Spanish words- the best and the worst!

This year has been an incredible one for the growth of the Spanish language. There have been international festivals and cultural celebrations galore. But perhaps, one of the most interesting aspects of the Spanish language this year has been the search for the Spanish language’s favourite word.

With over 500 million speakers and such a great diversity of accents, vocabulary and colloquialisms, there is an abundance of words to choose from. So when the Cervantes Institute launched a survey aimed at finding the most popular Spanish word, it was met with huge interest, and over 33,000 people voted from the 70 short-listed words.

The Cervantes Institute asked famous Spanish speakers to propose their favourite words, with people including Shakira, Mario Vargas Llosa, Antonio Banderas, Isabel Allende and Pau Gasol.



After thousands of votes, it was announced that the winning word, with a staggering 5,489 votes, was Gael Garcia Bernal’s entry- ‘Queretaro’. The top five words (in ascending order) were ‘amor’, ‘libertad’, ‘sueño’ and ‘gracias’. ‘Queretaro’ is the name of one of the 32 Mexican states, the origin of the word is likely to date back to the indigenous Puerepecha tribe, when the word ‘Kerhiretarhu’ was used to describe an area with big peaks.  

In addition to favourite Spanish words the least favourite word was also decided. The phrase ‘me entiendes’ was voted by many as the worst, often associated with irritating or frustrating circumstances. It was, however, closely followed by “Me da igual”, very similar to the recently announced least popular english word- ‘whatever’. So too was the adjective ‘insoportable’ which was a very close contender. A habit that was picked up on throughout the survey was the great dislike for the use of ‘Spanglish’. This strange mix of Spanish and broken English is universally unpopular, with the phrase ‘Te llamo pa' atrás’ highlighted for its poor construction.

While the surveys may not be open any more, they are, without doubt, a great interactive way to get people talking about Spanish, discovering more about the origins of words and expanding their Spanish language vocabulary. Whether it is learning colloquial phrases to express annoyance, or deciding which of the many Spanish words is your favourite,  the Spanish language is an exciting and varied linguistic terrain waiting to be explored!