Computing in Spanish | Terms You’ll Use Every Day

Spanish tech talk gets easier once you learn regional device names, core app verbs, and the small settings words that show up on every screen.

You don’t need to speak like a textbook to work in Computing in Spanish contexts or chat with Spanish-speaking teammates. You need the words that pop up in menus, error messages, specs, and tickets. Get those down, and the rest feels familiar fast.

This article gives you a practical map: what people call devices, how menus label actions, how to describe problems, and how to write clear, neutral Spanish that works across regions.

Computing in Spanish For Real-Life Tasks

Start with the big regional split: in Spain, a desktop or laptop is often an ordenador. In much of Latin America, it’s a computadora or computador. The Real Academia Española lists ordenador as a Spanish term for an electronic computer, with computadora as a synonym.

When you write for mixed audiences, you can dodge the choice by using equipo (device) or PC when it fits. In user-facing copy, many teams pick a locale and stay consistent. In internal docs, you can mention both once, then pick one term for the rest of the page.

Device Names That Change By Region

Some words move around more than people expect. A laptop might be portátil or computadora portátil, and many style notes in Spanish recommend portátil over English loanwords like “laptop.”

Other device terms are steadier across regions:

• Teclado, ratón/mouse, pantalla
• Impresora, escáner
• Router is common, and you’ll also see rúter in some writing

Words That Matter In Product Specs

Specs often mix English abbreviations with Spanish structure. That’s normal. You’ll see RAM, SSD, and CPU in Spanish text, with Spanish verbs around them: tiene, incluye, admite. For clarity, keep the unit right after the number: 16 GB de RAM, 512 GB de SSD, pantalla de 14 pulgadas.

When you translate specs, watch false friends. Soportar often means “to support” in the feature sense, yet in some contexts it reads like “to endure.” Many teams use admitir, ser compatible con, or permitir to avoid that wobble.

Menu Actions And UI Verbs You’ll See Everywhere

If you learn one set of verbs, make it the menu set. They repeat across Windows, macOS, Android, web apps, and SaaS dashboards. Once you spot the pattern, you can guess meaning even in new tools.

Core File And Window Actions

• Abrir: open
• Cerrar: close
• Guardar / Guardar como: save / save as
• Descargar / Subir: download / upload
• Copiar, Cortar, Pegar: copy, cut, paste
• Deshacer, Rehacer: undo, redo

Pay attention to prepositions. “Upload a file” is often subir un archivo. “Download a file” is descargar un archivo. “Log in” can be iniciar sesión. “Log out” is cerrar sesión.

Settings Words That Reduce Confusion

Settings screens rely on a small set of nouns and adjectives: ajustes or configuración for settings, cuenta for account, privacidad, notificaciones, permisos. A toggle often uses activar and desactivar, or encender and apagar.

Dates, times, and number formats can trip up teams doing localization. The Unicode consortium’s CLDR data is a common reference for locale conventions that software uses for formatting. Unicode CLDR Spanish locale summary is a solid starting point when you’re checking formats in Spanish locales.

How To Describe Bugs And Errors In Spanish

Tickets and chat threads work better when they’re concrete. In Spanish, you’ll often see shorter sentences with a clear subject: “La app se cierra,” “No carga,” “Se queda en blanco.” That style is easy to copy.

Useful Problem Patterns

• No abre: it won’t open
• No carga: it won’t load
• Se queda congelado: it freezes
• Se cierra solo: it closes by itself
• Da error / Me sale un error: it throws an error / I get an error
• No reconoce: it doesn’t detect

Add one detail per sentence: device, OS version, steps, and what you expected. That keeps the report readable.

File Names, Paths, And Quoting Text

In Spanish tickets, people still paste paths like C:\\Users\\ or /home/. Keep them as-is. For UI labels, you can quote menu items with quotation marks: Haz clic en “Configuración”. For buttons, many teams use the button label in title case to match the UI: Selecciona “Guardar”.

Error messages are often in English even when the user’s Spanish. Don’t translate the message if it came from the system. Copy it, then add a Spanish sentence that explains when it appears.

Glossary For The Usual Pain Points

This table groups terms you’ll hit in daily work: device names, storage words, and the common Spain vs Latin America differences. If you need a Spanish-first term for laptops in formal copy, FundéuRAE’s note on “portátil” lays out the options.

Concept	Spanish Terms	Usage Notes
Computer	ordenador / computadora / computador	“Ordenador” is common in Spain; “computadora” in much of Latin America.
Laptop	portátil / ordenador portátil / computadora portátil	“Portátil” is widely understood and often preferred in formal writing.
Desktop	sobremesa / equipo de escritorio	“Sobremesa” is used in Spain; “de escritorio” works broadly.
File	archivo	Also “fichero” in Spain; many products pick one term per locale.
Folder	carpeta	Steady across regions; used in most UIs.
Drive	unidad / disco	“Unidad” for drive letters or devices; “disco” for storage medium.
Browser	navegador	Used across regions; “explorador” appears in older contexts.
Update	actualización	Verb is “actualizar”; noun is “actualización.”
Backup	copia de seguridad	Common in both regions; avoid “back-up” in formal copy.

Writing Clear Spanish For Docs, Tickets, And UI Copy

Good Spanish tech writing is plain. Pick one term, stick with it, and keep verbs active. When you need a neutral definition to settle wording, the RAE “ordenador” entry is a clean reference. It also helps to avoid long noun chains that came from English. Spanish reads smoother with short clauses.

Micro Rules That Keep Text Clean

• Prefer archivo over “file” in user text, unless the product style guide says otherwise.
• Use Haz clic for click, Toca for tap, Selecciona for select.
• Write steps in the same form all the way down the list.
• Keep button labels exact, with the same accents and capitalization as the UI.

When you need a formal reference for “computer” wording across Spanish, the Diccionario panhispánico de dudas notes how computador and computadora are common in the Americas, with regional preferences. RAE DPD “computador” note can back up a style decision in a team chat.

Translations That Sound Natural

Some English UI strings translate word-for-word and still feel off. A good trick is to translate the intent, not the grammar. “Sign in to continue” often becomes Inicia sesión para continuar. “We couldn’t save your changes” can be No se pudieron guardar los cambios. That passive construction is common in system messages.

For warnings, Spanish often uses an infinitive: No apagar el equipo durante la actualización. It reads like a label, which fits many dialogs.

Common Phrases For Meetings With Spanish-Speaking Teammates

Meetings move fast. A few phrases can stop you from getting stuck when someone is walking through a bug or a release note.

Short Phrases That Buy You Time

• ¿Lo puedes repetir? (Can you say that again?)
• ¿Cómo lo reproduzco? (How do I reproduce it?)
• ¿En qué paso falla? (At which step does it fail?)
• ¿Tienes una captura? (Do you have a screenshot?)
• Lo veo. (I see it.)

When you ask for details, stick to nouns: versión, dispositivo, cuenta, red, navegador. Then add a single verb: usas, probaste, cambiaste.

Action Verbs That Power Most Screens

This second table packs verbs and UI phrases that show up across apps. If you learn these, you’ll read menus and dialogs with far less guesswork.

English Intent	Common Spanish UI Text	Where You’ll See It
Log in	Iniciar sesión	Account screens, web apps, device setup
Log out	Cerrar sesión	Profile menus, security sections
Enable	Activar	Toggles, permissions, feature flags
Disable	Desactivar	Toggles, admin panels
Allow	Permitir	Permission prompts, browser settings
Block	Bloquear	Security dialogs, spam controls
Search	Buscar	Site headers, lists, settings screens
Refresh	Actualizar	Pages, feeds, dashboards

Practice Ideas That Don’t Feel Like Homework

To get comfortable, you need repetition in contexts that matter: your apps, your devices, your work. Try these small drills:

• Switch one app to Spanish for a week. Keep a note of the menu verbs you meet most.
• Read one Spanish bug report each day. Rewrite it in your own words with the patterns above.
• Change your phone language for ten minutes and walk through settings you already know.
• Write a short setup checklist in Spanish for a tool you use at work.

The goal isn’t perfect Spanish. It’s fast recognition and clear writing. After a couple of weeks, the same words start popping up again and again, and you’ll stop translating in your head.