What are compound words in Spanish

How to create compound words in Spanish

Compound nouns in Spanish are special kinds of words. As their name indicates they are composed of two parts. The first one is the third person of a verb we are using; the second one a noun, in the majority of cases, in a plural form. How does it work in practice? Let’s analyse the word "el cortaúñas", which means nail clipper. "Corta" is a third person of the singular of the verb cortar (to cut), and ”uñas" simply means nails. The general rule is as simple as that, however you should be careful while using the plural. Why? Because compound words in plural save the same structure as in singular. This is why we will say "un cortaúñas" and "unos cortaúñas/dos cortaúñas". Never "cortauñases".

Compound words in Spanish refer to different categories of vocabulary. Amongst them you will find some professions, some names of the everyday products, even some pejorative descriptions. In the tables below I have gathered the most common Spanish compound words, however bear in mind that the list is not exhaustive.

List of the Spanish compound nouns

Let’s start with professions and their representatives. Some of the compound words which describe them are neutral, but there are also some pejorative ones:

Word	Meaning
El chupatintas	Pen pusher, pencil pusher (US)
El matasanos	Quack doctor
El picapleitos	Bad, inefficient lawyer
El pintamonas	1.Dauber 2. A nobody
El limpiachimeneas	Chimney cleaner
El limpiabotas	Shoe shiner
El guardaespaldas	Bodyguard
El limpiacristales	1.Window cleaner 2. Window-cleaning product
El guardabosques	Forest wander, forest ranger
El aparcacoches	Parking lot attendant
El cazatalentos	Headhunter, talent-spotter
El rompecorazones	Heartbreaker
El comefuegos	Fire-eater

There is a group of compound words that are related to the character traits or a behavior. In their vast majority they have a pejorative sense:

Word	Meaning
El cantamañanas	1. Unreliable, untrustworthy person 2. Bluffer
El vendehúmos	Bluffer, mountebank
El sabelotodo	Know-it-all
El asaltacunas	Cradle-snatcher
El asaltabancos	Bank robber
El/La comecocos	Person who brainwashes other people in order to obtain what he/she wants
El lameculos	Arse-licker, ass-licker
El bocachancla	Blabbermouth
El abrazafarolas	1. Arse-licker/ass-licker 2. drinker
El cierrabares	Person who spends the majority of his/her life drunk in bars and pubs
El pagafantas	Person, usually a boy, who is buying drinks (or whatever a girl wants) hoping that she will fall in love with him. Normally she doesn’t
El sujetavelas	Third wheel
El meapilas	Holier-than-thou, goody-goody two shoes
El pelagatos	a nobody
El zampabollos	Glutton
El cagaprisas	Person who wants to do something as soon as possible, even when it’s not necessary and he/she “contaminates” others with his/her nervousness
El soplagaitas	An idiot, twit
El tocapelotas	A pain in the ass/pain in the neck, who moreover, enjoys bothering other people
El comeflores	Colloquially speaking a person who wants to be accepted by everyone and avoid conflicts at all cost

Spanish people use compound words to talk about everyday items:

Word	Meaning
El sacapuntas	Pencil sharpener
El portaminas	Propelling pencil / mechanical pencil
El sujetapapeles	Paper clip
El pisapapeles	Paperweight
El portafolios	Briefcase
El sacacorchos	Corkscrew
El escurreplatos	Plate rack
El cuentagotas	Pipette dropper
El pasapurés	Manual food mill
El cortaúñas	Nail clipper
El abrelatas	Tin opener / Can opener
El cascanueces	Nut cracker
El pintalabios	Lipstick
El quitamanchas	Stain-remover
El posavasos	Coaster
El tirachinas	Catapult / slingshot
El reposabrazos	Armrest
El elevalunas	Electric window
El quitamiedos	Traffic barrier
El cortaplumas	Penknife
El lanzamisiles	Missile launcher
El matamoscas	Fly swatter
El atrapamoscas	Flypaper
El cubrebocas	Surgeon mask
El rompeolas	Breakwater
El mondadientes / el escarbadientes	Toothpick
El atrapapesadillas	Dreamcatcher
El matasuegras	Party blower

Some of the compound Spanish words to do with the I.T world:

Word	Meaning
El portapapeles	Clipboard
El cortafuegos	Firewall

There is also a short list of compound Spanish words related to architecture, cars and weather:

Word	Meaning
El rascacielos	Skyscraper
El paracaídas	Parachute
El portaequipajes	Roof rack
El parabrisas	Windscreen / windshield
El limpiaparabrisas	Windscreen wiper / windshield wiper
El paraguas	Umbrella

There is also an insect:

Word	Meaning
El saltamontes	Grasshopper

And finally words which don’t belong to any specific category:

Word	Meaning
El cumpleaños	Birthday
El trabalenguas	Tongue-twister
El rompecabezas	Jigsaw puzzle
El engañabobos	1. Hoax 2. Deceiver

It’s important to know that Spanish compound words sometimes can act as adjectives and accompany some nouns, changing their meaning:

Word	Meaning
La lluvia mojabobos	Drizzle, light rain which doesn’t stop all day
La cuerda salvavidas	Lifeline
El bote salvavidas	Lifeboat
El chaleco salvavidas	Life vest / Life jacket

Spanish compound words – exceptions and special cases

Amongst “los sustantivos compuestos" there are also some “black sheeps”, so to say, words which are created in a similar way to the compound words, they are not exactly the same though.

Some good examples are: "el girasol" (sunflower), "el parasol" (sunshade), el cubrecolchón (mattress pad) or "el guardameta" (goal keeper). In theory these words are composed by the third person of singular and a noun. The noun however is in singular, not in plural. What is more, the plural form is accepted, this is why we can say el girasol (sunflower), but also los girasoles (sunflowers).

On the other hand, in the Spanish language you will also find words like "el pararrayos" (lightning conductor, lightning rod), el taparrabos (loincloth), where you’ll see an infinitive (parar – to stop) and a noun in plural form (rayos - lightnings).

In the English language there are some compound words as well. Good example will be pancake, toothbrush or fireworks. They are very different from the Spanish ones where the rules of creating them are quite strict, however it shows that, although very often languages seem to be so distant, in reality in each and every language you can find several interesting similitudes.