Spanish Words Starting with Y

There are 186 Spanish words starting with Y, and the letter does two quite different jobs across them.

Y as a Consonant and as a Word

At the start of these words Y behaves as a consonant, close to the English Y in yes. On its own it is also the Spanish word for and, though that is too short to appear here.

How the Y List Divides

E takes about twenty nine percent of the second position, A twenty eight, O twenty four and U thirteen. Four vowels share almost the whole page.

The YACER Forms Fill the A Branch

YACER means to lie down or to rest, and it is an irregular verb whose conjugations account for a large part of the A branch on their own.

YANQUI and YERNO are among the more useful nouns outside that group.

• Yacer
• Yanqui
• Yerno
• Yacimiento
• Yacija

Reading the Y Page

A large share of these 186 entries are forms of a single verb, so the page holds fewer distinct ideas than the count suggests. The nouns are the part worth studying.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Y pronounced like LL in Spanish

In most regions yes, the two have merged. In parts of Argentina and Uruguay both are said closer to the S in measure.

Why does the Spanish word for and use Y

It descends from Latin ET, worn down over centuries to a single letter. Before words starting with an I sound it changes to E.

What does YACER mean

To lie down or be at rest. It appears often on gravestones in the phrase AQUÍ YACE, and its many conjugations fill much of this page.