Spain Spanish vs Mexican Spanish: 3 Key Differences & Surprising Similarities

If you're learning Spanish (or considering it) then you probably know it's one of the most spoken languages you can find along with English and Chinese.

Because it's so widely spoken, there are many dialects within each continent and even within each country.

Two of the most common ones that you may wish to learn are Mexican Spanish and Spain Spanish.

Even though they speak the same language, these regions feature many differences between them regarding pronunciation, vocabulary and even grammar!

Let's take a look at 3 key differences when it comes to Spain Spanish vs Mexican Spanish.

Is Spain Spanish Different From Mexican Spanish?

If you're a native English speaker, you may have noticed many differences between how people talk in the US, the UK, Australia and other countries, and even inside their own borders.

Check out this blooper featuring a Glaswegian member of parliament:

Newsflash: if this confusion can happen between native speakers, then it's also bound to happen between you and a native Spanish speaker. It’s just part of learning a language!

However, in order to help you out, this article is going to cover the main differences between Mexican and Castilian Spanish (Spain Spanish) for you to be more prepared when switching dialects or to learn the correct Spanish for the region of your choice.

Just like American and British English, while there are some differences between Spain Spanish and Mexican Spanish, they're mostly pretty small. In fact, 99% of Spanish is the same, despite all the different Spanish-speaking countries that exist.

1. Spain Spanish vs Mexican Spanish: Pronunciation Differences

The main pronunciation difference between Mexican and Castilian dialects can be found in three letters: S, C and Z. Latin Americans tend to unify them in two sounds: 

• /s/: S, Z and C followed by I and E
• /k/: C followed by A, O and U

This phenomenon is called seseo and it can be found in Mexican Spanish. This means there is no sound distinction in words like casa (house) and caza (hunting): they would both sound like /kasa/.

However, people from Spain would definitely make two different sounds for these two examples. Why? Because in this country the Z is pronounced like the English TH in words like “think”.

The international symbol we use to represent this sound is θ, so the word caza would be pronounced like /kaθa/ (you can copy that symbol and paste it into your browser to hear how it sounds). You may find this sound in other words like crecer (to grow) or celos (jealousy).

Discover how to pronounce the Spanish C in the video below.

2. Spain Spanish vs Mexican Spanish: Grammar Differences

Another major difference Mexican Spanish and Spain Spanish has to do with the pronouns they use for the second person plural (that is, “you”).

In Latin America, you'll always hear the pronoun ustedes, which is used for both men and women, so there is no variation in gender.

However, in Spain the preferred pronoun is either vosotros or vosotras. As you may know, Spanish follows the male-as-norm principle. So you'd use vosotras for a group of only women, but vosotros for a group of only men or a mixed group.

Sounds simple right? But, there's a catch: each type of pronoun requires its own Spanish verb conjugation! Here is a chart where you can see all the conjugations for ustedes with the three possible conjugations and four common tenses: 

	1°: amar (to love)	2°: temer (to fear)	3°: partir (to leave)
Presente simple (Simple present)	Ustedes aman	Ustedes temen	Ustedes parten
Pretérito imperfecto (Imperfect)	Ustedes amaban	Ustedes temían	Ustedes partían
Pretérito perfecto simple/indefinido (Preterite)	Ustedes amaron	Ustedes temieron	Ustedes partieron
Futuro simple (Simple future)	Ustedes amarán	Ustedes temerán	Ustedes partirán

Now, here is the conjugation for vosotros/as:

	1°: amar (to love)	2°: temer (to fear)	3°: partir (to leave)
Presente simple (Simple present)	Vosotros/as amáis	Vosotros/as teméis	Vosotros/as partís
Pretérito imperfecto (Imperfect)	Vosotros/as amabais	Vosotros/as temíais	Vosotros/as partíais
Pretérito perfecto simple/indefinido (Preterite)	Vosotros/as amasteis	Vosotros/as temisteis	Vosotros/as partisteis
Futuro simple (Simple future)	Vosotros/as amaréis	Vosotros/as temeréis	Vosotros/as partiréis

3. Spain Spanish vs Mexican Spanish: Vocabulary Differences

Finally, Mexico and Spain are regions with very different cultures and pasts, and that has left a big mark on the words each country uses when they speak.

Now, in order to understand where these vocabulary differences come from, we need to go back to the 16th century, when the Spanish Crown sent conquistador Hernán Cortés to conquer the land that is now known as Mexico.

When he got there, made contact with native civilisations and tribes, but most of all he got to know náhuatl, one of the languages these people spoke. 

Before Cortés’ time, when Christopher Columbus arrived in this “New World”, he had the difficult task of naming all the unknown plants and animals he found on his way.

At first, the conquistadors used European names: they called the jaguar tigre, for example.

However, this soon wasn't enough, and they needed to incorporate these native words by putting them in writing using Spanish characters and sounds. Through time, many indigenous words adapted to the Hispanic model.

Thanks to this mixture of languages and cultures, the American continent has hundreds of variants of Spanish that fall far from Spain’s “tree”.

This is the reason why Mexican Spanish is so different: it’s crisscrossed by náhuatl loanwords (even México is a native word!).

Although Spaniards incorporated words for things that didn’t exist in their homeland (like chocolate and aguacate), they kept most of their own versions. 

Here is a chart with some Mexican words derived from náhuatl, its European Spanish equivalent and its English translation:

Mexican Spanish	Spain Spanish	English translation
jitomate	tomate	tomato
cacahuate	cacahuete	peanut
cacao	–	cocoa
elote	maíz	corn
cuate/cuata	colega, tío/tía	friend
chicle	–	gum
popote	pajilla	straw

Of course, there are other Mexican words that don’t come from náhuatl. These ones may have been influenced by other native languages, by words that became obsolete in Spain and even by English words, because of Mexico’s proximity to the United States.

Here’s another chart you can use to see these differences:

Mexican Spanish	Spain Spanish	English translation
alberca	piscina	pool
camarón	gamba	shrimp
carro	coche	car
celular	móvil	mobile phone
güey	el tío, el colega	guy, dude
pasto	césped	grass
playera	camiseta	t-shirt

Common Mistakes Between Spanish Dialects (Funny, But Not A Big Deal)

Beatriz, our amazing teacher here at StoryLearning Spanish, made a video lesson about the mistakes she made when talking to other Spanish speakers from other countries.

For example, when she was living in Spain, she had a hard time getting used to the pronoun vosotros, because in Venezuela and in the Canary Islands they use the pronoun ustedes. 

When she was in Madrid she said this sentence to her friends: ¿Ustedes quieren ir a comer algo después de clase? (Do you want to grab something to eat after class?).

When her friends heard her, they looked a bit lost and replied: Venga, vamos. Pero, tía, no seas tan estirada, no tienes que tratarnos de “usted”, ¿vale?” (Come on, let’s go. But tía, don’t be so snooty, you don’t have to address us formally, okay?). 

Can you guess why? In Spain you only use ustedes to address a group in formal contexts, not with your friends. That’s why they thought Bea was being a bit old-fashioned.

And then, she got upset because of the word tía, which literally means “aunt”, but she interpreted it as a sort of insult for not being “cool”. “I’m nobody's aunt,” she thought.

But some time later she understood that tía or tío is a colloquial way of calling a person, just like saying chica or chico (“girl” or “guy”). Everything was okay in the end and they had a lovely time!

So if you mix up your pronouns or your slang words, whether in Spain or Mexico, you might get a strange look. But at least you'll have a funny story to tell afterwards.

By the way, if you're interested in differences between slang in Mexico and Spain, check out this post on Mexican slang and this one on Spanish slang.

Spain Spanish vs Mexican Spanish: Mastering The Right Dialect For You!

So there you have it – the differences between Spain Spanish and Mexican Spanish.

As you've just seen, the vast majority of Spanish is the same, even if there are some differences in grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary.

But these are mostly small and easy to pick up. So even if you start off learning one Spanish variety and then switch to another, it'll be easy to adjust, especially if you use the right method for learning Spanish.

Speaking of which – if you're interested in learning more Mexican or Spanish words from Spain, what better way of doing so than through stories?

Lucky for you, StoryLearning has two perfect option for you to choose, both created by native writers:

• StoryLearning Spanish Uncovered: my course which teaches you Spanish through stories, not rules, no matter which variety you're learning or which level you're at.
• StoryLearning Spanish Podcast: original and gripping stories for you to listen to anywhere, anytime. 

What are you waiting for? Discover more key vocabulary through the StoryLearning method!

Olly Richards

Creator of the StoryLearning® Method

Olly Richards is a renowned polyglot and language learning expert with over 15 years of experience teaching millions through his innovative StoryLearning® method. He is the creator of StoryLearning, one of the world's largest language learning blogs with 500,000+ monthly readers.

Olly has authored 30+ language learning books and courses, including the bestselling "Short Stories" series published by Teach Yourself.

When not developing new teaching methods, Richards practices what he preaches—he speaks 8 languages fluently and continues learning new ones through his own methodology.