Spanish Phrases: Computer-related activities in Spanish

On the previous page, we looked at some general computing vocabulary, in particular words for naming different parts of a computer and types of computer. The following vocabulary relates to different types of computer program and to describing computer-related activities such as using the Internet.

See the Javamex web site for a more technical Spanish computing glossary.

Types of program

Here are some common types of program. Note that the word software can be used countably in Spanish: that is, you can say un software, whereas in English, native speakers wouldn't say a software.

un navegador	-	a browser
un plugin	-	a plugin
un videojuego	-	a video game
un procesador de texto	-	a word processor
una hoja de cálculo	-	a spreadsheet
un corrector ortográfico	-	a spellchecker
un reproductor de DVD/MP3	-	a DVD/MP3 player
un antivirus	-	an antivirus, virus detector
un firewall	-	a firewall
un contrafuegos	-	a firewall
un software	-	a piece of software
un software educativo	-	a piece of educational software
un entorno de desarrollo	-	a development environment, IDE
el sistema operativo	-	the operating system

 Suggest a change / cambios sugeridos

Things to do with your computer...

Here are some phrases to describe various computer-related activities:

navegar por Internet	-	to surf the Internet
hacer clic en un vínculo	-	to click on a link
hacer doble clic	-	to double-click
trabajar en la red	-	to work on the net
checar su correo	-	to check one's e-mail
enviarle un correo a un amigo	-	to e-mail a friend
escribir un blog	-	to write a blog
crear/ver una página web	-	to create/view a web page
bajar música en formato MP3	-	to download music in MP3 format
instalar/lanzar un programa	-	to install/run a program
escribir un documento en Word	-	to type a document in Word
salvar el documento en su memória USB	-	to save the document to one's penstick
apagar/reiniciar la máquina	-	to shut down/reboot the machine
introducir su contraseña	-	to enter one's password
abrir/cerrar una ventana	-	to open/close a window
escanear/imprimir un documento	-	to scan/print a document
transferir sus fotos a un CD	-	to transfer one's photos to a CD
borrar/copiar un archivo	-	to delete/copy a file
conectarse a Internet	-	to connect to the Internet
iniciar/cerrar la sesión	-	to log in/out

 Suggest a change / cambios sugeridos

Other useful words/phrases

haz clic aquí	-	click here
está en el disco/un CD	-	it's on disk/CD
tengo un virus	-	I've got a virus
se ha bloqueado/congelado	-	it's crashed/frozen

 Suggest a change / cambios sugeridos