100 Most Common Catalan Words For Beginners
Author
Learning the most frequent words in a language is the fastest way to build your comprehension.
This guide provides the 100 most common Catalan words to give you a solid foundation.
You’ll find these words divided into logical categories to make studying easier.
I’ve also included regional variations for Valencia and the Balearic Islands where appropriate.
Table of contents:
Nouns
Nouns are the building blocks of your Catalan vocabulary.
These are the most frequently used nouns in everyday conversations.
Memorizing the gender of each noun from the beginning will make your learning journey much smoother.
| Catalan Word | English Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| cosa | thing | Feminine |
| dia | day | Masculine |
| any | year | Masculine |
| vegada | time / occurrence | Feminine (In Valencia, you’ll often hear “volta”) |
| home | man | Masculine |
| dona | woman | Feminine |
| lloc | place | Masculine |
| part | part | Feminine |
| vida | life | Feminine |
| temps | time / weather | Masculine |
| gent | people | Feminine |
| país | country | Masculine |
| món | world | Masculine |
| mà | hand | Feminine |
| ull | eye | Masculine |
| casa | house | Feminine |
| feina | work / job | Feminine (In Valencia, you’ll hear “treball”) |
| aigua | water | Feminine |
| ciutat | city | Feminine |
| nen / nena | boy / girl | In Valencia: xiquet/xiqueta (In Balearic: nin/nina) |
Here are a few of these nouns used in simple sentences.
Tinc molta feina avui.
La casa és molt gran.
Verbs
You need verbs to actually make your sentences work.
Here are the most essential Catalan verbs in their infinitive forms.
These action words will allow you to express basic needs and movements.
| Catalan Word | English Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| ser | to be (permanent) | Irregular verb |
| estar | to be (temporary / location) | Irregular verb |
| tenir | to have | Spelled “tindre” in Valencian |
| fer | to do / to make | Irregular verb |
| poder | to be able to / can | Irregular verb |
| dir | to say / to tell | Irregular verb |
| anar | to go | Irregular verb |
| veure | to see | Spelled “vore” in Valencian |
| donar | to give | Regular AR verb |
| saber | to know (information) | Irregular verb |
| voler | to want | Irregular verb |
| arribar | to arrive | Regular AR verb |
| passar | to pass / to happen | Regular AR verb |
| deure | to owe / must | Irregular verb |
| creure | to believe | Irregular verb |
| trobar | to find | Regular AR verb |
| parlar | to speak / to talk | Regular AR verb |
| portar | to carry / to wear | Regular AR verb |
| deixar | to leave / to let | Regular AR verb |
| semblar | to seem | Regular AR verb |
Let’s look at how these verbs look in context.
Vull parlar català.
Anem a la ciutat.
Adjectives
Adjectives describe the nouns in your sentences.
Keep in mind that Catalan adjectives must always match the gender and number of the noun they describe.
The forms shown below are the masculine and feminine singular versions.
| Catalan Word | English Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| bo / bona | good | Commonly used before or after the noun |
| dolent / dolenta | bad | Sometimes “mal / mala” is used before nouns |
| gran | big / large | Same form for both masculine and feminine |
| petit / petita | small | In Valencia, you’ll hear “menut / menuda” |
| nou / nova | new | Changes to “nous / noves” in plural |
| vell / vella | old | Used for objects and people |
| primer / primera | first | Usually placed before the noun |
| últim / última | last / final | Usually placed before the noun |
| llarg / llarga | long | Refers to physical length or time |
| curt / curta | short (length) | Used for distance or duration |
| alt / alta | tall / high | Used for height |
| baix / baixa | short / low | Used for physical height or volume |
| mateix / mateixa | same | Usually placed before the noun |
| sol / sola | alone | Used to describe isolation |
| clar / clara | clear / light | Used for visibility or understanding |
Here are examples of these adjectives in everyday speech.
És una casa molt gran.
Tinc un cotxe nou.
Pronouns
Pronouns replace nouns so you don’t have to keep repeating the same words.
Catalan relies heavily on both personal subject pronouns and weak object pronouns.
The weak pronouns often attach directly to verbs.
| Catalan Word | English Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| jo | I | Subject pronoun |
| tu | you (informal singular) | Subject pronoun |
| ell | he | Subject pronoun |
| ella | she | Subject pronoun |
| vostè | you (formal singular) | Takes the third-person verb conjugation |
| nosaltres | we | Often pronounced “naltres” or “mosaltres” locally |
| vosaltres | you (informal plural) | Often pronounced “valtres” locally |
| ells | they (masculine) | Subject pronoun |
| elles | they (feminine) | Subject pronoun |
| vostès | you (formal plural) | Takes the third-person plural verb conjugation |
| em | me / myself | Weak pronoun |
| et | you / yourself | Weak pronoun |
| es | him / her / itself | Weak pronoun |
| ens | us / ourselves | Sometimes “mos” in Valencia/Balearics |
| us | you all / yourselves | Sometimes “vos” in Valencia/Balearics |
Here are two examples demonstrating pronouns.
Nosaltres anem a la platja.
Ella parla català.
Prepositions and conjunctions
These short words are the glue that holds your Catalan sentences together.
You’ll use these to connect ideas and show relationships between words.
| Catalan Word | English Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| a | to / at | Combines with “el” to form “al” |
| de | of / from | Combines with “el” to form “del” |
| en | in / on | Used to indicate location or time |
| amb | with | Pronounced “ab” or “am” in many regions |
| per | for / by | Used to indicate cause or movement through |
| i | and | Connects words or clauses |
| o | or | Presents alternatives |
| però | but | Used for contrast |
| perquè | because / so that | Explains reasoning |
| que | that / which / than | Used for comparisons and relative clauses |
| si | if | Introduces conditional statements |
| com | like / as | Used for comparisons |
| sense | without | Opposite of “amb” |
| sobre | on / about | Indicates position or topic |
| entre | between | Indicates middle position |
Here are examples showing how to connect words.
Cafè amb llet, si us plau.
Llegeixo un llibre sobre història.
Question words
Asking questions is a huge part of learning any new language.
Here are the essential question words you need to know.
| Catalan Word | English Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| què | what | Used to ask about things |
| qui | who | Used to ask about people |
| on | where | Sometimes “a on” is used |
| quan | when | Used to ask about time |
| per què | why | Written as two separate words |
| quant / quanta | how much | Changes to “quants / quantes” for plurals |
| quin / quina | which | Changes to “quins / quines” for plurals |
Here are examples of basic questions.
On és l’estació de tren?
Quant costa?
Greetings and polite words
Being polite goes a long way when speaking with locals.
These are the foundational greetings and pleasantries you’ll use every day.
| Catalan Word | English Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| hola | hello | Standard greeting at any time |
| adeu | goodbye | Spelled “adéu” prior to recent grammar changes |
| gràcies | thank you | You’ll often hear “merci” in Catalonia |
| si us plau | please | In Valencia, use “per favor” |
| sí | yes | Always written with an accent mark |
| no | no | Functions just like in English |
| bon dia | good morning | Used until lunchtime |
| bona nit | good night | Used in the evening and at night |
Here are polite phrases you can practice immediately.
Hola, bon dia.
Adeu, gràcies.
