Costa Rica - Food Vocabulary in Spanish

In this podcast we continue our journey exploring the Spanish speaking country, Costa Rica, and introduce you to food vocabulary in Spanish. In the last two episodes we talked about traveling to Costa Rica and the wonderful Arenal Volcano National Park. In addition, we also introduced various words in Spanish that is easy to understand for a beginner Spanish learner. 

In this podcast, you’ll dive into the rich culinary culture of Costa Rica, while exploring Spanish food words. Therefore, the flavor of words introduced is common to what is used in Latin America. The podcast is designed as comprehensible input for Spanish learners, making it easier to acquire Spanish food vocabulary. Let’s break down the Spanish words into different language categories to guide your learning.

Verbs (Verbos)

In this section, we summarize some of the common verbs introduced in this podcast.

• Pedir – To order
  • Quiero un gallo pinto con huevos, por favor. (I want rice and beans with eggs, please.)
• Querer – To want
  • Me gustaría plátanos fritos. (I would like fried plantains.)
• Gustar – To like
  • Me gusta el casado con pollo. (I like the rice, beans, and chicken dish.)
• Desayunar – To have breakfast
  • Aquí puedes desayunar y almorzar. (Here you can have breakfast and lunch.)
• Almorzar – To have lunch
  • Aquí puedes desayunar y almorzar. (Here you can have breakfast and lunch.)
• Cenar – To have dinner
  • Vamos a hablar de dos restaurantes para cenar en Costa Rica. (Let’s talk about two restaurants for dinner in Costa Rica.)

Here are a few more food related verbs that are worth mentioning here. 

• Comer – To eat
  • Me gusta comer pizza los viernes. (I like to eat pizza on Fridays.)
• Beber  – To eat
  • Prefiero beber agua con mis comidas. (I prefer to drink water with my meals.)
• Cocinar – To cook
  • Mi madre cocina una cena deliciosa cada noche. (My mother cooks a delicious dinner every night.)
• Probar – To taste
  • ¿Quieres probar este nuevo plato? (Do you want to taste this new dish?)
• Servir  – To serve
  • El camarero nos sirve la comida rápidamente. (The waiter serves us the food quickly.)
• Preparar – To prepare
  • Me gusta preparar postres los fines de semana. (I like to prepare desserts on weekends.)

Nouns (Sustantivos)

Lets look at some of the food related nouns that we encountered in the podcast below:

• Desayuno – Breakfast
  • Tengo tres recomendaciones para usted. (I have three recommendations for you.)
• Almuerzo – Lunch
  • Aquí puedes desayunar y almorzar. (Here you can have breakfast and lunch.)
• Cena – Dinner
  • Vamos a hablar de dos restaurantes para cenar en Costa Rica. (Let’s talk about two restaurants for dinner in Costa Rica.)
• Restaurante – Restaurant
  • Es un restaurante con comida típica de Costa Rica. (It is a restaurant with typical Costa Rican food.)
• Comida – Food
  • La comida es muy rica y el lugar es muy acogedor. (The food is very delicious and the place is very cozy.)
• Lugar – Place
  • Es un lugar muy bonito y relajado. (It is a very beautiful and relaxed place.)
• Ambiente – Atmosphere
  • La comida es deliciosa y el ambiente es muy elegante. (The food is delicious and the atmosphere is very elegant.)

Adjectives (Adjetivos)

Some of the adjectives that we encountered are:

• Famoso – Famous
  • Un lugar famoso es La Criollita. (A famous place is La Criollita.)
• Típico – Typical
  • Es un restaurante con comida típica de Costa Rica. (It is a restaurant with typical Costa Rican food.)
• Rico – Delicious
  • La comida es muy rica y el lugar es muy acogedor. (The food is very delicious and the place is very cozy.)
• Acogedor – Cozy
  • La comida es muy rica y el lugar es muy acogedor. (The food is very delicious and the place is very cozy.)
• Bonito – Beautiful
  • Es un lugar muy bonito y relajado. (It is a very beautiful and relaxed place.)
• Relajado – Relaxed
  • Es un lugar muy bonito y relajado. (It is a very beautiful and relaxed place.)
• Elegante – Elegant
  • La comida es deliciosa y el ambiente es muy elegante. (The food is delicious and the atmosphere is very elegant.)

Food Items (Comida)

Whether you’re an expert chef or someone like me who isn’t as skilled in the kitchen, we can always bond over good food. In this summary, we’ll explore the foods introduced in this podcast to help expand your Spanish vocabulary.

• Gallo pinto – Rice and beans
  • Quiero un gallo pinto con huevos, por favor. (I want rice and beans with eggs, please.)
• Huevos – Eggs
  • Quiero un gallo pinto con huevos, por favor. (I want rice and beans with eggs, please.)
• Plátanos fritos – Fried plantains
  • Me gustaría plátanos fritos. (I would like fried plantains.)
• Panqueques – Pancakes
  • Quiero panqueques con miel, por favor. (I want pancakes with honey, please.)
• Miel – Honey
  • Quiero panqueques con miel, por favor. (I want pancakes with honey, please.)
• Fruta fresca – Fresh fruit
  • Puedes pedir panqueques con miel y fruta fresca. (You can order pancakes with honey and fresh fruit.)
• Batidos – Smoothies
  • También puedes pedir batidos de frutas tropicales. (You can also order tropical fruit smoothies.)
• Omelette con queso – Cheese omelette
  • Quiero un omelette con queso, por favor. (I want a cheese omelette, please.)
• Pan tostado – Toast
  • Me gustaría pan tostado. (I would like toast.)
• Café – Coffee
  • También puedes pedir café o jugo. (You can also order coffee or juice.)
• Jugo – Juice
  • También puedes pedir café o jugo. (You can also order coffee or juice.)
• Casado – Rice, beans, meat, and salad
  • Me gusta el casado con pollo. (I like the rice, beans, and chicken dish.)
• Sopa – Soup
  • También puedes pedir sopa. (You can also order soup.)
• Arroz con pollo – Rice with chicken
  • Voy a pedir arroz con pollo. (I am going to order rice with chicken.)
• Ceviche – Fish with lemon and onion
  • • El ceviche es muy rico. (The ceviche is very delicious.)
• Olla de carne – Meat and vegetable soup
  • Quiero una olla de carne. (I want a meat and vegetable soup.)
• Tamales – Corn dough with meat, wrapped in leaves
  • Los tamales son deliciosos. (The tamales are delicious.)
• Sopa negra – Black bean soup
  • Voy a pedir sopa negra. (I am going to order black bean soup.)
• Filete de pescado – Fish fillet
  • Me gusta el filete de pescado. (I like the fish fillet.)
• Tarta de chocolate – Chocolate cake
  • Quiero una tarta de chocolate. (I want a chocolate cake.)
• Vino – Wine
  • ¿Quieres vino tinto o vino blanco? (Do you want red wine or white wine?)

Expanded List of Food Items

Here is an expanded set of Food items grouped by their category.

• Frutas (Fruits)
  • Manzana (Apple): Me gusta comer una manzana cada día. (I like to eat an apple every day.)
  • Plátano (Banana): El plátano es mi fruta favorita. (The banana is my favorite fruit.)
  • Naranja (Orange): ¿Quieres una naranja? (Do you want an orange?)
• Verduras (Vegetables)
  • Zanahoria (Carrot): Las zanahorias son buenas para la vista. (Carrots are good for eyesight.)
  • Lechuga (Lettuce): Necesitamos más lechuga para la ensalada. (We need more lettuce for the salad.)
  • Tomate (Tomato): El tomate es un ingrediente esencial en muchas recetas. (The tomato is an essential ingredient in many recipes.)
• Carnes (Meats)
  • Pollo (Chicken): Vamos a cocinar pollo para la cena. (We are going to cook chicken for dinner.)
  • Cerdo (Pork): El cerdo asado es delicioso. (Roast pork is delicious.)
  • Res (Beef): Prefiero la carne de res a la de cerdo. (I prefer beef to pork.)
• Mariscos (Seafood)
  • Camarón (Shrimp): Los camarones son perfectos para una paella. (Shrimp are perfect for a paella.)
  • Atún (Tuna): El atún es una buena fuente de proteínas. (Tuna is a good source of protein.)
  • Cangrejo (Crab): Me encanta el cangrejo fresco. (I love fresh crab.)
• Lácteos (Dairy)
  • Leche (Milk): Tomo un vaso de leche con mi desayuno. (I drink a glass of milk with my breakfast.)
  • Queso (Cheese): El queso manchego es muy popular en España. (Manchego cheese is very popular in Spain.)
  • Yogur (Yogurt): El yogur es un buen snack. (Yogurt is a good snack.)
• Postres (Desserts)
  • Helado (Ice cream): Me gusta el helado de chocolate. (I like chocolate ice cream.)
  • Pastel (Cake): El pastel de cumpleaños estaba delicioso. (The birthday cake was delicious.)
  • Flan (Flan): El flan es un postre típico español. (Flan is a typical Spanish dessert.)

Conclusion

This podcast is a fantastic free resource to help you learn Spanish, by helping you to enhance your food vocabulary in Spanish. By listening to the examples and practicing the words, you’ll be able to order food and describe your dining experiences in Spanish with confidence. ¡Feliz aprendizaje! (Happy learning!)

Acknowledgement

• Image of Costa Rican Cuisine by Richie Diesterheft from Chicago, IL, USA – Typical Costa Rican Food Called A “Casado”, CC BY 2.0,