Spanish words that start with C: Caballos en campo con un cielo carmesí

The letter C is one of the most dynamic and versatile letters in the Spanish language. From simple everyday words to technical or poetic expressions, Spanish words that start with C are foundational to Spanish vocabulary. As the third letter of the alphabet, its presence spans across all parts of speech: nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and more.

This guide contains several comprehensive lists of Spanish words that start with C, showcasing their meanings, uses, and cultural relevance. Whether you’re expanding your vocabulary or refining your linguistic skills, exploring these Spanish words that start with C will offer you an insight into the richness of the Spanish language.

Let’s get to it!

History of the letter C in Spanish

Before diving into our first list of Spanish words that start with C, let’s take a quick look at the fascinating history behind this letter in Spanish.

Like many letters in the Spanish alphabet, C originated from the Latin alphabet, but its story begins much earlier. Its roots trace back to an ancient Egyptian hieroglyph that symbolized a sling staff. This symbol was later adapted by the Phoenicians into their letter “gimel,” which represented the sound /g/ and was associated with the word for camel. The Greeks then adopted this letter as “gamma,” keeping the /g/ sound but adding a new letter, “kappa,” for the /k/ sound.

When the Etruscans borrowed gamma, their language lacked the /g/ sound, so they modified it to represent /k/, simplifying its shape into a curve that resembles the modern C. The Romans inherited this adaptation and initially used C for both /k/ and /g/ sounds. To resolve the confusion, they eventually introduced the letter G for the /g/ sound, leaving C to represent the /k/ sound.

During the Middle Ages, the pronunciation of C evolved further. Influenced by Latin and Romance languages, it began to take on additional sounds, such as /s/ when placed before certain vowels, shaping its role in modern Spanish.

Now let’s move on to our next section where we’ll go into more depth on how to pronounce the letter C in Spanish!

How to pronounce C in Spanish

The letter C in Spanish can take three different pronunciations. Standard pronunciation rules rely on the vowel that comes directly after the letter C, whereas some regional accents add their own variations.

Let’s take a look at each of the three pronunciations to learn how to say C in Spanish

The Spanish C as a /k/ sound

The C in Spanish is pronounced as a hard consonant, just like the English C in words like cat or car, when placed before the vowels A, O, and U, and before any consonant other than H.

• Carro – Car

• Cortina – Curtain

• Cuento – Tale

• Claro – Clear

• Cruz – Cross

In rare Spanish words that end in the letter C, it’s also pronounced with a /k/ sound. These are mostly onomatopoetic words or loanwords, however, since the letter C is not normally found at the end of Spanish words.

• Tic-toc – Tick-tock (onomatopoeia)

• Un cómic – A comic book or strip

The Spanish C as an /s/ sound

When it appears directly before the vowels E or I, the letter C in Spanish has an S sound, just like in the English words center or cinema. Another name for the S sound is a sibilant sound, so this pronunciation is known as the sibiliant C.

• Cereza – Cherry

• Ciruela – Plum

The Spanish C as a /θ/ sound

In some regions of the Spanish-speaking world, the letter C is pronounced more like a theta when it appears before the vowels E or I. This is the light /th/ sound of English words such as think or thought.

• Cereza – Cherry

• Ciruela – Plum

This phenomenon of pronouncing C as a theta is not very prevalent in most of Latin America, where the sibilant C we introduced in the previous section is dominant. There, the S, Z, and sibilant C are all pronounced the same way, known as seseo.

In much of Spain, however, many speakers pronounce as a theta both the Z and the C we’ve identified here. Cereza would be pronounced /the-RE-tha/ there. This phenomenon is known as distinción.

Finally, some regions in southern Spain pronounce as a theta the S, Z, and this C that appears before an E or an I. Pronouncing all three of these otherwise-sibilant letters as theta is known as ceceo (which you should probably pronounce there as /the-THE-o/).

In short, if your goal is to speak Latin American Spanish, you can just stick with the pronunciation of the previous section, where a Spanish C before an E or an I is pronounced with an S sound. But at least now you know that sometimes this sibilant sound is pronounced like a theta instead! If you really want to know more about these regional differences, check out our full post on the so-called Spanish lisp.

The special case of CH

So far we’ve only looked at how to pronounce the letter C in Spanish when it appears on its own in a word. Just like in English, CH has a completely different pronunciation that’s unrelated to the rules we’ve just seen.

We’ll post a distinct lesson soon with Spanish words that begin with this consonant pair. For now, just know that we pronounce it just like in your English words choose or chocolate.

• Chico – Boy, Dude

• Chorizo – Chorizo (a variety of spicy sausage)

Spanish words that start with C

The letter C is one of the most versatile letters in Spanish, forming countless words across all parts of speech. In the following lists, we present our lists of Spanish words that start with C in each of the main grammatical categories: nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.

Once we’ve seen these main groupings of Spanish C words, we’ll round out our post with a series of fundamental words in Spanish that start with C. We group them together there, since they fall into other grammatical categories such as relative pronouns and prepositions. For now though, let’s begin with the nouns!

Nouns that start with C in Spanish

Nouns form the backbone of the lexicon of any language, and the letter C in Spanish provides a treasure trove of versatile vocabulary. These words not only enrich everyday conversation but also serve as key building blocks for learners to express thoughts and emotions effectively. Let’s explore some essential Spanish C nouns that can broaden your vocabulary and enhance your fluency.

Spanish C nouns	English
El caballo	Horse
El cabello	Hair
El café	Coffee
La calle	Street
El calor	Heat
La cama	Bed
La cámara	Camera
La camisa	Shirt
El campo	Countryside, Field
La canción	Song
El cangrejo	Crab
El carnaval	Carnival
El carro	Car
La casa	House
La catedral	Cathedral
El cerebro	Brain
La cerveza	Beer
El ciclo	Cycle
El cielo	Sky, Heaven
El cinturón	Belt
La ciudad	City
La clase	Class
El coche	Car
La colina	Hill
La comida	Food
La copa	Wine glass
El corazón	Heart
El correo	Mail
El cristal	Crystal, Window pane
La cruz	Cross
El cuadro	Painting, Frame
La cuchara	Spoon
El cuchillo	Knife
El cuerpo	Body
La cueva	Cave

Verbs that start with C in Spanish

Verbs are the linguistic tools that help us describe actions and states of being. Plenty of Spanish words that start with C are verbs, covering everything from physical activities to mental actions. Let’s take a look!

Spanish C verbs	English
Caber	To fit
Caer	To fall
Calcular	To calculate
Callar	To be quiet, To silence [someone]
Cambiar	To change, To switch
Caminar	To walk
Cantar	To sing
Captar	To capture
Cargar	To carry, To load
Casar	To marry
Causar	To cause
Cazar	To hunt
Celebrar	To celebrate
Cenar	To have dinner
Cerrar	To close
Cesar	To cease, To stop
Citar	To cite
Clamar	To cry out, To plead
Clarificar	To clarify
Cocinar	To cook
Coger	To take, To grab, To have sex with (vulgar)
Colocar	To place, To put
Comenzar	To start, To begin
Comer	To eat
Compartir	To share
Comprar	To buy
Comprobar	To check, To verify
Conducir	To drive
Confiar	To trust
Conocer	To meet, To know
Conseguir	To find
Contar	To count, To tell
Continuar	To continue
Convenir	To agree, To be suitable
Copiar	To copy
Corregir	To correct
Correr	To run
Creer	To believe

Adjectives that start with C in Spanish

Adjectives add description, color, and emotion to language. Let’s take a look at some Spanish adjectives starting with C.

Spanish C adjectives	English
Caliente*	Hot
Callado	Quiet
Calmado	Calm
Caluroso	Warm (weather)
Candente*	Burning, Fiery
Cansado	Tired
Capaz*	Capable
Carmesí	Crimson
Cariñoso	Affectionate, Loving
Carnoso	Fleshy
Cauteloso	Cautious
Cautivo	Captive
Celeste*	Sky blue
Celoso	Jealous
Central*	Central
Cercano	Nearby, Close
Cerrado	Closed
Civilizado	Civilized
Claro	Clear
Clásico	Classic
Cómico	Comical, Funny
Compasivo	Compassionate
Completo	Complete
Complicado	Complicated
Confiado	Confident, Trusting
Contento	Happy, Content
Corto	Short
Creativo	Creative
Cristalino	Crystalline
Cruel*	Cruel
Culpable	Guilty
Cultural	Cultural
Curioso	Curious

*These adjectives are invariable. All the other adjectives change form to respect the gender and number of the nouns they modify.

Adverbs that start with C in Spanish

Adverbs in Spanish describe how, when, or to what extent an action happens. Many useful adverbs are words that start with C in Spanish. Let’s take a look.

Spanish C adverbs	English
Cabalmente	Exactly, Fully
Cálidamente	Warmly
Calladamente	Quietly, Silently
Calurosamente	Warmly
Casualmente	Casually
Cautelosamente	Cautiously
Ciertamente	Certainly
Claramente	Clearly
Cómodamente	Comfortably
Completamente	Completely
Concretamente	Specifically, Concretely
Confiadamente	Confidently
Conscientemente	Consciously
Considerablemente	Considerably
Constantemente	Constantly
Contentamente	Contentedly
Continuamente	Continuously
Correctamente	Correctly
Cruelmente	Cruelly
Cuidadosamente	Carefully
Culturalmente	Culturally

Fundamental Spanish grammar words that start with C

Our vocab lists so far in today’s post have focused on basic nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs that cover a wide range of everyday subjects. In addition to those general terms we’ve seen already, we have a number of fundamental Spanish words that start with C whose uses are more specialized.

In this final vocab list, we’re including all of these fundamental Spanish grammar words that start with C. For reference, we’ve included the parts of speech that each one represents.

Since these words are such important building blocks of the language, we have specific posts explaining how most of them work. Please click through to each of our related lessons for specifics.

Spanish C words	English
Cuál	Which (interrogative)
Lo cual	Which, What, That (relative pronoun)
Cuándo	When (interrogative)
Cuando	When (conjunction)
Cuánto	How much (interrogative)
Cuántos	How many (interrogative)
Cuanto	How much (pronoun, adjective, noun)
Cómo	How (interrogative)
Como	Like, As (for comparisons)
Cuyo	Whose (relative adjective)
Cualquiera	Any, Anyone (pronoun, adjective)
Casi	Almost (adjective)
Cerca	Nearby, Close (preposition)
Contra	Against, Versus (preposition)
Con	With (preposition)
Conmigo	With me (contraction)
Contigo	With you (contraction)
Consigo	With him/her/them (contraction)
Cito‑, ‑cito	Cell (as prefix or suffix), Cute little (as diminutive suffix)

Most of the words in the list above are fairly straightforward or have clear links to our detailed lessons, so we won’t explain them further in today’s post. Let’s just take a look at what we mean with cito‑ and ‑cito, as both a prefix and a suffix.

Cito-, -cito

In Spanish, cito can be used as both a prefix and a suffix. Depending on the context, it can have different meanings.

Its most common use is as a suffix, where we use ‑cito to form diminutives. Adding -cito to a noun or adjective is a way to call something little or cute, though this can sometimes also be used with a derogatory intent.

This ending needs to reflect the gender and number of the noun it refers to, so the other forms are ‑cita, ‑citos, and ‑citas.

• El cafecito – The little coffee

• Los lugarcitos – The little places

• Suavecito – Soft, Smooth

• La mujercita – Woman

• Las jovencitas – Young women

• Dulcita – Sweet

In a scientific context, cito can be used as a prefix or suffix to form health-related words. In this sense, cito refers to a cell, or una célula in Spanish, just as English words use the prefix cyto‑ or the suffix ‑cyte.

• Citoplasma – Cytoplasm

• Citología – Cytology

• Leucocito – Leukocyte

• Fagocito – Phagocyte

Conclusion: Spanish words that start with C

Today we delved into comprehensive lists of Spanish words that start with C. We started by learning the historical background, followed by a detailed lesson on how to pronounce C in Spanish.

The main body of the post consisted of comprehensive vocab lists of Spanish words that start with C, covering nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and other fundamental grammar words that will help you improve your knowledge and fluency.

In total, we listed nearly 150 Spanish words that start with C in today’s lesson. And since we usually include a lot of example sentences in our posts, we’ll leave you with a series of fun phrases that each utilize a handful of the Spanish C words that we saw above.

Example sentences with Spanish C words

Now that you’ve learned all this vocab of Spanish words that start with C, read through each example sentence and see if you can understand the meanings. The English translations are below.

1. Los caballos clásicos corren por el campo bajo un cielo carmesí candente.
2. La canción clásica comenzó a sonar mientras celebrábamos calidamente en la casa.
3. El cangrejo caminaba cautelosamente por la cueva llena de colores.
4. Ciertamente, el café caliente causó alegría en la clase creativa de cocina.
5. El chofer condujo el carro confiado y continuó su camino por la ciudad calmada, con música chévere de fondo.
6. El cerebro curioso y el corazón compasivo del doctor cambiaron completamente.
7. El cielo celeste causó una sensación cálida mientras cantábamos en la catedral.
8. Comimos comida caliente y bebimos vino en copas cristalinas en una casa cercana, lo cual contentó a todos.
9. El cinturón cerrado ajustó cómodamente el cuerpo completo de quien corría con confianza.
10. El cuadro creativo colgado en la cueva capturaba la atención de cualquiera que caminara por allí.
11. Con considerable cariño, el chef central cocinó una cena cultural para celebrar el carnaval.

English translations

1. Classic horses run through the field under a fiery crimson sky.
2. The classical song began to play as we celebrated warmly in the house.
3. The crab walked cautiously through the colorful cave.
4. Certainly, the hot coffee caused joy in the creative cooking class.
5. The chauffeur drove the car confidently and continued his way through the calm city, with cool music in the background.
6. The doctor’s curious brain and compassionate heart changed completely.
7. The blue sky caused a warm feeling as we sang in the cathedral.
8. We ate hot food and drank wine in crystal clear glasses at a nearby house, which pleased everyone.
9. The closed belt comfortably adjusted the full body of the one who ran with confidence.
10. The creative painting hanging in the cave captured the attention of anyone who walked by.
11. With considerable affection, the central chef cooked a cultural dinner to celebrate the carnival.