Learning how to say car in Spanish is more useful than it sounds. In everyday Spanish, transport comes up constantly — from going to work to dealing with traffic or choosing the best way to get around.
In this blog, we’ll explore the following points:
✨when to use coche or carro
✨some fun slang terms for car used in Spain and Latin America.
✨essential transport vocabulary
✨how Spaniards really use these terms in everyday conversations.
✨ common prepositions used with transport.
✨ fun tidbits about transport in Spain.
Let’s break it down! 🤩
The most common translations for car in Spanish are carro and coche 🚗. But don’t worry, the answer isn’t as tricky as it might seem! In Spain, the word coche is the most common term for a car. You’ll hear it used daily in cities like Madrid, Barcelona, or Seville. Whether you're asking for a coche de alquiler (rental car) or telling someone to get into your coche to go somewhere, this is the word you'll use in Spain.
Este coche es nuevo. → This car is new.
On the other hand, carro is the word you’ll hear in many Latin American countries, such as Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, and more ✈️. It’s the go-to word for car in these regions, so if you’re travelling to a Spanish-speaking country outside of Spain, you'll want to use carro.
Voy a salir en carro. → I’m going out in the car.
So, which one should you use? It really depends on where you are! 🌎 If you're in Spain, stick with coche. If you're in Latin America, go for carro. Easy peasy! 🌎
Sometimes, Spanish speakers like to have a little fun with language – and that includes how they refer to their cars! Here are some popular slang terms for car across the Spanish-speaking world🌎:
In Spain, if you want to sound a little more casual or cool, you can use the term buga to refer to a car. It’s like saying “my ride” in English, so it’s often used among friends or in a more relaxed setting.
¡Mira mi buga! Es un coche increíble. → Look at my ride! It’s an amazing car.
If you’re referring to an old or dilapidated car, you might hear the term cacharro in Spain. It’s a playful and slightly negative term for a car that’s seen better days.
Ese cacharro ya no arranca. → That old car doesn’t start anymore.
Used for an old, unreliable car. Similar in tone to cacharro.
Ese trasto no pasa la ITV. → That old banger won’t pass the MOT.
A very popular informal word, especially among young people. It sounds cool and a bit ironic. It literally means spaceship 🚀.
Mi nave consume poco. → My ride doesn’t use much fuel.
Used jokingly, often for fast or sporty cars (sometimes ironically).
Menudo bólido te has comprado. → That’s quite a beast of a car you’ve bought.
In some Latin American countries, such as Colombia and Venezuela, people might refer to their cars as a chiva. This term is most commonly used in informal settings, and you might even hear it in urban slang or hip-hop music 🎶. Interestingly, chiva also means a type of bus in Colombia, so context is everything!
Voy en la chiva a la playa. → I’m taking the car to the beach.These slang terms are a fun way to connect with locals and sound more natural in conversation. Whether you’re in Spain or Latin America, understanding and using local slang will definitely impress! 😎
Cars aren’t the only thing you’ll need to know how to talk about when you’re travelling around Spanish-speaking countries! 📚 Here’s some more essential transportation vocabulary to help you get around like a pro:
🚌 Autobús – Bus
🚇 Metro – Underground
🚚 Camión – Truck
🚖 Taxi – Taxi
🚗 Coche – Car
🚴♀️ Bicicleta – Bicycle
🏍️ Moto – Motorcycle
🚢 Barco – Boat
✈️ Avión – Airplane
🚆Tren – Train
💡 Tip: You don’t need to memorise all these words at once. Just start recognising them when you listen to Spanish — you’ll be surprised how often they repeat 👀🎧
Knowing vocabulary is useful, but expressions are what people really say in daily life 🗣️. Spaniards talk about transport all the time — going to work, parking, traffic, petrol, or trying to save time.
The expressions below are extremely common and sound very natural. They are short, practical and used in everyday conversations. You’ll hear them in conversations with friends 🫂, at work 💼, or when making quick decisions 🙂↕️.
🚗 Voy al trabajo en coche. → I go to work by car.
🅿️ Es difícil aparcar en el centro. → It’s difficult to park in the city centre.
⛽ Tengo que echar gasolina. → I need to get petrol.
🚧 Hay mucho tráfico hoy. → There’s a lot of traffic today.
🛣️ He pillado un atasco enorme. → I got stuck in massive traffic.
⏰ En metro ahorro tiempo. → I save time by taking the metro.
⚠️ Hoy el tráfico está imposible. → Traffic is impossible today.
👉 This kind of vocabulary is GOLD for sounding natural in conversations 🏅.
When talking about transport in Spanish, there are two key prepositions you’ll hear all the time. You don’t need rules — just recognise how they are used in real life 👀.
Use en when you talk about the transport you use.
💡 Key idea: If you are talking about how you move, use en.
Sometimes, transport appears with a when it’s linked to movement in a more general or fixed way (very common in spoken Spanish).
💡 Key idea: A doesn’t describe the transport itself — En does that. A helps complete the sentence.
✅ Voy en coche → I go by car.
✔️If you remember just one thing, remember this: Transport = EN
This one pattern will help you speak more confidently straight away 💛
Here are some interesting tidbits about transport in Spanish-speaking countries 🤓:
🇪🇸 In Spain, the high-speed train (AVE) can reach speeds of over 300 km/h! 🚄
🇲🇽 In Mexico, the famous "collective taxis" (called colectivos) are a popular and affordable way to get around towns and cities 🚖.
🇨🇴 Colombia is known for its iconic yellow taxis, which are all over cities like Bogotá and Medellín 🟡.
👉 Do you usually get around by car or public transport in your country? Why?
Share it in the comments below!