Spanish Phrases & Words to Know in the Kitchen & at the Dinner Table

Buen provecho with Pisqueya

We spend a good amount of time either in the kitchen, eating, or both! April 23rd is Spanish Language Day and today we want to introduce some words and phrases you may not know but are bound to use in the kitchen and at the dinner table. Latinx are all over the globe and the number of Spanish speaking countries hits the double digits – not to mention, Spanish is one of the top languages spoken around the world. Latin culture is made up of many subcultures and they differ in various ways, from how we say certain things to the food we cook.
Another thing to keep in mind is that the Spanish language assigns a masculine or feminine attribution to most nouns and adjectives, which is why some words that are the same end in -a and/or -o. When the word ends in -a, it’s feminine and when the word ends in -o, it’s masculine. For example, Latina vs Latino. We do like to use the term Latinx when referring to everyone because it is more inclusive – read a little more about it here. From food to utensils, phrases to questions, read on and grow closer to the Spanish language and our culture!

Common Things You’ll Hear or Say:

Lávate las manos, por favor

Wash your hands, please. Before cooking and eating, we should always wash our hands. Remember to scrub them with soap for at least 20 seconds!

Poniendo la mesa

Setting the table It’s only polite to help set the table when the host is cooking. It’s a great way to lend a helping hand and show appreciation.

Bendecir la mesa

Spirituality & religion are at the core of many Latin homes and prior to eating a meal, there is a pause to bless the food, give thanks and pray for those who are less fortunate. It’s a beautiful thing to take a moment to be grateful.

¡Buen provecho!

Spanish version of “Bon Appétit.” This is the main way of telling those around you to enjoy their meal in Spanish. We always say it before digging in!

A buen tiempo

In good time / You’re just in time This phrase directly translates to “in good time,” but it’s like saying “you’re just in time!” For example, if someone shows up a little late to a dinner but they made it at a decent time, you’d say “a buen tiempo!” to welcome them and let them know to join you because there’s plenty of food to go around.

¡Salud!

Cheers! / Good health! Whenever you raise a glass after a toast, you’d say “¡salud!” to wish them good health and fortune.

¡Qué rica comida! / ¡La comida está rica!

What delicious food! / The food is delicious! The Latinx community throws it down in the kitchen, so you know we always need to call out how yummy it is!

Me puedes pasar… ?

Can you pass me the…?

Here are some examples:

Me puedes pasar el sartén, por favor?
Can you pass me the pan, please?

Me puedes pasar la sal, por favor?
Can you pass me the salt, please?

If you’d like to rephrase, you can also say:

Alcánzame el sartén, por favor.
Reach the pan for me, please.

Pasame la sal, por favor.
Pass me the salt, please.

Now that you know a few common phrases, let’s get into our vocab lesson!

Common Utensils & Cooking Tools

The list of items you’ll need is endless, but here are some of the basics:

el plato	plate
el vaso / la taza	cup
la copa	glassware ex: wine glass
los cubiertos	cutlery
el tenedor	the fork
la cuchara	the spoon
el cuchillo	the knife
la tabla para picar	chopping board
el cucharón	ladle / large cooking spoon
la olla	pot
el sartén / la paila	pan
el pelador / la peladora	peeler
la taza medidora	measuring cup
los guantes de cocina	kitchen mitts/gloves

Common Cooking Methods

We cook in multiple ways, from frying to baking, here are traditional techniques:

frito / frita	fried
horneado / horneada	baked
asado / asada	broiled
hervido / hervida	boiled
a la parilla	grilled
salteado / salteada	sautéed

Common Foods

Check out some of the most popular foods and dishes. Side note: a lot of these dishes are served at Puerto Viejo, a Dominican Bistro in Brooklyn and the birthplace of Pisqueya.

la manzana	apple
la banana	banana
La fresa	strawberry
las uvas	grapes
la naranja	orange
la lima	lime
el limón	lemon
el tomate	tomato
el aguacate	avocado
Pimientos	peppers
plátano	plantains
habichuelas rojas	red beans
los frijoles negros / habichuleas negras	black beans
pollo	chicken
carne de res	beef
carne de cerdo	pork
las lentejas	lentils
la quinoa	quinoa
arroz	rice
pan	bread
chuletas de cerdo	pork chops
picadera	Dominican sampler dish, served as an appetizer
mondongo	beef tripe soup
sancocho	hearty Dominican soup made up of root veggies, hen, and pork ribs
mofongo	mashed green plantain dish
pastelon de carne	mashed ripe plantains layered like a lasagna with beef and cheese
pollo al horno	baked chicken
pollo guisado	chicken stew
rabo guisado	oxtail stew
tostones	fried (green) plantains
arepitas de yuca	yuca fritters
maduros	fried sweet (yellow) plantains
flan	traditional Dominican dessert, a caramel custard
tres leches	three milk cake
bizcocho / pastel	cake
agua	water
jugo	juice
batido	milk shake
cerveza	beer
vino	wine
Salsa picante	hot sauce

Miscellaneous

From how to say “recipe” to describing how something tastes, these are the final few words we’d like to translate for you:

receta	recipe
ingredientes	ingredients
salado / salada	salty
amargo / amarga	bitter
dulce	sweet
agrio / agria	sour
caliente	hot
frío / fría	cold
tibio	warm
cocina	kitchen
mesa del comedor	dinner table
comiendo	eating
comida / alimento	food
delicioso / deliciosa	delicious

Last, but certainly not least, try out some of these suggestions to continue to learn Spanish:

Watch Spanish cooking shows and videos with subtitles on YouTube.
Download a language learning app on your phone! You’ll be surprised at how many words you’ll be able to recognize from this article.
Shop at local Spanish speaking grocery stores and practice reading the labels.
Eat at Spanish speaking restaurants, whether Dominican, Mexican, or any other – indulge and learn at the same time!
Travel to Spanish speaking countries! We can add this to the list of reasons we plan trips.
Read through our blogs posts – they’re written in English and translated to Spanish! Just click on the Dominican flag icon at the top right of the website.

From Pisqueya to you, Happy Spanish Language Day!