If your phone dies in a Spanish-speaking country, suddenly you’re learning fast. Not because you planned to, but because the Wi‑Fi password is somehow always the first boss fight of the day.
For the broader learning path, visit our parent guide.
This guide gives you practical Spanish for phones, computers, apps, internet problems, and everyday tech stuff. No geek panic. Just the words and phrases you actually need when your screen freezes, your charger vanishes, or someone tells you, “reinicia el router.”
We’ll use natural Latin American Spanish by default, and when Spain Spanish differs, you’ll see it clearly. For general reference, the Real Academia Española is the boring-but-useful place to check spelling and meaning when Spanish decides to be dramatic.
Yak Yacker tip: many tech words in Spanish are close to English, but not close enough to trust blindly. Spanish loves a sneaky false friend almost as much as English loves borrowing words and pretending they’re original.
Core Technology Words You’ll Hear All The Time
Here are the most common tech and device words first. Learn these and you can survive most basic conversations, stores, and support chats.
| Spanish | Pronunciation | Meaning | Example Sentence | Translation | Learner Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| el teléfono celular | teh-LEH-foh-no seh-loo-LAHR | mobile phone | Mi teléfono celular no tiene batería. | My cell phone doesn’t have battery. | Latin America usually says celular; Spain usually says móvil. |
| el móvil | MOH-beel | mobile phone | ¿Dónde dejé el móvil? | Where did I leave my phone? | Common in Spain. |
| la computadora | kom-poo-tah-DOH-rah | computer | Necesito una computadora nueva. | I need a new computer. | In Spain, many people say ordenador. |
| el ordenador | or-deh-nah-DOR | computer | El ordenador está muy lento. | The computer is very slow. | Common in Spain. |
| la pantalla | pahn-TAH-nyah | screen | La pantalla está rota. | The screen is broken. | Note the ll sound: “ny” in many accents, not “l.” |
| el teclado | teh-KLAH-doh | keyboard | Mi teclado no funciona bien. | My keyboard doesn’t work well. | Useful for laptops and desktops. |
| el ratón | rah-TON | mouse | El ratón inalámbrico es práctico. | The wireless mouse is practical. | Ratón is masculine and has an accent mark. |
| la tableta | tah-BLEH-tah | tablet | Mi hermana usa la tableta para leer. | My sister uses the tablet to read. | Also tablet in some places, but tableta is safer. |
| la computadora portátil | kom-poo-tah-DOH-rah por-TAH-til | laptop | Trabajo con mi computadora portátil. | I work with my laptop. | You’ll also hear laptop in casual speech. |
| el cargador | kar-gah-DOR | charger | ¿Tienes un cargador para iPhone? | Do you have a charger for iPhone? | Very common in daily life. Very common in panic, too. |
| la batería | bah-teh-REE-ah | battery | La batería está al 5%. | The battery is at 5%. | Use this for phones, laptops, and more. |
| el enchufe | en-CHOO-feh | plug / socket | ¿Dónde está el enchufe? | Where is the outlet? | In many countries, this refers to the outlet or plug point. |
| el cable | KAH-beh-leh | cable | El cable está roto. | The cable is broken. | Works for charging cables, HDMI cables, and more. |
| el auricular | ow-ree-koo-LAHR | headphone / earbud | Perdí un auricular. | I lost one earbud. | Plural is los auriculares. |
| los auriculares | ow-ree-koo-LAH-res | headphones | Me gustan los auriculares inalámbricos. | I like wireless headphones. | Very common plural form. |
Useful Phrases For Phones, Apps, And Daily Tech
These are the phrases that save you when you need help, need directions, or need to tell someone your phone is being rude and refusing to cooperate.
| Spanish | Pronunciation | Meaning | Example Sentence | Translation | Learner Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| el teléfono está descargado | teh-LEH-foh-no es-TAH des-kar-GAH-doh | the phone is dead / out of battery | Lo siento, mi teléfono está descargado. | Sorry, my phone is dead. | Very natural way to say the phone has no battery. |
| se me acabó la batería | seh meh ah-kah-BOH lah bah-teh-REE-ah | my battery ran out | Se me acabó la batería en el bus. | My battery died on the bus. | This is a very common everyday structure. |
| no tengo señal | noh TEHN-goh seh-NYAL | I have no signal | No tengo señal aquí. | I have no signal here. | ñ sounds like “ny” in “canyon.” |
| no hay internet | noh eye een-tehr-NET | there is no internet | En esta casa no hay internet. | There’s no internet in this house. | Simple, direct, useful. |
| la contraseña | kohn-trah-SEH-nyah | password | ¿Cuál es la contraseña del Wi‑Fi? | What’s the Wi‑Fi password? | One of the first questions people ask. Naturally. |
| conectarse al Wi‑Fi | koh-nehk-TAR-seh al wee-FEE | to connect to Wi‑Fi | No puedo conectarme al Wi‑Fi. | I can’t connect to the Wi‑Fi. | Wi‑Fi is often said like “wee-fee.” |
| descargar una aplicación | des-kar-GAR OO-nah ah-pli-kah-SYON | to download an app | Voy a descargar una aplicación nueva. | I’m going to download a new app. | Aplicación is the normal word for app. |
| abrir la aplicación | ah-BREER lah ah-pli-kah-SYON | to open the app | Abre la aplicación de mapas. | Open the maps app. | Works for any app. |
| cerrar la aplicación | seh-RAHR lah ah-pli-kah-SYON | to close the app | Cierra la aplicación y vuelve a intentarlo. | Close the app and try again. | Cerrar = close; abrir = open. |
| actualizar la aplicación | ak-too-ah-lee-SAR lah ah-pli-kah-SYON | to update the app | Tienes que actualizar la aplicación. | You have to update the app. | Common in app-store messages. |
| reiniciar el teléfono | reh-ee-nee-SYAR el teh-LEH-foh-no | to restart the phone | Intenta reiniciar el teléfono. | Try restarting the phone. | Classic tech support advice, usually after everything else fails. |
| bloquear la pantalla | bloh-keh-AHR lah pahn-TAH-nyah | to lock the screen | Bloquea la pantalla cuando termines. | Lock the screen when you finish. | Bloquear can also mean “to block.” Context matters. |
| desbloquear el teléfono | des-bloh-keh-AHR el teh-LEH-foh-no | to unlock the phone | Desbloquea el teléfono con tu huella. | Unlock the phone with your fingerprint. | Huella here means fingerprint. |
| tomar una foto | toh-MAHR OO-nah FOH-toh | to take a photo | Voy a tomar una foto del menú. | I’m going to take a photo of the menu. | Also sacar una foto in many places. |
| mandar un mensaje | mahn-DAHR oon men-SAH-heh | to send a message | Te voy a mandar un mensaje. | I’m going to send you a message. | Very natural in texting. |
Quick note: in Latin America, people often say celular, while in Spain you’ll hear móvil. Both are normal. Same phone, different habit. Humans do love making life just a little inconsistent.
Devices At Home, At Work, And In Stores
You’ll also want words for the machines around you: printer, router, TV, speakers, and the little gadgets that mysteriously stop working right after the warranty expires.
| Spanish | Pronunciation | Meaning | Example Sentence | Translation | Learner Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| la impresora | eem-preh-SOH-rah | printer | La impresora no tiene tinta. | The printer has no ink. | Tinta means ink. |
| el router | ROO-ter | router | Apaga el router por un minuto. | Turn off the router for one minute. | English word is often used directly. |
| la televisión | teh-leh-vee-SYON | television / TV | Vimos la televisión por la noche. | We watched TV at night. | Remember the accent on -ción. |
| el televisor | teh-leh-vee-SOR | TV set | El televisor es muy grande. | The TV set is very big. | Televisión can mean TV as a medium; televisor is the device. |
| el altavoz | ahl-tah-BOS | speaker | Sube el volumen del altavoz. | Turn up the speaker volume. | Plural: los altavoces. |
| el volumen | boh-LOO-men | volume | Baja el volumen, por favor. | Turn down the volume, please. | Useful in homes, cars, and classes. |
| la cámara | KAH-mah-rah | camera | La cámara del celular es buena. | The phone camera is good. | Spelled with an accent because the stress is not on the first syllable. |
| el micrófono | mee-KROH-foh-no | microphone | El micrófono no funciona en la reunión. | The microphone doesn’t work in the meeting. | Useful for calls, classes, and recordings. |
| la memoria | meh-MOH-ree-ah | memory / storage | Mi celular tiene poca memoria. | My phone has little storage. | In tech, memoria can mean storage space. |
| el disco duro | EEL DEES-koh DOO-roh | hard drive | Guardé el archivo en el disco duro. | I saved the file on the hard drive. | Very common computer phrase. |
| el archivo | ahr-CHEE-boh | file | No encuentro el archivo. | I can’t find the file. | Also means “archive” in some contexts. |
| la carpeta | kar-PEH-tah | folder | Guarda los documentos en esa carpeta. | Save the documents in that folder. | Also means a physical folder. |
| la contraseña de la red | kohn-trah-SEH-nyah deh lah RED | network password | ¿Me dices la contraseña de la red? | Can you tell me the network password? | A more specific way to ask for Wi‑Fi access. |
| la señal | seh-NYAL | signal | La señal aquí es débil. | The signal here is weak. | Débil means weak. |
| la cobertura | koh-behr-TOO-rah | coverage | En este pueblo no hay buena cobertura. | There’s no good coverage in this town. | Very common for mobile service. |
Internet And Online Language
Once you go online, Spanish gets even more useful. Also, more annoying. Because now the problem is not just the Wi‑Fi, but the Wi‑Fi, the login, the password reset, and the mysterious message that says “sesión expirada.”
| Spanish | Pronunciation | Meaning | Example Sentence | Translation | Learner Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| internet | een-tehr-NET | internet | Necesito internet para trabajar. | I need internet to work. | Usually no article is needed in casual speech. |
| el sitio web | EEL SEE-tee-oh web | website | Entré al sitio web de la empresa. | I went to the company website. | Also página web or just web. |
| la página | PAH-hee-nah | page | La página no carga. | The page won’t load. | Very useful for browsing problems. |
| la cuenta | KWEHN-tah | account | Ya tengo una cuenta. | I already have an account. | Also means “bill” or “count,” depending on context. |
| la contraseña | kohn-trah-SEH-nyah | password | Olvidé mi contraseña. | I forgot my password. | One of the most useful phrases online. |
| iniciar sesión | ee-nee-SYAR seh-SYON | to log in | No puedo iniciar sesión. | I can’t log in. | More formal than entrar. |
| cerrar sesión | seh-RAHR seh-SYON | to log out | Cerré sesión por seguridad. | I logged out for security. | Very common on shared devices. |
| la descarga | des-KAR-gah | download | La descarga tarda mucho. | The download is taking a long time. | From descargar, to download. |
| el enlace | en-LAH-seh | link | Te mando el enlace por WhatsApp. | I’ll send you the link on WhatsApp. | Also link in many places. |
| subir un archivo | soo-BEER oon ahr-CHEE-boh | to upload a file | Necesito subir un archivo al sistema. | I need to upload a file to the system. | Subir can mean “go up” or “upload.” |
| bajar un archivo | bah-HAR oon ahr-CHEE-boh | to download a file | Voy a bajar el archivo ahora. | I’m going to download the file now. | In many contexts, bajar = download. |
| la contraseña es incorrecta |
