Spanish Phrases for Travelers

Hola Señor! Habla Español?

Spanish is one of the languages that finds its origin in Latin and it is very easy to learn if you know Italian or French. However, you need not worry even if you do not know any of the above languages. Here's a common Spanish phrases guide which will help you learn some of the important and most used phrases. So get ready to start the Iberian journey.

In case you haven't noticed, there seems to be a predominant occurrence of the letter 'n' with some wiggly thing on the top. This letter is very important as it differentiates the Spanish language from English. It is known in Spanish as 'enyay' and is pronounced as 'ny'.

Just think of how you pronounce the last syllable in 'lasagna', the 'ñ' is used in a similar way. Ever heard of the word pinata? It is pronounced as pinyaata, because in Spanish it is spelled with the 'ñ' i.e. piñata.

Unlike English, Spanish is pronounced largely the way it is written. But there are situations where the English and Spanish pronunciations vary. The 'J' is pronounced as 'kh'. The 'll' is pronounced as 'ya'. And the 'h' isn't pronounced at all. Keeping all this in mind, let us now proceed to the useful Spanish phrases and words.

The first thing that you should know how to say if you don't know Spanish, is "I don't know how to speak Spanish". This will help you as Spanish people will then try to converse in English or other language that you know. Here are some of the most popular Spanish phrases.

No Hablo Español : I do not speak Spanish

No comprendo Español : I do not understand Spanish

Habla Ingles? : Do you speak English?

Hola! Buenos Dias : Hello! Good Morning/Good Day

Si : Yes

No : No

Buenas Tardes/Buenas Noches : Good Afternoon/Good Night

Donde queda el baño? : Where is the toilet? (very important!)

Señores : Gentlemen (so that you don't end up in the wrong toilet!

Mujeres : Ladies

Por favour : Please

Muchas Gracias : Thank you very much

Perdon? : Excuse me?/Pardon me?

Como llego a ... : How do you go to ... (name of the place)

Cuanto cuesta esto? : How much does this cost?

Que es esto : What is this?

Me llamo... : My name is…

Como se dice... en español? : How do you say... in Spanish?

Te Quiero : I love you (just in case you find someone nice!)

No fumar : No smoking

Entrada : Entrance

Salida : Exit

Hasta luego : See you later

Adios : Goodbye

So now when you go Spain, you will be well-equipped to handle quite a few situations. Besides the phrases mentioned above, you can learn more if you find the language interesting. There are various 'apps' available on Android, iOS, etc., that help you translate words from some of the most used languages into Spanish.