Vocabulary - school subjects
State education in Spain is free and compulsory between the ages of 6 and 16. Primary education (for pupils aged between 6 and 12) is called la educación primaria. This is followed by la educación secundaria obligatoria from age 12 to 16. Some students stay on at school after this to study further. The post-16 course most like A Levels in the United Kingdom is called el bachillerato. Some common school subjects are below.
School subjects
| Spanish | English |
| las asignaturas | subjects |
| los idiomas/las lenguas | languages |
| el alemán | German |
| el español | Spanish |
| el francés | French |
| el inglés | English |
| las matemáticas | maths |
| las ciencias | science |
| la química | chemistry |
| la física | physics |
| la biología | biology |
| la geografía | geography |
| la historia | history |
| la economía | economics |
| las empesariales | business studies |
| la informática | computing |
| el arte dramático/teatro | drama |
| la cocina | food technology/cookery |
| el dibujo/el arte | art |
| la tecnología de diseño | design and technology |
| Spanish | las asignaturas |
|---|---|
| English | subjects |
| Spanish | los idiomas/las lenguas |
|---|---|
| English | languages |
| Spanish | el alemán |
|---|---|
| English | German |
| Spanish | el español |
|---|---|
| English | Spanish |
| Spanish | el francés |
|---|---|
| English | French |
| Spanish | el inglés |
|---|---|
| English | English |
| Spanish | las matemáticas |
|---|---|
| English | maths |
| Spanish | las ciencias |
|---|---|
| English | science |
| Spanish | la química |
|---|---|
| English | chemistry |
| Spanish | la física |
|---|---|
| English | physics |
| Spanish | la biología |
|---|---|
| English | biology |
| Spanish | la geografía |
|---|---|
| English | geography |
| Spanish | la historia |
|---|---|
| English | history |
| Spanish | la economía |
|---|---|
| English | economics |
| Spanish | las empesariales |
|---|---|
| English | business studies |
| Spanish | la informática |
|---|---|
| English | computing |
| Spanish | el arte dramático/teatro |
|---|---|
| English | drama |
| Spanish | la cocina |
|---|---|
| English | food technology/cookery |
| Spanish | el dibujo/el arte |
|---|---|
| English | art |
| Spanish | la tecnología de diseño |
|---|---|
| English | design and technology |
It is important to be able to express your opinions about different school subjects. Here are some adjectives that will help you.
| aburrido/a | boring |
| desagradable | unpleasant |
| difícil | difficult |
| divertido/a | fun/entertaining |
| duro/a | hard |
| entretenido/a | amusing/entertaining |
| fácil | easy |
| fenomenal | great/fantastic |
| guay | cool |
| importante | important |
| interesante | interesting |
| inútil | useless |
| sencillo/a | simple |
| útil | useful |
| aburrido/a |
| boring |
| desagradable |
| unpleasant |
| difícil |
| difficult |
| divertido/a |
| fun/entertaining |
| duro/a |
| hard |
| entretenido/a |
| amusing/entertaining |
| fácil |
| easy |
| fenomenal |
| great/fantastic |
| guay |
| cool |
| importante |
| important |
| interesante |
| interesting |
| inútil |
| useless |
| sencillo/a |
| simple |
| útil |
| useful |
Here are some other ways of expressing opinions.
| me encanta ... | I love ... |
| estar harto/a de ... | to be fed up with ... |
| me interesa ... | I am interested in ... |
| odiar | to hate |
| (no) vale la pena | it's (not) worth it |
| me encanta ... |
| I love ... |
| estar harto/a de ... |
| to be fed up with ... |
| me interesa ... |
| I am interested in ... |
| odiar |
| to hate |
| (no) vale la pena |
| it's (not) worth it |
Listen to these students talking about subjects they study. You may find this vocabulary helpful.
| el director | head teacher |
| la obra | work/play (in a theatre) |
| el papel | paper/part (in a play) |
| sumamente | extremely |
| se trata de ... | it's about/it's a question of ... |
| el director |
| head teacher |
| la obra |
| work/play (in a theatre) |
| el papel |
| paper/part (in a play) |
| sumamente |
| extremely |
| se trata de ... |
| it's about/it's a question of ... |
Which subject is each student talking about? Choose from the following list.
| A | el alemán |
| B | el arte dramático |
| C | la geografía |
| D | la informática |
| E | el inglés |
| F | la química |
| A |
| el alemán |
| B |
| el arte dramático |
| C |
| la geografía |
| D |
| la informática |
| E |
| el inglés |
| F |
| la química |
Question
Which subject is he talking about?
B - el arte dramático.
The words obra (play) and hago el papel de ... (I play the part of ...) are the clues to the answer here.
Transcript:
En este momento estamos preparando una obra muy importante. Yo hago el papel de un director de colegio.
Translation:
At the moment, we're preparing a very important play. I play the part of a school head teacher.
Question
Which subject is she referring to?
E - el inglés.
The words idioma (language) and se habla ... en América del Norte (it's spoken ... in North America) are the main clues.
Transcript:
A mí me parece que es útil estudiar idiomas en general, pero creo que este idioma es sumamente importante porque se habla en muchas partes del mundo, especialmente en América del Norte.
Translation:
I think it's useful to study languages in general, but I think this language is extremely important because it's spoken in many parts of the world, especially in North America.
Question
What subject is he referring to?
C - la geografía.
The phrases cosas sobre otros países (things about other countries) and cómo vive la gente en otras partes del mundo (how people live in other parts of the world) indicate the answer here.
Transcript:
Me interesa mucho aprender cosas sobre otros países y cómo vive la gente en otras partes del mundo.
Translation:
I'm very interested in learning things about other countries and how people live in other parts of the world.