Vocabulary Words for Vegetables in Spanish

Vocabulary Words for Vegetables in Spanish If you were a botanist, you might call vegetables vegetales in Spanish. If you were a culinary expert, youd probably say verduras or, less commonly, hortalizas. But whatever you call them, knowing the names of vegetables can come in handy if youre poring over a restaurant menu or  want to eat a balanced diet where Spanish is spoken. Talk About Vegetables in Spanish Here are the names of the most common vegetables (and some foods that are often thought of as such, even if they technically dont fit the definition), along with a few of the uncommon ones: A-B artichoke: la alcachofa arugula: la rà ºcula, la rà ºgula asparagus: los esprragos (The singular form esparrago is used to refer to asparagus as a plant, while the plural is used for asparagus as a food.) avocado: el aguacate, la palta (The English word comes from the Spanish avocado, which is no longer widely used.) bamboo shoots: los tallos de bambà º (In other contexts, a tallo is a stem or stalk.) bean: la judà ­a, la haba, la habichuela, el frijol beet: la remolacha bell pepper: el pimiento, el ajà ­ bok choy: la col china broccoli: el brà ©col, el brà ³culi Brussels sprouts: la col de Bruselas C-G cabbage: la col, el repollo (Many of the Spanish names for cabbage-related vegetables include col, which comes from the Latin caulis and is a cognate of the cole in coleslaw.) carrot: la zanahoria (The Spanish word can also refer to the plant itself, not just the root.) cassava: la yuca, la mandioca, la casava, la casabe cauliflower: la coliflor celery: el apio chard: la acelga chickpea, garbanzo: el garbanzo, el chà ­charo chicory: la achicoria chives: cebollino, cebolleta, cebollà ­n corn (American English): el maà ­z cucumber: el pepino (Pepino can also refer to various types of small melons.) dandelion: el diente de leà ³n (The word literally means lions tooth.) eggplant: la berenjena endive: la endivia, la endibia (Because the Spanish b and v have the same pronunciation, the two variations are pronounced alike.) escarole: la escarola garlic: el ajo ginger: el jengibre green pepper: el pimiento verde, el ajà ­ verde J-P Jerusalem artichoke: el tupinambo, la pataca, la papa de Jerusalà ©n jicama: la jà ­cama kale: la col crespa, la col rizada, el kale leek: el puerro lentil: la lenteja lettuce: la lechuga mushroom: el champià ±Ãƒ ³n, el hongo mustard: la mostaza okra: el quingombà ³ onion: la cebolla parsley: el perejil parsnip: la chirivà ­a, la pastinaca pea: el guisante, la arveja, el chà ­charo potato: la patata, la papa pumpkin: la calabaza R-Z radish: el rbano red pepper: el pimiento rojo, el ajà ­ rojo rhubarb: el ruibarbo, el rapà ³ntico rutabaga, swede: el nabo sueco (literally, Swedish turnip) shallot: el chalote, el ajo chalote sorrel: la acedera soybean: la semilla de soja (Semilla is the word for seed.) spinach: las espinacas (The singular form espinaca is used to refer to spinach as a plant, while the plural is used for spinach as a food.) squash: la cucurbitcea string beans: las habas verdes sweet potato: la batata tapioca: la tapioca tomatillo: el tomatillo tomato: el tomate turnip: el nabo water chestnut: la castaà ±a de agua, el abrojo acutico watercress: el berro yam: el à ±ame, el boniato, la batata, el yam zucchini: el calabacà ­n Vocabulary Notes Not all vegetables are classified identically in the two languages. For example, not all the coles are thought of by most English speakers as cabbages, and not all beans would be thought of by Spanish speakers as habas. Also, as in English, names of some vegetables can vary with region or because of how theyre prepared. A vegetarian diet can be referred to as a rà ©gimen vegetariano or dieta vegetariana, and a vegetarian is a vegetariano or vegetariana. A vegan is a vegetariano estricto, although the term may not be  understood in all places without an explanation. Preparing Vegetables Following is a selection of verbs used in discussing methods of preparing vegetables. Also, the verbs cocer and cocinar can be used generically to refer to many methods of cooking. boil: hervirbraise, stew: hervir a fuego lento, estofarfry: freà ­rgrill: asar/hacer a la parrillapickle: encurtirroast, bake: asarsautà ©, stir-fry: saltearsteam: cocer/cocinar al vapor