Transition words are the knots that hold sentences together. They help things blend together and smooth out our sentences:
Fui al parque, luego al gimnasio y finalmente a la tienda. (I went to the park, then the gym and finally the store.)
Without them, our speech would sound choppy and oversimplified.
This post will introduce you to 75 Spanish transition words and how to use them to sound more fluid (and fluent).
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What Are Transition Words?
Transition words in Spanish are words and phrases that help us connect ideas between sentences.
When we connect sentences with transition words, we add only a couple of words, but we make the meaning of what we are saying much clearer. Have a look:
No tengo mucho tiempo. Voy a ir a la fiesta.
(I don’t have much time. I will go to the party.)
The sentences may be correct, but what is the relation between them? By adding transition words to the mix, everything starts to make sense:
No tengo mucho tiempo pero voy a ir a la fiesta.
(I don’t have much time but I’ll go to the party.)
Aunque no tengo mucho tiempo, voy a ir a la fiesta.
(Although I don’t have much time, I’ll go to the party.)
No tengo mucho tiempo. Además, voy a ir a la fiesta.
(I don’t have much time. Besides, I’m going to the party.)
Types of Spanish Transition Words
Depending on the meaning of your sentence, you’ll want to use a different set of transition words to help you with it.
They’re classified into different groups depending on the resource, but here are the eight types of transition words often referred to:
• Time
• Location
• Explanation
• Add-ons
• Result
• Emphasis
• Comparison and contrast
• Summary
If you pay attention to how native speakers converse, you’ll notice how these transition words can come into play and help a sentence flow.
1. Transition Words for Time
The first type of transition words have to do with time, whether we’re talking about something that already happened, will happen or maybe just constructing a timeline:
| Spanish | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Ya | Already/now | Ya hemos llegado. (We’ve already arrived.) Voy a terminar este trabajo ya. |
| Todavía | Still | Todavía tengo tiempo. (I still have time.) |
| Todavía no / No…todavía |
Not yet | Todavía no lo entiendo. (I don’t understand it yet.) No he terminado el libro todavía. |
| Primero | Firstly, first | Primero, pela la cebolla. (First, peel the onion.) |
| En primer lugar | First of all | En primer lugar, quiero dar las gracias a mi hermano. (First of all, I’d like to thank my brother.) |
| Segundo | Secondly | Segundo, córtala en cubos. (Secondly, cut it into cubes.) |
| Luego | Then, later, next | Luego revisa la gramática. (Then, review the grammar.) |
| Después | After(wards) | Después calienta la sartén. (Afterwards, heat up the pan.) |
| Más tarde | Later | Regresaré más tarde. (I’ll return later.) |
| Entonces | Then, at that moment | Entonces entendió que estaba solo. (At that moment, he understood he was alone.) |
| Pronto | Soon | Llegarán pronto. (They’ll arrive soon.) |
| Al final | At/in the end | Al final, cerró la puerta. (At the end, he closed the door.) |
| Finalmente | Finally | ¡Has llegado finalmente! (You’ve come at last!) Finalmente, meta el pastel en el horno. |
| Para continuar | Next, further | Para continuar quiero mostraros mi próximo proyecto. (Next, I want to show you my next project.) |
| Para terminar | Lastly | Para terminar escuchemos esta canción. (Lastly, let’s listen to this song.) |
| Por último | Lastly | Por último, debemos analizar los resultados. (Lastly, we should analyze the results.) |
| Cuando | When | Se lo diré cuando lo vea. (I’ll tell him when I see him.) |
| En cuanto | Once, no sooner than, as soon as | En cuanto llegue, lo llamaré. (Once I arrive, I’ll call him.) |
| Tan pronto | As soon as | Tan pronto llegue, lo llamaré. (As soon as I arrive, I’ll call him.) |
| Mientras | While, as long as | Estudiaré español mientras cocinas. (I’ll study Spanish while you cook.) |
| Mientras tanto | In the meantime, meanwhile | Mientras tanto, Juan estaba llamando a su mamá. (Meanwhile, Juan was calling his mom.) |
| Al mismo tiempo | At the same time | Estudiaba al mismo tiempo que yo cocinaba. (He was studying at the same time I was cooking.) |
Note that luego, después and más tarde can be used interchangeably when describing a succession of events or giving instructions.
2. Transition Words for Location
If we’re looking at where one thing is relative to another, we can use these transitional phrases:
3. Transition Words for Explaining
If we need some help in explaining something smoothly, we can use these words to provide context:
| Spanish | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Por ejemplo | For example | Vendemos artículos de papelería, por ejemplo: lápices, bolígrafos, cuadernos y papel. (We sell stationary, for example pencils, pens, notebooks and paper.) |
| Es decir | That is to say, that is | He entrenado tres horas, es decir, estoy muy cansado. (I’ve worked out for three hours, that is, I am very tired.) |
| Como | Since | Como no había clientes, cerré la tienda. (Since there were no clients, I closed the shop.) |
| Entre ellos / ellas |
Including | Me gustan los colores cálidos, entre ellos el amarillo y el naranja. (I like warm colors, including yellow and orange.) |
| Ya que | Since | Voy sola, ya que tú no quieres ir. (I’m going alone, since you don’t want to go.) |
| Entre otros / otras |
Among others | Hay muchas frutas diferentes: manzanas, peras, uvas, entre otras. (There are many different fruits: apples, pears, grapes among others.) |
4. Transition Words for Add-ons
If you’ve made one statement, but have additional details to add, you can tack them on with these words:
| Spanish | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Y | And | Estoy cansado y me duele la cabeza. (I’m tired and I have a headache.) |
| Además (de) | In addition (to), furthermore, moreover, besides | Además, me dijo que no tenía dinero. (In addition, he told me he didn’t have any money.) |
| También | Also, as well, too | Quiero el rojo también. (I want the red one, too.) |
| Asimismo | Also, similarly, likewise, furthermore | Necesitamos terminar el proyecto. Asimismo, deberíamos llamar al cliente. (We need to finish the project. Also, we should call the client.) |
| Igualmente | Similarly, likewise, furthermore | Igualmente, el contrato será firmado por todas las partes. (Likewise, the contract will be signed by all the parties.) |
| Del mismo modo | Similarly, likewise, by the same token | Del mismo modo, todos los estudiantes deben aprobar el examen. (By the same token, all students must past the test.) |
| Por otro lado | On the other hand, what’s more | Por otro lado, todavía estamos esperando su respuesta. (What’s more, we’re still waiting for his answer.) |
| Por otra parte | Moreover, on the other hand | Por otra parte, me gustaría volver a París. (On the other hand, I’d like to go back to Paris.) |
| Aparte | Besides | Podemos pasar por la casa, aparte, olvidé mi cartera. (We can stop by the house, besides, I forgot my wallet.) |
Just remember that y can only connect two words, phrases or sentences of the same category. This is called coordination, and y is a coordinating conjunction.
5. Transition Words for Results
When referring to cause and effects, you can use these phrases to transition from one to the other:
| Spanish | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Como resultado | As a result | Como resultado, se mudó a Polonia. (As a result, he moved to Poland.) |
| En consecuencia | As a consequence, accordingly | En consecuencia, desde ahora hablaremos solo en español. (Accordingly, we’ll only speak Spanish from now on.) |
| Como consecuencia de | As a consequence of | Llegué tarde y, como consecuencia de ello, no pude ver a mi hermano. (I arrived late and, as a consequence of that, I wasn’t able to see my brother.) |
| Por eso / esto / ello |
Therefore, for this reason, that’s why | Me quedé dormido; por eso llegué tarde. (I overslept, that’s why I arrived late.) |
| Por lo tanto | Therefore, thus | Por lo tanto, debemos tomar medidas preventivas. (Therefore, we have to take preventive measures.) |
| Por consiguiente | Therefore, thus | Por consiguiente, el resultado será publicado mañana. (Therefore, the result will be published tomorrow.) |
| Por esta razón | For this reason | Por esta razón, las botellas de plástico están prohibidas. (For this reason, plastic bottles are forbidden.) |
| Así que | So | La tienda estaba cerrada, así que volvimos a casa. (The shop was closed, so we went back home.) |
| Así | So, thus | Estudié mucho y así pude aprobar el examen. (I studied a lot and thus I could pass the exam.) |
6. Transition Words for Emphasis
Using these transition words correctly will really strengthen whichever part of your phrase that you emphasize it with:
| Spanish | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Sobre todo | Particularly, especially, above all | Eso es muy peligroso, sobre todo para niños. (That’s very dangerous, especially for children.) |
| Especialmente | Especially | Vamos mucho a la playa, especialmente en agosto. (We go to the beach very often, especially in August.) |
| Efectivamente | Effectively, indeed, actually, really, truly | Efectivamente, los estudiantes nuevos no han venido. (Indeed, the new students haven’t come.) |
| Realmente | Effectively, indeed, actually, really, truly | Realmente te ves cansado. (You really look tired.) |
| De hecho | In fact, indeed, as a matter of fact | No fui yo. De hecho, nunca he estado allí. (It wasn’t me. In fact, I’ve never been there.) |
| Principalmente | Especially, particularly, mainly | Los usamos principalmente para exportar. (We use them mainly for export.) |
| En efecto | Indeed | En efecto, creo que deberías decirle. (Indeed, I think you should tell her.) |
7. Transition Words for Comparison and Contrast
Comparing and contrasting requires lots of transition words in order to flow and make sense:
| Spanish | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Como | Like | Ella es fuerte como una vaca. (She’s strong like a cow.) |
| Viceversa | Conversely, vice-versa | Él la cuida y viceversa. (He takes care of her and vice-versa.) |
| Pero | But | No lo necesito, pero lo compraré. (I don’t need it, but I’ll buy it.) |
| Sino | But | No había dos, sino tres. (There weren’t two but three.) |
| Aunque | Although, while, even though, even if | Iremos aunque llueva. (We’ll go even if it rains.) |
| No obstante | However, nevertheless, notwithstanding | La amo. No obstante, no podemos estar juntos. (I love her. However, we can’t be together.) |
| Aun así | Still, even so, nevertheless | Estaba muy cansado. Aun así, fui a la fiesta. (I was very tired. Still, I went to the party.) |
| Sin embargo | However, nevertheless | Dice que no tiene dinero. Sin embargo, la semana pasada compró un coche nuevo. (He says he doesn’t have any money. However, last week he bought a new car.) |
| A pesar de | Despite, in spite of | A pesar de la lluvia, fuimos al zoo. (In spite of the rain, we went to the zoo.) |
| Al contrario | On the contrary | Al contrario, nunca dijo la verdad. (On the contrary, he never told the truth.) |
| Contrario a | Contrary to, as opposed to | Contrario a lo esperado, ganamos el partido. (Contrary to expectations, we won the match.) |
| Por el contrario | By contrast, on the other hand | Por el contrario, cualquier violación del contrato será castigada. (On the other hand, any contract violation shall be punished.) |
8. Transition Words for Summarizing
Sometimes we need some help transitioning into a concluding statement, which is why these terms can come in handy:
| Spanish | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| En síntesis/resumen | In short, in a nutshell, in summary, in essence | En resumen, es uno de los mejores coches del mercado. (In essence, it’s one of the best cars in the market.) |
| Para resumir | To sum up | Para resumir, veamos nuestras notas una vez más. (To sum up, we’ll look at our notes one more time.) |
| En general | In general | En general, podemos decir que la campaña no fue un éxito. (In general, we can say the campaign was not a success.) |
| Después de todo | After all, all in all | Después de todo, seguimos juntos. (All in all, we’re still together.) |
| En conclusión | In conclusion | En conclusión, este año ha sido muy bueno. (In conclusion, this has been a very good year.) |
Quiz on Spanish Transition Words
Now that you’ve learned some Spanish transition words, it’s time to test your knowledge! Choose the best option to complete each sentence in the quiz below. To retake the quiz, just refresh the page.
Normalmente no me gustan los dibujos animados, ____ me encantan “Los Simpson.”
Quiero ir a la playa, pero _____ quiero terminar mi trabajo.
Alístate porque tenemos que irnos _____.
Estudié toda la noche, _____ creo que estoy preparado para el examen.
Sé que encontraré un nuevo trabajo pronto. _____, ayer tuve una entrevista.
_____, quiero agradecer a todos por su colaboración en este proyecto.
Me encanta el inglés, y _____ de aprenderlo en la escuela, también practico con películas y libros.
Vamos a salir temprano mañana, _____ queremos evitar el tráfico.
Terminé de estudiar para el examen, _____ salí a dar un paseo para relajarme.
Me gusta leer novelas clásicas, _____ disfruto de la literatura contemporánea.
El día estaba nublado; _____, decidimos ir a la playa y disfrutar del mar.
Dejé las llaves del coche _____ en la mesa de la entrada.
Las lluvias fueron intensas durante la semana; _____, hay inundaciones en varias áreas de la ciudad.
Decidí aceptar la oferta de trabajo, _____, ofrecía la oportunidad que buscaba para crecer profesionalmente.
Vamos a hacer una presentación mañana, _____, necesitamos tener todos los documentos listos hoy.
Keep practicing!
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These small but powerful words help us to convey exact meaning we want and sound more fluent, so be sure to practice them!
The best way to learn how to use these Spanish transition words properly is by seeing and hearing them used in context.
With FluentU, you can immerse yourself in Spanish media from home and pick up on transition words that way.
Download:
This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you
can take anywhere.
Click here to get a copy. (Download)
And One More Thing…
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