Spanish vocabulary · Beginner
How to Say Cumin in Spanish: Comino
Comino · noun · koh-MEE-noh
The Spanish word for cumin is comino, a masculine noun. This aromatic spice is a staple in Latin American and Spanish cuisine. Beyond cooking, comino appears in the well-known idiomatic expression no me importa un comino, meaning 'I don't care one bit.'
koh-MEE-noh
Añade una cucharadita de comino al guiso para darle sabor.
Add a teaspoon of cumin to the stew for flavor.
How Native Speakers Use Comino
Real example sentences across three contexts you'll actually run into.
Recipe instruction
Esta receta lleva comino, pimentón y ajo.
This recipe calls for cumin, paprika, and garlic.
Following a recipe that lists spices as ingredients.
Shopping at a market
¿Me da cien gramos de comino molido, por favor?
Can I have a hundred grams of ground cumin, please?
Purchasing spices at a traditional market or grocery store.
Idiomatic expression
No me importa un comino lo que digan.
I don't care one bit what they say.
Common Spanish idiom using comino to express total indifference.
Avoid These Mistakes When Using Comino
Confusing comino with camino
Incorrect: Pon un poco de camino en la sopa.
Correct: Pon un poco de comino en la sopa.
Camino means road or path. Comino is the spice. The vowel difference (a vs. o) changes the meaning entirely.
Wrong gender article
Incorrect: La comino está en la despensa.
Correct: El comino está en la despensa.
Comino is a masculine noun and takes the article el, not la.
Lock in Cumin 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 Comino used by native speakers
Parrot's short-form videos feature native speakers using comino in real situations. Context-based exposure beats flashcards, you hear Añade una cucharadita de comino al guiso para darle sabor. 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 Cumin in Spanish
- What does 'no me importa un comino' mean?
- It translates to 'I don't care one bit' or 'I couldn't care less.' The phrase uses the tiny cumin seed as a metaphor for something of minimal value, similar to how English says 'I don't give a fig.'
- Is cumin widely used in Spanish-speaking cuisine?
- Comino is a foundational spice across Latin American and Spanish kitchens, essential in mole, adobo, and bean dishes. Comino is essential in Mexican moles, Tex-Mex seasoning blends, Argentine chimichurri variations, and many traditional Spanish stews and bean dishes. It is one of the most commonly used spices across the Spanish-speaking world.
- How do you say 'cumin seeds' versus 'ground cumin' in Spanish?
- Cumin seeds are semillas de comino or comino en grano. Ground cumin is comino molido. In recipes, comino by itself usually implies the ground form unless otherwise stated.