el
/kaˈfe/
Translation
coffee, cafe
Word origin
From Turkish kahve, itself from Arabic qahwa, the name of the drink. Spanish borrowed it through French café in the eighteenth century. The same chain gives English 'coffee' and 'cafe'.
- Origin
- Arabic
- Root
- qahwa
- English cognates
- coffee, cafe
Grammar
Examples
.
I have a black coffee every morning before starting work.
plaza .
We are meeting at the café in the square at five o'clock.
olor recién llenaba .
The smell of freshly made coffee filled the entire office.
¿ apetece ?
Do you fancy a coffee before the meeting?
charlando barrio.
They spent the whole afternoon chatting in that neighbourhood café.
Used in
Stories
(15)Pedro conoce a alguien
2 min read · Core 5000
A Paula le duele todo
3 min read · Core 5000
El correo a la jefa
3 min read · Core 5000
El mejor café de la calle
3 min read · Core 5000
El trabajo de Pedro
3 min read · Core 1000
La llamada
3 min read · Core 1000
Laura busca piso
3 min read · Core 5000
Le hice arreglar el coche
3 min read · Core 5000
Lleva toda la mañana
3 min read · Core 5000
Media docena de huevos
3 min read · Core 5000
Se me cayó todo
3 min read · Core 5000
Una mañana en el mercado
3 min read · Core 1000
El primer día de Laura
4 min read · Core 1000
La cena de los Pereira
4 min read · Core 1000
Los puestos del sábado
4 min read · Core 1000
Grammar articles
(21)Spanish Accent Rules: agudas, llanas, esdrújulas (café, árbol, rápido)
Spanish Advanced Grammar (C1-C2): The Constructions That Sound Native
Spanish Text Cohesion and Style: signposting, avoiding repetition, en resumen
Spanish Comparatives: más que, menos que, tan como and the Four Irregulars
Spanish Conditional: the 'Would' Tense, me gustaría and Polite Requests
Conjugating Spanish -ar Verbs in the Present Tense
Spanish Connectors of Addition and Contrast: además, sin embargo, en cambio
The Spanish Diacritic Accent: tú vs tu, sí vs si, qué vs que
Gustar and Verbs Like It: Why Spanish Says the Coffee Pleases You
The Spanish Imperfect Subjunctive: How to Form It (the -ra and -se Endings)
Spanish Impersonal Verbs: hay, hace, se habla and the No-Subject Constructions
Spanish Indefinites: alguno, ninguno, alguien, nadie, algo, nada, cualquiera
Spanish Intermediate Grammar (B1-B2): The Things That Stop You at the Plateau
Advanced Spanish Negation: ni, sino vs pero, tampoco, ni siquiera
Spanish Negation: no, nunca, nadie and Why Double Negatives Are Correct
Spanish Politeness: Softening Requests (¿Podría...?, ¿Te importaría...?, quisiera)
Por vs Para in Spanish: Cause vs Goal, and Every Use That Follows
Spanish Compound Prepositions and Tricky Choices: delante de, a pesar de, soñar con
Spanish Register: tu vs usted, vosotros vs ustedes (and how formal to be)
Reported Questions and Commands in Spanish (me preguntó si, me dijo que viniera)
Ser vs Estar: The Two Spanish 'To Be' Verbs and When to Use Each
Add to review queue
Track this word in your spaced-repetition queue and be tested on it at the right interval.
Go to my review queueThis word is part of lesson 11.