Spanish clothing vocabulary: clothes, sizes and materials
The word for clothing is la ropa, and unlike English “clothes” it is normally
singular: you say la ropa, not las ropas. Add the everyday pieces —
la camisa (shirt), los pantalones (trousers) and los zapatos (shoes) — and
the verb llevar (to wear), and you can already describe what someone has on.
Below are the core clothing words with their gender, an example sentence and
audio. After the list, the sections cover the everyday pieces, how llevar
works for “wear”, and how to talk about sizes and materials.
| Word | Transcription | Translation | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| ropa | /ˈropa/ | clothing | Compro ropa nueva.I buy new clothing. |
| camisa | /kaˈmisa/ | shirt | Él llevó una camisa azul al trabajo hoy.He wore a blue shirt to work today. |
| pantalones | /pantaˈlones/ | trousers | Estos pantalones son negros y muy elegantes.These trousers are black and very smart. |
| vestido | /besˈtiðo/ | dress | Ella llevó un vestido rojo a la fiesta.She wore a red dress to the party. |
| chaqueta | /tʃaˈketa/ | jacket | Él se puso la chaqueta antes de salir.He put on his jacket before going outside. |
| zapatos | /θaˈpatos/ | shoes | Sus zapatos son viejos pero todavía muy buenos.His shoes are old but still very good. |
| talla | /ˈtaʝa/ | size | ¿Qué talla necesitas para esta chaqueta?What size do you need for this jacket? |
| llevar | /ʝeˈβaɾ/ | wear | A ella le gusta llevar colores brillantes en verano.She likes to wear bright colours in summer. |
| algodón | /alɣoˈðon/ | cotton | Esta camisa está hecha de algodón y es muy suave.This shirt is made of cotton and is very soft. |
| lana | /ˈlana/ | wool | Su jersey de lana es muy cálido en invierno.His wool jumper is very warm in winter. |
| cuero | /ˈkweɾo/ | leather | Él tiene una chaqueta de cuero que se ve muy bien.He has a leather jacket that looks very cool. |
Clothes you wear every day
The pieces you reach for most are la camisa (shirt), los pantalones
(trousers), el vestido (dress), la chaqueta (jacket) and los zapatos
(shoes). Note that pantalones and zapatos are usually plural in Spanish,
even for a single pair, just as English uses “trousers.”
Esta camisa es nueva y los pantalones son negros.
This shirt is new and the trousers are black.El vestido y la chaqueta están en la habitación.
The dress and the jacket are in the room.Estos zapatos son muy cómodos.
These shoes are very comfortable.
Wearing clothes: llevar
The usual verb for “to wear” or “to have on” is llevar.
Hoy llevo una camisa azul.
Today I’m wearing a blue shirt.Ana lleva un vestido rojo y una chaqueta negra.
Ana is wearing a red dress and a black jacket.
The same verb llevar also means “to carry,” so the rest of the sentence
decides which meaning you mean — you can see that contrast in
llevar vs traer.
Llevo los zapatos en la mano.
I’m carrying the shoes in my hand.
Sizes and materials
To talk about size, use la talla. For materials, Spanish uses de plus the
material: de algodón (cotton), de lana (wool) and de cuero (leather), as
in una camisa de algodón (a cotton shirt).
¿Qué talla usas?
What size do you wear?
| Material | Spanish | Example |
|---|---|---|
| cotton | de algodón | Una camisa de algodón.A cotton shirt. |
| wool | de lana | Un jersey de lana.A wool sweater. |
| leather | de cuero | Unos zapatos de cuero.Leather shoes. |
Materials and colours agree with the noun, so a feminine word like chaqueta
takes feminine forms: una chaqueta negra, una camisa blanca.
Una chaqueta negra y unos zapatos de cuero.
A black jacket and leather shoes.
Common mistakes
Making “clothes” plural
“Clothes” is la ropa, an uncountable singular noun, so there is no everyday
plural las ropas.
Compré ropas nuevas.→ Compré ropa nueva.
I bought new clothes.
Using the singular for a pair
A pair of shoes is los zapatos and trousers are los pantalones; the singular
un zapato means literally one single shoe, not a pair.
Llevo un zapato negro.→ Llevo unos zapatos negros.
I’m wearing black shoes.
Using vestido to mean “dressed”
El vestido is the noun “a dress.” “Dressed” is the participle vestido/a, so
to say what someone has on, use llevar with the noun.
Está vestida un vestido rojo.→ Lleva un vestido rojo.
She is wearing a red dress.
In Fluera you build each clothing word into a short sentence — llevo una camisa azul, los zapatos son de cuero — and hear it spoken, so naming what you wear becomes automatic instead of a memorised list. Try it when you practice Spanish and describe a real outfit out loud.
Practice
Question 1 of 11
Frequently asked questions
How do you say clothes in Spanish?
la ropa, an uncountable singular noun, so you say la ropa, not las ropas. For a single garment use a specific word like la camisa (shirt) or el vestido (dress).What is the verb for "to wear" in Spanish?
llevar: Llevo una camisa azul ("I'm wearing a blue shirt"). Llevar also means "to carry," so the rest of the sentence tells you which meaning is intended.Is "pantalones" singular or plural?
Los pantalones (trousers) is normally plural, even for one pair, just like los zapatos (shoes). The singular el pantalón exists, but the plural is the everyday choice.