Common Spanish Phrases
The most useful Spanish phrases for beginners are greetings, introductions, polite requests, and survival phrases for when you do not understand. Learn these as whole chunks, not as word-by-word translations, and you will be able to handle many basic conversations.
Greetings and goodbyes
- Hola. - Hello.
- Buenos días. - Good morning.
- Buenas tardes. - Good afternoon / good evening.
- Buenas noches. - Good evening / good night.
- ¿Cómo estás? - How are you? (informal)
- ¿Cómo está? - How are you? (formal)
- Muy bien, gracias. - Very well, thanks.
- Hasta luego. - See you later.
- Adiós. - Goodbye.
Spanish has formal and informal ways to address people. tú is informal. usted is formal.
Introducing yourself
- Me llamo Ana. - My name is Ana.
- Soy Ana. - I am Ana.
- Mucho gusto. - Nice to meet you.
- ¿De dónde eres? - Where are you from? (informal)
- Soy de Estados Unidos. - I am from the United States.
- Tengo veinticinco años. - I am twenty-five years old.
Important note: Spanish uses tener for age. You say tengo 25 años, literally “I have 25 years.”
Politeness
- Por favor. - Please.
- Gracias. - Thank you.
- Muchas gracias. - Thank you very much.
- De nada. - You are welcome.
- Perdón. - Sorry / excuse me.
- Disculpe. - Excuse me. (formal)
- No pasa nada. - No problem.
In many situations, disculpe is a useful polite way to get someone’s attention.
Asking for things
- Quiero un café, por favor. - I want a coffee, please.
- Me gustaría un café, por favor. - I would like a coffee, please.
- La cuenta, por favor. - The check, please.
- ¿Cuánto cuesta? - How much does it cost?
- ¿Dónde está el baño? - Where is the bathroom?
- ¿Me puede ayudar? - Can you help me?
For a softer request, me gustaría is more polite than quiero.
When you do not understand
- No entiendo. - I do not understand.
- ¿Puede repetir, por favor? - Can you repeat, please?
- Más despacio, por favor. - More slowly, please.
- ¿Qué significa eso? - What does that mean?
- ¿Cómo se dice … en español? - How do you say … in Spanish?
- Estoy aprendiendo español. - I am learning Spanish.
These phrases are some of the most valuable phrases you can learn because they keep the conversation alive.
Make phrases automatic
Do not only memorize these once. Notice them in stories, dialogues, audio, and real conversation. The more you see no entiendo and puede repetir in context, the faster they come out when you need them.
Verbista helps by showing phrases in level-matched stories and letting you save the words you actually meet.
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