Spanish Language Mini Phrases
BRIEF INTRODUCTION
Spanish is the fourth most-spoken language in the world. Originating in Spain, and spoken by most residents there, it is also spoken in Mexico and all of Central and South America except Brazil, Guyana and Surinam. Spanish is also spoken in Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and other Caribbean islands.
Spanish is a first language for many people in the United States, especially in California, Texas, South Florida, and the Southwest. A romance language, Spanish is closely related to particularly Portuguese, to Italian, and to some extent to French. English and Spanish share approximately one third of the same words, although the pronunciation tends to be very different.
A BIT ABOUT GRAMMAR BEFORE YOU BEGIN
Spanish nouns have genders. Most words applied to persons have natural gender: masculine like hombre (“male person”) or feminine, like mujer (“female person”). The gender of some animals, things, and some words applied to persons doesn’t follow any rule: they have grammatical gender. Casa (house), rana (frog), and visita (visitor) are of the feminine gender. Árbol (tree), sapo (toad) and genio (genius) are of the masculine gender. Invitado, invitada (guest) and mono, mona (monkey) have natural gender. Fortunately, the gender of a noun is usually (but not always) indicated by the last letter of the word; -o indicates masculine nouns, and -a indicates feminine nouns.
Adjectives also have gender and number. Like nouns, -o usually indicates the masculine form of the adjective, and -a indicates the feminine form. Adding an -s at the end of an adjective or noun makes it plural. Adjectives need to match the noun they describe in both gender and number. For example, borracho “drunk”, when modifying las mujeres (“the women”), makes las mujeres borrachas.
In this guide, where genders of nouns or adjectives comes up, we use the form “o/a” to differentiate. It should be clear from context when to use the feminine and when to use the masculine form.
PRONUNCIATION
Spanish spelling has the pleasant characteristic of being more or less phonetic. This means that if you know how to pronounce the letters of a word, it’s relatively easy to sound out the word itself.
Besides having a very small number of vowel sounds and a high predictablity of exactly what sound is represented by each letter, Spanish has a very clear set of rules about where a stress normally falls, and exceptions are noted with an “acute accent mark” (“´”) over the vowel of the stressed syllable. Normally, words that end in a vowel or in “n” or “s” have the stress on the next-to-last syllable; all other words without an explicit accent mark are stressed on the final syllable. There are no “secondary stresses” within words.
VOWELS
a like ‘a’ in “art”: casa
e like the first component of the diphthong ‘ay’ in “day” (este). Since Spanish also has a diphthong ‘ay’, as in rey (see “ei” below) you may consider to pronounce Spanish ‘e’ like the ‘e’ in “get”
i like ‘ee’ in “see” or “deed”
o like the first component of the diphthong ‘ow’ in “low”. The vowel in “caught” will be equally understood, unless you pronounce it like “cot”. Anyway, the full diphthong “ow” does not occur in Spanish, so you don’t have to worry about pronouncing clipped enough
u like ‘oo’ in “hoop”
DIPHTHONGS
ai, ay like ‘eye’: baile
au like ‘ow’ in ‘cow’: causa
ei, ey like ‘ay’ in “say”: reina, rey
eu like ‘yu’ in “euro”
ia like ‘ya’ in ‘Kenya’: piano
ie like ‘ye’ in “yes”: pie
io like ‘yo’: dio
iu like ‘ew’ in few: ciudad
oi, oy like ‘oy’ in “boy”: soy
ou like ‘ou’ in “though” – Present only in foreign words: show
ua like ‘wa’ in “wallet”: cuatro
ue like ‘we’ in “well”: puedo
ui, uy like ‘wi’ in “winter”: ruido
ui like ‘ooy’: cuido
uo like “wa” in “water”: averiguo
CONSONANTS
b like ‘b’ in “bed”: boca
c when followed by ‘e’ or ‘i’, like ‘c’ in “cell” (Latin America) or ‘th’ in “thin” (Spain): cine; otherwise like ‘k’ in “kid”: calle, doctor
ch like ‘ch’ in “touch”: muchacho
d like ‘d’ in “dog”: dedo
f like ‘f’ in “fine”: faro
g when followed by ‘e’ or ‘i’, like ‘ch’ in “loch” (general = hai-nai-RAHL), otherwise like “g” in “go” (gato). In the clusters “gue” and “gui”, the “u” is silent (guitarra), unless it bears a diaeresis, as in “güe” and “güi” (pedigüeño)
gu, gü like ‘Gu’ in McGuire or ‘w’ in “wire” (agua, agüita)
h silent: hora
j like ‘ch’ in “loch”: jabón
k like ‘c’ in “cat”: kilo
l like ‘l’ in “love”: lápiz
ll like ‘y’ in “yield” (Latin America) or the ‘ly’ sound in “million” (Spain): lluvia
m like ‘m’ in “mother”: mano
n like ‘n’ in “nice”, and like ‘n’ in “anchor”: noche, ancla
ñ like ‘ny’ in “canyon”: cañón, piñata
p like ‘p’ in “pig”: perro
q like ‘q’ in “quiche” (always with a silent “u”): queso, pronounced KAY-so
r, rr Spanish has two “r” sounds which are very different form their counterparts in most languages, and certainly very different from the English. As a result most English speakers lisp their r’s when they come to Spanish. However, if you use your native pronunciation it’s unlikely that people understand cerro (hill) when youn meant cero (zero), and they may not understand you at all
Single flap r (ere): Always written “r”, and never occurs at the beginning of the word, this sound is created by putting the tip of the tongue up against where the front of the roof of the mouth meets the upper teeth, very similar to the action English speakers make to pronounce l or t. This is not widely taught but can be practiced by anyone. Particular care should be taken when r appears after a consonant, eg in the word otro (other). tr is a particular sound in English, which if you use in Spanish will be an incomprehensible list. One must separate the two sounds out, as in wha(t) (r) rubbish, clicking the r properly
Rolled r (erre)
Written “r” at the beginning of the word, or after “l”, “n”, or “s” (ropa, enredo). Written “rr” between vowels (cerro). It’s a multiply vibrating sound. Whereas all English can learn to tap out a single r it seems that many adult non-Spanish speakers simply do not have the ability to vibrate the tongue in the way needed to pronounce rr
s like ‘ss’ in “hiss”: sopa
t like ‘t’ in “top”: tapa
v like ‘b’ in “bed”: vaca, pronounced BAH-kah
w like ‘w’ in “weight” in English words, whisky (pronounced WEESS-kee). Like ‘b’ in “bed” in Germanic words
x like ‘x’ in “sex” (sexo). Like ‘ss’ in “hiss” at beginning of a word (xilófono). Like ‘ch’ in “loch” in the words México, mexicano, Oaxaca, and oaxaqueño
y like ‘y’ in “yes”: payaso. Like ‘y’ in “boy”: hoy
z like ‘s’ in “supper” (Latin America), like ‘th’ in “thin” (Spain): zorro. See c above
ACCENTS AND STRESS WHEN SPEAKING
Word stress can affect the meaning of the word and generally follows these rules:
If a word is marked with an accent, then that syllable receives the stress.
Additionally, if the accent marks a dipthong a syllable break occurs between the two vowels of the dipthong.
If a word is NOT marked with an accent, then
if the word ends in a consonant other than N or S, the stress occurs on the last syllable.
if the word ends in a vowel, N or S, the stress occurs on the next to last syllable.
Examples:
círculo (SEER-koo-loh) → circle
circulo (seer-KOO-loh) → I circulate
circuló (seer-koo-LOH) → (s)he/it circulated
estás (ehss-TAHSS) → you are
estas (EHSS-tahss) → these
origen (oh-REE-hehn) → origin
orígenes (oh-REE-hehn-ehss) → origins
ciudad (syew-DAHD) → city
ciudades (syew-DAH-dehss) → cities
An accent can also be used to differentiate between words that are pronounced the same but have different meanings:
si → if tu → your mi → my el → the
sí → yes tú → you mí → me él → he
COMMON EVERYDAY PHRASES
Hello (informal).
Hola. (OH-lah). For the formal equivalent of hola see good morning, good afternoon, good evening, below.
How are you?
¿Cómo estás? (KOH-moh ehss-TAHSS?) (informal); ¿Cómo está usted? (KOH-mo ehss-TAH oo-stehd?) (formal)
Fine, thank you.
Muy bien, gracias. (mooey BYEHN, GRAH-syahss)
What is your name?
¿Cómo te llamas? (KOH-moh tay YAH-mahss?) (informal); ¿Cómo se llama usted? (KOH-mo say YAH-mah ooss-TAID?) (formal)
My name is ______ .
Me llamo ______ . (may YAH-moh _____ .)
Nice to meet you.
Encantado/a. (EHN-kahn-TAH-doh)
Please.
Por favor. (POHR fah-BOHR)
Thank you.
Gracias. (GRAH-SYAHSS)
You’re welcome.
De nada. (day NAH-dah)
Yes.
Sí. (SEE)
No.
No. (NOH)
Excuse me. (getting attention)
Disculpe. (dees-KOOL-pay)
Excuse me. (begging pardon)
Perdón. (pair-DOHN)
I’m sorry.
Lo siento. (loh SYEHN-toh)
Goodbye
Adiós. (ah-DYOHSS)
Goodbye (informal)
Hasta luego. (AH-stah LWAY-goh)
I can’t speak Spanish [well].
No hablo español [bien]. (noh AH-blow EHS-pahn-YOL [BYEHN])
Do you speak English?
¿Hablas inglés? (AH-blahss een-GLAYSS?) (informal); ¿Habla usted inglés? (AH-blah oos-TAID een-GLAYSS?)
Is there someone here who speaks English?
¿Hay alguien que hable inglés? (eye ahl-GYEN kay AH-blay een-GLAYSS?)
Help!
Ayuda! (ah-YOU-dah!); Socorro! (soh-COH-row!)
Good morning.
Buenos días. (BWAY-nohss DEE-ahss)
Good afternoon.
Buenas tardes. (BWAY-nahss TAR-dayss)
Good evening (when it’s dark)
Buenas noches. (BWAY-nahss NOH-chayss)
Good night.
Buenas noches. (BWAY-nas NOH-chayss)
I don’t understand.
No entiendo. (noh ehn-TYEHN-doh)
Where is the toilet?
¿Dónde está el baño? (DOHN-day ehss-TAH ehl BAHN-yoh?)
ENCOUNTERING PROBLEMS PHRASES
Leave me alone.
Déjame en paz. (DAY-hah-may en PASS)
Don’t touch me!
¡No me toques! (noh may TOH-kayss!)
I’ll call the police.
Llamaré a la policía. (yah-mah-RAY ah lah po-lee-SEE-ah)
Police!
Policía! (poh-lee-SEE-ah!)
Stop! Thief!
¡Alto, al ladrón! (AHL-toh ahl lah-DROAN!)
I need help.
Necesito ayuda. (ne-say-SEE-toh ah-YOU-dah)
It’s an emergency.
Es una emergencia. (ayss oo-nah AY-mayr-HEN-syah)
I’m lost.
Estoy perdido/a (ay-STOY payr-DEE-doh/dah)
I lost my purse/handbag.
Perdí mi bolsa/bolso/cartera. (payr-DEE mee BOHL-sa / BOHL-so / cahr-TAY-rah)
I lost my wallet.
Perdí mi cartera/billetera. (payr-DEE mee BOHLcahr-TAY-rah / bee-yay-TAY-rah; the last may also be said as beel-yay-TAY-rah)
I’m sick.
Estoy enfermo/a. (ay-STOY ayn-FAYR-moh/mah)
I’ve been injured.
Estoy herido/a. (ay-STOY ay-REE-doh/dah)
I need a doctor.
Necesito un doctor. (nay-say-SEE-toh OON dohk-TOHR)
Can I use your phone?
¿Puedo usar su teléfono? (PWAY-doh oo-SAHR soo tay-LAY-foh-noh?)
SAYING NUMBERS
1 uno/a (OO-noh)
2 dos (doss)
3 tres (tress)
4 cuatro (KWA-tro)
5 cinco (SEEN-ko)
6 seis (SAISS)
7 siete (SYE-te)
8 ocho (O-cho)
9 nueve (NWAI-be)
10 diez (DYESS)
11 once (OHN-say)
12 doce (DOH-say)
13 trece (TRAY-say)
14 catorce (kah-TOHR-say)
15 quince (KEEN-say)
16 dieciseis (DYEESS-ee-SAYSS)
17 diecisiete (DYEESS-ee-SYAY-tay)
18 dieciocho (DYEESS-ee-OH-choh)
19 diecinueve (DYEESS-ee-NWAY-bay)
20 veinte (BAYN-tay)
21 veintiuno (BAYN-TYOO-noh)
22 veintidos (BAYN-tee-DOHSS)
23 veintitres (BAYN-tee-TRAYSS)
30 treinta (TRAYN-tah)
40 cuarenta (kwah-RAYN-tah)
50 cincuenta (seen-KWAYN-tah)
60 sesenta (say-SAYN-tah)
70 setenta (say-TAYN-tah)
80 ochenta (oh-CHAYN-tah)
90 noventa (noh-BAYN-tah)
100 cien (syehn)
200 doscientos (dos-SYEHN-tos)
300 trescientos (tres-SYEHN-tos)
500 quinientos (kee-NYEHN-tos)
1000 mil (MEEL)
2000 dos mil (dohss MEEL)
1,000,000 un millón (oon mee-YOHN)
half medio (MAY-dyoh)
less menos (MAY-nohss)
more más (MAHSS)
BASIC TIME TABLE
now ahora (ah-OH-rah)
later después (day-SPWAYSS)
before antes (ahn-TAYSS)
morning mañana (mah-NYAH-nah)
afternoon tarde (TAHR-day)
night noche (NOH-chay)
TELLING TIME
one o’clock la una de la madrugada; la una de la mañana (lah OOH-nah day lah mah-drooh-GAH dah; lah OOH-nah day lah mahn-YAH-nah)
two o’clock las dos de la madrugada; las dos de la mañana (lahss DOHSS day lah mah-drooh-GAH dah; lahss DOHSS day lah mahn-YAH-nah)
ten o’clock AM las diez de la mañana (lahss dee-AYSS day lah mahn-YAH-nah)
noon mediodía; las doce de la mañana (lahss DOH-say day lah mahn-YAH-nah)
one o’clock PM la una de la tarde (lah OOH-nah day lah TAHR-day)
two o’clock PM las dos de la tarde (lahss DOHSS day lah TAHR-day)
ten o’clock PM las diez de la noche (lahss dee-AYSS day lah NOH-chay)
midnight medianoche; las doce de la noche (may-dee-yah-NOH-chay; lahss DOH-say day lah NOH-chay)
HELPFUL TIPS WHEN WRITING TIME
When speaking, times are given in AM/PM form (but saying de la mañana (morning), de la tarde (afternoon), de la noche (evening/night) or de la madrugada (late night) to distinguish between AM and PM. On the other hand, in most countries times are rendered in 24-hour format, with a colon separating hours and minutes:
9 o’clock AM
nueve de la mañana (spoken: noo-WEH-vay day la mahn-YAH-nah), 9:00 (written)
12:30 PM
doce y media de la mañana (spoken: DOH-say ee MAY-dee-yah day la mahn-YAH-nah), 12:30 (written)
1 o’clock PM
una de la tarde (spoken: OOH-nah day lah TAHR-day), 13:00 (written)
10 o’clock PM
diez de la noche (spoken: dee-AYSS day la NOH-chay), 22:00 (written)
2 o’clock AM
dos de la madrugada or dos de la mañana (spoken: DOHSS day la mah-drooh-GAH-dah or DOHSS day la mahn-YAH-nah), 2:00 (written)
TIME DURATION
__ minute(s) __ minuto(s) (mee-NOOH-toh(ss))
__ hour(s) __ hora(s) (OHR-ah(ss))
__ day(s) __ día(s) (DEE-aah(ss))
__ week(s) __ semana(s) (say-MAH-nah(ss))
__ month(s) __ mes(es) (MAYSS-(ayss))
__ year(s) __ año(s) (AH-nyoh(ss))
TIME DURATION: DAYS
today hoy (OY)
yesterday ayer(I-air)
tomorrow mañana (surely you know how to pronounce this word: mahn-YAH-nah)
this week esta semana (EHS-tah say-MAH-nah)
last week la semana pasada (lah say-MAH-nah pah-SAH-dah)
next week la semana que viene (lah say-MAH-nah kay vee-AYN-ay)
Monday lunes (LOOH-nayss) – Week Begins On This Day
Tuesday martes (MAHR-tayss)
Wednesday miércoles (mee-AIR-coh-layss)
Thursday jueves (WHAY-vayss)
Friday viernes (vee-AIR-nayss)
Saturday sábado (SAH-bah-doh)
Sunday domingo (doh-MEEN-goh)
TIME DURATION: MONTHS
January enero (eh-NEH-ro)
February febrero (feh-BREH-ro)
March marzo (MAR-zo)
April abril (ah-BRIL)
May mayo (MAY-o)
June junio (HOO-nio)
July julio (HOO-lio)
August agosto (ah-GO-sto)
September septiembre/setiembre (se-TEE-YEM-bray)
October octubre (ok-TOO-brey)
November noviembre (no-VEE-YEM-bray)
December diciembre (dee-CEE-YEM-bray)
HELPFUL TIPS WHEN WRITING DATES
Dates are given in day-month-year form. All spoken and written, long and short forms follow this pattern:
October 3rd, 2003
3 de octubre de 2003
May 21st, 1997
21 de mayo de 1997
Day-month constructions (4 de julio, for example) are not usually abbreviated. In the rare cases than an abbreviation is used, the number of the month is not used, but its initial letter is. Usual examples are:
23-F
23 de febrero, date of a failed coup d’êtat in Spain (1981)
11-S
11 de septiembre, date of the attack to the Twin Towers (2001) (and of the Chilean coup in 1973).
SAYING COLORS
black negro (NAY-groh)
white blanco (BLAHN-koh)
gray gris (GREESS)
red rojo (ROH-hoh)
blue azul (ah-SOOL)
yellow amarillo (AH-mah-REE-yoh)
green verde (BAYR-day)
orange naranja (nar-AHN-hah), anaranjado (ah–nah-ran-HA-do)
purple púrpura (POOR-poor-ah) , morado (moor-AH-do), violeta (vee-oh-LEH-tah)
brown marrón (mah-RON) , café (kah-FAY), castaño (kah-STAN-yo)
TRANSPORTATION PHRASES
BUS AND TRAIN
How much is a ticket to _____?
¿Cuánto cuesta un billete/pasaje a _____? (KwAHno kwEHSta oon beYEHta a ___)
One ticket to _____, please.
Un billete/pasaje a _____, por favor. (Oon beYEHta a _______, pour FAHvor.)
Where does this train/bus go?
¿A donde va este tren/bus?
Where is the train/bus to _____?
¿Donde está el tren/autobús hacia _____?
Does this train/bus stop in _____?
¿Para este tren/autobús en _____?
When does the train/bus for _____ leave?
¿Cuando marcha/parte/sale el tren/autobús hacia _____ ?
When will this train/bus arrive in _____?
¿Cuando llegará este tren/autobús a _____?
ASKING DIRECTIONS
How do I get to _____ ?
¿Cómo puedo llegar a _____ ?
…the train station?
…la estación de tren?
…the bus station?
…la estación de autobuses?
…the airport?
…al aeropuerto?
…downtown?
…al centro?
…the youth hostel?
…al albergue juvenil?
…the _____ hotel?
…el hotel _____ ?
…the American/Canadian/Australian/British consulate?
…el consulado de Estados Unidos/ Canadiense/Australiano/Británico/?
Where are there a lot of…
¿Dónde hay muchos…
…hotels?
…hoteles?
…restaurants?
…restaurantes/restoranes?
…bars?
…bares?
…sites to see?
…sitios para visitar?
Can you show me on the map?
¿Puede enseñarme/mostrarme en el plano?
street
calle (CAH Yeh)(Mexico) CAH sjeh (Spain)
Turn left.
Gire/doble/da vuelta a la izquierda.
Turn right.
Gire/doble/da vuelta a la derecha.
left
izquierda
right
derecha
straight ahead
recto adelante , sigue derecho
towards the _____
hacia el/la_____
past the _____
pasado el/la _____
before the _____
antes de _____
Watch for the _____.
busque el/la _____.
intersection
intersección , cruce
north
norte
south
sur
east
este
west
oeste
uphill
hacia arriba
downhill
hacia abajo
HAILING A TAXI CAB
Taxi!
¡Taxi!
Take me to _____, please.
Lléveme a _____, por favor.
How much does it cost to get to _____?
¿Cuanto cuesta ir hasta/a _____?
Take me there, please.
Déjeme ahí, por favor.
USEFUL LODGING/ACCOMODATION PHRASES
Do you have any rooms available?
¿Hay habitaciones libres?
How much is a room for one person/two people?
¿Cuanto cuesta una habitación para una persona/para dos personas?
Does the room come with…
¿Tiene la habitación…
…bedsheets?
…sábanas?
…a bathroom?
…baño?
…a telephone?
…teléfono?
…a TV?
…televisión?
May I see the room first?
¿Puedo ver la habitación primero?
Do you have anything quieter?
¿Tiene algo un poco más tranquilo?
…bigger?
…más grande?
…cleaner?
…más limpio?
…cheaper?
…más barato?
OK, I’ll take it.
Muy bien, la tomaré.
I will stay for _____ night(s).
Me quedaré ______ noches(s).
Can you suggest other hotels?
¿Puede proponerme otros hoteles?
Do you have a safe?
¿Hay caja fuerte?
…lockers?
…taquillas? ; casilleros
Is breakfast/supper included?
¿El desayuno/la cena va incluido/a?
What time is breakfast/supper?
¿A qué hora es el desayuno/la cena?
Please clean my room.
Por favor, limpie mi habitación.
Can you wake me at _____?
¿Puede despertarme a las _____?
I want to check out.
Quiero dejar el hotel.
USEFUL MONEY PHRASES
Do you accept American/Australian/Canadian dollars?
¿Aceptan dólares americanos/australianos/candienses?
Do you accept British pounds?
¿Aceptan libras británicas?
Do you accept euros?
¿Aceptan euros? You don’t need this sentence in Spain 
Do you accept credit cards?
¿Aceptan tarjeta de crédito?
Can you change money for me?
¿Me puede cambiar dinero?
Where can I get money changed?
¿Dónde puedo cambiar dinero?
Can you change a traveler’s check for me?
¿Me puede cambiar cheques de viaje?
Where can I get a traveler’s check changed?
¿Dónde me pueden cambiar cheques de viaje?
What is the exchange rate?
¿A cuánto está el cambio?
Where is an automatic teller machine (ATM)?
¿Dónde hay un cajero automático?
DINING/EATING OUT HELPFUL PHRASES/WORDS
A table for one person/two people, please.
Una mesa para una persona/dos personas, por favor. (OO-nah MAY-sah pah-rah OO-nah pehr-SOH-nah / dohss pehr-SOH-nahs pohr fah- BOHR)
Can I look at the menu, please?
¿Puedo ver el menú, por favor? (PWAY-doh behr ehl meh-NOO pohr fah-BOHR?)
Can I look in the kitchen?
¿Puedo entrar a la cocina?
Is there a house specialty?
¿Hay alguna especialidad de la casa?
Is there a local specialty?
¿Hay alguna especialidad regional/de la zona?
I’m a vegetarian.
Soy vegetariano/a.
I don’t eat pork.
No como cerdo.
I only eat kosher food.
Sólo como comida kosher. (In a restaurant they will stare at you, since “kosher” is as Spanish as “empanada” is English.)
Can you make it “lite”, please? (less oil/butter/lard)
¿Puede poner poca aceite/poca mantequilla/poca grasa?
fixed-price meal
menú del día
a la carte
a la carta
breakfast
desayuno
lunch
comida (Spain, Mexico), almuerzo (South America)
supper
cena (everywhere), comida (South America)
I want _____.
Quiero _____.
I want a dish containing _____.
Quisiera un plato que lleve _____.
chicken
pollo. (POH-yoh)
beef
ternera (tehr-NEH-rah), vacuno (bah-KOO-noh), res (rehss)
fish
pescado (pehs-KAH-doh)
ham
jamón (hah-MOHN)
sausage
salchicha (sahl-CHEE-chah), vienesa (byeh-NAY-sah)
cheese
queso
eggs
huevos
salad
ensalada
(fresh) vegetables
verdura (fresca)
(fresh) fruit
fruta (fresca)
bread
pan
toast
tostada
noodles
fideos
rice
arroz
beans
alubias , porotos, frijoles, judías, habichuelas
May I have a glass of _____?
¿Me puede poner/traer un vaso de _____?
May I have a cup of _____?
¿Me puede poner/traer una taza de _____?
May I have a bottle of _____?
¿Me puede poner/traer una botella de _____?
coffee
café
tea (drink)
té
juice
zumo , jugo
water
agua
(bubbly) water
agua con gas (if you say agua, is without gas); Agua mineral is bottled water with gas, unless you ask for agua mineral sin gas.
beer
cerveza
red/white wine
vino tinto/blanco
May I have some _____?
¿Me puede dar un poco de _____?
salt
sal
black pepper
pimienta
butter
mantequilla , manteca (in Argentina)
Excuse me, waiter? (getting attention of server’): ¡camarero!, ¡mesero! (preferred)
I’m finished.
He acabado, terminé (The first phrase can refer to the finishing of a completely unrelated physiological activity)
It was delicious.
Estaba delicioso.
Please clear the plates.
Puede llevarse los platos.
The check, please.
La cuenta, por favor.
Note that in Chile you must ask for the check. A gringo was known to have waited until 2 in the morning because he was too shy to ask
FREQUENTING/VISITING BARS/PUBS PHRASES
Do you serve alcohol?
¿Hay alcohol?
Is there table service?
¿Hay servicio a la mesa?
A beer/two beers, please.
Una cerveza/dos cervezas, por favor.
A glass of red/white wine.
Un vaso de vino tinto/blanco.
A pint (of beer)
Una jarra de cerveza (normally it will be half a liter, not really a pint, but the size is similar); In Chile un schop might be anywhere from 300cc to one liter.
A glass of draft beer
Un schop (oon SHOHP) (Only in Chile)
_____ (hard liquor) and _____ (mixer).
_____ con _____. In Spain, Cubata is Coke with whiskey
A bottle.
Una botella.
whiskey
whisky (WEESS-key)
vodka
vodka
rum
ron
water
agua
tonic water
(agua) tónica
orange juice
zumo/jugo de naranja
Coke (soda)
Coca-Cola
Do you have any bar snacks?
¿Tiene algo para picar? (In Spain they will give you tapas, depends a lot from the bar.)
One more, please.
Otro/a ______, por favor.
Another round, please.
Otra ronda, por favor.
When is closing time?
¿Cuándo cierran?
USEFUL SHOPPING PHRASES
Do you have this in my size?
¿Tiene esto de mi talla?
How much is this?
¿Cuánto cuesta?
That’s too expensive.
Es demasiado caro.
Would you take Visa/American dollars?
¿Aceptan Visa/dólares?
expensive
caro
cheap
barato
I can’t afford it.
Es muy caro para mí.
I don’t want it.
No lo quiero.
You’re cheating me.
Me está engañando.
I’m not interested.
No me interesa.
OK, I’ll take it.
De acuerdo, me lo llevaré.
Can I have a bag?
¿Tiene una bolsa?
Can you ship it to my country?
¿Puede enviarlo a mi país?
I need…
Necesito…
…batteries.
…pilas.
…cold medicine.
…medicamento para el resfriado.
…condoms.: …preservativos/condones.
…English-language books.
…libros en inglés.
…English-language magazines.
…revistas en inglés.
…an English-language newspaper.
…un periódico/diario en inglés.
…an English-Spanish dictionary.
…un diccionario inglés-español.
…pain reliever. (e.g., aspirin or ibuprofen)
…medicamento para el dolor (Aspirina, Ibuprofeno).
…a pen.
…un bolígrafo.
…postage stamps.
…sellos/estampillas.
…a postcard.
…una postal.
…a razor.
…una hoja de afeitar.
…shampoo.
…champú.
…stomach medicine.
…. medicamento para el dolor de estómago
…soap.
…jabón.
…sunblock lotion.
…crema solar.
…tampons.
…tampones.
…a toothbrush.
… un cepillo de dientes.
…toothpaste.
…pasta de dientes.
…an umbrella.
…un paraguas.
…writing paper.
…papel para escribir.
MORE AUTOMOTIVE/DRIVING PHRASES
I want to rent a car.
Quiero alquiler un coche.
Can I get insurance?
¿Puedo contratar un seguro?
STOP (on a street sign)
STOP (Spain), ALTO (México), PARE (Chile, Argentina, Perú)
one way
dirección única
no parking
no aparcar , no estacionar
speed limit
límite de velocidad , velocidad máxima
gas/petrol station
gasolinera , estación de bencina (Chile)
gas/petrol
gasolina , bencina (Chile), nafta (Argentina)
diesel
gasóleo , diesel DEE-sel (Latin America), diésel (DYEH-sel) (Spain)
DEALING WITH POLICE/AUTHORITIES PHRASES
I haven’t done anything wrong.
No he hecho nada malo. (NOH ay AY-choh NAH-dah MAH-loh)
It was a misunderstanding.
Es un malentendido. (AYSS oon MAHL-ayn-tayn-DEE-doh)
Where are you taking me?
¿Dónde me lleva? (DOHN-day may YAY-bah?)
Am I under arrest?
¿Estoy arrestado/a? (ay-STOY AHRR-ay-STAH-doh/dah?)
I am an American/Australian/British/Canadian citizen.
Soy ciudadano estadounidense/australiano/inglés/canadiense.
I want to talk to the American/Australian/British/Canadian embassy/consulate.
Quiero hablar con la embajada/el consulado estadounidense/australiano/inglés/canadiense.
I want to talk to a lawyer.
Quiero hablar con un abogado. (KYAY-roh ah-BLAHR cohn oon AH-boh-GAH-doh)
Can I just pay a fine now?
¿Puedo pagar la multa ahora? (PWAY-doh pah-GAR lah MOOL-tah ah-OH-rah?)
IN CONCLUSION
Well, that brings us to the end of this little mini phrase section I hope that you have found it useful if you are planning a trip to Spanish speaking regions, or if you wanted to learn some Spanish phrases quickly.
Also, you can print out any section of this ebook, or the entire thing, and read it/take it with you without the need of your computer.