When you first start learning a language, you’ll be confronted by a huge amount of vocabulary. Learning the names of all the different things you’ll encounter is worthwhile, but when you’re running around in a different country, sometimes you’ll encounter something you don’t remember the noun for.

Fortunately, there’s something that can save you: adjectives! Learning the most common adjectives in Spanish will help you distinguish between things or refer to things when the name is right on the tip of your tongue. Here’s a quick guide to some of the most important Spanish adjectives, which should give you a good grounding in your studies. And if you’re looking to brush up on your Spanish verbs, too, we have a guide for that.

The Top 15 Spanish Adjectives

1. bueno/a — good, great

Examples:

• El té de tomillo es bueno para la tos. — Thyme tea is good for coughs.
• ¡Qué bueno! — That’s great!

2. bonito/a (Spain), lindo/a (Latin America) — beautiful, pretty, cute

Examples:

• Esa playa es muy bonita. — That beach is very pretty.
• ¡Que lindo es el monitor de esquí! — What a cute ski instructor!

3. importante — important

Examples:

• Mi salud es importante para mi. — My health is important to me.
• Uxmal es una ciudad maya muy importante. — Uxmal is a very important Mayan city.

4. mucho/a — many, much, very

Examples:

• Lo siento mucho. — I am very sorry.
• Parece que en este barrio viven muchos artistas. — Many artists are supposed to live in this neighborhood.

5. difícil — difficult

Examples:

• Aprender español no es muy difícil. — Learning Spanish is not very difficult.
• Es muy díficil elegir. — It’s very difficult to choose.

6. grande — big

Examples:

• la casa grande — the big house
• Tenemos una tienda grande. — We have a big tent.

7. pequeño/a — small, little

Examples:

• El pequeño pueblo pintoresco tiene solo veinte habitantes. — The small picturesque village has only twenty inhabitants.
• el hermano pequeño — the little brother

8. divertido/a — fun, funny

Examples:

• ¡Qué divertido! — How funny!
• ¡Es divertido pasar la aspiradora! — It’s fun to vacuum!

9. fácil — easy

Examples:

• La melodía es bastante fácil de cantar. — The tune is quite easy to sing.
• ¿Fue fácil vivir juntos? — Was it easy to live together?

10. antiguo/a — old

Examples:

• El castillo es antiguo. — The castle is old.
• La tradición es antigua y significativa. — The tradition is old and meaningful.

11. rápido/a — fast

Examples:

• El tren es rápido y eficiente. — The train is fast and efficient.
• El corredor es rápido. — The runner is fast.

12. joven — young

Examples:

• El artista es joven y talentoso. — The artist is young and talented.
• La generación joven es innovadora. — The young generation is innovative.

13. feliz — happy

Examples:

• Ella está feliz con su logro. — She is happy with her achievement.
• El niño está feliz. — The child is happy.

14. lleno/a — full

Examples:

• El vaso está lleno de agua. — The glass is full of water.
• El estadio está lleno de aficionados. — The stadium is full of fans.

15. vacío/a — empty

Examples:

• El cuarto está vacío y silencioso. — The room is empty and quiet.
• Mi estómago está vacío. — The stomach is empty.