Compound Words in Spanish
Compound words are formed when two words come together to make a new word or concept. In English examples include 'everyday' (every + day) or 'friendship' (friend + ship).
Most compound words in Spanish are masculine and are formed by taking the verb and then adding the plural noun (very rarely is it in singular).
Verb + Noun (plural)
Parar + aguas = el paraguas (umbrella)
A lot of compound words also end with a 's' however this does not mean that they are in the plural form; most do not change in the plural and singular form. A way to know if a compound word is plural is by looking at the article.
El abrelatas (can opener)
Los abrelatas (can openers)
Below is a list of some compound words in Spanish:
| Spanish Verb | Spanish Noun | Compound Word | English Translation |
| Abrir | Botellas | El abrebotellas | Bottle opener |
| Abrir | Cartas | El abrecartas | Letter opener |
| Abrir | Coches | El abrecoches | Doorman |
| Cortar | Césped | El cortarcésped | Lawn mower |
| Cortar | Fuego | El cortafuego | Firewall |
| Cortar | Puros | El cortapuros | Cigar cutter |
| Cortar | Uñas | El cortaúñas | Nail clippers |
| Cubrir | Cama | El cubrecama | Bedcover |
| Guardar | Pelo | El guardapelo | Locket |
| Lavar | Platos | El lavaplatos | Dishwasher |
| Parar | Brisas | El parabrisas | Windshield |
| Parar | Caídas | El paracaídas | Parachute |
| Portar | Aviónes | El portaaviones | Aircraft carrier |
| Quitar | Manchas | El quitamanchas | Stain remover |
| Quitar | Sol | El quitasol | Sunshade |
| Rascar | Cielos | El rascacielos | Skyscraper |
| Sacar | Corchos | El sacacorchos | Corkscrew |
| Sacar | Puntas | El sacapuntas | Pencil sharpener |
| Salvar | Vidas | El salvavidas | Life jacket |
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