Today we will focus on Spanish words with Y. In Spanish, the letters LL and the Y sound very much the same. However, depending on the region, speakers may make a difference between both.

The Y can sound like the –y– in the word yes, like the –ll– in the word million or similar to the –j– in the word just. Then some Latin American speakers (i.e. Argentinians) pronounce it like the –ch– in the word machine. Because these letters are often pronounced the same, knowing when a word is spelled with LL or Y can be tricky. That’s why, today we are going to go through some Spanish words with Y.

Spanish Words that Starts with Y

  • ya (already, yet)
  • el yate (yacht)
  • yacer (to lie)
  • el yacimiento (site, dig)
  • el yaguar (jaguar)
  • la yegua (mare)
  • la yema (yolk)
  • el yeso (gypsum)
  • el yerno (son-in-law)
  • el yin (yin)
  • la yincana (gymkhana)
  • el yoga (yoga)
  • el yogur (yogurt)
  • el yoyó (yo-yo)
  • la yuca (yucca, agave)
  • el yugo (yoke)
  • el yunque (anvil)

Mucha gente hace yoga por la mañana.

Many people do yoga in the morning.

Desayuno copos de maíz con yogur.

I have cornflakes with yogurt for breakfast.

Spanish Words that End with Y

  • el rey (king)
  • el buey (ox)
  • la ley (law)
  • el convoy (convoyes)
  • el hockey (hockey)
  • el rugby (rugby)
  • hay (there is, there are)
  • guay (cool)
  • hoy (today)
  • muy (very)

Notice that nouns that have endings in –y– are pluralized like any other consonant in Spanish. You should add –es to the end of the noun.

Los reyes tienen que respetar las leyes.

Kings have to respect the law.

Los bueyes beben mucha agua.

Oxen drink a lot of water.

Spanish Words that Contain Y

Here are several lists of the most popular Spanish words with Y.

Syllable –yec–

Use Y for the syllable –yec-. Let’s see some examples of Spanish words with Y containing this syllable.

  • el trayecto (way, route)
  • el proyecto (project)
  • el proyector (projector)
  • la inyección (injection)
  • inyectar (to inject)

Los proyectos más interesantes se me ocurren de camino al trabajo.

The most interesting projects come to my mind on my way to work.

El paciente necesitó una inyección para calmarle el dolor

The patient needed an injection to ease his pain.

Conjugation of Ir

Use Y when conjugating verb ir. Some forms of the verb ir (gerund, Subjunctive…) are spelled with the letter Y.

Quiero que vayamos a la playa, ¡es un día precioso!

I want us to go to the beach, it’s a beautiful day!

En mi clase la profesora está yendo un poco rápido.

In my class the teacher is going a bit fast.

Gerunds with Y

Use Y with verbs whose stem end with a vowel. When you remove the endings –ar, –er or –ir, you get the stem of the Spanish verb. Some verbs that end with –er or –ir have their stem ending with a vowel. They form their gerunds changing –iendo into –yendo.

INFINITIVEGERUND
caer (stem ca-) cayendo
leer (stem le-) leyendo
construir (stem constru-)contruyendo

¡Ayúdame, por favor, me estoy cayendo!

Help me, please, I’m falling!

Estamos leyendo el primer capítulo del libro.

We’re reading the first chapter of the book.

Están construyendo un futuro mejor para nosotros.

They are building a better future for us.

More Spanish words with Y

Among the most frequently used Spanish words, you can also find the following words with Y.

  • y (and)
  • yo (I)
  • estoy (I am located)
  • soy (I am)
  • voy (I go)
  • el haya (beech)
  • la playa (beach)
  • ayer (yesterday)
  • el rayo (ray)
  • el apoyo (support)
  • la mayoría (majority)
  • la ayuda (help)
  • mayor (older, bigger)
  • mayo (May)

Exercises

Let’s do some exercises to practice some of these Spanish words with Y. In our blog, you can also do exercises with words containing the letters CH, H, J, K, Ñ, Q, R, W, X or Z.

Exercise 1

Exercise 2

Categorized in:

Vocabulary