¿Dónde está el baño?
Where's the bathroom?
It's the first question worth learning in any language, and it works in a restaurant, at a friend's place or anywhere else.
From Dr. House · Spanish audio
Spanish vocabularyA1 · Beginner
How to say "bathroom" in Spanish
el baño
nounmasculineplural: los baños
"Bathroom" in Spanish is el baño. The same word covers the bathroom in a home and a public restroom, so you can use it in any house, bar or airport. In Spain, signs in bars and stations often say los servicios or los aseos.
Hear "baño" in real scenes
A question everyone needs and a door that needs explaining. Each video starts and stops on that line.
Este es el baño de mujeres.
This is the women's restroom.
Doors don't always have a picture on them, so it helps when someone says which one is which, and de mujeres marks the women's room.
From Suits · Spanish audio
Baño, aseo, servicios: which word where?
One room, several names. Signs in Spain often use a different word from the one people say at home.
| Word | Where you'll see it | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| el baño | Everywhere | The home bathroom and the public restroom. It also means a bath or a swim. |
| el cuarto de baño | Spain, in homes | The full room, with a shower or a tub. |
| los servicios, los aseos | Spain, in bars, stations and shops | Usually plural on signs. |
| los sanitarios | Mexico, on signs | In conversation, people still say el baño. |
| el inodoro | Everywhere | The toilet itself. In Spain people also call it el váter. |
Tip: To ask politely in someone's home, say ¿Puedo usar el baño?, which means "Can I use the bathroom?"
Grammar: el baño, los baños
Four points you'll use the first time you need one.
Masculine, with ñ
el baño, los baños. Say BAH-nyoh: the ñ is one sound, close to the ni in onion.Going there: al baño
Voy al baño. I'm going to the bathroom. The words a and el merge into al.Being there: en el baño
Use en for location: Él está en el baño. He's in the bathroom. Here en el stays two words.Whose bathroom
Add de: el baño de mujeres, el baño de hombres, el baño de la habitación.Example sentences
Sentences from the Wordy Spanish course. Tap to listen.
¿Dónde está el baño?
Where's the bathroom?
El baño está a la derecha.
The bathroom is on the right.
¿Hay alguien en el baño?
Is anyone in the bathroom?
Primero el baño y luego la siesta.
First the bathroom, then a nap.
Common mistakes
Mistakes learners make with this word, and how to fix them.
✗Voy a el baño
✓Voy al baño
Spanish always joins a and el into al.
✗el baño (meaning the toilet bowl)
✓el inodoro
El baño is the room. The fixture you sit on is el inodoro.
✗Tomo un baño (meaning a quick shower)
✓Me ducho
Un baño is a bath. For a shower, use the verb ducharse.
Practice: 3 quick exercises
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1 of 3 · Watch and choose
What do you hear in the video?
The other 28 exercises on this topic are in the app.
How to remember it
Baño and bath both start with ba. Picture a big bathtub with a wavy ñ painted on its side.
Questions about "bathroom" in Spanish
How do you say bathroom in Spanish?
El baño. It means the bathroom in a home and a public restroom as well.
What's the difference between baño, aseo and servicios?
All three can mean a restroom. Baño works in every country, while aseos and servicios are the usual signs in Spain.
How do you say "I need to go to the bathroom" in Spanish?
Necesito ir al baño. Keep the contraction: a plus el becomes al.
How do you say toilet in Spanish?
The fixture is el inodoro, or el váter in Spain. For the room, say el baño.
