La ciudad y mi barrio (The City and My Neighborhood)

Let’s explore the city, shall we? In this chapter, we will learn how to talk about the places around us– your city, your neighborhood, your favorite spots. Whether it’s the park down the street or a busy plaza, you will soon be able to describe it all. So let’s take a stroll through the city!

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These vocabulary words were read by a speaker from Santiago, Chile.Scroll within the image to see all its content

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• el banco 🏦

• bank

• la barbería / la peluquería 💈

• barbershop / hair salon

• el bar 🍻

• bar

• la biblioteca 📚

• library

• la bodega 🏪

• convenience store

• la cafetería ☕

• café

• la calle 🚏

• street

• el campo deportivo ⚽

• sports field

• el centro

• downtown

• el centro comercial / el mall 🛍️

• shopping mall

• el cine 📽️

• movie theater

• el correo 🏤

• post-office

• la estación de autobuses 🚌

• bus station

• la estación de metro /tren 🚉

• subway / train station

• el estadio 🏟️

• stadium

• la farmacia 💊

• pharmacy

• el gimnasio 💪

• gym

• el hospital 🏥

• hospital

• la iglesia ⛪

• church

• la mezquita 🕌

• mosque

• el museo 🖼️

• museum

• la plaza

• plaza

• la parada / el paradero 🚏

• bus stop

• el parque 🌳

• park

• el restaurante 🍴🍝

• restaurant

• la sala de conciertos 🎶

• concert hall

• la sinagoga ✡️

• synagogue

• el supermercado 🛒

• supermarket

• el templo 🛕

• temple

• el teatro 🎭

• theater

• la tienda 🏪

• store

• la universidad 🏫

• university

Nota cultural

Did you see cafetería on the list? It belongs to a group of common places that end in –ería, which usually means “a place where something is sold or made.” These stores are part of daily life in many Spanish-speaking countries. In Spanish-speaking countries people often visit different small shops for specific things instead of one big supermarket. See other examples below:

• la panadería 🥖

• bakery

• la verdulería / la frutería 🥬

• vegetable and fruit shop / produce store

• la carnicería 🥩

• butcher shop

• la zapatería 👟

• shoe store

• la pescadería 🐟

•  fish market

• la fiambrería 🧀

• deli / cold cuts shop

• la ferretería 🔧

• hardware store

• la cerrajería 🔑

• locksmith’s shop

• la repostería / la pastelería 🍰

• pastry shop / cake shop

• la peluquería 💇

• hair salon

• la heladería 🍦

• ice cream shop

• la tintorería 👔

• dry cleaner

• la lavandería 🧺

• laundromat

Check-in Activity

Ferretería y cerrajería en Rosario, Argentina:

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Lavandería en Rosario, Argentina:

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🔎 Did you notice that some vocabulary words have more than one option listed?

That’s because there are many different ways of saying things in Spanish depending on the country. Spanish is like a giant word party 🥳 Throughout the book, we will show you some of these lexical varieties, so keep an eye out for them! For some, you will also see an image like the one below that includes some of the countries (not all, there are so many!) where each word is used:

These vocabulary words were read by a speaker from Santiago, Chile.

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Pronunciación del español (Spanish pronunciation)

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Now, go to YouGlish for Spanish and search for the words universidad, uniforme, unidad, idea, ideal, and ídolo, one at a time. Listen to the clips to hear how different speakers pronounce these words in various videos 🎧

You can also use YouGlish to hear how other words are pronounced in real contexts! What words would you like to search for? 🔍😊