Voy por un bocadillo.
I'm going to grab a sandwich.
A classic office break: someone gets up to fetch a sandwich, and voy por un bocadillo says exactly that.
From The Office · Spanish audio
Spanish vocabularyA1 · Beginner
How to say "sandwich" in Spanish
el bocadillo
nounmasculineplural: los bocadillos
In Spain, "sandwich" is el bocadillo, a sandwich on a crusty roll. On soft sliced bread it's el sándwich, which is also the usual word in most of Latin America. In Mexico, a sandwich on a roll is una torta.
Hear "bocadillo" in real scenes
Going to get one, and being offered one. Each video starts and stops on that line.
¿Quieres una soda, un bocadillo?
Do you want a soda, a sandwich?
Someone offers a soda or a bocadillo, food you can eat without a plate, and in Latin America the word can mean any light snack.
From CSI: Miami · Spanish audio
Bocadillo, sándwich or torta?
The bread and the country decide which word people use.
| Word | Where you'll hear it | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| el bocadillo | Spain | Made with a crusty roll or a baguette. In parts of Latin America it means a small snack. |
| el bocata | Spain, informal | A casual word for bocadillo, common among friends. |
| el sándwich | Spain and Latin America | In Spain, the one on soft sliced bread. Plural: los sándwiches. |
| la torta | Mexico | A sandwich on a soft roll. In many other countries torta means a cake. |
Tip: Bocadillo comes from bocado, a bite of food.
Grammar: el bocadillo, los bocadillos
Four points for ordering and talking about sandwiches.
It's masculine
el bocadillo, un bocadillo, los bocadillos.The ll sounds like y
In most of Spain and Latin America, ll sounds like the y in yes: boh-kah-DEE-yoh.The filling goes after de
un bocadillo de jamón, un bocadillo de queso. No article before the filling.Tasty is rico
About food, rico means tasty: Este bocadillo está muy rico.Example sentences
Sentences from the Wordy Spanish course. Tap to listen.
Voy por un bocadillo.
I'm going to get a sandwich.
Son ricos bocadillos.
They're tasty sandwiches.
Un bocadillo de jamón, por favor.
A ham sandwich, please.
¿Quieres un bocadillo?
Do you want a sandwich?
Common mistakes
Mistakes learners make with this word, and how to fix them.
✗boh-kah-DEEL-oh (pronunciation)
✓boh-kah-DEE-yoh
The ll is one sound, close to English y.
✗un jamón bocadillo
✓un bocadillo de jamón
Spanish names the sandwich first and the filling after de.
✗un bocadillo (ordering in Mexico)
✓una torta
There a sandwich on a roll is a torta, or say un sándwich.
Real conversation: lunch at work
A short dialog in the cafeteria.
You sit down next to your coworker Óscar in the cafeteria, and he looks at your tray.
¡Oye! ¿Qué has comido hoy?
Hey! What have you eaten today?
Bueno, solo he comido un bocadillo.
Well, I've only had a sandwich.
¿Y las frutas?
And the fruit?
Your turn to answer
In the app you reply in Spanish for the last 2 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 30 exercises on this topic are in the app.
How to remember it
Bocadillo starts with boca, mouth. Picture a long bocadillo heading straight for your boca.
Questions about "sandwich" in Spanish
How do you say sandwich in Spanish?
El bocadillo in Spain and el sándwich in most of Latin America. In Mexico, a sandwich on a roll is una torta.
What's the difference between bocadillo and sándwich?
In Spain, a bocadillo is made with a crusty roll or baguette, and a sándwich with soft sliced bread.
How do you say "ham sandwich" in Spanish?
Un bocadillo de jamón, or un sándwich de jamón. The filling always comes after de.
How do you pronounce bocadillo?
boh-kah-DEE-yoh. The ll sounds like the y in yes.
