Spanish Clothing Vocabulary

Clothing / La ropa

You are likely to find Spanish vocabulary related to clothing to be a little complicated: many of these terms come from an image or a concept that may not be the same in English, and you will also find Spanish words that have been borrowed from English which may confuse you in certain ways. This is because the words which are used to describe clothing have evolved and changed from different meanings: after all, Spanish and English were both descended in part from Latin, and so the last time these two languages were close together everyone was wearing togas, not jeans! This means that certain words have grown from a certain direction – but some of them are a little easier to understand. Just look at the terms for a “sweater”, some “sandals”, or “pyjamas” if you want to see some idea of what we mean!

But not to worry either way about which kinds of words you are looking at: we have put together a list of the “basic” elements in Spanish that make up the wardrobe, so that you can read this as often as you like and try to learn the words that are on it. It can of course be very important to know about certain items of clothing: perhaps you are going on an excursion, and you want to know whether it will be cold enough for you to need to bring a coat? Perhaps in a clothing store you want to buy some new shoes, but you are not sure what to ask for? Or perhaps you lose a glove after it falls out of your pocket and need to ask if someone has found it? Whatever the case, these are handy to know.