A1 30 words · pictures · audio

Mi día a día

My daily routine

The verbs of an ordinary day — getting up, eating, working, coming home, going to bed.

Start this pack free Log in

Every word · tap to hear it

despertarse

to wake up

verb

In a sentence

Me despierto a las siete de la mañana.
I wake up at seven in the morning.

«Despertarse» is reflexive — always use it with a matching pronoun: me despierto, te despiertas, se despierta.
levantarse

to get up

verb

In a sentence

Me levanto a las siete de la mañana.
I get up at seven in the morning.

«Levantarse» is a reflexive verb — always use it with a reflexive pronoun: «me levanto», «te levantas», «se levanta».
ducharse

to take a shower

verb

In a sentence

Me ducho todas las mañanas antes del desayuno.
I take a shower every morning before breakfast.

'Ducharse' is a reflexive verb — always use it with a reflexive pronoun: «me ducho», «te duchas», «se ducha».
vestirse

to get dressed

verb

In a sentence

Me visto rápido por las mañanas.
I get dressed quickly in the mornings.

«Vestirse» is a reflexive verb — always use it with a reflexive pronoun: «me visto», «te vistes», «se viste», etc.
desayunar

to have breakfast

verb

In a sentence

Cada mañana desayuno tostadas con mantequilla.
Every morning I have toast with butter for breakfast.

Use «desayunar» as a simple verb: 'Desayuno a las ocho' means 'I have breakfast at eight' — no extra preposition needed.
salir

to go out / to leave

verb

In a sentence

Salgo de casa todos los días a las ocho.
I leave the house every day at eight.

Use «salir de» to say you are leaving a place: 'Salgo de casa a las ocho.'
trabajar

to work

verb

In a sentence

Yo trabajo todos los días.
I work every day.

«Trabajar» refers to doing work or having a job — use it with «en» for a workplace: «Trabajo en una oficina».
estudiar

to study

verb

In a sentence

Estudio español todos los días.
I study Spanish every day.

Use «estudiar» for studying a subject or for school in general, e.g. «estudiar español» or «estudiar en la universidad».
comer

to eat / to have lunch

verb

In a sentence

¿A qué hora comes normalmente?
What time do you normally eat / have lunch?

In Spain and Latin America, «comer» often refers specifically to the main midday meal, so 'I'm going to eat' can mean 'I'm going to have lunch'.
descansar

to rest

verb

In a sentence

Necesito descansar después del trabajo.
I need to rest after work.

Often used after physical or mental effort — a common collocation is «descansar un poco» (to rest a little).
volver

to come back / to return

verb

In a sentence

Vuelvo a casa después del trabajo.
I come back home after work.

Use «volver a» + infinitive to mean 'to do something again', e.g. «volver a llamar» means 'to call again', not just 'to return'.
cocinar

to cook

verb

In a sentence

Me gusta cocinar para mi familia.
I like to cook for my family.

Use «cocinar» for the general activity of cooking; «hacer la comida» is a common everyday alternative meaning the same thing.
cenar

to have dinner

verb

In a sentence

Cenamos juntos todos los viernes.
We have dinner together every Friday.

Use «cenar» for the evening meal; in Spain dinner is often eaten late, around 9–10 pm.
limpiar

to clean

verb

In a sentence

Voy a limpiar la cocina esta tarde.
I am going to clean the kitchen this afternoon.

A common collocation is «limpiar la casa» (to clean the house) — use it for wiping, scrubbing, or tidying surfaces.
lavar

to wash

verb

In a sentence

Lavo los platos después de comer.
I wash the dishes after eating.

Use «lavar» for washing objects like dishes or clothes; for washing your own body or hair, Spanish uses the reflexive form «lavarse».
comprar

to buy / to do the shopping

verb

In a sentence

Voy a comprar leche y pan en el supermercado.
I am going to buy milk and bread at the supermarket.

'Comprar' covers both buying a single item and doing a general shopping trip — context makes it clear.
leer

to read

verb

In a sentence

Me gusta leer un libro antes de dormir.
I like to read a book before going to sleep.

Use «leer» for reading anything — books, messages, signs. It is a regular -er verb except in the third-person preterite: 'leyó', 'leyeron'.
escuchar

to listen to

verb

In a sentence

Me gusta escuchar música por la mañana.
I like to listen to music in the morning.

In Spanish, «escuchar música» already means 'to listen to music' — no extra preposition is needed after the verb.
ver

to watch

verb

In a sentence

Esta noche veo una serie en la tele.
Tonight I watch a series on TV.

In Spanish, «ver» covers both 'watch' and 'see'; for TV or series, «ver» is the natural everyday choice, not «mirar».
caminar

to walk

verb

In a sentence

Camino al trabajo todos los días.
I walk to work every day.

Use «caminar» for walking in general; «andar» is a common synonym but «caminar» sounds more deliberate, like going somewhere on foot.
conducir

to drive

verb

In a sentence

Mi padre conduce al trabajo todos los días.
My father drives to work every day.

Use «conducir» for driving a vehicle; in Latin America «manejar» is more common, but «conducir» is standard in Spain.
llamar

to call

verb

In a sentence

Voy a llamar a mi madre esta tarde.
I am going to call my mother this afternoon.

In Spanish, «llamar por teléfono» makes the phone sense explicit, but «llamar» alone is widely understood to mean a phone call in context.
esperar

to wait

verb

In a sentence

Espero el autobús cada mañana.
I wait for the bus every morning.

«Esperar» also means 'to hope' or 'to expect', but in everyday situations like queuing or waiting for transport it simply means 'to wait'.
llegar

to arrive

verb

In a sentence

El tren llega a las ocho.
The train arrives at eight.

Use «llegar a» before a place: 'Llego a casa' means 'I arrive home' — don't drop the «a».
empezar

to start / to begin

verb

In a sentence

Empiezo el día con un café.
I start the day with a coffee.

Both 'start' and 'begin' are equally natural translations; use «empezar a + infinitive» to say you start doing something, e.g. «empezar a trabajar».
terminar

to finish

verb

In a sentence

Termino el trabajo a las cinco.
I finish work at five.

«Terminar» and «acabar» are often interchangeable for finishing tasks; both are common in everyday speech.
madrugar

to get up very early

verb

In a sentence

Mañana tengo que madrugar para coger el tren.
Tomorrow I have to get up very early to catch the train.

«Madrugar» specifically implies waking at an unusually early hour, not just getting up in the morning — use it when the earliness is the point.
acostarse

to go to bed

verb

In a sentence

Me acuesto a las diez de la noche.
I go to bed at ten o'clock at night.

«Acostarse» is reflexive — always use it with the matching pronoun: me acuesto, te acuestas, se acuesta.
dormir

to sleep

verb

In a sentence

Duermo ocho horas cada noche.
I sleep eight hours every night.

Use «dormir» for sleeping in general; the phrase «dormir bien» (to sleep well) is a very common everyday collocation.
cepillarse

to brush (one's teeth / hair)

verb

In a sentence

Me cepillo los dientes después de cada comida.
I brush my teeth after every meal.

«Cepillarse» is a reflexive verb — always use it with a reflexive pronoun: «me cepillo», «te cepillas», «se cepilla», etc.