Spanish vocabulary · Beginner
How to Say "Carrots" in Spanish: Zanahorias
Zanahorias · noun (feminine, plural) · sah-nah-OH-ree-ahs
Carrots in Spanish is zanahorias (plural of zanahoria). The word comes from Arabic (safunariyya) through Spain's Moorish history. Unlike many Spanish food words, zanahoria is the same term in every Spanish-speaking country.
sah-nah-OH-ree-ahs — five syllables, stress on OH. The z is pronounced as s in Latin America, th in Spain.
Ralla las zanahorias para el pastel de zanahoria.
Grate the carrots for the carrot cake.
How Native Speakers Use Zanahorias
Real example sentences across three contexts you'll actually run into.
Cooking
Corta las zanahorias en bastones para la sopa de verduras.
Cut the carrots into sticks for the vegetable soup.
Zanahorias in a recipe — the most common context for this word.
At the market
Deme medio kilo de zanahorias bien frescas, por favor.
Give me half a kilo of really fresh carrots, please.
Ordering carrots at a market or grocery store.
Figurative use
La promoción fue la zanahoria que me motivó a quedarme en la empresa.
The promotion was the carrot that motivated me to stay at the company.
Zanahoria as incentive — the carrot-and-stick metaphor works in Spanish too: la zanahoria y el palo.
Avoid These Mistakes When Using Zanahorias
Making zanahoria masculine
Incorrect: El zanahoria rallado está en la ensalada.
Correct: La zanahoria rallada está en la ensalada.
Zanahoria is feminine (la zanahoria, las zanahorias). All related adjectives must agree in feminine form: zanahoria rallada (grated), zanahoria cruda (raw).
Misspelling as sanaoria or sanahoria
Incorrect: Compra sanaorias en el súper.
Correct: Compra zanahorias en el súper.
The word starts with z and has an h in the middle: za-na-ho-ria. The h is silent but required in spelling. The z is essential at the start.
Lock in Carrots Vocabulary with the Parrot Method
Why word lists alone don't stick
Memorizing a translation feels productive, but most learners forget 70% of what they studied within 48 hours. Vocabulary needs spaced repetition AND real-world exposure to transfer to long-term memory.
See Zanahorias used by native speakers
Parrot's short-form videos feature native speakers using zanahorias in real situations. Context-based exposure beats flashcards, you hear Ralla las zanahorias para el pastel de zanahoria. while watching someone live the moment, connecting meaning, sound, and rhythm at once.
Save, review, repeat, stay consistent
Tap any word to save it. Parrot's spaced-repetition system surfaces it right before you'd forget, no manual flashcard creation. The watch, parrot back, save, review cycle turns recognition into fluency at 2.7x the speed of traditional study.
Common Questions About Carrots in Spanish
- How do you say carrots in Spanish?
- Carrots is zanahorias (singular: zanahoria). It's feminine: la zanahoria, las zanahorias. The word is universal across all Spanish-speaking countries — one of the few food words with no regional variation.
- Where does the word zanahoria come from?
- Zanahoria comes from Arabic (safunariyya or similar), which entered Spanish during the centuries of Moorish presence in the Iberian Peninsula. Many Spanish food words have Arabic origins: azúcar (sugar), aceituna (olive), albóndiga (meatball).
- How do you say carrot cake in Spanish?
- Carrot cake is pastel de zanahoria or torta de zanahoria (Latin America), tarta de zanahoria (Spain), or bizcocho de zanahoria (some regions). The key ingredient term stays the same: de zanahoria.