Common Spanish Winter Words and Phrases

Chestnuts roasting by an open fire, the smell of eggnog in the air… winter is here. But how do you say “winter” in Spanish, or “chestnuts,” or “eggnog”? 

Just as you may use some Spanish words more often in the summer, there are some winter words you’ll find useful once it starts to get cold. We’ve helpfully rounded them up for you so that by the time you’ve finished this post, you’ll have all the vocabulary you need to get you through the chilly months.

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

Winter Weather in Spanish

A favorite pastime of many nationalities, talking about the weather never gets old.

Some words you might need include:

• La nieve (snow)
• Nevar (to snow)
• El hielo (ice)
• El copo de nieve (a snowflake)
• El muñeco de nieve (a snowman)
• La tormenta de nieve (a snowstorm)
• Bola de nieve (snowball)
• Batalla de bolas de nieve (a snowball fight)
• Aguanieve (slush)
• Sensación térmica por el viento (a wind-chill)
• Bajo cero (below freezing)
• Rasqueta (ice scraper)
• Pala (shovel)
• La niebla (fog)
• El granizo (hailstones)
• Empañarse (mist or fog up)
• Escarcha (frost)

And here are some phrases:

• ¡Está nevando! (It’s snowing)
• ¡Mira! ¡Hay mucha nieve! (Look! There’s loads of snow!)
• Hace dos grados bajo cero (It’s two degrees below freezing)

Winter Activities in Spanish

Winter activities are a highlight of winter for many of us. Here are some activities and related words that could be worth knowing.

• El esquí (skiing)
• Esquiar (to ski)
• Snowboard (snowboard)
• Hacer snowboard (to snowboard)
• Patinaje sobre hielo (ice skating)
• Patines de hielo (ice skates)
• Andar en trineo (sledding)
• Trineo (sled)
• Papá Noel (Santa Claus)
• Tenos (reindeers)
• Hockey sobre hielo (ice hockey)
• Palo de hockey (hockey stick)
• Disco (puck)
• Escultura de hielo (ice sculpture)
• Quedarse adentro / quedarse en casa  (stay inside/home)
• El fuego (the fire)
• Jugar a las cartas (play cards)
• Rompecabezas (jigsaw puzzle)
• Juego de mesa (board game)
• Peli / película  (film)

So far we’ve learned quite a few winter Spanish vocabulary, but you can learn even more with the videos on FluentU.

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Winter Foods in Spanish

Our this wintery picture isn’t quite complete without some food to warm up.

• Chocolate caliente (hot chocolate)
• El ponche de huevo (eggnog)
• Vino caliente (hot wine)
• Estofado / guiso (stew)
• Sopa (soup)
• La chirivía (parsnip)
• La calabaza (pumpkin)
• Repollitos de bruselas (brussel sprouts)
• Al horno (roasted)

Winter Clothing in Spanish

For those without great heating, sometimes it can feel as if you need to wear every piece of clothing you own not only outside, but inside the house, just to keep warm.

• Abrigarse (to wrap up warm)
• Abrigado (wrapped up warm)
• Guantes (gloves) 
• Bufanda (scarf) 
• Gorra (hat) 
• Botas (boots) 
• Manopla (mittens) 
• Capas (layers)
• El traje de esquí (a skisuit) 

Other Useful Spanish Winter Words

• El invierno (winter)
• Estar resfriado (to have a cold)
• Mocos (snot)
• Estornudando (sneezing)
• Fiebre (fever)
• Gripe (flu)
• Estar engripado (to have the flu)
• Los pañuelos (the tissues)
• Reposo (bedrest) 
• El calefón / el calentador (the boiler)
• La estufa (the heater)
• La calefacción (the heating)
• Las vacaciones (the holidays)

Become a master of Spanish seasonal vocabulary faster than you ever thought possible! Have fun, and don’t forget to abrigarse.

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

And One More Thing…

If you've made it this far that means you probably enjoy learning Spanish with engaging material and will then love FluentU.

Other sites use scripted content. FluentU uses a natural approach that helps you ease into the Spanish language and culture over time. You’ll learn Spanish as it’s actually spoken by real people.

FluentU has a wide variety of videos, as you can see here:

FluentU brings native videos within reach with interactive transcripts. You can tap on any word to look it up instantly. Every definition has examples that have been written to help you understand how the word is used. If you see an interesting word you don’t know, you can add it to a vocab list.

Review a complete interactive transcript under the Dialogue tab, and find words and phrases listed under Vocab.

Learn all the vocabulary in any video with FluentU’s robust learning engine. Swipe left or right to see more examples of the word you’re on.

The best part is that FluentU keeps track of the vocabulary that you’re learning, and gives you extra practice with difficult words. It'll even remind you when it’s time to review what you’ve learned. Every learner has a truly personalized experience, even if they’re learning with the same video.

Start using the FluentU website on your computer or tablet or, better yet, download the FluentU app from the iTunes or Google Play store. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)