Me gusta el pan.
I like bread.
In Spain bread sits on every table beside every course. To say you like it, Spanish uses gusta plus el pan, with the article.
From Spider-Man · Spanish audio
Spanish vocabularyA1 · Beginner
How to say "bread" in Spanish
el pan
nounmasculineplural: los panesone syllable
"Bread" in Spanish is el pan, one short syllable with an open a. When you talk about bread in general, Spanish keeps the article: Me gusta el pan. At a bakery in Spain the everyday loaf is una barra de pan, and sliced sandwich bread is pan de molde.
Hear "pan" in real movie scenes
A simple like and a missing lunch. Each video starts and stops on that line.
¿Dónde está mi pan de maíz?
Where's my cornbread?
The lunch order has arrived without his favorite item, so he asks where it is. Pan covers every kind of bread, and de maíz names the corn.
From The Office · Spanish audio
Bread words for the bakery and the table
Six words that start from pan or go with it.
| Spanish | English | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| la barra de pan | baguette-style loaf | The standard loaf at a Spanish bakery. People often shorten it to una barra. |
| el pan de molde | sliced bread | Soft sandwich bread that comes in a bag. |
| el pan integral | whole wheat bread | Integral also marks whole grain rice and pasta. |
| la tostada | a slice of toast | In Mexico a tostada is a crisp fried tortilla, so ask for pan tostado there. |
| el pan rallado | breadcrumbs | Rallado means grated. |
| la panadería | bakery | The baker is el panadero or la panadera. |
Tip: At a Spanish bakery, Una barra, por favor is a complete order.
Grammar: el pan, los panes
Four rules for talking about bread.
Masculine, plural in -es
el pan, los panes. Pan ends in a consonant, so the plural adds -es.Bread in general: el pan
English says "I like bread", but Spanish adds the article for a whole category: Me gusta el pan.Some bread: no article
For an amount, drop it: Hay pan. ¿Cuánto pan hay? Quisiera un poco de pan.What it's made of
Add de and the ingredient: pan de maíz (cornbread), pan de centeno (rye bread).Example sentences
Sentences from the Wordy Spanish course. Tap to listen.
¿Cuánto pan hay?
How much bread is there?
Aquí el pan es buenísimo.
The bread here is excellent.
Cada día pido pan.
I order bread every day.
¡Ay, claro! Y aquí tiene pan.
Oh, of course! And here's some bread.
Common mistakes
Mistakes learners make with this word, and how to fix them.
✗Me gusta pan
✓Me gusta el pan
When you like or dislike bread as a whole, keep el in front of it.
✗¿Cuánta pan hay?
✓¿Cuánto pan hay?
Pan is masculine, so the question word ends in -o.
✗Quiero un pan (asking for some bread with a meal)
✓Quiero un poco de pan
Un pan usually means one whole loaf or roll. For some bread, say un poco de pan.
Practice: 3 quick exercises
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1 of 3 · Watch and choose
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The other 34 exercises on this topic are in the app.
How to remember it
Pan hides at the start of the English word pantry, which first meant the room where bread was kept. Picture a pantry shelf stacked with pan.
Questions about "bread" in Spanish
How do you say bread in Spanish?
El pan, and in the plural los panes. It's masculine and has one syllable.
How do you say bakery in Spanish?
La panadería. The person who bakes the bread is el panadero or la panadera.
How do you say toast in Spanish?
In Spain, a slice of toast is una tostada. In Mexico, where a tostada is a fried tortilla, say pan tostado.
How do you ask for bread at a restaurant in Spanish?
Say ¿Me trae pan, por favor? or, more politely, Quisiera un poco de pan.
