¿Ese es tu coche?
Is that your car?
In a parking lot, you want to know whose car this is.
From Hazme el favor · Spanish audio
Spanish vocabularyA1 · Beginner
How to say "car" in Spanish
el coche
nounmasculineplural: los coches
In Spain, "car" is el coche. In Mexico and most of Latin America people say el carro, and in Argentina, Chile and Uruguay el auto. Speakers everywhere understand all three words, and each one is masculine.
Hear "coche" in real movie scenes
Two scenes where someone says it. Each video starts and stops on that line.
Mira mi coche.
Look at my car.
You show your first car to everyone who walks past.
From Christine · Spanish audio
Coche, carro or auto: which one to use?
The word changes from country to country. Use the one people say where you're going.
| Word | Where you'll hear it | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| el coche | Spain (also Mexico City and parts of Argentina) | The everyday word in Spain. In parts of Central America coche can also mean "pig". |
| el carro | Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru | In Spain carro means a cart or a shopping trolley, not a car. |
| el auto | Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay | Short for automóvil. |
| el automóvil | Everywhere, in formal or written Spanish | You see it in news, insurance papers and official forms. In conversation people say coche, carro or auto. |
Tip: Wordy teaches el coche, the word people use in Spain. If you travel to Mexico, say el carro. Both are masculine, so the grammar stays the same.
Grammar: el coche, los coches
Four rules you need when you use the word.
It's masculine
It's el coche, even though it ends in -e. Learn it together with its article. Plural: los coches.Adjectives come after it
el coche moderno, un coche antiguo, los coches nuevos. The adjective agrees in gender and number."By car" has no article
Voy en coche. I'm going by car. Está en el coche. It's in the car.To drive
conducir in Spain, manejar in Latin America: Conduzco el coche. / Manejo el carro.Example sentences
Sentences from the Wordy Spanish course. Tap to listen.
¿De qué color es el coche?
What color is the car?
¿Ese es tu coche?
Is that your car?
El coche verde es barato.
The green car is cheap.
No es mi coche.
It's not my car.
Common mistakes
Mistakes learners make with this word, and how to fix them.
✗la coche
✓el coche
The -e ending doesn't tell you the gender. Coche is masculine.
✗el rojo coche
✓el coche rojo
Colors and most other adjectives go after the noun.
✗Voy en el carro (in Madrid)
✓Voy en coche
In Spain a carro is a cart, and "by car" takes no article.
✗mi coche (in Guatemala)
✓mi carro
In parts of Central America, coche can mean pig. Say carro there.
Real conversation: buying a car
A short dialog at a used-car dealership. Tap to listen.
Alba, the salesperson, walks over to you.
¡Hola! ¿Quieres comprar un coche?
Hi! Do you want to buy a car?
Claro, un coche barato.
Sure, a cheap car.
Este es antiguo, ¿verdad?
This one is old, right?
Your turn to answer Alba
In the app you play the customer and answer Alba in Spanish for the last 4 lines.
Continue the conversation in WordyPractice: 3 quick exercises
Free, and you don't need an account.
1 of 3 · Watch and choose
What do you hear in the video?
The other 32 exercises on this topic are in the app.
How to remember it
Coche sounds like coach, and a coach is a big car. Picture yourself pointing at a bus and saying "Mira mi coche".
Questions about "car" in Spanish
How do you say car in Spanish?
In Spain, car is el coche. In Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, Colombia, Venezuela and Peru people say el carro, and in Argentina, Chile and Uruguay el auto. Speakers everywhere understand all three.
Is coche masculine or feminine?
Masculine: el coche, los coches, even though it ends in -e. Adjectives agree with it: el coche moderno, los coches modernos.
What's the difference between coche, carro and auto?
They mean the same thing. Only the region changes. In Spain, carro means a cart or trolley, and in parts of Central America coche can mean pig.
How do you say "by car" in Spanish?
En coche (Spain) or en carro (Latin America), without an article: Voy en coche. With the article, en el coche means "in the car".
