Planning a trip to Spain, Mexico, Costa Rica, Argentina, Ecuador, Columbia, Dominican Republic or some other Spanish speaking country? This is the blog post for you.
You have been planning this trip for months. You have you passports ready and your things are packed. The only thing that remains is boarding the plane and heading to the Spanish-speaking country for the holiday of your dreams. The only problem is that you don’t know a lot of Spanish. Learning how to communicate like the locals in the country you’re traveling to will make your vacation more fun. That said, here are a few Spanish phrases that might make your Spanish speaking vacation go a little more smoothly.
Greetings
Good evening – Buenas noches
Good afternoon – Buenas tardes
Good morning – Buenas dias
Hi – Hola
How are you? – Cόmo estά?
Good, thank you – Bien, gracias
Nice to meet you – Mucho gusto
Please – Por favor
Thank you – Gracias
Do you speak English? – Habla ingles
Basic Vocabulary for Daily Use
While you don’t have to be a fluent Spanish speaker, you can familiarize yourself with basic vocabulary like ‘Do you have…?’ You can point at an object if you don’t know it’s Spanish name.
I would like to… – Me gustaria
How much does it cost? – Cuάnto cuesta?
Do you have? – Tiene?
I want, I don’t want – Yo quiero, yo no quiero
Where is? – Donde estά?
Do you understand? – Entiende?
Directions
As you’ll be travelling to a new country and then probably travelling in it, chances are you’ll be asking for directions every now and then. These simple phrases will help find your way.
Where is the bus station? – Donde estά la estacion de ferrocarril?
A train…? – Un tren…?
Where’s the bathroom? – Donde estά el bańo?
A bank…? – Un bano…?
You’ll also need to understand the directions that you are given so here’s a little help.
Left – A la izquierda
Right – A la derecha
At the corner – En la esquina
Straight ahead – Derecho
When in a Restaurant
Knowing how to order in a restaurant in Spanish is probably the most important thing. Use quiero or quisiera, which translate to I want or I would like respectively, when ordering in a restaurant. In addition don’t forget to say please and thank you in Spanish. Other phrases that will come in handy in a restaurant setting include:
The check – La cuenta
White wine, red wine – Vino blanco, vino tinto
With ketchup, tomato, mustard, lettuce – Con salsa de tomate, tomate, mostaza, lechuga
Dessert – Un postre
Beer – Cerveza
Soup – Sopa
Hamburger – Hamburguesa
A table – Una mesa
A drink – bebida
To make your trip more fun, practice saying these phrases loudly. It will help you grasp the right pronunciations quicker. Try bookmarking this list on G+, etc. so it can be accessed from your phone, print off this list and put it in your suitcase. Carrying an English-Spanish dictionary might also help.
This post was supplied by Mark Stubbles, Mark writes for Gritty Spanish.