Listen to this short Spanish audio description of a common word and try to guess what it is. This is one of a series of videos called Adivina la palabra de hoy (Guess Today’s Word). Most of the Spanish audio in these short videos is excellent. The series is produced by a private non-profit from Spain that promotes the teaching of Spanish, the Fundación de la Lengua Española. In this video, two children describe a common noun, and at the end, the word appears on the screen. The video is short, about one minute long.

Adivina la palabra de hoy is great Spanish listening practice. The sentences are short and the children speak directly to the camera. Children will not understand every word of the description, but that is normal. They are practicing listening for the main idea, that is, how the words that they do understand come together to communicate one concept. This is an important skill in language learning. Children need the opportunity to practice in order to develop the ability to distinguish the words they know.

These videos are also a good way to learn new words. The words in the descriptions are often used together and are associated with the word you are trying to guess. This is an effective way to expand vocabulary.

Below are some of the most common words used in the video. Not all of them are easy to hear. You can listen for them with your child and try to guess what is being described. The mystery word will be shown at the end of the video, but if you want to know before you listen, scroll down. A transcript, translation and the answer follow the video.

Vocabulary for Spanish Listening Practice

cinco – five
dedos – fingers
coger – to pick up
cosas – things
juguetes – toys
uñas – fingernails
rascarse – to scratch yourself
comer – to eat
aplaudir – to clap

Spanish Listening Transcript

Tiene cinco dedos y se pueden coger las cosas. / It has five fingers and can pick things up.
Como los juguetes. / Like toys.
Tiene uñas. / It has fingernails.
Vale para rascarse. / It’s useful for scratching.
Y…/ And
Para comer. / To eat.
Y para aplaudir. Aplaudir. / And to clap. To clap.
Y tiene uñas. Ya las has dicho – tiene uñas. / And it has fingernails. You already said them – it has fingernails.

The word being described is mano – hand.

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