barista
/baˈɾista/feminine, masculine
The Spanish word for barista is barista.
The term refers to a person who prepares coffee in a coffee shop for customers.
Meaning: person who prepares coffee in a coffee shop for customers (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
barista is a common-gender noun. While the spelling of the word remains the same regardless of the person's gender, you change the article to indicate whether the barista is male or female. For example, use el barista to refer to a male barista and la barista to refer to a female barista.
How do you pronounce it?
/baˈɾista/
Did you know?
- In many traditional Spanish cafes, the person making the coffee is simply the camarero, and barista is a modern term reserved for specialty 'third wave' coffee shops.
- Although it looks like a Spanish word, barista is actually an Italian loanword that has been adopted directly into Spanish.
- Depending on the region, a barista might be asked to prepare a café cortado, a drink defined by a very specific ratio of milk to coffee that differs from a standard latte.
Examples in context
- Perfecto, enseguida se lo pido al barista.Perfect, I will ask the barista for it right away.
- El barista prepara un café con leche.The barista prepares a coffee with milk.
- Ella es una barista muy profesional.She is a very professional barista.
- Necesitamos un barista para la cafetería.We need a barista for the coffee shop.
Example conversation
Daniel and María are talking in a busy coffee shop.
- DanielMaría, ¿quién es esa barista?María, who is that barista?
- MaríaEs la nueva barista de la tienda.She is the new barista of the shop.
- DanielParece que sabe hacer arte latte.She seems to know how to make latte art.
- MaríaSí, es muy talentosa.Yes, she is very talented.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “barista” translations and entries barista, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
