The 132 most common Spanish verbs

These are the 132 verbs among the 500 most common Spanish words, in the order a corpus of everyday writing says you will meet them.

Meanings are given in English on this page. In the app they appear in your own language, translated on your device.

#WordTypeMeaning
8serVerbsto be (essentially or identified as)
21haberVerbsto have; forms the perfect aspect
23estarVerbsto be (have a temporary or permanent location in space)
24tenerVerbsto have; to possess
33hacerVerbsto do, perform, execute, carry out
37decirVerbsto say, to tell, to name, to mention
38irVerbsto go (away from speaker and listener)
43verVerbsto see, to spot
47quererVerbsto desire, to want, to want to
48darVerbsto give, to give out
57deberVerbsto owe
68saberVerbsto know, to understand (a fact)
72crearVerbsto create
88dejarVerbsto leave (to place)
90llegarVerbsto arrive, get (to)
92hablarVerbsto talk; to speak; to communicate using words
93seguirVerbsto follow
99ponerVerbsto put, to place (cause to assume a specified position)
104llevarVerbsto take somewhere
105parecerVerbsto seem, to see fit
106pasarVerbsto pass, to hand, to slip
111pensarVerbsto think, ponder
112quedarVerbsto be (as a result of something), to end up
113encontrarVerbsto meet
119venirVerbsto come (move closer to some location
126salirVerbsto go out, to leave, to depart, to head out
128esperarVerbsto hope
129casarVerbsto marry, wed someone to (unite two others in wedlock)
130volverVerbsto return, to revert, to get back
133gobernarVerbsto govern
134habíaVerbsmakes pluperfect to verbs as part of the auxiliary verb
135conocerVerbsto know (a person or a place), to be familiar with
137tomarVerbsto take
138llamarVerbsto summon, to call
145gustarVerbsto like in a general sense
158vivirVerbsto live; to be alive
159necesitarVerbsto need
160sentirVerbsto feel
163tratarVerbsto treat (to handle, behave toward in a specific way)
171usarVerbsto use
177buscarVerbsto seek, search for, look for, try to find, to scour
182perderVerbsto lose
185acordarVerbsto agree
188pedirVerbsto ask for something
189entenderVerbsto understand, to fathom
197nombrarVerbsto name
199trabajarVerbsto work
206preguntarVerbsto ask
207empezarVerbsto start, begin, to get started
211leerVerbsto read
217desarrollarVerbsto develop
224ganarVerbsto gain
230ideaVerbsthird-person singular present indicative
233recordarVerbsto remember, to recollect
234existirVerbsto exist
235cambiarVerbsto change, to shift, to switch, to alter
238terminarVerbsto (cause to) finish, to (cause to) end
241recibirVerbsto receive, get
242entrarVerbsto enter; to come in; to get in; to go in
244realizarVerbsto carry out; to perform; to conduct
246escribirVerbsto write
247pagarVerbsto pay
257presentarVerbsto present, to submit
258apoyarVerbsto lean, to rest, to lie or lay
259comenzarVerbsto begin, to commence
271permitirVerbsto allow, permit
273mirarVerbsto look at
277publicarVerbsto publish
278intentarVerbsto try, to attempt
282ayudarVerbsto help
283mantenerVerbsto keep
288comprarVerbsto buy (to obtain in exchange of money or goods)
292estudiarVerbsto study
294jugarVerbsto play
295acabarVerbsto finish; to end
302morirVerbsto die
305utilizarVerbsto use; to make use of; to utilize
308contarVerbsto count; to tally
314considerarVerbsto consider, to regard, to see, to look, to view
317conseguirVerbsto achieve, succeed in, reach, accomplish, attain
318suponerVerbsto suppose, to surmise, to assume, to guess
328incluirVerbsto include, to enclose, to contain
329comerVerbsto eat
332convertirVerbsto turn into, to cause to become
333lograrVerbsto get, to obtain
336proyectarVerbsto project, plan
342importarVerbsto matter
350escucharVerbsto listen to, to hear out
354sacarVerbsto put out, to get out
362aparecerVerbsto appear, to turn up, to pop up, to come up
364pesarVerbsto weigh (to determine the weight of an object)
365caerVerbsto fall (to move to a lower position due to gravity)
375librarVerbsto save, to rescue, to deliver, to preserve
382ofrecerVerbsto offer, to offer up, to provide
383causarVerbsto cause, to make
390elegirVerbsto choose
394servirVerbsto serve (to be a servant or worker; to render service)
397subirVerbsto go up or come up
398enviarVerbsto send
400aumentarVerbsto increase, grow
403desearVerbsto wish
404reírVerbsto laugh
405producirVerbsto produce
406abrirVerbsto open, open up
407aprenderVerbsto learn
409explicarVerbsto explain
410ocurrirVerbsto happen, to occur
415cumplirVerbsto fulfil, to fulfill, to meet, to deliver
416creerVerbsto believe
419informarVerbsto inform
425olvidarVerbsto forget
427obtenerVerbsto obtain
436valerVerbsto be worth
441cerrarVerbsto close, to shut
442meterVerbsto put in, insert
444iniciarVerbsto begin; to initiate
450decidirVerbsto decide, to make up one's mind, to determine
452matarVerbsto kill, slay
457mostrarVerbsto show (have somebody see something)
459alcanzarVerbsto reach; to get to to catch up
463significarVerbsto signify
467proponerVerbsto propose, to propound, to put forth, to put forward
468aceptarVerbsto accept, to take up, to take up on
469partirVerbsto divide, split
473participarVerbsto participate, to take part, to partake
478formarVerbsto form, to create
481contenerVerbsto contain
482compartirVerbsto share
485tocarVerbsto touch
488traerVerbsto bring
494establecerVerbsto establish
500venderVerbsto sell

All 500 A1 words are on this page, free, with no sign-up.

The rest of the list

  • A2A2 Beginner: 500 more wordsanterior · experiencia · control · suerte · espacio
  • B1B1 Intermediate: 750 more wordsfrío · representante · aprobar · escrito · jamás
  • B2B2 Upper intermediate: 750 more wordsclima · derrotar · fase · introducir · posterior

A2 to B2 are part of Oqou Pro, in the app, where you can also send any word straight into spaced review and meet it again on the day you are about to forget it.

Download on the App Store

Where this comes from

The order is measured: it comes from how often each word appears in a large corpus, counted across all the forms of a word rather than each form separately, so a verb is ranked where you really meet it. The band edges are a convention rather than a measurement. Nothing says word 501 is harder than word 500; the levels are cut where established graded reader series cut theirs.

wordfreq 3.1 (frequency order) + en.wiktionary via kaikki.org (part of speech, gender, gloss). Corpus read on 2026-09-16.

Questions

Where does the order come from?

From how often each word appears in a large corpus of everyday writing. Frequency is counted across all the forms of a word and attributed to the dictionary form, so a verb is ranked where a reader really meets it rather than being spread thinly over a dozen endings.

Why are these lists shorter than the ones with 5,000 or 10,000 words?

Because past about 2,500 a frequency rank stops meaning much. Rank 6,000 in a web corpus is not a harder word, it is a word that happens to be common in journalism. Established graded reader series top out near 2,500 headwords for the same reason.

Is every word in the list a real dictionary word?

Yes. Every headword is checked against the language's own Wiktionary entry, which is where the part of speech, the gender and the meaning come from. That check is what removes the proper nouns, single letters and corpus noise that raw frequency lists are full of.

Do I need the app?

Not for this page. The A1 list is free here and free in the app. A2 to B2 are part of Oqou Pro, and the app is also where a word can go from a list into a review queue, which is the part a page cannot do.

Has a native speaker checked these?

Not yet. The frequency order and the part of speech are mechanical, and the meanings come from a dictionary rather than being written by hand, but nothing here has been through native review. If you spot a meaning that is technically right and practically useless, we would like to hear about it.