It is that time when you have everything ready for your trip to a Spanish-speaking country, but you want to get to know more about the language and learn some useful phrases in Spanish and you have no time to take a short Spanish course, do not worry.
I will give you some useful and practical sentences.
Greetings
When you are in any country of South America, it is important that you remember to be courteous and polite, but do not worry about making a mistake while you speak, they will try to understand you and make sure you understand them.
Good morning – Buenos días (bway nos dee ahs)
Good afternoon – Buenas tardes (bway nahs tar days)
Hi, Hello – Hola (oh lah). This word is usually used when you know the person, or if that person is your friend.
How are you? – ¿Cómo está? (coh moh es tah) if you don’t know someone, and ¿Cómo estás? (coh moh es tahs) if you know them.
If someone ask you ¿Cómo está? / ¿Cómo estás?, you can answer them by saying Good, thank you – Bien, gracias (bee ayn, grah cee ahs)
When you know someone for the first time or you are introduced to someone. You say Mucho gusto (moo choh goos toh), this means Nice to meet you.
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Some basic phrases and vocabulary for many uses
If you are not sure how to ask for something in Spanish or it s too complicated for you, try saying “Habla Inglés?” (ahblah een glays)? – Do you speak English?
In addition when you want something or ask for something, please remember to say Please – Por Favor (por fah vohr) and Thank you – Gracias ( grah cee ahs).
You can always use “I want/like”, “Do you have…?” and if you don´t remember the noun, it is ok that you just point the object and people will understand you and help you in your request.
Here I will give you some examples:
I want, I don’t want a ticket, a hotel, a taxi – Yo quiero, yo no quiero un boleto, un hotel un taxi ( yoh kee ayr oh, yoh noh kee ayr oh oon boh lat toh, oon oh tayl, oon tahk see)
I would like – Me gustaría (may goo stah ree ah)
I understand, I don’t understand – Yo entiendo, yo no entiendo (yoh ayn tee ayn doh, yoh noh ayn tee ayn doh)
How much does it cost? – ¿Cuánto cuesta? (cwahn toh cways tah)
If you are in South America I would love to see your pictures.
Directions
If you get lost or are unsure how to get somewhere, here are some phrases that will help you to find your way.
The most simple phrase you can use is: Where is? – ¿Dónde está? (dohn des tah), here are some examples:
Where is the bus stration/train station? – ¿Dónde está la estación de autobuses/la estación de ferrocarril? (dohn des tah la ays ta see ohn day ow toe boos ehs/fay roh cahr reel)
Where is a restaurant? – ¿Dónde hay? (dohn day eye oon rays tore rahn tay)
Where is the bathroom? – ¿Dónde está el baño? (dohn des tah el ban yoh)
Undrestanding the directions
When someone asnwers you, you need to understand the directions that person is giving you. I will tell you the key words to understand the directions.
Right – A la derecha (a lah day ray chah)
Left – A la izquierda (a lah eez kee ayr dah)
Straight ahead – Derecho (Day ray choh)
At the corner – En la Esquina (a lah ays kee nah)
In two, three, four blocks – A una cuadra, a dos, tres cuatro cuadras (a oona dohss, tryass, cwah troh cwah drahs)
Conclusion
Enjoy a nice trip in South America and have an unforgetable experience only knowing these few but useful phrases.
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