Don’t fancy taking a phrase book with you on holiday this year? Not keen on the idea of investing in a Spanish course just yet? Don’t worry I’ve got you covered. In this blog post you’ll learn 15 of the most common Spanish phrases, you’ll learn when and where to use them and more importantly how to pronounce them. And if at the end of the blog you fancy taking your learning a little bit further you’ll find details of my holiday Spanish course 😉
But for now, let’s get on with the lesson. Remember don’t just blurt these phrases out, approach the person saying “¿hola, como esta?” if it’s appropriate.
1. Useful phrase número uno
“Where’s the toilet?“
¿Dónde está el baño? – use this if you’re travelling to Central or South America
¿Dónde están los serivicios? – use this if you’re travelling to Spain
2. Useful phrase número dos
“I don’t understand”
No entiendo – universal, use it with a shrug and a smile 😉
3. Useful phrase número tres
“I’m sorry”
Lo siento – use this when you bump into someone in the market (don’t use it if you want to get past someone or are sorry for something significant – see my YouTube lesson on how to say “I’m sorry” for these)
4. Useful phrase número cuatro
“Pardon?”
¿Cómo? – it does mean how but is also the polite way of saying “What?”
5. Useful phrase número cinco
“Could you repeat that please?”
¿Lo puede repetitr por favor? – This is the formal way of asking someone you don’t know
6. Useful phrase número seis
“What does that mean?”
¿Qué significa eso? – as in that (not this)
7. Useful phrase número siete
“What is that?”
¿Qué es eso? – if it’s one thing. If it’s more than one thing you’ll need to say ¿Qué son esos? (What are those). Remember always to point and smile.
8. Useful phrase número ocho
“How much does it cost?”
¿Cúanto cuesta? – if it’s one thing, ¿Cúanto cuestan? if it’s more than one.
9. Useful phrase número nueve
“Do you have vegetarian options?”
¿Tiene opciónes vegetarians? – Could also replace with veganos for vegan options.
10. Useful phrase número diez
“Do you accept credit cards?”
¿Aceptan tarjetas? – no explanation required 😉
11. Useful phrase número once
“Is there a discount for cash payments?”
¿Hay un descuento para pagos en effectivo? – really handy one to know as some places add an extra 10% for card payments.
12. Useful phrase número doce
“One moment please” or “hang on a sec” as we might say in English.
Un momento por favor.
13. Useful phrase número trece
“Can you help me please?”
¿Me puede ayudar por favor? – again this is a formal question
Fourteen and fifteen are extras simply because I hear sooooo many people get these basis greetings wrong;
14. Useful phrase número catorce
“Good morning”
Buenos días – with an “O”.
15. Useful phrase número quince
“Good afternoon”
Buenas tardes – with an “A”
So there you have your Handy Spanish Holiday Survival Guide, make sure you save this blog post I’ve called it handy for a reason! To help with the pronunciation of these handy Spanish phrases check out my video below. Good luck and don’t forget to let me know how you get on.