English Words Used In Spanish (Loanwords You Already Half-Know)

If you’ve ever seen marketing, wifi, or spoiler in a Spanish sentence and thought “Wait, that looks suspiciously English,” you’re not hallucinating. You’ve just met an anglicismo /aŋɡliˈθis.mo/ — an English loanword living its best life in Spanish.

The nice part? These words are like vocabulary on easy mode. You already know the meaning. You just need to tweak pronunciation, gender, and a few “this is fine in WhatsApp but not in a formal report” rules.

By the end of this guide, you’ll recognize the most common English words used in Spanish, know how to pronounce them, when they’re okay to use, and when to switch to a more “proper” Spanish alternative so you sound fluent and not like a lost intern at an international startup.

Quick Primer: What Exactly Is An Anglicismo?

An anglicismo /aŋɡliˈθis.mo/ is a word Spanish has borrowed from English. Some of them are:

Fully adopted and adapted: written and pronounced in a very Spanish way
Half-adopted: spelling looks English-ish, but sound and grammar are pure Spanish
Wild Spanglish: words you’ll hear, but teachers and bosses may side-eye

A few quick rules:

Loanwords usually get gender:
- el marketing /el ˈmaɾ.ke.tiŋ/ — marketing
- el chat /el tʃat/ — chat
- la web /la ˈweb/ — (the) web
Many take regular Spanish plural:
- los emails /los iˈmejls/ — emails
- los chats /los tʃats/ — chats
Some are “adapted” with accents or spelling:
- fútbol /ˈfut.βol/ — football/soccer
- béisbol /ˈbejs.bol/ — baseball
- sándwich /ˈsan.dwitʃ/ — sandwich

You don’t need to memorize every loanword. Start with the ones that appear constantly in tech, work, and daily life, and layer in pronunciation and alternatives.

Everyday Anglicisms You’ll Hear All The Time

These show up in conversations, signs, ads, and menus. They’re everywhere.

Places And Everyday Life

Spanish	IPA	English
El bar	el ˈbaɾ	bar
El pub	el ˈpab	pub
El club	el ˈklub	club
El cámping	el ˈkam.piŋ	campsite, campground
El parking / párking	el ˈpaɾ.kiŋ	parking lot
El mall (LatAm)	el ˈmal	mall, shopping center
El jacuzzi	el xaˈku.si	jacuzzi, hot tub

Example:

Quedamos en el bar del centro. /keˈða.mos en el ˈbaɾ ðel ˈθen.tɾo/
We’re meeting at the bar downtown.

Tech, Internet And Social Media

Spanish	IPA	English
El internet	el inteɾˈnet	internet
El wifi	el ˈwi.fi	wifi
El smartphone	el esˈmaɾt.fon	smartphone
El chat	el tʃat	chat
Chatear	tʃa.teˈaɾ	to chat (online)
El email	el iˈmejl	email
El mail	el ˈmejl	email (short form)
El blog	el ˈblok	blog
El streaming	el esˈtɾi.miŋ	streaming
El software	el ˈsof.wer	software
El hardware	el ˈaɾd.wer	hardware
El link	el ˈliŋk	link (URL)

Example:

Te mando el link por email. /te ˈman.ðo el ˈliŋk poɾ iˈmejl/
I’ll send you the link by email.

Usage note: in more formal contexts, you may hear el correo electrónico /el koˈre.o elekˈtɾo.ni.ko/ instead of email, and el enlace /el enˈla.se/ instead of link.

Work, Business And Study: Office Spanglish

Offices love English. Spanish offices doubly love English words dressed up in Spanish sounds.

Spanish	IPA	English
El marketing	el ˈmaɾ.ke.tiŋ	marketing
El branding	el ˈbɾan.diŋ	branding
El manager / mánager	el ˈma.na.xeɾ	manager
El freelance	el ˈfɾi.lans	freelancer
El feedback	el ˈfid.bak	feedback
El deadline	el ˈded.lajn	deadline
El meeting / mitin	el ˈmi.tin	meeting
El brief	el ˈbɾif	brief, briefing
El target	el ˈtaɾ.ɣet	target audience
El lead	el ˈlid	lead (sales)
El pitch	el ˈpitʃ	pitch, sales presentation
El coach	el ˈkotʃ	coach, trainer

Example:

Tenemos un meeting con el manager de marketing. /teˈne.mos un ˈmi.tin kon el ˈma.na.xeɾ ðe ˈmaɾ.ke.tiŋ/
We have a meeting with the marketing manager.

Usage note: in formal writing, many people prefer alternatives:

mercadotecnia /meɾkaðoˈtek.nja/ instead of marketing
reunión /reuˈnjon/ instead of meeting
entrenador /entɾenaˈðoɾ/ instead of coach

Entertainment, Sports And Pop Culture

Movies, music and sports are a buffet of English-origin words.

Spanish	IPA	English
El show	el ˈʃou / el ˈtʃou	show
El thriller	el ˈθɾi.leɾ / ˈtɾi.leɾ	thriller
El spoiler / espóiler	el ˈspoj.leɾ / esˈpoj.leɾ	spoiler
El tráiler	el ˈtɾaj.leɾ	trailer (movie preview)
El casting	el ˈkas.tiŋ	casting, audition
El reality	el reˈa.li.ti	reality show
El rock	el ˈrok	rock (music)
El jazz	el ˈjas	jazz
El pop	el ˈpop	pop (music)
El hit	el ˈit	hit (song)
El fan	el ˈfan	fan (person)
El selfie / la selfie	el ˈsel.fi / la ˈsel.fi	selfie

Sports classics:

Spanish	IPA	English
El fútbol	el ˈfut.βol	football, soccer
El básquet	el ˈbas.ket	basketball
El béisbol	el ˈbejs.bol	baseball
El tenis	el ˈte.nis	tennis
El hockey	el ˈxo.kej	hockey

Example:

No me cuentes el final, no quiero espóiler. /no me ˈkwen.tes el fiˈnal no ˈkje.ɾo esˈpoj.leɾ/
Don’t tell me the ending, I don’t want spoilers.

Fashion, Food And Lifestyle

Lifestyle Spanish loves English words, especially in ads and social media.

Spanish	IPA	English
El outfit	el ˈaut.fit	outfit
El look	el ˈluk	look, style
Casual	kaˈswal	casual
Vintage	ˈbin.tatʃ	vintage
Trendy	ˈtɾen.di	trendy
El top	el ˈtop	top (clothing)
El bikini	el biˈki.ni	bikini
El brunch	el ˈbɾantʃ	brunch
El bacon / beicon	el ˈbej.kon	bacon
El brownie	el ˈbɾaw.ni	brownie
El hot dog	el ˈxot ˌdok	hot dog
El cupcake	el ˈkap.kejk	cupcake

Example:

Su estilo es muy casual, pero siempre con un buen look. /su esˈti.lo es ˈmuj kaˈswal ˈpe.ɾo ˈsjem.pɾe kon un ˈbwen ˈluk/
Her style is very casual, but always with a good look.

Usage note: in more neutral Spanish you’ll also hear conjunto /konˈxun.to/ instead of outfit and aspecto /asˈpek.to/ or imagen /iˈma.xen/ instead of look.

Adapted Vs “English-Looking” Words

Some English loanwords are so integrated that they’ve been spelled the Spanish way. Others keep their English look but follow Spanish rules.

Adapted Forms

Spanish	IPA	English
Fútbol	ˈfut.βol	football, soccer
Béisbol	ˈbejs.bol	baseball
Líder	ˈli.ðeɾ	leader
Sándwich	ˈsan.dwitʃ	sandwich
Bistec	bisˈtek	steak
Cóctel	ˈkok.tel	cocktail
Mitin	ˈmi.tin	meeting (political)
Friki / friqui	ˈfɾi.ki	nerd, geek
Espray	esˈpɾaj	spray
Eslogan	esˈlo.ɣan	slogan

These often have accents to keep Spanish stress rules happy (fútbol, sándwich, cóctel).

“English-Looking” But Spanish-Sounding

Words like marketing, software, online, smartphone, blog, podcast usually keep their original spelling but:

Take Spanish articles and gender:
- el marketing, el podcast, el software, el smartphone
Get Spanish pronunciation:
- vowels more pure and short,
- r often tapped or trilled,
- final consonants pronounced clearly.

So software is ˈsof.wer, not “soft-wear,” and podcast is usually ˈpot.kast.

Pronunciation Tips: Same Word, Different Sound

Loanwords look friendly because they resemble English, but your Spanish mouth still has to do the work.

1. Stress Where Spanish Tells You

Many adapted words use accents to show stress:

fútbol /ˈfut.βol/ — stress on fút-, not on -bol
béisbol /ˈbejs.bol/ — stress on béis-
cóctel /ˈkok.tel/ — stress on cóc-

No accent? Follow normal Spanish rules (stress on the second-to-last syllable if it ends in a vowel, n or s).

2. Spanish Vowels, Not English Ones

Spanish vowels are short and clean:

marketing /ˈmaɾ.ke.tiŋ/ — not “MAR-keit-ing,” more like MAHR-ke-ting
brunch /ˈbɾantʃ/ — closer to BRANCH (but with a Spanish r)

If you pronounce vowels like English, you’ll still be understood, but you’ll sound more local if you “Spanish-ify” them.

3. Consonants Get Spanish Treatment Too

jazz /ˈjas/ — with a Spanish j, not a buzzing English dʒæz
wifi /ˈwi.fi/ — like WEE-fee, not “waɪ-fai”
chat /tʃat/ and chatear /tʃa.teˈaɾ/ — clear ch, not “shat”

A simple hack: imagine you’re a Spanish speaker trying to imitate English words… with a Spanish accent. That’s basically what’s happening.

Common Pitfalls And “Sounds English But Isn’t” Moments

A few traps to watch for so you don’t accidentally sound weirder than you meant to.

1. Using The Loanword When A Simple Spanish Word Is Better

In casual conversation, el email, el chat, el wifi are fine. But in very formal situations, many speakers prefer:

el correo electrónico instead of email
la página web / el sitio web instead of just web
el informe / el reporte instead of report

If you’re not sure, using the Spanish alternative is always the safe choice.

2. Fake Friends: English In Look, Different In Use

Some things are… not what they seem:

Un esmoquin /esˈmo.kin/ — tuxedo (from smoking jacket), not “smoking” itself
Una americana /a.meɾiˈka.na/ — blazer/jacket, not “an American woman” in this context
Un friki /ˈfɾi.ki/ — nerd/geek, not exactly the same as English “freak”

Also, some “Spanglish” expressions like llamar para atrás for “call back” (from to call back) are common in bilingual communities, but not standard Spanish. Safer option:

Te vuelvo a llamar luego. /te ˈβwel.βo a ʝaˈmaɾ ˈlwe.ɣo/ — I’ll call you back later.

3. Over-Spanglish-ing Verbs

You’ll hear googlear /ɡu.ɡleˈaɾ/ (to google), whatsappear /ɡwa.sapˈpeaɾ/ (to WhatsApp), stalkear /esˈtol.ke.aɾ/ (to stalk on social media). They exist, but they’re informal.

If you want to play it safe:

Buscarlo en Google. /busˈkaɾ.lo en ˈɡu.ɣle/ — to look it up on Google
Mandar un mensaje por WhatsApp. /manˈðaɾ un menˈsa.xe poɾ ɡwaˈsap/ — to send a WhatsApp message

Region Notes

Spain

Lots of tech and lifestyle anglicisms: el parking, el camping, el footing (for jogging), el pub, el brunch, el reality.
You’ll also hear adapted forms like fútbol, béisbol, cóctel, mitin, espray, eslogan.

Latin America

Tech terms like el internet, el wifi, el chat, el email, el Facebook /ˈfejs.buk/ are very common.
In some areas you’ll hear el mall more than centro comercial.
Business Spanish in big cities loves marketing, manager, freelance, etc.

US Spanish (bilingual context)

You’ll hear more intense Spanglish: verbs like parquear (to park), aplicar for “apply (for a job)” instead of postularse, and many hybrid sentences.
Great listening practice, but for exams or formal writing, stick with standard Spanish vocabulary.

Mini Dialogues

Each line: Spanish, IPA, then natural English.

Making Plans Online

Te mando el link por WhatsApp.
/te ˈman.ðo el ˈliŋk poɾ ɡwaˈsap/
I’ll send you the link on WhatsApp.

Perfecto, lo veo desde el móvil.
/peɾˈfek.to lo ˈβe.o ˈðes.ðe el ˈmo.βil/
Perfect, I’ll check it from my phone.

At Work With Business Loanwords

Tenemos un meeting con el cliente a las 4.
/teˈne.mos un ˈmi.tin kon el kliˈen.te a las ˈkwa.tɾo/
We have a meeting with the client at 4.

Genial, así revisamos el último feedback.
/xenˈjal aˈsi reβiˈsa.mos el ˈul.ti.mo ˈfid.bak/
Great, that way we can review the latest feedback.

Talking About A TV Show

Ya viste el último capítulo? Hay mucho espóiler en Twitter.
/ʝa ˈβis.te el ˈul.ti.mo kaˈpi.tul.o aj ˈmu.tʃo esˈpoj.leɾ en ˈtwi.teɾ/
Did you see the latest episode? There are a lot of spoilers on Twitter.

No, todavía no. No me hagas espóiler, por favor.
/no to.ðaˈβi.a no no me ˈa.ɣas esˈpoj.leɾ poɾ faˈβoɾ/
No, not yet. Don’t spoil it for me, please.

Shopping And Style

Me gusta tu outfit, es muy casual pero elegante.
/me ˈɣus.ta tu ˈaut.fit es ˈmuj kaˈswal ˈpe.ɾo eleˈɣan.te/
I like your outfit; it’s very casual but elegant.

Gracias, lo vi en un blog de moda.
/ˈɣɾa.sjas lo ˈβi en un ˈblok ðe ˈmo.ða/
Thanks, I saw it on a fashion blog.

Quick Reference

A screenshot-friendly list of high-frequency English words used in Spanish.

Spanish	IPA	English
El internet	el inteɾˈnet	internet
El wifi	el ˈwi.fi	wifi
El email / mail	el iˈmejl / el ˈmejl	email
El chat	el tʃat	chat
Chatear	tʃa.teˈaɾ	to chat (online)
El blog	el ˈblok	blog
El link	el ˈliŋk	link
El software	el ˈsof.wer	software
El marketing	el ˈmaɾ.ke.tiŋ	marketing
El manager	el ˈma.na.xeɾ	manager
El freelance	el ˈfɾi.lans	freelancer
El feedback	el ˈfid.bak	feedback
El meeting / mitin	el ˈmi.tin	meeting
El bar	el ˈbaɾ	bar
El club	el ˈklub	club
El parking	el ˈpaɾ.kiŋ	parking lot
El outfit	el ˈaut.fit	outfit
El look	el ˈluk	look, style
El brunch	el ˈbɾantʃ	brunch
El selfie / la selfie	el ˈsel.fi / la ˈsel.fi	selfie
El spoiler / espóiler	el ˈspoj.leɾ / esˈpoj.leɾ	spoiler
El tráiler	el ˈtɾaj.leɾ	trailer (movie preview)
El fútbol	el ˈfut.βol	football, soccer
El béisbol	el ˈbejs.bol	baseball
El rock	el ˈrok	rock
El pop	el ˈpop	pop (music)

Five-Minute Practice Plan

Spot-The-Anglicismo (1 minute)
Write down 5 English-looking words from this article (for example: marketing, wifi, selfie, brunch, spoiler). Next to each one, add the article: el or la. Say each phrase out loud: el marketing, el wifi, la selfie…
Upgrade A Real Sentence (1 minute)
Take one sentence from your real life, like “I saw it on Instagram” and make a Spanish version using loanwords:
- Lo vi en Instagram.
  Do this with three sentences: work, free time, and food.
Pronunciation Switch (1 minute)
Choose 4 words: wifi, marketing, fútbol, brunch. Say them once with your English pronunciation, then once with Spanish pronunciation. Exaggerate the Spanish vowels and r sounds.
Formal vs Casual (1 minute)
Pair each anglicism with a more formal Spanish option:
- email → correo electrónico
- link → enlace
- meeting → reunión
- marketing → mercadotecnia
  Say both versions out loud and notice which one feels right for a WhatsApp chat and which one for a job interview.
Mini-Dialogue Shadowing (1 minute)
Pick one Mini Dialogue and read both roles out loud three times. Aim for smooth rhythm more than perfect pronunciation. Then try it once without looking.
Real-Life Mission
Next time you see Spanish online (social media, news, ads), spot three English-looking words and say their Spanish pronunciation quietly to yourself. Tiny repetitions like this turn “Oh, I kind of recognize that” into “I know exactly how to use that.”

Borrowed Words, Real Spanish

English words in Spanish aren’t cheating; they’re part of how the language actually works in 2025. Learn a handful of these anglicismos, give them Spanish pronunciation and grammar, and suddenly whole chunks of tech, business, and pop-culture Spanish feel way more accessible—like the language has secretly been helping you this whole time.