Spanish Words That Start With Z | List & Examples
There are many words that start with Z in Spanish. English speakers may know some (e.g., “zapato,” “zorro,” and “zoo”), but others won’t be familiar.
Below, you’ll find lists of some adjectives, nouns, verbs, and other words that start with Z in Spanish.
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Spanish adjectives that start with Z
Some Spanish adjectives that start with Z are:
- Zafio: rude; uncouth
- Zahareño: unsociable; wild (of animals or people)
- Zalamero: flattering; fawning
- Zambiano: Zambian
- Zamorano: from Zamora (a province in Spain)
- Zangolotino: immature; childish
- Zaragozano: from Zaragoza (Spain)
- Zarrapastroso: shabby; scruffy; slovenly
- Zimbabuo: Zimbabwean
- Zonzo: silly; stupid
- Zurdo: left-handed
Also, most proper adjectives in Spanish are not capitalized like in English. For example, “la chica zambiana” uses a lowercase Z, while its English translation (“the Zambian girl”) requires a capital Z.
Spanish nouns that start with Z
These are some Spanish nouns that start with Z. When nouns refer to people, they sometimes change grammatical gender (in this list, these nouns are marked with an “/a” ending).
- Zafiro: sapphire
- Zagal/a: young man/woman; young shepherd
- Zambia: Zambia
- Zambiano/a: Zambian person
- Zambullida: dive; dip
- Zanahoria: carrot
- Zancada: stride; lunge
- Zancadilla: act of tripping someone; scheme
- Zancudo: mosquito (Latin America)
- Zapa: pick; spade
- Zapatería: shoe shop; shoemaking workshop
- Zapatero/a: shoemaker
- Zapatilla: slipper; sneaker (Spain)
- Zapato: shoe
- Zar: czar
- Zarcillo: hoop earring; tendril of a plant
- Zarina: czarina
- Zarigüeya: possum or opossum
- Zarzamora: blackberry bush
- Zarzuela: Spanish operetta
- Zigurat: ziggurat (Mesopotamian temple tower)
- Zigzag: zigzag
- Zimbabue: Zimbabwe
- Zimbabuo/a: Zimbabwean person
- Zinc: zinc (chemical element)
- Zócalo: plinth; baseboard; main city square (Mexico)
- Zoco: wooden shoe; bazaar; souk
- Zodiaco: zodiac
- Zona: zone; area
- Zoo: zoo
- Zoología: zoology
- Zorro/a: fox/vixen
- Zorzal: thrush (songbird)
- Zueco: clog; wooden shoe
- Zumbido: buzz; humming
- Zumo: juice
Spanish verbs that start with Z
Some Spanish verbs that start with Z are:
- Zaherir: to berate; to mock
- Zambullirse: to dive; to plunge; to duck
- Zampar: to gobble up; to scarf; to gorge yourself with
- Zangolotear: to shake; to rattle
- Zangolotearse: to fidget; to wiggle
- Zapatear: to stamp one’s feet; to tap dance
- Zapear: to channel surf; to flip through TV channels
- Zarandear: to shake; to jostle
- Zarandearse: to shuffle; to strut about
- Zarpar: to set sail
- Zascandilear: to loaf about; to goof off (used in Spain)
- Zorrear: to behave slyly; to act like a fox; to prostitute (vulgar)
- Zumbar: to tan leather; to beat up; to clobber
- Zurrar: to beat; to thrash; colloquial: to scold
- Zurrarse: to be scared out of your wits (Mexican Spanish slang)
Other Spanish words that start with Z
There aren’t many Spanish adverbs that start with Z. Two examples are:
- Zafiamente: coarsely; rudely
- Zonzamente: foolishly; stupidly
There are no Spanish prepositions, conjunctions, or pronouns that start with Z.
If you have any questions about Spanish words that start with Z, QuillBot’s AI Chat can answer them.
Spanish words with other letters
If you’re looking for Spanish words that start with another letter, you can visit one of our other articles.
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Santoro, K. (2025, October 21). Spanish Words That Start With Z | List & Examples. Quillbot. Retrieved November 3, 2025, from https://quillbot.com/blog/word-finder/spanish-words-that-start-with-z/
