7 Main Difference Between Spain Spanish vs Mexican Spanish (With Examples)
You decided to learn Spanish. You’re looking for the best Spanish courses or the best Spanish learning methods (you’re at the right place!), but you ask yourself the question: which Spanish language should I learn? And is there any difference between Spain Spanish vs Mexican Spanish?
My other project, Spring Spanish, featured a great comparison video between the Spanish in Spain vs Mexican Spanish, take a look:
Here, on Effortless Conversations, we can teach you both versions – no matter which one you choose. In this blog post, we’ll point to 7 major differences between Spain Spanish vs Mexican Spanish. And of course, all of this with examples.
1. Spain Spanish vs Mexican Spanish: seseo vs. ceceo
One of the biggest and most important differences between Spain Spanish vs Mexican Spanish is the “seseo vs ceceo” problem.
What is it about?
In Mexican Spanish, seseo means that the “s” sound and the “z” or “c” (before e or i) sounds are pronounced the same way, like the “s” in English.
This makes some words, like “casa” (house) and “caza” (hunt) sound exactly the same!
This sounds and looks a bit complicated, right? No worries! Here’s a table that helps clear any misconceptions:
| Mexican Spanish | Mexican Spanish 1 | English |
|---|---|---|
| casa /ˈkasa/ | caza /ˈkasa/ | House/Hunt |
| cocer /koˈser/ | coser /koˈser/ | To cook/To sew |
| cielo /ˈsjelo/ | silla /ˈsiʎa/ | Sky/Chair |
| cerca /ˈserka/ | ser /ˈser/ | Close/To be |
| cero /ˈsero/ | sebo /ˈsebo/ | Zero/Tallow |
| cima /ˈsima/ | simón /ˈsimon/ | Summit/Simon |
| cereal /seˈreal/ | serpiente /ˈserpjente/ | Cereal/Snake |
| cepillo /seˈpiʎo/ | sesión /seˈsjon/ | Brush/Session |
| zapato /saˈpato/ | sangre /ˈsaŋɡre/ | Shoe/Blood |
| ciruela /siˈrwela/ | sirena /siˈrena/ | Plum/Siren |
In Castilian Spanish, there’s a dedicated pronunciation feature called “distinción.” In this case, the Spanish “s” is pronounced like the English “s“, but “z” and “c” (before e or i) are pronounced with a “th” sound, similar to what the English “th” sounds.
With “ceceo“, the words look and sound like this in Spain Spanish:
| Spain Spanish | Spain Spanish 1 | English |
|---|---|---|
| casa /ˈkasa/ | caza /ˈkaθa/ | House/Hunt |
| cocer /koˈθer/ | coser /koˈser/ | To cook/To sew |
| cielo /ˈθjelo/ | silla /ˈsiʎa/ | Sky/Chair |
| cerca /ˈθerka/ | ser /ˈser/ | Close/To be |
| cero /ˈθero/ | sebo /ˈsebo/ | Zero/Tallow |
| cima /ˈθima/ | simón /ˈsimon/ | Summit/Simon |
| cereal /θeˈreal/ | serpiente /ˈserpjente/ | Cereal/Snake |
| cepillo /θeˈpiʎo/ | sesión /seˈsjon/ | Brush/Session |
| zapato /θaˈpato/ | sangre /ˈsaŋɡre/ | Shoe/Blood |
| ciruela /θiˈrwela/ | sirena /siˈrena/ | Plum/Siren |
2. Difference between Mexican Spanish vs Spanish in Spain: vosotros vs ustedes
The other differences we can already mention is that of the formality level when you speak.
In Spain, people use two different words to talk to a group of people. Native speakers use “vosotros” when talking to friends or family, and they
In Spain, people use two different words to talk to a group of people. They use “vosotros” when talking to friends or family, and they use “ustedes” when talking to people they don’t know well or to show respect.
For example, if you are playing with your friends, you might say, “Vosotros sois mis amigos” (You are all my friends).
But if you are talking to your teachers, you would say, “Ustedes son mis maestros” (You all are my teachers.)
In Mexico and many Latin American countries, it’s easier because they just use “ustedes” for everyone. It doesn’t matter if you’re talking to friends or adults. So, whether you’re talking to your friends or teachers, you would say “ustedes.”
Like this: “Ustedes son muy buenos” (You all are very nice.)
But let’s look at a simplified example to see everything in one place:
| Example Sentence (Informal) | Example Sentence (Formal) |
|---|---|
| Vosotros tenéis un perro. (You all have a dog.) | Ustedes tienen un perro. (You all have a dog.) |
| Vosotros vais al parque. (You all are going to the park.) | Ustedes van al parque. (You all are going to the park.) |
| Vosotros estáis listos para jugar. (You all are ready to play.) | Ustedes están listos para jugar. (You all are ready to play.) |
| Vosotros sois mis amigos. (You all are my friends.) | Ustedes son mis maestros. (You all are my teachers.) |
All of these sentences would use ustedes in Mexican Spanish.
3. Pronunciation of ‘J’ and ‘X’ in Mexican Spanish language
Simply put: the letter j in Mexico is pronounced softly, like the English “h” in “hello.”
In Spain, it’s more guttural, like the German “ch” in “Bach.”
A few examples with phonetic pronunciation:
| Spain Spanish | Mexican Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| José /xoˈse/ | José /hoˈse/ | Joseph |
| jugo /ˈxuɡo/ | jugo /ˈhuɡo/ | Juice |
| jalapeño /xalaˈpeɲo/ | jalapeño /halaˈpeɲo/ | Jalapeño |
| jirafa /xiˈɾafa/ | jirafa /hiˈɾafa/ | Giraffe |
| jamón /xaˈmon/ | jamón /haˈmon/ | Ham |
| baja /ˈbaxa/ | baja /ˈbaha/ | Low/Short |
| examen /eˈksamen/ | examen /eˈksamen/ | Exam |
| mexicano /meχiˈkano/ | mexicano /mexiˈkano/ | Mexican |
| extranjero /ekstraɲˈxeɾo/ | extranjero /ekstranˈxeɾo/ | Foreigner |
| caja /ˈkaxa/ | caja /ˈkaha/ | Box |
4. Mexican and Spanish vocabulary differences
Some everyday words differ between Mexican Spanish and Spain Spanish. Without further ado, here’s a complete list of this vocabulary!
| Spain Spanish | Mexican Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| coche | carro | Car |
| melocotón | durazno | Peach |
| zumo | jugo | Juice |
| autobús | camión | Bus |
| ordenador | computadora | Computer |
| gafas | lentes | Glasses |
| móvil | celular | Cell phone |
| patata | papa | Potato |
| tienda | almacén | Store |
| chico | muchacho | Boy |
| bolígrafo | pluma | Pen |
| conducir | manejar | To drive |
| vale | sale | Okay |
| nevera | refrigerador | Refrigerator |
| habitación | cuarto | Room |
| bocadillo | torta | Sandwich |
| judías verdes | ejotes | Green beans |
| sacapuntas | tajador | Pencil sharpener |
| chaval | chavo | Kid |
| aseo | baño | Bathroom |
| calcetines | medias | Socks |
| tarta | pastel | Cake |
| fregadero | lavadero | Sink |
| guisantes | chícharos | Peas |
| piña | ananá | Pineapple |
5. Castilian Spanish slang and other regionalisms
Spanish slang and Mexican slang both deserve their own dedicated articles – and you should check them out. But still, we have to say that the slang expressions and the Spanish regionalisms differ completely.
Pay attention to these examples, so you can avoid getting into an unfortunate event when you accidentally say something you don’t want to:
| Spain Spanish Slang | Mexican Spanish Slang | English Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Guay | Chido | Cool |
| Tío/Tía | Wey (Güey) | Dude |
| Currar | Chambear | To work |
| Vale | Sale | Okay |
| Majo | Buena onda | Nice/Friendly |
| Chaval | Chavo | Kid |
| Flipar | Sacar de onda | To freak out |
| Movida | Bronca | Mess/Problem |
| Pasta | Lana | Money |
| Ligar | Tirar la onda | To flirt |
| Joder | Chingar | To mess up |
| Chorrada | Babosada | Nonsense |
| Molar | Latir | To like (something) |
| Tío bueno | Churro | Attractive person |
| Trapichear | Transar | To scheme |
6. Present perfect in Spain and Mexico
An important Spanish grammar difference between the two versions of the language is the use case of present perfect Spanish. That’s because in Spain, people often use the present perfect tense (pretérito perfecto compuesto) to discuss actions that are relevant to the present or have effects on the present moment.
If you want to fully master this tense, you have to check out our article about it!
Simply explained, you forme the present perfect Spanish by combining the present tense of the auxiliary verb haber (to have) with the past participle of the main verb. A few examples.
| Spain Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| He comido | I have eaten |
| Has visto | You have seen |
| Ha trabajado | He/She has worked |
| Hemos vivido | We have lived |
| Habéis leído | You all have read |
| Han estudiado | They have studied |
In Mexico, it’s totally different. Instead of the present perfect Spanish, native speakers use the simple past tense (pretérito perfecto simple).
This simple past in Spanish is formed by directly conjugation the verb in the preterite Spanish form:
| Mexican Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Comí | I ate |
| Viste | You saw |
| Trabajó | He/She worked |
| Vivimos | We lived |
| Leísteis | You all read |
| Estudiaron | They studied |
Just to illustrate the main difference between the two: you just finished eating and you’re talking to a friend:
- In Spain, you would probably say: He comido (I have eaten). – With this, you highlight the fact that your action of eating has a present relevance (e.g., you’re no longer hungry).
- In Mexico, you would say: Comí (I ate). – In this Spanish sentences, you focus more on the fact that the action happened in the past, without stressing its connection to the present.
7. Diminutives in Mexican Spanish and Spain Spanish
In Mexico, the most common diminutive suffixes are -ito and -ita.
Compared to Castilian Spanish, where -ito and -ita are also used, but some regions prefer the suffixes –illo and -illa. The ones ending in -o are used for masculine Spanish nouns, while the ones ending in -a are used for feminine nouns.
Keep in mind that the suffixes aren’t universally used across all of Spain but can be heard sometimes in different regions.
| Mexican Spanish | Spain Spanish (some regions) | English |
|---|---|---|
| perrito | perrillo | Little dog |
| casita | casilla | Little house |
| gatito | gatillo | Little cat |
| florecita | florilla | Little flower |
| arbolito | arbolillo | Little tree |
| niñito | niñillo | Little boy |
| amiguita | amiguilla | Little friend |
| librito | librillo | Little book |
| papelito | papelillo | Little paper |
| mesita | mesilla | Little table |
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