Spanish Words That Start With Y | List & Examples
There are some words that start with Y in Spanish, although not as many as words starting with other letters. Spanish words that start with Y are sometimes loanwords from other languages.
Below, you’ll find some adjectives, nouns, verbs, and other words that start with Y in Spanish.
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Spanish adjectives that start with Y
Some Spanish adjectives that start with Y are:
- Yacente: lying down; reclining
- Yanqui: Yankee; American (of/from the United States)
- Yemení: Yemeni (of or coming from Yemen)
- Yerboso: grassy; overgrown with weeds
- Yermo: barren; uncultivated; deserted
- Yodado: iodized
- Yucateco: of/from Yucatan
- Yuxtapuesto: juxtaposed
Likewise you might notice that these adjectives referring to origin aren’t capitalized. This is because most proper adjectives in Spanish are not capitalized like in English.
Spanish nouns that start with Y
These are some Spanish nouns that start with Y:
- Yacaré: caiman (in South America)
- Yacimiento: mineral deposit; oil field; archaeological site
- Yaguar: jaguar (also spelled “jaguar”)
- Yanqui: Yankee; American (person from the United States)
- Yarda: yard
- Yate: yacht
- Yegua: mare (horse)
- Yeguada: herd of horses; stupid comment (Spanish slang in Latin America)
- Yema: egg yolk; fingertip; plant bud
- Yemen: Yemen
- Yerba: herb; weed
- Yerbabuena: spearmint
- Yermo: wasteland; wilderness
- Yerno: son-in-law
- Yeso: plaster; cast
- Yodo: iodide
- Yoga: yoga
- Yogui: yogi
- Yogur: yogurt
- Yonqui: junkie; addict
- Yoyó: yo-yo
- Yuca: yucca; cassava
- Yucatán: state in Mexico
- Yucateco/a: person from Yucatan
- Yudo: judo
- Yudoca: yudoka (person who practices judo)
- Yugo: yoke (harness for animals); oppression; chains
- Yunque: anvil
- Yute: jute (plant and fabric)
- Yuxtaposición: juxtaposition
Spanish verbs that start with Y
These are a few Spanish verbs that start with Y:
- Yacer: to lie down; to lie (to be buried; very formal)
- Yantar: to eat; to have lunch
- Yodar: to iodize
- Yugular: to cut off; to choke; to nip in the bud (e.g., of an illness)
- Yuxtaponer: to juxtapose
Other Spanish words that start with Y
Some common Spanish adverbs start with Y:
- Ya: now; already; soon
- Ya mismo: right now
- Ya no: no longer; not anymore
Two common Spanish conjunctions that start with Y are:
- Y: and
- Ya que: because; since; as; now that
Finally, there’s a very common Spanish pronoun that starts with Y: the first-person singular personal pronoun yo [I].
QuillBot’s AI Chat will answer any questions about Spanish words that start with Y.
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 Y | List & Examples. Quillbot. Retrieved November 5, 2025, from https://quillbot.com/blog/word-finder/spanish-words-that-start-with-y/
