Whether you’re meeting people for the first time, eating out, telling the time, asking for directions or just trying to make conversation, it’s always useful to have a few solid Spanish phrases. What’s more, whilst learning and practicing those very phrases, you’ll be laying down solid foundations for your Spanish and building up lots of confidence along the way.
Below are some of the most common phrases for you to nail once and for all.
*Please note that the informal use of “you” in Spanish (“tú”) has been used below.
Greetings / Farewells
First impressions say a lot about a person. So, whether you’re already a pro at Spanish or just getting started, you’ll want to make sure you’re well-versed in how you greet others in Spanish. Also, in Latin culture, when you greet someone it can often be a bit of a ritual. There’s often hugging and cheek-kissing involved, along with numerous pleasantries. You’ll definitely want to get those hellos and goodbyes perfected before your next encounter!
• Introductions
• Hello — ¡Hola!
• Good morning / Good day — Buenos días
• Good afternoon — Buenas tardes
• Good evening / Good night — Buenas noches
• Welcome! — ¡Bienvenida(o)!
• Nice to meet you — Encantada(o) de conocerte, Mucho gusto
• A pleasure — Un gusto
• What is your name? — ¿Cómo te llamas?
• My name is … — Me llamo…
Asking someone how they are
• How are you? — ¿Cómo estás? / ¿Qué tal?
• How have you been? — ¿Cómo has estado?
• How’s it going? — ¿Cómo te va?
• What’s up? — ¿Qué pasa?
Responding to someone asking how you are
• Good, thanks — Bien, gracias
• Very well — Muy bien
• All good — Todo bien
• Good, and you? — Bien ¿y tú?
Saying goodbye
• Goodbye — Adiós
• See you later — Hasta luego
• See you — Nos vemos
• Take care! — ¡Cuídate!
Getting to Know You
Once you’ve grasped your hellos and goodbyes in Spanish, there a few more phrases that will enable you to take your conversations a bit further with others. And so, here are a few useful, versatile phrases to ensure you keep your conversations flowing.
• Where are you from? — ¿De dónde eres? (Spain and other Spanish speaking countries), ¿De dónde sos? (Argentina, Uruguay and countries where “vos” is used instead of “tú“)
• I am from Ireland / England / the United States — Soy de Irlanda / Inglaterra / los Estados Unidos
• I am Irish / English / American — Soy irlandés(a) / inglés(a) / estadounidense
• What do you do (for work)? — ¿Qué haces? / ¿A qué te dedicas?
• I’m a lawyer / teacher / student — Soy abogado(a) / profesor(a) / estudiante
• What do you like to do in your free time? — ¿Qué te gusta hacer en tu tiempo libre?
• I like to watch movies / to read / to dance — Me gusta ver películas / leer / bailar
• What’s your favorite movie / book/ band? ¿Cuál es tu película favorita / libro favorito / banda favorita?
• My favorite movie / book / band is … — Mi película favorita / libro favorito / banda favorita es…
If you get stuck, there are also a few simpler questions that can be used as bridges between gaps in conversations. They’ll buy you some time when you’re thinking of how to respond in Spanish! The following questions are the most commonly used:
• Why? — ¿Por qué?
• Why? (for what purpose) — ¿Para qué?
• Who? — ¿Quién?
• What? — ¿Cómo? ¿Qué?
• Which? — ¿Cuál?
• Seriously? — ¿En serio?
Telling the Time
Being able to ask someone the time—or respond to someone asking you the time—is essential when learning Spanish. Stopping a stranger to ask them the time is a great excuse to start a conversation, too. Here’s a rundown of the most well-known ways in which to do so:
• What time is it? — ¿Qué hora es?
• It is 1 o’clock — Es la una*
• It is 8 o’clock — Son las ocho
• It is half past five — Son las cinco y media
• It is quarter to eleven — Son las once menos cuarto
*Note that only the number one (“una”) uses the verb ‘es’ (singular) to tell the time. All the other numbers use ‘son’ (plural).
Source: fluentu.com
