Vocabulary feels endless until you tie it to exam situations. DELE A2 does not ask for literary Spanish; it asks whether you can understand appointments, forms, messages, shops, family plans, travel, and simple problems in Spain.

This page is the word list and Anki path. For why those ten themes matter (without repeating the list), read DELE A2 vocabulary guide (by category).

Next: topic map, sample words, and a study path — phone app for daily review, Anki deck for desktop spaced repetition.

DELE A2 vocabulary by topic

Topic Category	Words	% of Exam	Priority
Personal information & family	120	12%	High
Shopping & services	100	10%	High
Daily routines & home	95	10%	High
Health & body	85	9%	High
Travel & transport	80	8%	Medium
Food & restaurants	75	8%	Medium
Work & education	70	7%	Medium
Weather & environment	60	6%	Medium
Leisure & hobbies	60	6%	Low
City & neighbourhood	55	5%	Low
Communication & media	50	5%	Low
Civic & formal vocabulary	50	5%	Low

Why 1,000 useful words beat 5,000 random ones

The trap is studying as if A2 means “all Spanish, but easier.” It does not. A2 is a small world: forms, appointments, family, work, food, transport, housing, health, and short messages. Rare words steal time from the words that decide points.

Think of the A2 level as a word bank plus reusable sentence frames. The bank is about 1,000 items when you count lemmas, high-frequency collocations (pedir cita, renovar el NIE), and exam-critical administrative terms. Once those are automatic, grammar and task strategy start to work; without them, every section feels harder than it should.

Bureaucratic and service vocabulary dominates DELE A2 for a simple reason: many candidates take the exam for legal status. That skews listening and reading toward appointments, documents, rules, and everyday problems (lost card, delayed appointment, wrong address). Even “leisure” tasks still use plain, repetitive language — not literature.

You can see this in official preparation materials and past-task styles: scenarios repeat. When candidates fail vocabulary, it is rarely because they never saw a word — it is because the word was not in active memory under stress. A disciplined 1,000-word list fixes that faster than a fuzzy 3,000-word dump.

The 10 Essential Categories

The thirteen rows below map to the ten communicative themes Instituto Cervantes uses at A2, plus three compact glue sets (food and social life, environment, exam instructions and connectors) so nothing falls through the cracks. Items 1–10 are the core buckets; 11–13 keep conversations natural and test-day language automatic. Approximate counts help you budget time — shift weight if mocks show a weak area.

Government & administrative services — target ~120 words
Daily routine & time — target ~95 words
Family & relationships — target ~75 words
Work & employment — target ~95 words
Health & body — target ~90 words
Housing & home — target ~80 words
Shopping & services — target ~85 words
Travel & transport — target ~100 words
Education & training — target ~65 words
Leisure, culture & media — target ~75 words
Food, dining & social life — target ~50 words
Weather, city & environment — target ~40 words
Exam survival set (connectors, numbers, instructions) — target ~35 words

Categories 4 Through 10: Quick Reference

Skim Categories 4–10 first to seed your deck. Categories 1–3 below (government, routine, family) carry the heaviest DELE A2 listening and reading load for residency files.

Work & employment

Contrato, sueldo, horario, turno de mañana
Despedirse, fichar, reunión, compañero de trabajo
Paro / desempleo (recognition), entrevista de trabajo
Experiencia, formación, currículum (CV)

Health & body

Dolor de garganta, fiebre, tos, resfriado
Cita médica, receta, farmacia, pastillas
Estar enfermo, mejorarse, reposo
Cabeza, estómago, espalda (basic body + pain phrases)

Housing & home

Alquiler, hipoteca, vecino, piso / chalet
Cocina, dormitorio, terraza, ascensor
Mudanza, contrato de alquiler, fianza
Ruido, avería, llamar al casero

Shopping & services

Devolver, cambiar, talla, ticket
Oferta, descuento, en efectivo, con tarjeta
Cola, mostrador, número de turno
Garantía, reclamación, arreglo

Travel & transport

Billete sencillo / de ida y vuelta, andén, retraso
Embarque, ventanilla, equipaje de mano
Perder el tren, hacer transbordo
Mapa, salida, llegada, horario

Education & training

Matrícula, curso, examen final, aprobar / suspender
Profesor, clase, deberes, biblioteca
Apuntarse, asistir, faltar a clase
Idioma, nivel, certificado

Leisure, culture & media

Cine, concierto, entrada, reservar mesa
Serie, película, leer una novela (recognition)
Deporte: nadar, correr, entrenar
Vacaciones, escapada de fin de semana

Category 1: Government & Administrative Services

This category is the highest ROI for citizenship-oriented candidates. Tasks often assume you can follow steps, name documents, and understand staff instructions.

Documents & IDs

DNI, NIE, pasaporte, TIE (tarjeta de identidad de extranjero)
Certificado de empadronamiento, padrón municipal
Partida de nacimiento, certificado de matrimonio / divorcio
Certificado de antecedentes penales, informe de vida laboral
Resolución, solicitud, formulario cumplimentado, copia compulsada

Government offices & places

Ayuntamiento / registro civil
Oficina de extranjería, comisaría de policía
Consulado, embajada, juzgado
Oficina de correos, banco (for appointments and paperwork)
Centro de salud (when admin overlaps with appointments)

Administrative actions

Empadronarse, empadronamiento
Pedir cita previa, solicitar cita online
Renovar el NIE / la TIE, prórroga
Presentar la documentación, adjuntar un archivo
Firmar, pagar la tasa, obtener el justificante

Common exam contexts

Trámites de nacionalidad y residencia
Cambio de domicilio y notificación oficial
Pérdida o robo de documentos
Errores en un formulario y cómo corregirlos
Plazos: a tiempo, fuera de plazo, ampliación

Category 2: Daily Routine & Time

Routine vocabulary underpins the monologue and email tasks: you must sequence activities clearly and mark time relationships.

Time expressions

A tiempo, con retraso, tarde, temprano
El lunes pasado, el mes que viene, dentro de dos días
Desde… hasta…, durante, antes de, después de
A las ocho (en punto), a mediodía, por la mañana / tarde / noche
Siempre que, mientras, entretanto

Daily activities

Despertarse, levantarse, ducharse, vestirse
Desayunar, comer, cenar, merendar
Ir al trabajo, salir del trabajo, volver a casa
Hacer los deberes, ordenar la casa, sacar la basura
Acostarse, dormirse

Frequency adverbs & habits

Siempre, nunca, a veces, normalmente, generalmente
Todos los días, una vez a la semana, dos veces al mes
Casi nunca, de vez en cuando, los fines de semana
Suelo + infinitive (e.g., suelo levantarme a las siete)
Ya no… todavía no…

Common exam usage: Examiners listen for logical order (primero, luego, después, finalmente) and realistic times. Practice short paragraphs: wake → work → evening → sleep, with one complication (missed bus, extra meeting).

Category 3: Family & Relationships

Family appears in almost every oral interaction. You need precise kinship terms and neutral ways to describe relationships without oversharing.

Family members

Padre / madre, hijo / hija, hermano / hermana
Abuelo / abuela, nieto / nieta
Tío / tía, primo / prima
Suegro / suegra, cuñado / cuñada, yerno / nuera
Padrastro / madrastra, hijastro / hijastra (recognition level)

Relationship status

Soltero / soltera, casado / casada
Divorciado / divorciada, viudo / viuda
Pareja, novio / novia, esposo / esposa
Separado / separada (legal vs informal distinction at recognition level)
Convivencia / vivir juntos (phrases, not legal advice)

Describing relationships

Llevarse bien / mal, apoyarse, ayudarse
Querer, echar de menos, visitar los fines de semana
Vivir con la familia / independizarse
Discutir, reconciliarse, estar de acuerdo
Cumpleaños, aniversario, reunión familiar

How to Learn These 1,000 Words in 8 Weeks

Assume 25–35 new items per day on active study days, with heavy review days so older weeks do not decay. The schedule below is cumulative: later weeks still include 10–15 minutes of mixed review from all prior themes.

Week 1

Government documents & offices: flashcards + 5 short dictation lines using pedir cita, renovar, presentar.

Week 2

Administrative actions and exam contexts; add connectors (primero, entonces, por eso) in spoken drills.

Week 3

Daily routine & time: build three timed monologues (weekday, weekend, “bad day”).

Week 4

Family & relationships: photo description practice with kinship terms and neutral opinions.

Week 5

Work & health crossover week: appointments, symptoms, basic workplace roles (jefe, compañero, turno).

Week 6

Housing, shopping, services: complaints and requests (devolver, cambiar, reclamación).

Week 7

Travel, education, leisure: dialogues at station, school enrollment, hobbies with frequency adverbs.

Week 8

Mock exam vocabulary mode: only review weak decks; one full listening transcript mined for unknown lemmas.

Spaced repetition note: Do not “finish” a deck once. DELE success is recognition under time pressure. Use intervals that bring cards back at 1, 3, 7, and 14 days minimum, and mark leeches (cards you miss twice in a row) for example-sentence rewriting.

Why Anki Beats Every Other Vocabulary Method

What most students do: They highlight long PDFs, re-read passively, or swipe through apps without recall. It feels productive, but without retrieval practice the words vanish in the exam room.

What successful candidates do: They force active recall, hear the word in context, and revisit on a schedule. That is exactly what spaced repetition systems automate.

Anki advantages for DELE A2:

Active recall beats recognition-only study; you grade yourself honestly.
Intervals match forgetting curves; high-value admin terms stay warm until exam day.
Audio cards train listening discrimination, not just spelling.
Tagging by theme lets you attack a weak bucket (e.g., health) before a mock test.
Portable drills: 10-minute sessions add up without needing a textbook open.

Our Anki deck features (Prep2go shop):

✓ DELE A2–aligned lemmas grouped by the ten exam themes above
✓ Example sentences in European Spanish context (forms, appointments, daily life)
✓ Audio-friendly card layout: target word + sentence for listening reinforcement
✓ Sample cards for quick review; FULL deck for the complete frequency-ranked set

Get the deck here: Prep2Go DELE A2 Anki deck

How to Study: iPhone App or Anki Deck

Prep2Go does not sell a separate 1,000-word PDF for DELE A2. You study the same exam-frequency list through the Prep2Go iPhone app (zero Anki setup) or the DELE A2 Anki deck (sample cards, then full deck). Both include European Spanish example sentences and audio on the examples.

Download on the App Store

Sample Cards from the Prep2Go DELE A2 Deck

These three cards are taken directly from our DELE A2 vocabulary deck (same layout in the app and in Anki): Spanish headword, English gloss, and a European Spanish example sentence.

Spanish	English	Example (ES)	Example (EN)
estar	be	Estoy aquí en la habitación iluminada por el sol.	I am here in the sunlit room.
tener	have	Tengo una taza caliente de café.	I have a hot cup of coffee.
hacer	do	Él hace la reparación con cuidado.	He does the repair carefully.

Try the sample-card preview: DELE A2 Anki deck · Prep2Go iPhone app

Common Mistakes When Learning DELE Vocabulary

Studying isolated words only

Words without collocations fail in tasks. Learn chunks: pedir cita, renovar el documento, tener dolor de cabeza.

Ignoring listening forms

You may spell bien but miss renueve in audio. Add ear training to every new admin term.

Balancing ten themes unevenly

Skipping government Spanish because it is boring is the fastest way to lose easy listening points.

Cramming the week before

1,000 words need distributed practice. Cramming produces fragile memory and spikes anxiety.

Next step: Anki deck and DELE practice

DELE A2 is not a lottery of rare vocabulary. It is a skills exam running on a predictable lexical core. When you align your flashcards, listening practice, and writing templates with that core, every section becomes more stable — especially under stress.

Action plan (four weeks minimum before your date, eight weeks ideal):

Audit yourself against the 13 buckets above; mark themes with >20% unknown words.
Run 30 minutes daily: 15 minutes new cards, 15 minutes reviews (adjust if backlog grows).
Weekly: one timed writing using only A2-safe structures plus your new lemmas.
Fortnightly: one full mock; log unknown words into Anki the same day.
Exam week: stop adding cards; sleep and review only.

Prep2go bundles this vocabulary with DELE A2 exercises, structured feedback, and the same administrative scenarios you will see on exam day. When you are ready to train with tasks — not just lists — Try Prep2Go free (free tier, no card) →

Official Source

Instituto Cervantes — Plan Curricular (Official Vocabulary)

https://cvc.cervantes.es/ensenanza/biblioteca_ele/plan_curricular/

Frequently Asked Questions

How many words do I need to pass DELE A2?

Around 1,000 words across 12 topic categories. Focus on everyday vocabulary — family, shopping, health, travel. Academic Spanish is not tested.

Should I learn vocabulary by frequency or by topic?

Both. Start with the 200 highest-frequency words, then fill in topic-specific gaps. DELE A2 tests by topic category, so pure frequency lists miss exam terms.

How long does it take to learn DELE A2 vocabulary?

With 15 new words per day using spaced repetition (Anki), most learners cover 1,000 words in 10–12 weeks. Consistency matters more than daily volume.

Turn this 1,000-word list into a daily drill — not a one-time read

DELE A2: 1,000 Essential Words for the Exam (2026)

Quick Answer