Daily Routine Verbs in Spanish: A1 Vocabulary Guide

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Key Takeaways

• Learn essential Spanish verbs for describing your daily activities
• Master reflexive verbs for personal care routines
• Understand how to sequence your day using time expressions
• Practice describing your complete daily schedule in Spanish

Describe Your Day in Spanish

Now that you can shop and navigate the city, let’s learn how to talk about your daily life! Daily routine vocabulary is essential for basic conversations and helps you build fundamental verb skills that you’ll use in every aspect of Spanish.

Morning Routine Verbs (Verbos de la Rutina Matutina)

Essential verbs for starting your day.

English	Spanish	Example Sentence
To wake up	despertarse*	Me despierto a las siete. (I wake up at seven.)
To get up	levantarse*	Me levanto de la cama. (I get up from bed.)
To shower	ducharse*	Me ducho por la mañana. (I shower in the morning.)
To get dressed	vestirse*	Me visto para el trabajo. (I get dressed for work.)
To eat breakfast	desayunar	Desayuno café y pan. (I eat breakfast coffee and bread.)
To brush teeth	cepillarse los dientes*	Me cepillo los dientes después de comer. (I brush my teeth after eating.)

🔄 Reflexive Verb Note: Verbs with * are reflexive – they use pronouns like me, te, se. These are essential for personal care routines!

Use our conjugation tool: When in doubt about any verb form, check our Spanish Verb Conjugation Tool for instant help.

📚 Need help with reflexive verbs? Check out our complete guide: Reflexive Verbs in Spanish – A1 Grammar Guide

Daytime Activities (Actividades del Día)

Verbs for work, school, and daily responsibilities.

English	Spanish	Example Sentence
To work	trabajar	Trabajo en una oficina. (I work in an office.)
To study	estudiar	Estudio español cada día. (I study Spanish every day.)
To go	ir	Voy al trabajo en autobús. (I go to work by bus.)
To return	volver / regresar	Vuelvo a casa a las seis. (I return home at six.)
To eat lunch	almorzar	Almuerzo con mis compañeros. (I eat lunch with my colleagues.)
To have a break	tomar un descanso	Tomo un descanso a mediodía. (I take a break at noon.)

⏰ Using the verb IR? Master this essential verb with our: IR Conjugation – To Go in Spanish

🔄 Need to check any verb conjugation? Use our handy tool: Spanish Verb Conjugation Tool

Evening and Night Routine (Rutina de Tarde y Noche)

Verbs for ending your day.

English	Spanish	Example Sentence
To eat dinner	cenar	Cenamos a las nueve. (We eat dinner at nine.)
To watch TV	ver la televisión	Veo la televisión después de cenar. (I watch TV after dinner.)
To read	leer	Leo un libro antes de dormir. (I read a book before sleeping.)
To go to bed	acostarse*	Me acuesto a las once. (I go to bed at eleven.)
To sleep	dormir	Duermo ocho horas cada noche. (I sleep eight hours every night.)
To rest	descansar	Descanso los fines de semana. (I rest on weekends.)

Household Chores (Tareas del Hogar)

Verbs for daily household tasks.

English	Spanish	Example Sentence
To cook	cocinar	Cocino la cena para mi familia. (I cook dinner for my family.)
To clean	limpiar	Limpio la casa los sábados. (I clean the house on Saturdays.)
To wash	lavar	Lavo la ropa los domingos. (I wash clothes on Sundays.)
To make the bed	hacer la cama	Hago la cama por la mañana. (I make the bed in the morning.)
To shop	hacer la compra	Hago la compra el viernes. (I do the shopping on Friday.)

Time Expressions for Routines

Essential time words for sequencing your day.

English	Spanish	Example Sentence
In the morning	por la mañana	Estudio por la mañana. (I study in the morning.)
In the afternoon	por la tarde	Trabajo por la tarde. (I work in the afternoon.)
In the evening/night	por la noche	Leo por la noche. (I read at night.)
First	primero	Primero me despierto, luego me levanto. (First I wake up, then I get up.)
Then	luego / después	Después de ducharme, me visto. (After showering, I get dressed.)
Finally	finalmente	Finalmente, me acuesto. (Finally, I go to bed.)

🕒 Need help with time expressions? Master telling time and daily schedules: Spanish Time Expressions – A1 Guide

Useful Sentence Structures

How to build complete sentences about your routine.

Basic Routine Sentences:

• “Sujeto + verbo + tiempo” – “Yo trabajo por la tarde.”
• “Sujeto + verbo + lugar” – “Ella estudia en la biblioteca.”
• “Sujeto + verbo + con personas” – “Nosotros almorzamos con amigos.”

Using Sequence Words:

• “Primero… luego…” (First… then…)
• “Antes de + infinitivo” (Before + verb) – “Antes de trabajar, desayuno.”
• “Después de + infinitivo” (After + verb) – “Después de estudiar, descanso.”

Frequency Words:

• siempre (always)
• normalmente (normally)
• a veces (sometimes)
• nunca (never)

📝 Building sentences? Learn proper Spanish sentence structure: Spanish Sentence Structure – A1 Guide

Putting It All Together: Daily Routine Description

Mi Rutina Diaria:
“Normalmente, me despierto a las siete de la mañana. Primero, me levanto de la cama y luego me ducho. Después de ducharme, me visto y desayuno café con pan.

Por la mañana, voy al trabajo en autobús. Trabajo desde las nueve hasta las dos. Almuerzo con mis compañeros en un restaurante cerca de la oficina.

Por la tarde, vuelvo a casa a las seis. Primero, descanso un poco y luego ceno con mi familia. Después de cenar, veo la televisión o leo un libro. Finalmente, me acuesto a las once de la noche.”

Translation:
“My Daily Routine:
Normally, I wake up at seven in the morning. First, I get up from bed and then I shower. After showering, I get dressed and eat breakfast coffee with bread.

In the morning, I go to work by bus. I work from nine until two. I eat lunch with my colleagues in a restaurant near the office.

In the afternoon, I return home at six. First, I rest a little and then I eat dinner with my family. After dinner, I watch TV or read a book. Finally, I go to bed at eleven at night.”

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Forgetting reflexive pronouns: “Levanto” means “I lift,” “me levanto” means “I get up”
• Confusing “volver” and “regresar” – both mean “to return” and are interchangeable
• Using wrong prepositions: “Por la mañana” not “en la mañana”
• Gender agreement in reflexive verbs: “Me levanto” (male/female same), but “estoy cansado/cansada”
• Word order: Time expressions usually come at the beginning or end of sentences

Quick Reference Chart

Time of Day	Common Activities
Morning	despertarse, levantarse, ducharse, vestirse, desayunar
Daytime	ir al trabajo/escuela, trabajar, estudiar, almorzar
Evening	volver a casa, cenar, descansar, ver televisión
Night	leer, acostarse, dormir
Household	cocinar, limpiar, lavar, hacer la cama

Practice Exercise: Describe Your Ideal Day

Try writing about your perfect daily routine in Spanish:

• 3 morning activities
• 3 daytime activities
• 3 evening activities
• Use sequence words: primero, luego, después, finalmente

Example: “En mi día ideal, primero me despierto tarde. Luego desayuno tranquilamente. Después, voy al parque. Por la tarde, leo y escucho música. Finalmente, ceno con amigos y veo una película.”

Ready to Practice?

Think you can describe your daily life in Spanish? Test your routine vocabulary!

Take our Daily Routine Quiz ► to make these essential verbs stick.

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