¡Bienvenidos! Welcome to your Spanish journey! Spanish is spoken by over 500 million people worldwide, making it one of the most useful languages for travelers. Whether you are visiting Spain, Mexico, or any of the 20+ countries where Spanish is official, these basic phrases will help you connect with locals from day one.
Spanish pronunciation is relatively straightforward once you learn the rules. Most letters are pronounced consistently, and the stress patterns are predictable. Let us start with the most essential greetings.
Basic Greetings
Hola
OH-lah
Hello (informal, used anytime)
Buenos días
BWEH-nohs DEE-ahs
Good morning (until around noon)
Buenas tardes
BWEH-nahs TAR-dehs
Good afternoon (noon until sunset)
Buenas noches
BWEH-nahs NOH-chehs
Good evening / Good night
Essential Polite Words
These magic words will take you far in any Spanish-speaking country:
Por favor
por fah-VOR
Please
Gracias
GRAH-syahs
Thank you
Muchas gracias
MOO-chahs GRAH-syahs
Thank you very much
De nada
deh NAH-dah
You're welcome
Perdón
pehr-DOHN
Excuse me / Sorry
Lo siento
loh SYEHN-toh
I'm sorry
Meeting People
You
¡Hola! Me llamo María. (OH-lah! meh YAH-moh mah-REE-ah)
Local
¡Hola María! Mucho gusto. Me llamo Carlos.
You
Mucho gusto, Carlos. ¿Cómo está? (MOO-choh GOOS-toh. KOH-moh ehs-TAH?)
Local
Muy bien, gracias. ¿Y usted?
Me llamo...
meh YAH-moh
My name is... (literally "I call myself")
Mucho gusto
MOO-choh GOOS-toh
Nice to meet you (literally "much pleasure")
How Are You?
Spanish has formal and informal ways to ask how someone is:
¿Cómo está?
KOH-moh ehs-TAH
How are you? (formal)
¿Cómo estás?
KOH-moh ehs-TAHS
How are you? (informal)
¿Qué tal?
keh tahl
How's it going? (casual)
Muy bien
mwee byehn
Very well
Bien, gracias
byehn, GRAH-syahs
Fine, thank you
¿Y tú? / ¿Y usted?
ee too / ee oos-TEHD
And you? (informal/formal)
Cultural Tip
Use "usted" (formal you) with elders, officials, and in professional settings. Use "tú" (informal you) with friends, young people, and in casual situations. When in doubt, start formal—locals will tell you if you can switch to informal!
Yes, No, and Basic Responses
Sí
see
Yes
No
noh
No
Tal vez
tahl vehs
Maybe
Por supuesto
por soo-PWEHS-toh
Of course
No sé
noh seh
I don't know
Entiendo
ehn-TYEHN-doh
I understand
Saying Goodbye
Adiós
ah-DYOHS
Goodbye
Hasta luego
AHS-tah LWEH-goh
See you later
Hasta mañana
AHS-tah mah-NYAH-nah
See you tomorrow
Hasta pronto
AHS-tah PROHN-toh
See you soon
Helpful Traveler Phrases
No hablo español
noh AH-bloh ehs-pah-NYOHL
I don't speak Spanish
Hablo un poco de español
AH-bloh oon POH-koh deh ehs-pah-NYOHL
I speak a little Spanish
¿Habla inglés?
AH-blah een-GLEHS
Do you speak English?
Más despacio, por favor
mahs dehs-PAH-syoh, por fah-VOR
More slowly, please
¿Puede repetir?
PWEH-deh reh-peh-TEER
Can you repeat that?
Pronunciation Tip
Spanish vowels are consistent: A (ah), E (eh), I (ee), O (oh), U (oo). The letter "ñ" sounds like "ny" in "canyon." Practice these sounds and you will be understood everywhere!
¡Muy bien! You have learned the essential building blocks of Spanish conversation. These phrases will help you greet people, be polite, and start making connections. In our next lesson, we will cover airport and travel vocabulary.