Spanish · US & Latin America

Spanish words with el and la, pienso and pensé, the way they are said here

For beginners and anyone coming back to Spanish in the US. Every card has audio, a transcription, a full example sentence, and the article or the verb forms right under the word.

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  • 300 ready cards for your level and goals – nothing to build
  • Reverse cards: from English to Spanish
  • La mano, el problema, pienso, pensé: the forms under every word
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Translation

Preparing your card Finding a useful word for this language pair.

A real card from My Lingua Cards – tap it, hear it, remember it.

Why Spanish feels hard

Spanish is easy to start – and easy to learn wrong if you learn words alone.

Here is what trips learners up and what the cards do about each.

El or la

Most nouns follow the -o and -a rule, and the ones that do not are exactly the ones you need: la mano, el problema, el día, la foto. On a card the article stands right under the noun, and the example uses it again.

Verbs that change

Pensar becomes pienso, tener becomes tengo, hacer becomes hice. The dictionary form alone does not tell you. Under every verb you see the two forms you will say first: pienso, pensé.

The words people actually use here

Carro, computadora, celular, jugo, papa: the headwords are the words of Latin America and the US, not the Spain-only ones, so what you learn is what you hear at work and in the neighborhood.

Sounds and the transcription

Cerveza is [seɾˈβesa], calle is [ˈkaʝe], and the j of jamón is a sound English does not have. Every card plays the word and the example and shows the transcription in Latin American pronunciation.

Tú, usted, ustedes

One word for a friend, one for a stranger or a boss, and ustedes for any group – no vosotros. The examples use them the way people in the Americas do, so the endings come with the words.

False friends with English

Embarazada is not embarrassed, éxito is not exit, carpeta is not carpet. When a word looks like English but means something else, the card says so in its memory cue.

Where it pays off

Where you will need your Spanish words

The cards are the same, but different words come first depending on what you need Spanish for.

At work

Coworkers, customers, patients, a crew on site: in the US Spanish is often the second language of the workplace, and nobody waits while you look for a word.

Family and neighbors

In-laws, a partner’s parents, the family next door: the everyday words of home, food, and plans, so a conversation does not stop at hola.

Travel in Mexico and Latin America

Ordering, asking the way, buying a boleto, checking into a hotel: words you need to recognize by ear and say back without thinking.

School and exams

High school and college Spanish, AP Spanish, DELE and SIELE: the vocabulary is organized by level, from beginner to advanced, so you work through it in order, not at random.

Getting started

From sign-up to your first card in a couple of minutes

No word lists to hunt for, no cards to make, no review schedule to plan – the app takes care of all that.

1

Answer a couple of questions

Tell us your language, your level, what you're learning for, and the topics you care about. It takes under a minute.

Done for you 2

You get 300 ready cards

From your answers the app picks words for your level and goals and groups them into sets, one for each topic you chose.

3

Straight to the words

After setup you land on a card, not on an empty dashboard. Your first session has as many words as you chose per day: 10, 20, or 30.

4

The next day

Your dashboard has one main button. It opens a session where new words come together with the ones that are due for review, so you never have to decide what to study today.

Behind the calm pace is spaced repetition: each review lands just as the memory starts to fade, so words settle into your active vocabulary.

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Reviews

What people write after learning with us

5.0
from 7 learner reviews

“My girlfriend's family speaks Spanish, and I always felt left out when they talked. This app helped me learn more words, and now I can join their conversations.”

Nick B. 9/22/2026

“I wanted to learn Spanish, but I got tired of making my own cards and setting everything up. This app was much easier, so I could just start learning.”

Jake P. 8/10/2026

“I never knew what Spanish words to learn first. Now I just open the app and start learning.”

Daniel 7/14/2026

“I could understand some Spanish, but when I had to say something, my brain just froze. This helped me practice the words more, and now they come out a lot easier.”

Kevin 6/20/2026

“I started Spanish for my trip, then realized I only knew “hola” and panic. This helped me learn useful words fast, so now I feel way less lost.”

Chris W. 6/17/2026

“I was learning Spanish, but I had no idea what to study next. MyLinguaCards made it simple: open it, do a few cards, done.”

Ethan 6/1/2026

“I was so tired of learning Spanish words and forgetting them almost right away. This made it way easier to keep words in my head and actually feel like I’m making progress.”

Emily S. 4/1/2026
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Questions, answered

Quick answers before you start.

Latin American, as spoken in the US. The words, the pronunciation in the audio and the transcription, and the tú, usted and ustedes forms in the examples follow the Spanish of the Americas. There is a separate Spain Spanish track if that is what you need.

For a noun, the article that shows its gender – la mano, el problema – and an irregular plural when the word has one. For a verb, the two forms you will say first: pienso, pensé. For an adjective, its feminine form when it has one.

Yes. You choose your level at the start, and the first 300 words are picked for it. Each card gives you the sound, the transcription, and a full example sentence, so you are not left guessing how a new word behaves.

It helps with what speaking depends on: having the word ready, with its article or its form, when you need it. Reverse cards make you recall the Spanish word from English, and short exercises make you use it in a sentence, by voice or typing.

Yes. Learning now lets you add a list of words, or paste a text and let the app pick the words out of it. You study them in a separate focused session.

No. It is a vocabulary trainer: ready cards, spaced repetition, reverse cards, and short exercises. It works well next to a class, a tutor, or a textbook, because it takes care of the words.

Yes. The first month is free: your first 300 ready Spanish vocabulary cards, no credit card. After that nothing is charged unless you choose a plan, and your words and progress stay saved.

Unlike Anki, there is nothing to set up: no building decks or importing shared files – ready-made Spanish cards come with audio, images, and example sentences. And unlike gamified apps, there are no streaks or lives to protect: just a calm daily review queue powered by spaced repetition.

Start Spanish the way you will say it: la mano, pienso, pensé

The first month is free: 300 ready Spanish vocabulary cards with audio, the article and the verb forms under every word, and full example sentences. No credit card required.

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