At A2, Spanish stops being phrasebook survival and starts being everyday conversation: booking a room, ordering food, describing your job, explaining what hurts at the doctor's. Most of that comes down to vocabulary. If you know the words, the grammar you already have will carry you a long way.
This post covers what A2 means, what's in our free Spanish A2 deck, a 6-week study plan using FSRS spaced repetition, and how free Spanish audio helps. For the general app comparison, see the best flashcard app for language learning.
What A2 means
A2 is the second of the six CEFR levels (A1 to C2). The Council of Europe calls it "Waystage". In the CEFR's own words, an A2 learner "can understand sentences and frequently used expressions related to areas of most immediate relevance" and can handle simple, routine exchanges on familiar topics (Council of Europe).
How many words is that? The CEFR doesn't say. It describes what you can do, not how many words you know. Researchers have produced estimates, and they vary. Paul Nation's table, for example, ties A2 to roughly the most frequent 1,000 word families (Victoria University of Wellington). Be wary of any site that quotes a single exact number.
If you're aiming for the DELE A2 exam from the Instituto Cervantes, it has four tests (Instituto Cervantes):
| Test | Time |
|---|---|
| Reading comprehension | 60 min |
| Listening comprehension | 40 min |
| Written expression and interaction | 45 min |
| Oral expression and interaction | 12 min + 12 min preparation |
The tests are scored in two groups, reading + writing and listening + speaking. Each group is worth 50 points, and you need at least 30 in each. A strong group can't make up for a weak one.
What's in the free deck
The Spanish A2 Core Vocabulary deck has 300 cards, 50 per theme, and each card is tagged with its theme:
| Theme | Cards | Tag | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| Travel | 50 | travel | el pasaporte, la aduana, todo recto |
| Food & Dining | 50 | food | la cuenta, sin gluten, alérgico/a a |
| Daily Life | 50 | daily-life | levantarse, la contraseña, el horario |
| Work & Professions | 50 | work | el plazo, contratar, a tiempo completo / parcial |
| Relationships & Family | 50 | relationships | el cuñado / la cuñada, quedar, echar de menos |
| Health & Body | 50 | health | la receta, el mareo, sentirse bien / mal |
Each card has the Spanish on the front, with the article so you learn gender along with the word (el aeropuerto, la llave), and both forms where a word changes (el médico / la médica). The back has the English meaning and a real example sentence:
el aeropuerto → airport Ej: Tenemos que ir al aeropuerto a las cinco de la mañana.
Where Spain and Latin America use different words, the card gives both: el zumo / el jugo, el ordenador / la computadora, el coche / el carro. A handful of words, such as la reunión and la propina, appear in two themes, because that's where you'd actually need them.
The deck downloads as .apkg or .csv, so it works in MintDeck or Anki.
A 6-week FSRS study plan
MintDeck schedules every review with FSRS, which brings each card back just before you'd likely forget it. Your one decision is the pace of new cards, under Settings → Daily Goal → New cards per day (5 to 50, in steps of 5).
At 10 new cards a day, 300 cards take 30 days. That gives this shape:
Week 1: Travel. Filter the deck by the travel tag and take 10 new cards a day. Read each example sentence out loud.
Week 2: Food & Dining. Same pace. Keep clearing the travel reviews FSRS brings back. They'll take less time each day.
Week 3: Daily Life. These words (levantarse, ducharse, vestirse) show up everywhere, so this theme pays off quickly.
Week 4: Work & Professions. If you won't use Spanish at work, drop to 5 new a day here and spend the time on another theme.
Week 5: Relationships & Family.
Week 6: Health & Body. Then lower new cards and let reviews run.
Two habits make this work:
- Practise both directions. The per-session Reverse front and back toggle shows "airport" and asks you for el aeropuerto. Recognising a word and producing it are different skills, and DELE tests both.
- Rate honestly. Tapping "Good" on a word you barely remembered pushes it too far out. "Hard" or "Again" is the right answer when you hesitated.
Rearrange the theme order to suit you. If you're travelling next month, do Travel and Food first. If you're heading for a doctor's appointment abroad, start with Health.
Free Spanish audio for pronunciation
Spanish is one of the 31 languages covered by MintDeck's free On-Device voices. They run on your phone, work offline, and cost no credits.
Hearing each word as you review it ties the spelling to the sound. Spanish spelling is fairly regular, but stress and accent marks (la estación, el autobús) are easier to get right when you've heard them hundreds of times.
For review away from your desk, Audio Study reads your cards aloud and pauses for you to recall the answer. Front + Back mode reads the Spanish, pauses, then reads the answer, which works well on a walk or commute.
How this compares with other options
Anki shared decks. AnkiWeb has plenty of free shared Spanish decks, and quality varies. MintDeck imports .apkg files, so you can move an existing deck over with its review history. AnkiMobile on iPhone costs $24.99.
Quizlet sets. There are thousands of user-made Spanish sets. Quizlet doesn't schedule reviews with FSRS, and its Learn mode is paywalled. If you already have Quizlet sets, you can bring them into MintDeck.
Duolingo. Good for a daily habit and a structured path, but you can't add your own cards or import a deck, so it can't drill the exact words you keep missing. Use it alongside a deck, not instead of one.
What it costs
Importing this deck, reviewing with FSRS, the free On-Device Spanish voice, and Audio Study are all free and unlimited. Credits only pay for optional AI generation, and you start with 10. Full breakdown: what's free and what costs credits.
Download MintDeck free and start the Spanish A2 deck →
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Frequently asked questions
- How many words do you need for Spanish A2?
- The CEFR doesn't set a word count; it describes levels by what you can do. Published estimates vary. Paul Nation's CEFR table, for example, links A2 to roughly the most frequent 1,000 word families. Treat any single number as a rough guide.
- What is in the free MintDeck Spanish A2 deck?
- 300 Spanish words and phrases split evenly across six themes: Travel, Food & Dining, Daily Life, Work & Professions, Relationships & Family, and Health & Body. Every card has the English meaning and an example sentence in Spanish.
- Is this deck enough to pass DELE A2?
- No single vocabulary deck is. DELE A2 has four tests (reading, listening, writing, and speaking), and you need at least 30 of 50 points in each of its two groups. Use the deck for vocabulary and practise the exam tasks separately.
- Can MintDeck read Spanish flashcards aloud for free?
- Yes. Spanish is one of the 31 languages covered by MintDeck's free On-Device voices. They run offline and cost no credits, including in hands-free Audio Study.
Written by
Sergiu Puscas · Creator of MintDeck
Sergiu builds MintDeck and writes every guide and comparison on this blog — drawing on building an FSRS-based flashcard app and hands-on testing of the study apps covered here.
More about Sergiu
