A comprehensive guide to Spanish vocabulary for talking about sizes and amounts, including nouns, adjectives, and examples from everyday situations.

Understanding how to describe sizes and amounts is essential for everyday conversations, shopping, and more. This guide covers the most common Spanish vocabulary you’ll need to talk about dimensions, quantities, and measurements.

Sizes

Talking about size is one of the most basic ways to describe objects, people, and even feelings in Spanish. Here are some common adjectives and nouns related to size:

Spanish Singular	Spanish Plural	English Singular	English Plural	Spanish Example	English Example
pequeño / pequeña	pequeños / pequeñas	small	small	Tengo un gato pequeño.	I have a small cat.
mediano / mediana	medianos / medianas	medium	medium	Quiero una pizza mediana.	I want a medium pizza.
grande	grandes	large / big	large / big	La casa es grande.	The house is big.
gigante	gigantes	giant	giants	Vi un perro gigante.	I saw a giant dog.
diminuto / diminuta	diminutos / diminutas	tiny	tiny	El insecto es diminuto.	The insect is tiny.
alto / alta	altos / altas	tall	tall	Mi hermano es alto.	My brother is tall.
bajo / baja	bajos / bajas	short (height)	short	Ella es baja.	She is short.
largo / larga	largos / largas	long	long	Tiene el cabello largo.	She has long hair.
corto / corta	cortos / cortas	short (length)	short	Corté el papel corto.	I cut the paper short.
grueso / gruesa	gruesos / gruesas	thick	thick	El libro es grueso.	The book is thick.
delgado / delgada	delgados / delgadas	thin	thin	La cuerda es delgada.	The rope is thin.

Tengo un gato ___.

Choose the correct Spanish word for 'small' (referring to a cat). Tengo un gato ___.

grande

alto

pequeño

diminuto

pequeño

The correct word for 'small' is 'pequeño'. 'Grande' means 'big', 'alto' means 'tall', and 'diminuto' means 'tiny'.

Amounts

Describing quantities is a crucial part of communication. Here are some common Spanish words for talking about amounts:

Spanish Singular	Spanish Plural	English Singular	English Plural	Spanish Example	English Example
mucho / mucha	muchos / muchas	much / many	much / many	Tengo mucha tarea.	I have a lot of homework.
poco / poca	pocos / pocas	little / few	little / few	Hay poca leche.	There is little milk.
suficiente	—	enough	—	Tenemos suficiente comida.	We have enough food.
demasiado / demasiada	—	too much	—	Comí demasiado pan.	I ate too much bread.
varios / varias	—	several	—	Vi varias películas.	I saw several movies.
algún / alguna	—	some	—	¿Tienes alguna pregunta?	Do you have any questions?
ninguno / ninguna	—	none	—	No tengo ninguna hermana.	I don’t have any sisters.
todo / toda	—	all / everything	—	Comí toda la manzana.	I ate the whole apple.
un poco	—	a little	—	Quiero un poco de agua.	I want a little water.
un montón	—	a ton / a lot	—	Hay un montón de gente.	There are a lot of people.

Measurements

When talking about sizes and amounts, you’ll often need to use units of measurement. Here are some common ones in Spanish:

Spanish Singular	Spanish Plural	English Singular	English Plural	Spanish Example	English Example
gramo	gramos	gram	grams	Compré 500 gramos de arroz.	I bought 500 grams of rice.
kilo / kilogramo	kilos / kilogramos	kilogram	kilograms	El melón pesa dos kilos.	The melon weighs two kilograms.
litro	litros	liter	liters	Quiero un litro de leche.	I want a liter of milk.
metro	metros	meter	meters	La habitación mide cinco metros.	The room measures five meters.
centímetro	centímetros	centimeter	centimeters	El lápiz mide 20 centímetros.	The pencil is 20 centimeters long.
mililitro	mililitros	milliliter	milliliters	Añade 100 mililitros de agua.	Add 100 milliliters of water.
pulgada	pulgadas	inch	inches	La pantalla tiene 15 pulgadas.	The screen is 15 inches.
onza	onzas	ounce	ounces	Compré una onza de chocolate.	I bought an ounce of chocolate.
cuarto	cuartos	quarter	quarters	Necesito un cuarto de taza de azúcar.	I need a quarter cup of sugar.
tonelada	toneladas	ton	tons	La carga pesa una tonelada.	The load weighs a ton.

Quiero un ___ de leche.

Which word means 'liter'? Quiero un ___ de leche.

kilo

metro

litro

gramo

litro

'Litro' means 'liter', a unit of volume. The others are not appropriate for liquids in this context.

Quantifiers and Containers

Sometimes you’ll need more than just a number — you’ll need to specify the type of quantity or container. Here are some useful words and phrases:

Spanish Singular	Spanish Plural	English Singular	English Plural	Spanish Example	English Example
bolsa	bolsas	bag	bags	Compré una bolsa de manzanas.	I bought a bag of apples.
caja	cajas	box	boxes	Hay una caja en la mesa.	There’s a box on the table.
botella	botellas	bottle	bottles	Quiero una botella de agua.	I want a bottle of water.
paquete	paquetes	package	packages	Llegó un paquete para ti.	A package arrived for you.
litro	litros	liter	liters	Necesito dos litros de jugo.	I need two liters of juice.
taza	tazas	cup	cups	Toma una taza de té.	Have a cup of tea.
vaso	vasos	glass	glasses	Llena el vaso con agua.	Fill the glass with water.
kilo	kilos	kilo	kilos	Compré tres kilos de naranjas.	I bought three kilos of oranges.
rodaja	rodajas	slice	slices	Quiero una rodaja de pan.	I want a slice of bread.
rebanada	rebanadas	slice	slices	Comí una rebanada de pastel.	I ate a slice of cake.

Understanding these categories will help you navigate almost any conversation involving sizes, amounts, and measurements in Spanish.

Last updated: Thu Jun 5, 2025