p>\n\n

    Saqu\u00e9 un nueve en el examen de geograf\u00eda.<\/span>I got a nine in the geography test.<\/small><\/p>\n\n

    In Spain, marks usually go from 0 to 10, and 5 is a pass. Sacar buena nota<\/span> means “to get a good mark”.<\/p>\n\n

    Spain and Latin America<\/h2>\n\n
    Spain<\/th>Latin America<\/th>English<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
    la asignatura<\/td>la materia<\/td>subject<\/td><\/tr>
    los deberes<\/td>la tarea, las tareas<\/td>homework<\/td><\/tr>
    suspender<\/td>reprobar (Mexico and others)<\/td>to fail<\/td><\/tr>
    las matem\u00e1ticas<\/td>la matem\u00e1tica (some countries, as a subject name)<\/td>maths<\/td><\/tr>
    el instituto<\/td>el colegio, la escuela secundaria, la preparatoria (Mexico, upper secondary)<\/td>secondary school<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n

    Idioms about school<\/h2>\n\n
    Spanish<\/th>Literally<\/th>Meaning<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
    hacer novillos, hacer pellas<\/td>to do young bulls, to do lumps<\/td>to skip school (Spain)<\/td><\/tr>
    empollar<\/td>to brood (eggs)<\/td>to swot (Spain)<\/td><\/tr>
    quemarse las pesta\u00f1as<\/td>to burn your eyelashes<\/td>to study very hard<\/td><\/tr>
    ser un hueso<\/td>to be a bone<\/td>to be a tough teacher or subject (Spain)<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n

    Typical mistakes of English-speaking learners<\/h2>\n\n