Spanish, like all Romance languages, emerged from (Vulgar) Latin. About 75% of its vocabulary is derived from Latin, though it borrowed many words from Arabic during the Moorish rule of the Iberian Peninsula. Additionally, Spanish has traditionally incorporated words from Italian, Greek, German, and especially indigenous languages of the Americas.

As a standardized language, Spanish began to take shape on the Iberian Peninsula around the 1200s.

Spanish was originally called Castilian, referring to its origins in the Kingdom of Castile. It started being referred to as Spanish after the War of Spanish Succession.

Today, Spanish is the majority language in 20 countries, as well as in other regions, such as Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory.

Spanish is one of the six official languages of the United Nations.

It is the second most spoken language in the United States and the most widely spoken Romance language, with 500 million native speakers.

Spanish is also the second-fastest spoken major language in the world, slightly trailing behind Japanese.

The first novel written in Spanish was Don Quixote.

Spanish spoken in the Canary Islands is strikingly similar to Spanish spoken in the Caribbean. The historical trade routes connecting these regions help explain their linguistic similarities.

The words tú, vos, usted, vosotros, and ustedes can all mean “you.” However, vosotros is only really used in Spain.

The letters “V” and “B” are pronounced the same, with a traditional B sound.

Words beginning with “W” and “K” are relatively rare in Spanish, usually appearing only in loanwords from other languages, such as kilómetro (kilometer) and wafle (waffle).