Spanish Words Used in French 40 Loanwords with Easy Examples

French loves borrowing words. It does it elegantly, of course, but it still borrows. And Spanish has given French quite a few colorful, practical, and occasionally dramatic little imports over the centuries.

Some of these words came in through travel, trade, food, music, bullfighting, or colonial history. Others just sounded useful and stuck. The nice part for English-speaking learners is that many of these loanwords feel familiar in English too, so you get a handy three-language connection instead of one more random vocab list to memorize.

In this guide, you’ll learn 40 Spanish-origin words used in modern French, with easy pronunciation help, clear meanings, and simple example sentences. You’ll also see where French meaning or usage has drifted a bit, because loanwords rarely stay perfectly tidy.

A borrowed word with an attitude is still a borrowed word.

Table of Contents

How Spanish Loanwords Behave In French

Most of the words below are fully natural in French today. That means they often take normal French articles like le, la, or un, and they follow normal French pronunciation patterns more than Spanish ones.

For example, French usually does not pronounce Spanish-style rolled r, and many final consonants stay silent or softened according to French habits. So even if a word looks very Spanish, say it the French way when speaking French. Your future conversations will thank you.

If you want to compare French with other borrowed vocabulary patterns, you can also explore English words used in French, German words used in French, and regional words used in French.

40 Spanish Words Used In French

French Word	Pronunciation	Meaning	Example Sentence	Translation	Learner Note
la sieste	see-est	nap, afternoon rest	En été, j’aime faire une sieste après le déjeuner.	In summer, I like taking a nap after lunch.	Very common word in French; fully natural.
le moustique	moo-steek	mosquito	Il y a un moustique dans la chambre.	There’s a mosquito in the room.	Looks fancy, still annoying.
la guitare	gee-tar	guitar	Elle joue de la guitare tous les soirs.	She plays guitar every evening.	Use jouer de for instruments.
la tomate	to-mat	tomato	Je coupe la tomate pour la salade.	I’m cutting the tomato for the salad.	Feminine: une tomate.
le chocolat	sho-ko-la	chocolate	Les enfants adorent le chocolat.	Children love chocolate.	Ultimately from the Americas via Spanish.
le cacao	ka-ka-o	cocoa	Je bois du lait chaud avec du cacao.	I drink warm milk with cocoa.	Often used in food and drink contexts.
la vanille	va-neey	vanilla	Cette glace à la vanille est délicieuse.	This vanilla ice cream is delicious.	Very common in desserts.
le tabac	ta-ba	tobacco	Le tabac est interdit dans ce lieu.	Tobacco is forbidden in this place.	Also refers to a tobacco shop in some contexts: un tabac.
le maïs	ma-ees	corn, maize	On ajoute du maïs dans la salade.	We add corn to the salad.	The diaeresis shows both vowels are pronounced.
la patate	pa-tat	potato; also “idiot” in slangy contexts	Je vais faire cuire les patates au four.	I’m going to roast the potatoes in the oven.	Everyday and casual; pomme de terre is more neutral.

French Word	Pronunciation	Meaning	Example Sentence	Translation	Learner Note
la paella	pa-eh-ya or pa-eh-la	paella	Nous avons mangé une excellente paella au restaurant.	We ate an excellent paella at the restaurant.	French speakers often pronounce it in a French way; don’t panic.
la tortilla	tor-tee-ya or tor-tee-la	tortilla; often Spanish omelet in French contexts	En Espagne, j’ai goûté une tortilla aux pommes de terre.	In Spain, I tasted a potato tortilla.	In French, this often suggests the Spanish dish, not the Mexican flatbread.
les tapas	ta-pas	small shared dishes, tapas	On commande des tapas à partager.	We’re ordering tapas to share.	Usually plural in French too.
le chorizo	sho-ree-zo	chorizo sausage	Il y a du chorizo dans cette sauce.	There is chorizo in this sauce.	French ch sounds like “sh,” not Spanish.
la sangria	san-gree-a	sangria	En terrasse, ils boivent de la sangria.	On the terrace, they’re drinking sangria.	Common in summer and restaurant contexts.
le gaspacho	gas-pa-sho	gazpacho	Le gaspacho se mange bien froid.	Gazpacho is eaten very cold.	French spelling often uses gaspacho.
le piment	pee-mon	chili pepper, hot pepper	Ce plat contient beaucoup de piment.	This dish contains a lot of chili pepper.	Can mean spice/heat generally too.
la casquette	kas-ket	cap, baseball cap	Il met sa casquette avant de sortir.	He puts on his cap before going out.	Common everyday word in French.
la camarade	ka-ma-rad	comrade, classmate, companion	C’est une camarade de classe très sympa.	She’s a very nice classmate.	Often camarade de classe; can be political in some contexts.
l’embargo	am-bar-go	embargo, trade ban	Le pays a imposé un embargo sur certains produits.	The country imposed an embargo on certain products.	Formal and political vocabulary.

French Word	Pronunciation	Meaning	Example Sentence	Translation	Learner Note
la corrida	ko-ree-da	bullfight	La corrida reste un sujet très controversé.	Bullfighting remains a very controversial subject.	Cultural word; not everyday for everyone.
le torero	to-re-ro	bullfighter	Le torero entre dans l’arène.	The bullfighter enters the arena.	Used mainly in bullfighting discussions.
la plaza	pla-za	public square, plaza	Nous nous retrouvons sur la plaza centrale.	We’re meeting in the central plaza.	Less common than place; often used for a Spanish setting.
la hacienda	a-see-en-da	large estate, hacienda	Le film se passe dans une vieille hacienda.	The film takes place in an old hacienda.	Often used for a Latin American or Spanish atmosphere.
le matador	ma-ta-dor	matador	Le matador salue la foule.	The matador greets the crowd.	Another bullfighting word borrowed into French.
la fiesta	fyes-ta	party, celebration	Ce soir, c’est la fiesta chez Julie.	Tonight, it’s party time at Julie’s place.	More playful than neutral fête.
le flamenco	fla-men-ko	flamenco	Elle apprend le flamenco depuis deux ans.	She has been learning flamenco for two years.	Music and dance term.
la salsa	sal-sa	salsa music/dance; salsa sauce in some contexts	Ils dansent la salsa tous les vendredis.	They dance salsa every Friday.	Context matters: dance or sauce.
la rumba	room-ba	rumba	On entend de la rumba dans la salle d’à côté.	We can hear rumba in the room next door.	Musical and dance vocabulary.
la guitarriste	gee-ta-reest	guitarist	La guitariste joue très bien en concert.	The guitarist plays very well in concert.	Built in French from guitare plus French ending.

French Word	Pronunciation	Meaning	Example Sentence	Translation	Learner Note
le moustachu	moo-sta-shoo	mustached man	Le voisin moustachu est très gentil.	The mustached neighbor is very nice.	Related to moustache, which came through Spanish routes.
la moustache	moo-stash	mustache	Il veut garder sa moustache.	He wants to keep his mustache.	Very common and fully French now.
le hamac	a-mak	hammock	Je lis un livre dans le hamac.	I’m reading a book in the hammock.	Another word that traveled via Spanish.
le canoë	ka-no-ay	canoe	Nous faisons du canoë sur la rivière.	We go canoeing on the river.	Often in sports or holiday vocabulary.
le cargo	kar-go	cargo ship; cargo	Le cargo arrive demain au port.	The cargo ship arrives tomorrow at the port.	Used in transport and logistics too.
le ranch	ranch	ranch	Ils ont visité un ranch pendant leurs vacances.	They visited a ranch during their vacation.	More exotic than everyday French vocabulary.
le canyon	kan-yon	canyon	Le sentier longe un magnifique canyon.	The path runs along a magnificent canyon.	The y sounds like French y/i blend.
le lagon	la-gon	lagoon	Le lagon est d’un bleu incroyable.	The lagoon is an incredible blue.	Common in travel writing.
la savane	sa-van	savanna	On voit des animaux au loin dans la savane.	We can see animals in the distance in the savanna.	Used in geography and nature topics.
la cascade	kas-kad	waterfall; stunt in some contexts	Nous avons marché jusqu’à une grande cascade.	We walked to a large waterfall.	In French it can also mean a movie stunt.

French Word	Pronunciation	Meaning	Example Sentence	Translation	Learner Note
le bizarre	bee-zar	strange, odd	Ce bruit est vraiment bizarre.	That noise is really strange.	Usually an adjective in modern French.
la bravade	bra-vad	show of defiance, bravado-like act	Sa réponse était une pure bravade.	His reply was pure defiance.	Fairly literary or formal.
le camarade	ka-ma-rad	male friend, comrade, classmate	Mon camarade m’aide en maths.	My classmate helps me in math.	Masculine form; same idea as camarade for a female person in context.
la cigare	see-gar	cigar	Il fume un cigare après le dîner.	He smokes a cigar after dinner.	Usually le cigare in modern French; watch the article.
le cigare	see-gar	cigar	Le cigare sent très fort.	The cigar smells very strong.	Masculine noun: un cigare.
le mosquito	mos-kee-to	mosquito	Dans ce roman, le mot mosquito apparaît dans un contexte exotique.	In this novel, the word mosquito appears in an exotic context.	Much less common than moustique.
la matador	ma-ta-dor	female matador	La matador attire toute l’attention du public.	The female matador attracts all the audience’s attention.	Less common; often still le matador by tradition.
le patio	pa-tyo	patio, inner courtyard	Nous prenons le café dans le patio.	We’re having coffee in the patio.	Common in architecture and travel contexts.
le guérillero	geh-ree-ye-ro	guerrilla fighter	Le film raconte l’histoire d’un guérillero.	The film tells the story of a guerrilla fighter.	Historical or political vocabulary.
la guérilla	geh-ree-ya	guerrilla warfare	Le pays a connu une longue guérilla.	The country experienced a long guerrilla war.	Formal historical term.

A Few Useful Patterns To Notice

Food words travel well: tomate, cacao, vanille, chorizo, paella, tapas.
Cultural words often keep a Spanish flavor: fiesta, flamenco, corrida, torero.
Some words are completely ordinary in French now: sieste, guitare, tomate, moustique.
French pronunciation usually wins: say the word as French speakers do, not as if you suddenly switched languages mid-sentence like a very dramatic tour guide.

A loanword in French is still a French word when you use it in a French sentence.

Common Learner Traps

Don’t force Spanish pronunciation in French. Chorizo in French sounds more like sho-ree-zo, not pure Spanish.
Watch the article. It’s la tomate, le cacao, la vanille, le patio.
Meaning may shift. Tortilla in French often means the Spanish egg-and-potato dish, not automatically a wrap.
Some words are common, some are niche. Sieste is everyday useful. Guérillero is not exactly café small talk.

Mini Practice

Try matching these ideas in your head before checking the answers:

Which word means nap?
Which word means mosquito?
Which word would you use for small shared dishes?
Which word means patio or inner courtyard?
Which word means guitar?

Answers: sieste, moustique, tapas, patio, guitare.

Keep Building Your French Vocabulary

If you want to see how many French words you already know, try the French vocabulary test. If you want a broader sense of your level, the French placement test CEFR is a solid next step.

You can also browse more lessons on the Learn French page if you’re in the mood to keep stealing, borrowing, and politely adopting more useful French words.

Yak Takeaway

Spanish loanwords in French are a great reminder that languages are messy in the best possible way. Learn the most common ones first, use them with normal French articles and pronunciation, and you’ll sound much more natural. Start with sieste, guitare, tomate, tapas, and patio. That’s already enough for a nap, a snack, and a mildly charming conversation.