One of the first things that a beginner Spanish language learner might be confused about is the presence in many words of what looks to be an “N” or “n” with a peculiar squiggly line over it.
This strange-looking N is actually another letter that is part of the Spanish alphabet.
The letter Ñ is the 15th letter in the Spanish alphabet and there are about 15,700 Spanish words that use this letter. It was a letter that was invented by Spanish speakers as it isn’t part of the Latin alphabet.
Ñ represents what is called a voiced palatal nasal, which is a type of consonant used in certain spoken languages. When you want to refer to Ñ, it is pronounced “eh-nyeh”, when you are using Ñ in a word, you pronounce it “ny”.
You may encounter many words that have Ñ in them, including a few words that start with Ñ. To help you learn about this particular Spanish letter, we’ve compiled a list of Spanish words that begin with Ñ for you to study.
1. Ño
Pronunciation guide: nyoh
Meaning: Mr.
This is basically the shortened version of Señor. It is placed in front of the name of an older male. You are more likely to hear this when conversing with Spanish speakers in South America.
2. Ña
Pronunciation guide: nyah
Meaning: Mrs.
Similar to the word above, this is the shortened version of a common form of address. In this case, it’s used in the place of Doña. Again, this is more commonly used in South America.
3. Ñaño
Pronunciation guide: nyah-nyoh
Meaning: Close Friend, Spoiled, Homosexual, Brother, Kid
This is another of those Spanish words that start with ñ that you are more likely to hear when traveling through the South American countries, and it can mean different things depending on where you are:
- Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru – close friend
- Colombia and Panama – spoiled child
- Panama – homosexual
- Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador – brother (the term for family member)
- Peru - child
4. Ñoño
Pronunciation guide: nyoh-nyoh
Meaning: Bland, Dull, Boring
This is one of those Spanish words that start with Ñ that is used as an adjective. You use it to refer to people, things, or situations that are uninteresting
5. Ñomblo
Pronunciation guide: nyohm-bloh
Meaning: Obese
This Spanish adjective is mostly used in Nicaragua. It’s the word they use to describe someone who is obese.
6. Ñato
Pronunciation guide: nyah-to
Meaning: Pug-nosed
This is a Spanish adjective used mostly in Latin American countries to describe someone we would refer to as “pug-nosed”. Outside of Latin America, people with this feature are described as “chato”.
If you are in Uruguay, however, this word is used to mean a boxer or someone who participates in the sport of boxing.
7. Ñongo
Pronunciation guide: nyoh-ngo
Meaning: Intrusive
If you want to talk about someone nosy or intrusive, who tends to get involved with other people’s business, you can use this Spanish word to describe them. This is most commonly used in Cuba.
8. Ñoñería
Pronunciation guide: nyoh-nyeh-ria
Meaning: Insipid
This is a Spanish word that is used to describe someone as dull or uninteresting. It can also be used to say that someone is “spineless”.
9. Ñangotarse
Pronunciation guide: nyan-goh-tarseh
Meaning: Squat or crouch down
This Spanish verb is mostly used by speakers of the Caribbean Spanish dialect. It can also be used to describe someone who is discouraged or has “lost heart”.
10. Ñáñara
Pronunciation guide: nyah-nyah-rah
Meaning: Laziness
If you are traveling in Honduras, you might encounter this Spanish word that starts with Ñ. This is what they say when they want to refer to the state of “laziness” or “pereza”.
11. Ñamería
Pronunciation guide: nyah-mer-ah
Meaning: Madness
If you are traveling in Panama, you could hear this Spanish word with an Ñ. It’s used the same way an English speaker would use “madness” to describe someone who was acting crazy or off. Other Spanish speakers might use “locura” instead.
12. Ñangué
Pronunciation guide: nyahng-ge
Meaning: Way back
This Spanish word is the equivalent of the English phrase “way back”. So, when someone who is talking about a time or an incident uses this, they are describing something that happened in the “distant past”.
13. Ñeque
Pronunciation guide: nyeh-keh
Meaning: Strength or courage
This Spanish word is usually used to mean “strength” in Bolivia, Chile, Nicaragua, and Peru. It can also mean courage or bravery in Bolivia, Peru, and Nicaragua as well as for Spanish-speakers in Venezuela and Ecuador.
14. Ñafiar
Pronunciation guide: nyah-fyar
Meaning: Pilfer
This is a Spanish verb, mostly used in the Caribbean, that means to pilfer or take without permission.
15. Ñique
Pronunciation guide: nyih-keh
Meaning: Headbutt
If you are traveling in Central American, you might hear this word used if someone is describing a fight. It can mean a headbutt or even a punch.
16. Ñácara
Pronunciation guide: nyah-kara
Meaning: Ulcer or sore
This is a Spanish word that you’re more likely to hear in Central America. It refers to the medical condition of having an ulcer or a sore.
17. Ñangado
Pronunciation guide: nyahng-gado
Meaning: Bow-legged
This is a Spanish word that is mostly used in the Caribbean region to refer to someone who is bow-legged.
18. Ñango
Pronunciation guide: nyah-ngo
Meaning: Wimpy
This is a Mexican slang word used to describe someone, usually a man or boy, as weak in body and also weak-willed.
It is also used in some Latin American countries to describe someone as being awkward or clumsy.
19. Ñaque
Pronunciation guide: nyahke
Meaning: Junk
This is a Spanish word that can be used to describe something that is worthless or has been discarded as no longer useful.
20. Ñiquiñaque
Pronunciation guide: nyih-qwi-nyah-keh
Meaning: Worthless
This is used as another word for trash or junk, however, it can also be used as an insult to say that someone is a “worthless individual”.
21. Ñapa
Pronunciation guide: nyah-pah
Meaning: Freebie
This word that starts with a Ñ is mostly used in Latin America. It’s basically the equivalent of a “freebie” or something you got extra for no extra price.
22. Ñangada
Pronunciation guide: nyahn-gadah
Meaning: Nip
This is a word that is mostly used in the Central American countries that means to take a nip or a small bit.
23. Ñame
Pronunciation guide: nyah-meh
Meaning: Yam
This is the Spanish word for the root crop known in English as the yam.
24. Ñau
Pronunciation guide: nyaw
Meaning: Meow
In Latin American countries, the cat says this instead of “meow”.
25. Ñauar
Pronunciation guide: nyaw-ar
Meaning: To meow
If you want to talk about the act of “meowing”, this is the Spanish verb for it.
26. Ñandú
Pronunciation guide: nyahn-doo
Meaning: Rhea
This is a big flightless bird similar to an ostrich or an emu. You can find these in Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Patagonia, and Uruguay.
27. Ñu
Pronunciation guide: nyoo
Meaning: Wildebeest, Gnu
This is the Spanish word for a species of antelope found in Eastern and Southern Africa.
28. Ñorba
Pronunciation guide: nyohr-ba
Meaning: Passionflower
This is the Andean Spanish word for the flowering plant known as the passionflower.
29. Ñandutí
Pronunciation guide: nyahn-du-tih
Meaning: Paraguayan lace
This is a handicraft from Paraguay which is created by using threads of cotton or silk to draw a pattern on a piece of fabric. The word is actually Guarani, which is an indigenous language in Paraguay that refers to a “spider web”.
30. Ñapango
Pronunciation guide: nyah-pang-oh
Meaning: Mixed race
In Columbia, this is the Spanish word for “mulatto” or “mestizo” which are the terms used to refer to someone of mixed ancestry.
31. Ñaca
Pronunciation guide: nyah-kah
Meaning: Ha or So, there
This word is used as an exclamation, to put some emphasis or feeling on a statement of triumph. It’s like saying “ha” or “so, there” in English after you were proven right or correct.
32. Ñaco
Pronunciation guide: nyah-koh
Meaning: Popcorn
This is what Mexican Spanish speakers call “popcorn”.
33. Ñam
Pronunciation guide: nyahm
Meaning: Yum
In Spanish, this is an informal exclamation that you can use to say that something is tasty. Similar to English, it’s usually repeated so “ñam ñam” or “yum yum”.
34. Ñutir
Pronunciation guide: nyuh-tireh
Meaning: To grunt
In the Andean Spanish dialect, this is the verb that denotes the action of grunting.
35. Ñangara
Pronunciation guide: nyahn-gara
Meaning: Guerrila
This is another of those Spanish words that start with Ñ that is more commonly used by speakers of Caribbean Spanish. It refers to “guerrilla fighters” who engage in guerrilla warfare.
36. Ñoco
Pronunciation guide: nyoh-ko
Meaning: Lacking a finger
This is a Spanish adjective you might hear when traveling through Latin America. It is used to describe someone who has lost a finger.
37. Ñata
Pronunciation guide: nyah-ta
Meaning: Death
In the Andean Spanish dialect, this is the word for death.
Conclusion
As you can see from the words we listed above, many of them are region or dialect-specific. This means that you might only hear them if you are traveling to a region where a particular Spanish dialect is spoken.
These regional differences are why it’s important to make sure that you do an online Spanish course or do online Spanish classes, to learn the differences in dialects.
Sure, most Spanish dialects are largely the same, you can probably make yourself understood quite well in Peru or Valenzuela even if you speak Peninsular Spanish. But, if you really want to communicate well, it’s something of an advantage to be familiar with the particular dialect of the region. That way, you can ensure that you can better follow along with daily conversations and not end up confused when running into one of these Spanish words that start with ñ.
If you're looking to start learning Spanish or expand your Spanish vocabulary, the Language learning app Babbel is a great place to start.
What words start with Ñ in Spanish?
Ño, Ña, Ñaño, Ñoño, Ñomblo, Ñato, Ñongo, Ñoñería, Ñangotarse, Ñáñara
What is the accent on Ñ called?
It's called an eñe and is pronounced enye.
