Spanish Business Vocabulary: Describing a Company

Types of Companies

Here are some common types of companies and schools.

• la escuela de negocios
• the business school

• la escuela de marketing
• the marketing school

• la escuela de turismo
• the tourism school

• la academia de idiomas
• the language school

• la compañía aérea
• the airline company

• la compañía de seguros
• the insurance company

• la cadena de tiendas de ropa
• the clothing store chain

• la cadena de hoteles
• the hotel chain

• la empresa de alimentación
• the food company

• la empresa de informática
• the computer company

• la empresa de petroquímica
• the petrochemical company

• la empresa de telecomunicaciones
• the telecommunications company

• el despacho de arquitectos
• the architecture firm

• el despacho de abogados
• the law firm

• la agencia de publicidad
• the advertising agency

• el banco
• the bank

Another important word in the enterprise world is… 

• sede central
• headquarter

Expressing Location

Where is a company located? Use the verb form está to express the location of an enterprise.

• La sede central de Apple está en Cupertino, California.
• Apple is headquartered in Cupertino, California.

Alternatively, you can use nationality words to express where the company is originally from. 

Keep in mind that in Spanish, words that describe (adjectives) agree in gender and in number with the word they modify. What does it mean?

The word compañía is feminine. The nationality word that describes it should be feminine, too.

• La compañia española. (correct)
• La compañía español. (incorrect)

Most words to describe an organization are feminine. Look!

• la compañia
• the company

• la empresa
• the enterprise

• la agencia
• the agency

• la academia
• the academy

• la fabrica
• the factory

• la cadena de hoteles
• the hotel chain

The nationality words you can use to describe the companies above should be feminine. Here are some!

• europea
• European

• africana
• African

• americana
• American

• asiática
• Asian

• española
• Spanish

• estadounidense
• American

• inglesa
• English

• alemana
• German

• mexicana
• Mexican

Did you notice that in Spanish nationality words are not capitalized? We only capitalize the names of countries.

Company-related Verbs

What does the company do? Here are some common verbs related to enterprises!

• produce petróleo
• produces oil

• exporta bananas
• exports bananas

• vende ordenadores
• sells computers

• vende relojes
• sells watches

• exporta flores
• exports flowers

• hace aviones
• manufactures airplanes

• fabrica coches
• manufactures cars

• exporta café
• exports coffee

• compra tecnología
• buys technology

• produce queso
• produces cheese

• compra petróleo
• buys oil

• crea anuncios
• creates advertisements

• contrata personal
• hires staff

• imprime tarjetas
• prints cards

• entrena perros
• trains dogs

• protege el medioambiente
• protects the environment

• construye edificios
• constructs buildings

• vende material de construcción
• sells building materials

Describing a Company

Let’s describe a fictional company real quick! 

AKA es una empresa española de telecomunicaciones, líder en el sector, y vende a toda Europa. Fabrica y distribuye ordenadores y teléfonos móviles.

Well, now you know how to describe a company in Spanish with simple words!

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