By Dana Perkiss
Learning some basics of a language is incredibly helpful whenever you travel, as it not only helps you communicate with the locals but also honors the culture of the destination. Even learning a few words and phrases can make any vacation easier! To help you out, here are some essential basic Spanish phrases for your next trip to Spain.
Greetings and other basic Spanish phrases:
¡Buenos días! (bweh-nos dee-ahs)
Good morning!
¡Buenas tardes! (bweh-nahs tar-dehs)
Good afternoon!
¡Buenas noches! (bweh-nahs noh-chehs)
Good evening!
¡Hola! (oh-lah)
Hi!
¡Adiós! (a-dyos)
Goodbye!
¿Cómo estás? (ko-mo es-tas)
How are you?
¡Bien, gracias! (bee-ehn gra-thee-as)
Good, thank you!
¡Por favor! (pohr fah-vohr)
Please!
Gracias (grah-thee-ahs)
Thank you.
De nada (de-na-da)
No problem.
Perdón (per-dohn)
Sorry.
¿Cómo te llamas? (coh-moh teh yah-mah)
What’s your name?
Me llamo... (meh yah-moh)
My name is…
Soy de Estados Unidos/ “x” (soy deh ehs-tah-dohs oo-new-dohs)
I’m from the United States (or other area)
Estoy de vacaciones (ehs-toy deh bah-kah-thee-ohnes)
I’m on vacation.
¿Hablas inglés? (ah-blahs een-glehs?)
Do you speak English?
No hablo Español. (no ah-bloh ehs-pah-nyohl)
I don’t speak Spanish.*
* Some Spaniards may use ‘castellano’ (kas-teh-YAno) as that is the official term of Spanish in Spain. Most people recognize what you mean by “español” as the two are fairly interchangeable, but it is a good idea to keep both in mind.
¿Cuánto cuesta? (kwahn-toh kwehs-tah?)
How much does it cost?
¿Qué hora es? (keh ohr-ah ess?)
What time is it?
¿Dónde está...? (dohn-des-tah)
Where is…?
Mucho gusto (moo-choh goos-toh)
Nice to meet you
Claro (klah-ttoh)
Sure / Of course
Yo entiendo / No entiendo (yoh ehn-tee-ehn-doh) / (yoh noh ehn-tee-ehn-doh)
I understand / I don’t understand
¡Salud! (sah-LOO)
Cheers!
Un baño (ba-no)
A bathroom
Basic Directions and Transportation:
A la derecha (ah lah deh-reh-chah)
To the right
A la izquierda (ah lah ees-kyerh-dah)
To the left
Derecho (deh-reh-choh)
Straight ahead
El aeropuerto (aero-puerto)
The airport
La estación de trene (es-tacion-de-tren)
The train station
Restaurant Phrases:
Una mesa (oo-nah meh-sah)
A table
Una entrada (oo-nah ehn-trah-dah)
An appetizer
Un postre (oo-nah pohs-treh)
Dessert
Una bebida (oo-nah beh-bee-dah)
A drink
Agua (AH-gwah)
Water
Vino tinto / Vino blanco (bee-noh teen-toh) / (bee-noh blahn-koh)
Red wine / White wine
Cerveza (sehr-beh-sah)
Beer
Un café (oon kah-feh)
Coffee
La cuenta (lah kwehn-tah)
The check
Yo soy vegetariano/a (ve-he-ta-riano/a)
I’m a vegetarian.
Soy alérgica a... (soy a-lehr-hi-kah a)
I’m allergic to…
When ordering food/drink:
Un..., por favor. (oon... pour fah-bour)
A..., please. Polite request
Yo quiero / Yo no quiero (yoh kee-eh-roh) / (yoh noh kee-eh-roh)
I want / I don’t want. Casual form only used when ordering at restaurants
Con / sin (kohn / seen)
With / without
