Conversions are an important part of everyday life, from cooking and traveling to working and studying. In Spanish, being able to talk about conversions means knowing the vocabulary for units in different categories (like time, length, weight, volume, and currency) as well as common verbs and phrases used to ask for or explain conversions. This guide will help you confidently navigate unit conversions in Spanish.

Time

Spanish has units for seconds, minutes, hours, and more, along with words for parts of the day and common expressions.

Spanish Singular	Spanish Plural	English Singular	English Plural	Example (Spanish)	Example (English)
segundo	segundos	second	seconds	Un minuto tiene sesenta segundos.	One minute has sixty seconds.
minuto	minutos	minute	minutes	¿Cuántos minutos hay en una hora?	How many minutes are in an hour?
hora	horas	hour	hours	Trabajo ocho horas al día.	I work eight hours a day.
día	días	day	days	Hay siete días en una semana.	There are seven days in a week.
semana	semanas	week	weeks	Una semana tiene siete días.	A week has seven days.
mes	meses	month	months	El mes tiene treinta días.	The month has thirty days.
año	años	year	years	Un año tiene doce meses.	A year has twelve months.
mañana	mañanas	morning	mornings	Trabajo por la mañana.	I work in the morning.
tarde	tardes	afternoon	afternoons	Nos vemos por la tarde.	See you in the afternoon.
noche	noches	night	nights	Estudio por la noche.	I study at night.

I study at ____.

día

noche

mañana

tarde

noche

The Spanish word for 'night' is 'noche', which fits the sentence 'Estudio por la noche.'

Length

Length units in Spanish include everything from millimeters to kilometers, plus common measuring words.

Spanish Singular	Spanish Plural	English Singular	English Plural	Example (Spanish)	Example (English)
milímetro	milímetros	millimeter	millimeters	Un milímetro es muy pequeño.	One millimeter is very small.
centímetro	centímetros	centimeter	centimeters	La regla mide treinta centímetros.	The ruler measures thirty centimeters.
metro	metros	meter	meters	La mesa mide dos metros.	The table is two meters long.
kilómetro	kilómetros	kilometer	kilometers	Camino cinco kilómetros cada día.	I walk five kilometers every day.
pulgada	pulgadas	inch	inches	La pantalla tiene diez pulgadas.	The screen is ten inches.
pie	pies	foot	feet	La puerta mide seis pies.	The door is six feet tall.
milla	millas	mile	miles	Viajo diez millas en coche.	I travel ten miles by car.
largo	largos	long	longs	El cable es muy largo.	The cable is very long.
corto	cortos	short	shorts	Necesito un lápiz corto.	I need a short pencil.
medir	medir	to measure	—	¿Puedes medir la mesa?	Can you measure the table?

The door is six ____ tall.

centímetros

pies

pulgadas

metros

pies

'Pies' means feet, which is the unit used in the example about the door height.

Weight

Learn the units for grams, kilograms, pounds, and more, along with helpful adjectives.

Spanish Singular	Spanish Plural	English Singular	English Plural	Example (Spanish)	Example (English)
gramo	gramos	gram	grams	Un paquete pesa 500 gramos.	A package weighs 500 grams.
kilogramo	kilogramos	kilogram	kilograms	Compré dos kilogramos de manzanas.	I bought two kilograms of apples.
miligramo	miligramos	milligram	milligrams	La medicina tiene 50 miligramos.	The medicine has 50 milligrams.
libra	libras	pound	pounds	El saco pesa diez libras.	The sack weighs ten pounds.
peso	pesos	weight	—	¿Cuál es el peso del paquete?	What is the weight of the package?
ligero	ligeros	light	lights	El paquete es muy ligero.	The package is very light.
pesado	pesados	heavy	heavies	La caja es muy pesada.	The box is very heavy.
pesar	—	to weigh	—	Necesito pesar las frutas.	I need to weigh the fruits.
balanza	balanzas	scale	scales	Uso la balanza de cocina.	I use the kitchen scale.
carga	cargas	load	loads	La carga pesa mucho.	The load weighs a lot.

The sack weighs ten ____.

pesos

libras

kilogramos

gramos

libras

'Libras' means pounds, the unit used in the example for the sack's weight.

Volume and Capacity

These are the unit names for measuring liquids and containers, plus useful verbs.

Spanish Singular	Spanish Plural	English Singular	English Plural	Example (Spanish)	Example (English)
mililitro	mililitros	milliliter	milliliters	Añade 100 mililitros de agua.	Add 100 milliliters of water.
litro	litros	liter	liters	Compré un litro de leche.	I bought a liter of milk.
centilitro	centilitros	centiliter	centiliters	Hay 50 centilitros en medio litro.	There are 50 centiliters in half a liter.
taza	tazas	cup	cups	Uso una taza para medir.	I use a cup to measure.
vaso	vasos	glass	glasses	Bebí dos vasos de jugo.	I drank two glasses of juice.
botella	botellas	bottle	bottles	La botella tiene un litro.	The bottle has one liter.
galón	galones	gallon	gallons	Un galón equivale a 3.8 litros.	One gallon equals 3.8 liters.
medir	—	to measure	—	Mide medio litro de agua.	Measure half a liter of water.
llenar	—	to fill	—	Llena la botella con agua.	Fill the bottle with water.
vaciar	—	to empty	—	Vacía el vaso, por favor.	Empty the glass, please.

Currency

Here you'll find the spanis unit names for money, as well as phrases for exchanging and converting currency.

Spanish Singular	Spanish Plural	English Singular	English Plural	Example (Spanish)	Example (English)
peso	pesos	peso	pesos	Un dólar equivale a 20 pesos.	One dollar equals 20 pesos.
dólar	dólares	dollar	dollars	Cambié 50 dólares por euros.	I exchanged 50 dollars for euros.
euro	euros	euro	euros	Un euro cuesta más que un dólar.	One euro costs more than a dollar.
centavo	centavos	cent	cents	Diez centavos hacen un peso.	Ten cents make one peso.
cambio	—	exchange	—	Necesito cambio de dólares.	I need to exchange dollars.
cotización	cotizaciones	rate	rates	La cotización hoy es alta.	The rate today is high.
convertir	—	to convert	—	¿Puedes convertir dólares a euros?	Can you convert dollars to euros?
pagar	—	to pay	—	Pagué cien pesos en efectivo.	I paid one hundred pesos in cash.
efectivo	—	cash	—	Tengo efectivo y tarjeta.	I have cash and a card.
tarjeta	tarjetas	card	cards	Pagué con tarjeta de crédito.	I paid with a credit card.

Useful Verbs for Conversions

These verbs are commonly used when talking about converting units.

Spanish Verb	English Verb	Spanish Example	English Example
convertir	to convert	¿Puedes convertir 10 dólares a euros?	Can you convert 10 dollars to euros?
medir	to measure	Mide cinco centímetros.	Measure five centimeters.
pesar	to weigh	Pesa el paquete en la balanza.	Weigh the package on the scale.
calcular	to calculate	Calcula cuántos gramos necesitas.	Calculate how many grams you need.
cambiar	to exchange/change	Cambié euros por pesos.	I exchanged euros for pesos.
llenar	to fill	Llena el vaso con agua.	Fill the glass with water.
vaciar	to empty	Vacía la botella, por favor.	Empty the bottle, please.
sumar	to add	Suma 100 mililitros más.	Add 100 milliliters more.
restar	to subtract	Resta dos kilos del total.	Subtract two kilos from the total.
usar	to use	Usa la taza para medir harina.	Use the cup to measure flour.

Common Phrases

These phrases help you ask for and explain conversions in natural Spanish.

Spanish Phrase	English Phrase
¿Cuánto es ... en ...?	How much is ... in ...?
¿Cuántos ... hay en ...?	How many ... are there in ...?
... equivale a ...	... is equivalent to ...
Necesito convertir ... a ...	I need to convert ... to ...
¿Puedes ayudarme a convertir ...?	Can you help me convert ...?
Mide / Pesa / Llena ...	Measure / Weigh / Fill ...
¿Qué unidad usas?	Which unit do you use?
¿Cuál es la tasa de cambio?	What is the exchange rate?
Suma / Resta ...	Add / Subtract ...
Usa ... para medir	Use ... to measure

With this vocabulary and these phrases, you can confidently talk about unit conversions in Spanish across time, length, weight, volume, and currency.

Flashcards (1 of 70)

English Singular: second
English Plural: seconds
Example (English): One minute has sixty seconds.

Last updated: Wed Jun 18, 2025