From food to fashion! In this lesson, you'll learn to name basic clothing items and describe what you're wearing. Knowing clothing vocabulary is practical for shopping, but it's also a great way to practice adjective agreement — colors and descriptions must match the gender and number of the clothing item. Valentina is helping Andrés pick out an outfit!
Learning tips
- Clothing is a perfect way to practice adjective agreement — 'la camisa blanca' (white shirt, feminine) vs. 'el pantalón blanco' (white pants, masculine).
- In Colombia, 'usar' is more common than 'llevar' for 'to wear,' though both work. 'Uso una camiseta' = I wear a t-shirt.
- 'Pantalón' is singular in Spanish even though English says 'pants' (plural). Same with 'zapatos' — you usually say 'los zapatos' (plural) even when talking about the pair.
- Try describing what you're wearing right now in Spanish — it's great practice for adjective agreement!
Warm-up & Active Recall
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| la carne | the meat |
| el pollo | the chicken |
| el pan | the bread |
| la leche | the milk |
| el huevo | the egg |
| el queso | the cheese |
| un kilo | a kilo |
| una libra | a pound |
| vender | to sell |
| dar | to give |
Dialog
Valentina is helping Andrés choose clothes for a job interview. Notice how color adjectives change to match the noun: 'camisa blanca' (feminine) but 'pantalón negro' (masculine), 'zapatos negros' (masculine plural). 'Usar' is the most common verb for 'to wear' in Colombian Spanish. The dialog shows practical vocabulary for discussing outfits.
Vocabulary
Active words
| Word | IPA | Translation | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| la camisa | /la kaˈmi.sa/ | the shirt | Feminine — 'la camisa blanca' (the white shirt) |
| el pantalón | /el pan.taˈlon/ | the pants, trousers | Masculine singular in Spanish, though English uses plural |
| los zapatos | /los saˈpa.tos/ | the shoes | Usually plural — 'los zapatos negros' (the black shoes) |
| la chaqueta | /la tʃaˈke.ta/ | the jacket | Feminine — 'la chaqueta negra' (the black jacket) |
| la falda | /la ˈfal.da/ | the skirt | Feminine — 'la falda blanca' (the white skirt) |
| la camiseta | /la ka.miˈse.ta/ | the t-shirt | Feminine — diminutive of 'camisa' (shirt) |
| la ropa | /la ˈro.pa/ | the clothing, clothes | Feminine singular — 'la ropa' is always singular (like 'clothing' in English) |
| usar | /uˈsaɾ/ | to wear, to use | Regular -ar verb — the most common verb for 'to wear' in Colombia |
| el color | /el koˈloɾ/ | the color | Masculine noun — '¿Qué color prefieres?' (What color do you prefer?) |
| blanco | /ˈblaŋ.ko/ | white | Adjective — blanco/blanca/blancos/blancas depending on noun |
Passive words
| Word | IPA | Translation | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| el vestido | /el besˈti.ðo/ | the dress | |
| la corbata | /la koɾˈβa.ta/ | the tie | |
| el sombrero | /el somˈbɾe.ɾo/ | the hat | |
| las medias | /las ˈme.ðjas/ | the socks | |
| el cinturón | /el sin.tuˈɾon/ | the belt | |
| negro | /ˈne.ɣɾo/ | black |
Useful chunks
| Word | Translation |
|---|---|
| la camisa blanca | the white shirt |
| los zapatos negros | the black shoes |
Grammar: Adjective agreement with clothing; 'llevar' and 'usar' for wearing
| Noun | Adjective (white) | Adjective (black) |
|---|---|---|
| la camisa (f. sg.) | blanca | negra |
| el pantalón (m. sg.) | blanco | negro |
| la falda (f. sg.) | blanca | negra |
| los zapatos (m. pl.) | blancos | negros |
| las camisetas (f. pl.) | blancas | negras |
| Verb | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| usar | to use / to wear | Uso una camisa blanca. |
| llevar | to carry / to wear | Llevo zapatos negros. |
Adjective agreement with clothing is one of the most practical applications of gender and number agreement in Spanish.
Color adjectives (and most descriptive adjectives) must match the noun in both gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural):
- la camisa blanca (feminine singular)
- el pantalón blanco (masculine singular)
- las camisetas blancas (feminine plural)
- los zapatos blancos (masculine plural)
This applies to all regular adjectives ending in -o/-a:
- negro → negra → negros → negras
- rojo → roja → rojos → rojas
- blanco → blanca → blancos → blancas
'Usar' and 'llevar' both mean 'to wear':
- 'Uso una camisa blanca.' = I wear a white shirt.
- 'Llevo zapatos negros.' = I'm wearing black shoes.
In Colombia, 'usar' is slightly more common for habitual wearing, while 'llevar' can imply 'wearing right now.'
Exercises
Fill in the Blanks
Complete each sentence with the missing clothing word.
- Necesito una para la entrevista. (shirt)(noun: shirt)
- Los negros son elegantes. (shoes)(noun: shoes, plural)
- ¿Qué de camisa prefieres? (color)(noun: color)
- La es muy bonita. (skirt)(noun: skirt)
- Voy a una camiseta y un pantalón. (to wear)(verb: to wear)
Grammar Application
Write the correct form of the color adjective to match the clothing noun.
- la camisa (white)(feminine singular: white)
- el pantalón (black)(masculine singular: black)
- los zapatos (white)(masculine plural: white)
- las camisetas (black)(feminine plural: black)
- la chaqueta (black)(feminine singular: black)
Translation (English → Spanish)
Translate each sentence into Spanish.
- The white shirt is pretty.
- I need black shoes.
- What clothes are you going to wear?
- I wear black pants and a jacket.
- The white skirt is my favorite.
Creative Construction
Describe an outfit (2-3 sentences) using clothing vocabulary and color adjectives from this lesson.
Takeaway
Color adjectives must match clothing nouns in gender and number: 'camisa blanca' (f. sg.), 'pantalón negro' (m. sg.), 'zapatos negros' (m. pl.). Use 'usar' or 'llevar' for 'to wear.'