900 Spanish Words in 6 Months: A Simple Daily Strategy

Why vocabulary is a vital part of language learning

Language learning is often framed as a study of grammar, with the assumption that words will just "attach" themselves naturally along the way. We believe this isn't quite right. Grammar is a great blueprint, but you can't build anything without the bricks.

Many learners fall into the "plateau" trap: the rules seem clear, but they still can't say anything. A reasonable question arises: isn't grammar more important? Linguists joke that while you can convey very little without grammar, you can convey nothing at all without vocabulary. If you go to a pharmacy and say "Stomach. Hurt. Bad. Yesterday", you will be understood and helped. But if you use the perfect past tense but forget the word for "hurt"—communication fails.

Another common misconception is "I'll just watch TV shows and the words will stick on their own." Unfortunately, this mostly works for recognition. The brain is lazy: it understands meaning from context and visuals but doesn't record the form of the word for your own speech. To move a word into your active vocabulary, you need to "capture" it consciously.

Why working without a system is a waste of effort

A frequent question is: "Why did I know everything yesterday, but can't remember a simple word today?" The answer lies in biology. Our brain is an excellent filter; if you don't prove to it that a word is important, it will discard it within a few hours.

If you don't repeat a new word after 20 minutes, a day, and a week—the time you spent finding and adding it was essentially wasted. That effort is essentially wasted.

Here are a few points to understand about memory mechanics:

• The magic of "desirable difficulty". The brain remembers better not what you looked at 10 times in a minute (standard rote learning), but what you struggled to recall. Intervals create that exact moment of tension that builds a neural connection.
• What if I miss a day? Nothing terrible happens; the magic won't disappear. Words will simply pile up in your review queue. The key is not to "punish" yourself later with a marathon session, but simply to return to your rhythm.
• Automation. In 2025, you don't need to draw forgetting curves in a notebook. App algorithms will suggest the right word exactly when it's about to slip your mind.

How many words will you learn in six months?

It's easy to burn out in language learning by trying to set records in the first week. We advocate for a different approach: small, regular steps yield much more sustainable results.

Let's do the math: if you add just 5 new words a day (about 10–15 minutes of your time), the picture looks like this:

• In one month, your vocabulary grows by 150 words.
• In six months, you'll have 910 words under your belt.

The number might not seem huge, but it's an asset you can rely on. People often "study a language" for years but can't string two words together because their knowledge is scattered. Here, the opposite is true: 910 words processed through a repetition system become your foundation.

How much time does it actually take?

To ensure a word stays in long-term memory, we account for 3–5 repetitions per word (according to the interval system).

• Initial introduction, 5 words a day: checking the translation, example, and pronouncing it out loud will take you about 5 minutes.
• Reviewing past words: One repetition takes about 15 seconds. If you have 40–50 words from previous days to review, it will take another 10–12 minutes.

Important nuance: The secret of this math isn't intensity, but consistency. 5 words every day works better than 50 words once a week. In the first case, you build neural connections; in the second, you simply overload your short-term memory.

What will this give me?

You've likely seen headlines like: "Learn 200 words and speak like a native." There's some truth to it: statistically, 1,000 words cover about 80% of everyday speech. With this base, you step out of the fog and start understanding the general meaning of what's being said around you.

But there's a catch: simply "knowing" words and actually "using" them are two different things.

At How2Spanish, it’s important to us that these 900 words aren't just dead weight. We want them to help you in real situations: arranging an apartment viewing, understanding a doctor, or chatting with a neighbor. This is the volume where quantity finally turns into quality and you start living in the language, not just studying it.

How much is that, really?

900 words represents a solid A2 level. But there's a big difference between "finishing an A2 textbook" and actually owning that vocabulary. When these words aren't just sitting in a notebook but are regularly tested by algorithms in your head, you feel much more confident than any straight-A student from a standard course. You don't just know grammatical structures—you have the materials to build them. In practice, this looks like a very strong A2, which is more than enough for normal life in the country.

In our app, we specifically focus on high-frequency vocabulary so that these 900 words are as practical as possible. For example, the distribution might look like this:

• 100 most frequent words that don't carry much meaning but "connect" sentences: prepositions, pronouns, question words;
• 150 essential verbs: ser, estar, haber, tener, hacer, ir, poder, and action verbs like comer, dormir, trabajar, comprar, ver, venir, llegar;
• 250 universal nouns: time (día, semana), places and people (casa, trabajo, familia), and things (dinero, comida, coche);
• 150 adjectives and adverbs: bueno, malo, grande, pequeño, muy, mucho, poco, aquí;
• fillers and social markers (50): hola, gracias, de nada, perdón, pues, bueno, entonces;
• your personal stash: 200 words from your personal and professional interests, making the vocabulary truly "yours."

Action plan

• Sign up on the platform: it doesn't take much time;
• Check out the suggested words on the home screen or search for something more interesting—the system offers many sources for adding words:
  • Lessons within courses, such as Work, hobbies, and interests;
  • Social modules that explain specific topics in detail: Healthcare in Spain: how to see a doctor and get medicine, Finding and renting housing in Spain;
  • Thematic word sets: Tourism, Travel;
  • Any word you encounter outside the platform can be easily added by clicking the "+" button in the bottom right corner.
• Add 5 words that seem useful to you; imagine when and why you will use them in real life;
• Today, review the added words for the first time using one of the methods:
  • Standard review: you'll need to type the word—a reliable way to reinforce memory;
  • Quick review: less effective but much faster for going through a large volume of words;
  • Multiple choice "word-translation": a convenient mode that doesn't require typing;
  • Audio training: focuses on recognizing words by their sound.
• That's it for today, well done! Tomorrow the system will schedule new reviews, and your task is not to miss them. Practice regularly on the platform to repeat words at the optimal moment.

The system will send you a reminder about scheduled reviews, but it's best to develop a habit of checking in regularly to add new words. Some find it helpful to add a 20-minute language slot to their calendar.