Lotería at a glance
- A traditional lotería deck has 54 cards. Each card has a number, a picture, and a name, like 1, El gallo (the rooster).
- Players get a tabla, a board with 16 pictures in a 4 × 4 grid, and mark it with dried beans.
- The caller shuffles the deck and announces each card, often with a short verse instead of its name.
- The verses are oral tradition: they vary by region and family, and callers often make up their own.
- The first player to complete the agreed pattern shouts "¡Lotería!"
The list of all 54 lotería cards
The cards in their traditional order. Select a name to jump to its verse and meaning.
| Number | Card | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | El gallo | the rooster |
| 2 | El diablito | the little devil |
| 3 | La dama | the lady |
| 4 | El catrín | the dandy |
| 5 | El paraguas | the umbrella |
| 6 | La sirena | the mermaid |
| 7 | La escalera | the ladder |
| 8 | La botella | the bottle |
| 9 | El barril | the barrel |
| 10 | El árbol | the tree |
| 11 | El melón | the melon |
| 12 | El valiente | the brave man |
| 13 | El gorrito | the little bonnet |
| 14 | La muerte | death |
| 15 | La pera | the pear |
| 16 | La bandera | the flag |
| 17 | El bandolón | the mandolin |
| 18 | El violoncello | the cello |
| 19 | La garza | the heron |
| 20 | El pájaro | the bird |
| 21 | La mano | the hand |
| 22 | La bota | the boot |
| 23 | La luna | the moon |
| 24 | El cotorro | the parrot |
| 25 | El borracho | the drunkard |
| 26 | El negrito | the little black man |
| 27 | El corazón | the heart |
| 28 | La sandía | the watermelon |
| 29 | El tambor | the drum |
| 30 | El camarón | the shrimp |
| 31 | Las jaras | the arrows |
| 32 | El músico | the musician |
| 33 | La araña | the spider |
| 34 | El soldado | the soldier |
| 35 | La estrella | the star |
| 36 | El cazo | the saucepan |
| 37 | El mundo | the world |
| 38 | El apache | the Apache |
| 39 | El nopal | the prickly pear cactus |
| 40 | El alacrán | the scorpion |
| 41 | La rosa | the rose |
| 42 | La calavera | the skull |
| 43 | La campana | the bell |
| 44 | El cantarito | the little water jug |
| 45 | El venado | the deer |
| 46 | El sol | the sun |
| 47 | La corona | the crown |
| 48 | La chalupa | the canoe |
| 49 | El pino | the pine tree |
| 50 | El pescado | the fish |
| 51 | La palma | the palm tree |
| 52 | La maceta | the flowerpot |
| 53 | El arpa | the harp |
| 54 | La rana | the frog |
Every card, with its verse and meaning
Each card below has one traditional verse, in Spanish, followed by our English translation. The verses are oral tradition, passed from caller to caller, so they vary by region and family. You'll hear different verses at different tables, and callers often invent their own. Many of the verses are puns or proverbs, and the notes explain the jokes that don't survive translation.
1. El gallo (the rooster)
El que le cantó a San Pedro no le volverá a cantar.
The one who crowed for Saint Peter won't crow for him again.
A rooster. The verse recalls the rooster that crowed when Saint Peter denied Jesus.
2. El diablito (the little devil)
Pórtate bien, cuatito, si no te lleva el coloradito.
Behave yourself, buddy, or the little red one will take you away.
A small red devil with a pitchfork. The 'little red one' in the verse is the devil himself.
3. La dama (the lady)
Puliendo el paso, por toda la calle real.
Stepping out in style, all along the main street.
An elegantly dressed woman out for a stroll.
4. El catrín (the dandy)
Don Ferruco en la alameda, su bastón quería tirar.
Don Ferruco on the promenade, about to toss his cane.
A well-dressed gentleman in a top hat with a cane. A catrín is a showy, fashionable man; the verse calls him Don Ferruco.
5. El paraguas (the umbrella)
Para el sol y para el agua.
For the sun and for the rain.
An umbrella, good in any weather.
6. La sirena (the mermaid)
Con los cantos de sirena, no te vayas a marear.
Don't let the mermaid's songs make your head spin.
A mermaid, whose songs in the old stories lead sailors astray.
7. La escalera (the ladder)
Súbeme paso a pasito, no quieras pegar brinquitos.
Take me up one little step at a time; don't try to jump.
A wooden ladder.
8. La botella (the bottle)
La herramienta del borracho.
The drunkard's tool.
A bottle.
9. El barril (the barrel)
Tanto bebió el albañil, que quedó como barril.
The bricklayer drank so much he ended up round as a barrel.
A wooden barrel, with a joke about a bricklayer who drank too much.
10. El árbol (the tree)
El que a buen árbol se arrima, buena sombra le cobija.
Lean against a good tree and good shade will cover you.
A leafy tree. The verse is a proverb: stay close to people who can help you.
11. El melón (the melon)
Me lo das o me lo quitas.
Give it to me or take it away.
A melon. The verse plays on the sound: melón sounds like me lo, 'it to me'.
12. El valiente (the brave man)
¿Por qué le corres, cobarde, trayendo tan buen puñal?
Why are you running, coward, when you carry such a fine knife?
A man holding a knife, ready for a fight. Valiente means brave.
13. El gorrito (the little bonnet)
Ponle su gorrito al nene, no se nos vaya a resfriar.
Put the baby's bonnet on so he doesn't catch a cold.
A baby's bonnet.
14. La muerte (death)
La muerte tilica y flaca.
Skinny, bony Death.
Death as a skeleton. Tilica y flaca means skinny and bony.
15. La pera (the pear)
El que espera, desespera.
Whoever waits, despairs.
A pear. The verse hides the card's name: pera is inside espera, 'wait'.
16. La bandera (the flag)
Verde, blanco y colorado, la bandera del soldado.
Green, white and red, the soldier's flag.
The flag of Mexico.
17. El bandolón (the mandolin)
Tocando su bandolón, está el mariachi Simón.
There's Simón the mariachi, playing his mandolin.
A bandolón, a large mandolin-like string instrument used in Mexican folk music.
18. El violoncello (the cello)
Creciendo se fue hasta el cielo, y como no fue violín, tuvo que ser violoncello.
It kept growing up toward the sky, and since it couldn't be a violin, it had to be a cello.
A cello, with a joke about a violin that grew too big.
19. La garza (the heron)
Al otro lado del río tengo mi banco de arena, donde se sienta mi chata, pico de garza morena.
Across the river I have my sandbank, where my sweetheart sits, my dark-haired girl with a heron's beak.
A heron, a long-legged wading bird.
20. El pájaro (the bird)
Tú me traes a puros brincos, como pájaro en la rama.
You keep me hopping, like a bird on a branch.
A small bird on a branch.
21. La mano (the hand)
La mano de un criminal.
The hand of a criminal.
An open hand.
22. La bota (the boot)
Una bota igual que la otra.
One boot just like the other.
A boot.
23. La luna (the moon)
El farol de los enamorados.
The lovers' lantern.
The moon, which lights the way for couples at night.
24. El cotorro (the parrot)
Cotorro, cotorro, saca la pata, y empiézame a platicar.
Parrot, parrot, put out your foot and start chatting with me.
A green parrot.
25. El borracho (the drunkard)
¡Qué borracho tan necio, ya no lo puedo aguantar!
What a stubborn drunk, I can't put up with him any longer!
A drunk man.
26. El negrito (the little black man)
El Negrito and El Apache are part of the traditional 54. Their traditional pictures rely on racial stereotypes, so our playable set leaves them out. We list them here because this page describes the tradition.
27. El corazón (the heart)
No me extrañes, corazón, que regreso en el camión.
Don't miss me, sweetheart, I'll be back on the bus.
A heart. Corazón also means 'sweetheart'.
28. La sandía (the watermelon)
La barriga que Juan tenía, era empacho de sandía.
Juan's big belly came from eating too much watermelon.
A slice of watermelon.
29. El tambor (the drum)
No te arrugues, cuero viejo, que te quiero pa' tambor.
Don't wrinkle, old hide, I want you for a drum.
A drum. The verse speaks to the leather that becomes its drumhead.
30. El camarón (the shrimp)
Camarón que se duerme, se lo lleva la corriente.
The shrimp that falls asleep gets carried off by the current.
A shrimp. The verse is a proverb: if you don't stay alert, you lose out.
31. Las jaras (the arrows)
Las jaras del indio Adán, donde pegan, dan.
The arrows of Indio Adán: wherever they hit, they hit home.
A bundle of arrows.
32. El músico (the musician)
El músico trompas de hule, ya no me quiere tocar.
The rubber-lipped musician doesn't want to play for me anymore.
A musician playing a horn.
33. La araña (the spider)
Atarántamela a palos, no me la dejes llegar.
Knock it silly with a stick, don't let it get to me.
A spider.
34. El soldado (the soldier)
Uno, dos y tres, el soldado pa'l cuartel.
One, two and three, the soldier's off to the barracks.
A soldier in uniform.
35. La estrella (the star)
La guía de los marineros.
The sailors' guide.
A star, which sailors steered by.
36. El cazo (the saucepan)
El caso que te hago es poco.
The attention I pay you is small.
A cooking pot. The verse puns on cazo and caso, 'attention'.
37. El mundo (the world)
Este mundo es una bola, y nosotros un bolón.
This world is a ball, and we're a great big crowd.
The world as a globe. Bolón is a pun: a big ball, and a big bunch of people.
38. El apache (the Apache)
El Negrito and El Apache are part of the traditional 54. Their traditional pictures rely on racial stereotypes, so our playable set leaves them out. We list them here because this page describes the tradition.
39. El nopal (the prickly pear cactus)
Al nopal lo van a ver nomás cuando tiene tunas.
People only visit the cactus when it has fruit.
A prickly pear cactus. Its fruit are called tunas.
40. El alacrán (the scorpion)
El que con la cola pica, le dan una paliza.
Whoever stings with his tail gets a beating.
A scorpion.
41. La rosa (the rose)
Rosita, Rosaura, ven que te quiero ahora.
Rosita, Rosaura, come here, I love you now.
A red rose.
42. La calavera (the skull)
Al pasar por el panteón, me encontré un calaverón.
Walking past the cemetery, I came across a great big skull.
A skull.
43. La campana (the bell)
Tú con la campana y yo con tu hermana.
You with the bell, and me with your sister.
A bell.
44. El cantarito (the little water jug)
Tanto va el cántaro al agua, que se quiebra y te moja las enaguas.
The jug goes to the water so often that it breaks and soaks your petticoats.
A small clay jug. The verse is a proverb: push your luck too often and it runs out.
45. El venado (the deer)
Saltando va buscando, pero no ve nada.
Leaping, it goes searching, but it sees nothing.
A deer.
46. El sol (the sun)
La cobija de los pobres.
The blanket of the poor.
The sun, whose warmth costs nothing.
47. La corona (the crown)
El sombrero de los reyes.
The hat of kings.
A crown.
48. La chalupa (the canoe)
Rema que rema Lupita, sentada en su chalupita.
Rowing and rowing, Lupita sits in her little canoe.
A small flat-bottomed canoe.
49. El pino (the pine tree)
Fresco y oloroso, en todo tiempo hermoso.
Fresh and fragrant, lovely in every season.
A pine tree.
50. El pescado (the fish)
El que por la boca muere, aunque mudo fuere.
Whoever dies by his own mouth, even if he were mute.
A fish. The verse echoes the saying 'the fish dies by its mouth': talking too much gets you into trouble.
51. La palma (the palm tree)
Palmero, sube a la palma y bájame un coco real.
Palm climber, go up the palm and bring me down a coconut.
A palm tree.
52. La maceta (the flowerpot)
El que nace pa' maceta, no sale del corredor.
Whoever is born to be a flowerpot never leaves the porch.
A flowerpot. The verse is a saying about people who never change.
53. El arpa (the harp)
Arpa vieja de mi suegra, ya no sirves pa' tocar.
My mother-in-law's old harp, you're no good for playing anymore.
A harp.
54. La rana (the frog)
Al ver a la verde rana, ¡qué brinco pegó tu hermana!
When she saw the green frog, what a jump your sister gave!
A green frog.
How to play lotería
- Give everyone a tabla and a handful of beans. Each tabla shows 16 different cards in a 4 × 4 grid.
- Agree on what wins: a full row, column, or diagonal, the four corners, the four center squares, or the whole tabla.
- Shuffle the deck. The caller turns over one card at a time and announces it, by its name or with a verse.
- Players mark the picture with a bean if it's on their tabla.
- The first to finish shouts "¡Lotería!" The caller checks the beans against the cards that were turned over, and the winner gets the prize, or bragging rights.
Lotería and bingo work the same way: random calls, marked grids, and a shout when you win. The differences are the pictures, the 4 × 4 tabla, a deck of 54 cards instead of 75 numbered balls, and the verses. For more about bingo's version of the game, see the bingo rules guide and the patterns guide.
Make your own cards
You can make bingo cards from the card names with the word bingo maker: type the names you want as your word list, choose a 4 × 4 grid, and print, or play on phones. For cards with pictures instead of words, the picture bingo maker has 292 pictures to choose from, and the free caller draws the calls for you.
Frequently asked questions
How many cards are in a lotería deck?
A traditional lotería deck has 54 cards, each with a number, a picture, and a name. The game boards, called tablas, show 16 of those pictures in a 4 × 4 grid, and every tabla has a different mix.
What is the first lotería card?
Card number 1 is El gallo, the rooster. The last card, number 54, is La rana, the frog.
What are the lotería verses?
They're short rhymes, sayings, and jokes the caller recites instead of just reading the card's name. Players have to work out which card the verse means. The verses are oral tradition, so they vary by region and family, and many callers make up their own.
Does the caller have to say the verses?
No. Calling the card's name is always fine, and it's easier for young players and anyone still learning Spanish. The verses add fun and a little challenge for groups who know them.
What do you use to mark a lotería card?
Traditionally, dried beans. Bottle caps, coins, pebbles, or small paper squares work too. Players place one on each picture the caller announces.
How do you win at lotería?
Before the game starts, the players agree on what wins: commonly a full row, column, or diagonal, the four corners, the four center squares, or the whole tabla. The first player to complete it shouts "¡Lotería!" and the caller checks the cards that were called.
Is lotería the same as bingo?
They're close cousins. Both use cards with a grid and a caller who draws at random. Lotería uses pictures instead of numbers, a 4 × 4 tabla instead of a 5 × 5 card, a deck of 54 cards instead of 75 balls, and verses instead of plain calls.