60 Spanish Words That Start With C: Vocabulary + Example Sentences

In this blog post, you’ll learn more about Spanish words that start with C. This might not sound interesting at all, but…

Did you know that the Spanish letter C has two different pronunciations depending on the vowel that follows it? It’s pronounced like ‘k’ before ‘a’, ‘o’, and ‘u’, but like ‘th’ (in Spain) or ‘s’ (in Latin America) before ‘e’ and ‘i’.

Butterfly Spanish has made an explanatory video about the different pronunciation patterns:

You might find this confusing, but that’s why we’re here! So, let’s learn some important Spanish nouns, Spanish verbs, Spanish adverbs, Spanish adjectives and even common Spanish phrases with the letter C.

1. Fun facts about the Spanish letter ‘C’

We already mentioned that the letter C has two different pronunciations in Spanish.

What about its usage?

‘C’ is one of the most common consonants in Spanish. It’s used in many common words and expressions.

Many of the Spanish words that start with C come from Latin origins. If you’re interested in it, you can learn more about the history of Spanish language on our Effortless Conversations.

spanish words that start with c in beautiful style

The Spanish letter C is used in common Spanish expressions. One of the most famous of these expressions is: “Cada loco con su tema” (To each his own).

Oh, and one more thing! The letter ‘C’ combines with ‘H’ to form the ‘ch’ sound, which used to be considered a separate letter in the Spanish alphabet until 1994. What a funny fun fact!

2. Spanish nouns starting with C

SpanishEnglish
Casa
House
Coche
Car
Cabeza
Head
Corazón
Heart
Calle
Street
Comida
Food
Ciudad
City
Cielo
Sky
Carta
Letter
Camino
Road
Café
Coffee
Cama
Bed
Cuchara
Spoon
Canción
Song
Cuaderno
Notebook

In a real-life conversation, using these Spanish words that start with C could be like:

María: Carlos, ¿has visto mi coche? No lo encuentro en la calle. (María: Carlos, have you seen my car? I can’t find it on the street.)
Carlos: Sí, lo vi cerca de la casa de Ana. Por cierto, ¿quieres ir a tomar un café en la ciudad? (Carlos: Yes, I saw it near Ana’s house. By the way, do you want to go for a coffee in the city?)
María: ¡Claro! Pero primero necesito buscar mi cartera. Creo que está en mi cuarto. (María: Sure! But first I need to find my wallet. I think it’s in my room.)

spanish words that start with c illustration

3. Spanish verbs starting with C

SpanishEnglish
Comer
To eat
Caminar
To walk
Cantar
To sing
Correr
To run
Cocinar
To cook
Cambiar
To change
Cerrar
To close
Comenzar
To begin
Creer
To believe
Crecer
To grow
Caer
To fall
Comprar
To buy
Construir
To build
Conducir
To drive
Conocer
To know

Use Spanish verbs that start with C like this:

Lucía: Pedro, ¿quieres comer algo? Puedo cocinar pasta. (Lucía: Pedro, do you want to eat something? I can cook pasta.)
Pedro: Sí, gracias. ¿Puedo ayudarte a cortar las verduras? (Pedro: Yes, thank you. Can I help you cut the vegetables?)
Lucía: ¡Claro! Después podemos caminar un poco para comenzar bien la digestión. (Lucía: Of course! Afterwards we can walk a bit to start the digestion well.)

4. Spanish adverbs starting with C

spanish words that start with c symbol
SpanishEnglish
Casi
Almost
Cómo
How
Cuando
When
Cerca
Near
Claramente
Clearly
Completamente
Completely
Cuidadosamente
Carefully
Constantemente
Constantly
Correctamente
Correctly
Curiosamente
Curiously
Ciertamente
Certainly
Cómodamente
Comfortably
Cariñosamente
Affectionately
Cautelosamente
Cautiously
Críticamente
Critically

Some of these adverbs are Spanish cognates, so it’s easy to learn them:

Elena: ¡Hola Javier! ¿Cómo estás? ¿Cuándo llegaste a la fiesta? (Elena: Hi Javier! How are you? When did you arrive at the party?)
Javier: Llegué casi al final, pero aún así me divertí completamente. (Javier: I arrived almost at the end, but I still had fun completely.)
Elena: ¡Qué bueno! Ciertamente, necesitamos celebrar más a menudo. (Elena: That’s great! Certainly, we need to celebrate more often.)

5. Spanish adjectives starting with C

spanish words that start with c in centre
SpanishEnglish
Cansado
Tired
Contento
Happy
Caliente
Hot
Claro
Clear
Curioso
Curious
Cómodo
Comfortable
Complicado
Complicated
Corto
Short
Caro
Expensive
Completo
Complete
Creativo
Creative
Culto
Cultured
Cariñoso
Affectionate
Confiable
Reliable
Cauteloso
Cautious

Brighten your dialogues with these Spanish adjectives:

Ana: ¡Mira ese curioso edificio, Roberto! Es corto pero muy creativo. (Ana: Look at that curious building, Roberto! It’s short but very creative.)
Roberto: Sí, es verdad. Parece complicado pero claro en su diseño. (Roberto: Yes, that’s true. It seems complicated but clear in its design.)
Ana: Estoy de acuerdo. Aunque el precio de entrada es caro, la experiencia será completa. (Ana: I agree. Although the entrance price is expensive, the experience will be complete.)

6. Common Spanish phrases starting with C

Let’s look at some common Spanish phrases that start with C.

These can be incredibly useful in everyday conversations:

SpanishEnglish
Claro que sí
Of course
Con permiso
Excuse me
Cuánto cuesta
How much does it cost
Como siempre
As always
Cuidate mucho
Take care
Cuando quieras
Whenever you want
Cuenta conmigo
Count on me
Con mucho gusto
With pleasure
Creo que sí
I think so
Como sea
Whatever

Here’s a dialogue using some of these chunks:

María: Con permiso, ¿cuánto cuesta este libro? (María: Excuse me, how much does this book cost?)
Librero: Cuesta 20 euros. ¿Lo quiere llevar? (Bookseller: It costs 20 euros. Do you want to take it?)
María: Creo que sí. Es un regalo para mi amigo Carlos. (María: I think so. It’s a gift for my friend Carlos.)
Librero: Con mucho gusto. ¿Quiere que lo envuelva para regalo? (Bookseller: With pleasure. Would you like me to wrap it as a gift?)
María: Claro que sí, gracias. Cuídese mucho. (María: Of course, thank you. Take care.)
Librero: Igualmente, cuando quiera volver, aquí estaremos. (Bookseller: Likewise, whenever you want to come back, we’ll be here.)

7. Learn Spanish words that start with C with Conversation Based Chunking method

An excellent way to learn Spanish words starting with C is through Conversation Based Chunking.

This method focuses on using lexical chunks in real-life situations rather than memorizing words individually. Learning “¿Quieres comer algo?” in context is more effective than constantly translating the word “comer” from English.

This approach helps you learn the entire language more naturally.

If you want to learn more about this method, you can sign up to our email list, and we’ll send you the rest: an essential Spanish Chunking List, resources to learn Spanish, and practice exercises.

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