Spanish words that start with N: ¡Nutrimos nuestras neuronas!
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More infoAre you curious to learn over 100 useful words that start with the letter N in Spanish? Among the letters of the Spanish alphabet, Spanish words that start with N provide us with a vast collection of vocabulary, enriching our ability to express concepts, emotions, and actions.
Today’s post is all about the letter N. We’ll look at a wide selection of Spanish words that start with N across various grammatical categories, including nouns, adjectives, adverbs, and verbs. We’ll also be sure to begin with a quick look at its pronunciation and how it’s distinct from the letter Ñ.
Are you ready to get started? Great! Let’s nurture our neurons and dive into today’s post on Spanish words that start with N.
N in Spanish: Pronunciation
Before we get into our vocab lists, let’s just make sure you’re clear on how to pronunce the letter N in Spanish.
The letter N in Spanish is pronounced the same was as the letter N in English. It has a straightforward, consistent pronunciation across different regions, and is pronounced the same way regardless of where it appears in a word.
It’s nonetheless essential to distinguish the letter N from Ñ, which is a separate letter in the Spanish alphabet. This letter N doesn’t carry an accent mark, unlike its counterpart Ñ that takes a small wavy line called una virgulilla or una tilde de la n in Spanish, or simply a tilde in English.
We have a separate post on Spanish words that start with Ñ, as well as a post that describes the history and pronunciation of the letter Ñ. In the rest of today’s post, we’ll focus solely on the unaccented letter N in Spanish.
Spanish words that start with N: Fundamentals
Before we go any further, let’s start with the basics. There are a few Spanish words that start with N that are so common and fundamental when learning the language that they deserve their own sections. Among these fundamental words are the subject pronouns nosotros and nosotras, the object pronoun nos, the possessive nuestro, indefinite pronouns like nada and nadie, and negative adverbs like nunca and no. Let’s take a look.
Personal pronouns: Nosotros, Nosotras, Nos
If you’re familiar with your Spanish pronouns, you probably already know the first-person plural pronouns that begin with N. These are the equivalents of your English pronouns we, us, and ourselves.
Nosotros and nosotras are the subject pronouns meaning we. Nosotros is used for groups that are mixed-gender or all-male, while nosotras is the feminine version when the speaker and the other people she includes in her group are all females. Nosotros and nosotras are also used as prepositional pronouns.
Nos is the corresponding object pronoun and reflexive pronoun. As a direct or an indirect object pronoun, the English translation of nos is us. As a reflexive pronoun, you would say ourselves in English.
Here’s our table of all the personal pronouns in Spanish. Click through the headings of each column for full lessons on their respective grammatical categories.
Subject pronouns, Spanish | Direct object pronouns, Spanish | Indirect object pronouns, Spanish | Reflexive pronouns, Spanish |
yo | me | me | me |
tú | te | te | te |
él, ella, usted | lo, la | le | se |
nosotros, nosotras | nos | nos | nos |
vosotros, vosotras | os | os | os |
ellos, ellas, ustedes | los, las | les | se |
Possessives: Nuestro/a(s)
Just as we saw how to say we, us, and ourselves in the last section, the corresponding possessives for our and ours also start with N in Spanish.
Nuestro is the Spanish possessive adjective meaning our. It takes four forms, depending on the gender and number of whatever is possessed: nuestro, nuestra, nuestros, and nuestras.
If we replace the noun entirely with one of these, it acts as a possessive pronoun. Your equivalent in English is ours. In Spanish we need to add the definite article to our possessive pronouns, as well as respect the gender and number of the possessions they refer to: el nuestro, la nuestra, los nuestros, las nuestras.
- Esas no son nuestras tazas. Las nuestras están aquí. – Those are not our cups. Ours are here.
Indefinite pronouns: Nada, Nadie, Ninguno
Indefinite pronouns are words that refer to a person or thing in a general way, without being specific. Several indefinite pronouns in Spanish begin with the letter N.
Spanish indefinite pronouns | English translation |
Nada | Nothing |
Nadie | Nobody, No one |
Ningún, Ninguno, Ninguna | Any, None, Anyone |
- No hay nada en la caja. – There’s nothing in the box.
- Nadie está trabajando hoy. – Nobody is working today.
- Necesito más tornillos. No tengo ninguno. – I need more screws. I have none at all.
These indefinite pronouns generally convey negative concepts. As you can see from the examples, they’re often preceded by the negative adverb no. We explain this in our related post on double negatives In Spanish. We also have a detailed post on how to use ningún, ninguno, and ninguna.
Negative adverbs: Ni, No, Nunca
Negative adverbs are used to make negative statements, to express denial or the absence of something, to create double negatives, and to reinforce negative meanings. Let’s see the list of negative adverbs that start with N in Spanish.
Spanish negative adverbs | English translation |
Ni | Nor, Neither |
No | No, Not |
Nunca | Never |
- Nunca viajo cuando el clima no es perfecto. Ni cuando está muy nublado ni cuando hay mucha nieve. – I never travel when the weather is not perfect. Neither when it’s very cloudy, nor when there’s a lot of snow.
In addition to its use as an adverb to create double negatives, no in Spanish has the exact same meaning as it does in English. It’s the opposite of sí, which is the affirmative adverb meaning yes in Spanish.
Now that we’ve seen the fundamental words in Spanish that start with N, let’s move on to our general vocab lists by grammatical category.
Nouns that start with N in Spanish
Spanish nouns that start with N cover a wide range of topics, from people and nature to time and abstract concepts. Here’s a list of some of the most common Spanish nouns starting with N.
Spanish N nouns | English translation |
El nabo | Turnip |
El nácar | Mother-of-pearl |
La nación | Nation |
El narcótico | Narcotic |
El naipe | Playing card |
La naranja | Orange |
La nariz | Nose |
La narración | Narration |
La natación | Swimming |
La naturaleza | Nature |
La navaja | Knife, Blade |
La navidad | Christmas |
La neblina | Fog |
La necesidad | Need |
El néctar | Nectar |
El negocio | Business |
El nené | Baby, Babe |
El nervio | Nerve |
El neurólogo | Neurologist |
El neumonólogo | Pneumonologist |
La neumonía | Pneumonia |
La neurona | Neuron |
La nevera | Fridge, Refrigerator |
El nido | Nest |
La nieve | Snow |
El nivel | Level |
La noche | Night |
El nombre | Name |
La nota | Note |
El notario | Notary |
La noticia | News |
La novedad | Novelty |
La novela | Novel |
El novio | Boyfriend, Groom |
La novia | Girlfriend, Bride |
La nube | Cloud |
La nuca | Nape of the neck |
La nuez | Walnut |
La nuera | Daughter-in-law |
El número | Number |
- Quiero que vayas al neurólogo antes de navidad para que te revise el dolor de cabeza y nuca que tienes. – I want you to see a neurologist before Christmas to have your headache and the pain in your nape of the neck checked out.
- Durante el viaje, cada niño disfrutaba de la naturaleza y de la nieve mientras aprendía los nombres de los animales. – During the trip, each child enjoyed the nature and the snow while learning the names of the animals.
Adjectives that start with N in Spanish
Spanish adjectives are crucial for adding depth and color to descriptions, whether talking about people, places, or ideas. Spanish adjectives that start with N offer a range of ways to describe things as necessary, noble, and negative, among others.
Spanish N adjectives | English translation |
Nacional* | National |
Nasal* | Nasal |
Nativo | Native |
Natural* | Natural |
Navideño | Christmassy |
Necesario | Necessary |
Necio | Foolish |
Nefasto | Disastrous |
Negativo | Negative |
Negligente* | Negligent, Neglectful |
Negociable* | Negotiable |
Negro | Black |
Neuronal* | Neuronal |
Neutral* | Neutral |
Nervioso | Nervous |
Nítido | Clear, Sharp |
Noble* | Noble |
Nocivo | Harmful |
Nocturno | Nocturnal |
Normal* | Normal |
Notable* | Notable |
Novedoso | Novel, Original, New |
Nublado | Cloudy |
Nuevo | New |
Nulo | Invalid, Void |
Numeroso | Numerous |
Nutritivo | Nutritive, Nutritious |
*These adjectives are invariable. The rest of the adjectives on this chart vary according to gender and number.
- Comer nabos es nutritivo para tu salud. – Eating turnips is nutritious for your health.
- Mi mamá tiene una nevera nueva, es negra y tiene una tecnología muy novedosa. – My mom has a new refrigerator, it’s black and has very novel technology.
Adverbs that start with N in Spanish
Though less common than nouns and adjectives that start with N in Spanish, we nonetheless have a variety of Spanish N adverbs, allowing us to add nuance to our communication. As it happens, all of these adverbs end in ‑mente, which is essentially equivalent to the English suffix ‑ly. Remember we also saw a few negative adverbs in the first section, such as nunca.
Spanish N adverbs | English translation |
Naturalmente | Naturally |
Nacionalmente | Nationally |
Nebulosamente | Nebulously |
Negativamente | Negatively |
Noblemente | Nobly |
Nocturnamente | Nocturnally |
Nominalmente | Nominally |
Notablemente | Notably |
Novedosamente | Newly |
Nudamente | Nakedly |
- Naturalmente, ella se pone nerviosa cuando su nené llora sin parar. – Naturally, she gets nervous when her baby cries without stopping.
Verbs that start with N in Spanish
Spanish verbs that start with N include various actions that are essential for both everyday conversations and deeper discussions. Whether describing needs, actions, or processes, they provide ways to express ideas like navigating, negotiating, or noting things.
Spanish N verbs | English translation |
Nacer | To be born |
Nadar | To swim |
Narrar | To narrate |
Nasalizar | To pronounce nasally |
Naturalizar | To naturalize |
Naufragar | To be shipwrecked |
Navegar | To sail, To navigate |
Necesitar | To need |
Nebulizar | To atomize, To spray |
Negar | To deny |
Negociar | To negotiate |
Negrear | To blacken |
Neutralizar | To neutralize |
Nevar | To snow |
Nivelar | To level, To straighten |
Noctambular | To sleepwalk |
Nombrar | To name |
Nominar | To nominate |
Noquear | To knockout |
Normalizar | To normalize |
Notar | To note |
Notificar | To notify |
Nublar | To cloud over, To get cloudy |
Numerar | To enumerate |
Nutrir | To nourish, To nurture, To feed |
- El neumonólogo me indicó nebulizarme 3 veces esta semana. – The pneumonologist told me to inhale this spray 3 times this week.
- El periodista notificó las malas noticias a toda la nación. – The journalist notified the whole nation of the bad news.
Conclusion: Spanish words that start with N
Nice job! Today’s post focused entirely on Spanish words that start with N. We began with a quick primer on its pronunciation (just like your English N), as well as a warning that the Spanish letter N is very distinct from the accented letter Ñ.
Our first vocab lists of Spanish words that start with the letter N mentioned some of the fundamentals, including nosotros, nunca, and no. Then we got into the main body of our post, wish full lists of nouns, adjectives, adverbs, and verbs that start with the letter N in Spanish.
We hope your brain got a nice workout with all these words. By now, have you understood the byline of the post’s title?
- ¡Nutrimos nuestras neuronas! – Let’s nuture our neurons!