Travel phrases

Essential Spanish travel phrases

Pack the words that matter. These are the 34 Spanish phrases that actually come up on a trip, from your first Hola to calling for help, grouped by situation and written with a simple pronunciation guide, and read aloud at the tap of a button. Chosen the way a Spanish speaker would choose them, which is why the list ends with the phrases you only hear once you are there.

Quick answer

The most useful Spanish travel phrases cover greetings, politeness, directions, food, and emergencies. Learn a handful first: Hola (hello), Por favor (please), Gracias (thank you), and ¿Dónde está el baño? (where's the toilet?). This free tool groups 34 Spanish phrases by situation, each with a plain-English pronunciation and a play button that reads it aloud. They are the phrases Spanish speakers really use, not an English list translated into Spanish, so the last block is the one a phrasebook never has: what locals say to each other.

Start here

The first 10 Spanish phrases to learn

The ones you need on day one. Tap play, say the phrase back until it sounds close, then say it along with the voice: that is shadowing, the drill interpreters train with.

  1. 1 Hola Hello OH-lah Works at any hour with anyone; often stacked as "Hola, buenos días"
  2. 2 Buenas Hi BWEH-nahs The short greeting locals really use walking into a shop or a bar, any hour
  3. 3 Buenos días Good morning BWEH-nohs DEE-ahs Until lunch: about 2pm in Spain, noon in Latin America; then "buenas tardes"
  4. 4 ¿Qué tal? How's it going? keh TAHL The follow-up to hola; answer "bien, ¿y tú?" Not a question about your health
  5. 5 Hasta luego See you later AHS-tah LWEH-goh The everyday goodbye leaving a shop or a bar, often clipped to "luego"; "adiós" is just as normal in Spain, and said in passing it even means hi
  6. 6 Gracias Thank you GRAH-thyahs What comes back is "de nada" or, if you were served, "a ti"
  7. 7 Por favor Please por fah-BOR
  8. 8 Disculpe, una pregunta Excuse me, a quick question dees-KOOL-peh OO-nah preh-GOON-tah The usted form works everywhere; "perdona" to someone your own age
  9. 9 ¿Cómo? Sorry, what? KOH-moh Asks for a repeat; "perdón" is softer, and Mexico says "mande"
  10. 10 No entiendo I don't understand noh en-TYEN-doh
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All 34 phrases, grouped by situation.

Greetings

Hola Hello OH-lah Works at any hour with anyone; often stacked as "Hola, buenos días"
Buenas Hi BWEH-nahs The short greeting locals really use walking into a shop or a bar, any hour
Buenos días Good morning BWEH-nohs DEE-ahs Until lunch: about 2pm in Spain, noon in Latin America; then "buenas tardes"
¿Qué tal? How's it going? keh TAHL The follow-up to hola; answer "bien, ¿y tú?" Not a question about your health
Hasta luego See you later AHS-tah LWEH-goh The everyday goodbye leaving a shop or a bar, often clipped to "luego"; "adiós" is just as normal in Spain, and said in passing it even means hi

Basics

Gracias Thank you GRAH-thyahs What comes back is "de nada" or, if you were served, "a ti"
Por favor Please por fah-BOR
Disculpe, una pregunta Excuse me, a quick question dees-KOOL-peh OO-nah preh-GOON-tah The usted form works everywhere; "perdona" to someone your own age
¿Cómo? Sorry, what? KOH-moh Asks for a repeat; "perdón" is softer, and Mexico says "mande"
No entiendo I don't understand noh en-TYEN-doh
¿Habla inglés? Do you speak English? AH-blah een-GLEHS Formal usted form; for a group Spain uses vosotros, Latin America always ustedes

Getting around

¿Dónde está el baño? Where's the toilet? DOHN-deh es-TAH el BAH-nyoh Ask inside the bar; the door usually says "servicios" or "aseos" in Spain
¿Cómo llego al centro? How do I get to the centre? KOH-moh YEH-goh ahl THEN-troh The natural way to ask directions; "¿cómo se va al centro?" works too
¿Dónde está la parada del autobús? Where's the bus stop? DOHN-deh es-TAH lah pah-RAH-dah del ow-toh-BOOS In Spain you "coger" the bus; in Mexico or Argentina say "tomar", since "coger" is vulgar there
Aquí mismo, por favor Right here, please ah-KEE MEES-moh por fah-BOR To a taxi driver when you want to be let out
¿Está muy lejos? Is it far? es-TAH mwee LEH-hohs The follow-up to directions; "aquí al lado" back means two streets away

Eating out

¿Me pones una caña, por favor? Can I get a small draft beer, please? meh POH-nehs OO-nah KAH-nyah por fah-BOR Spain's bar register, the tú form and all; elsewhere ask for "una cerveza"
Agua del grifo, por favor Tap water, please AH-gwah del GREE-foh por fah-BOR Free by law in Spain; in much of Latin America tap water is not safe to drink
La cuenta, por favor The bill, please lah KWEN-tah por fah-BOR In Spain most people catch the waiter and say "¿Me cobras?" instead
¿Qué van a tomar? What are you having? keh bahn ah toh-MAR What the waiter asks your table; to a young group in Spain, "¿qué vais a tomar?"
¡Que aproveche! Enjoy your meal keh ah-proh-BEH-cheh Said to anyone eating as you pass, even strangers at the bar; Latin America says "buen provecho"

Shopping

¿Cuánto es? How much is it? KWAN-toh ess What locals say at a counter; "¿cuánto cuesta?" is the fuller version
¿Quién es el último? Who's last in line? kyen ess el OOL-tee-moh Asked at a market stall, a bakery or a pharmacy where nobody lines up; whoever says "yo" goes just before you
¿Puedo pagar con tarjeta? Can I pay by card? PWEH-doh pah-GAR kon tar-HEH-tah Normal in Spain; in much of Latin America and at market stalls cash still rules
Nada más, gracias That's all, thanks NAH-dah mahs GRAH-thyahs Closes your order at a market stall, a bakery or a deli counter

Emergencies

¡Socorro! Help! soh-KOH-rroh "Ayuda" is milder; emergencies are 112 in Spain and 911 in most of Latin America
¡Llamen a una ambulancia! Call an ambulance! YAH-men ah OO-nah ahm-boo-LAHN-thyah Shouted to whoever is around you, not to one person
Me han robado I've been robbed meh ahn rroh-BAH-doh What you tell the police; they will have you file a "denuncia"
Me he perdido I'm lost meh eh per-DEE-doh The everyday way to say it; Latin America says "me perdí"

Locals say

¡Salud! Cheers! sah-LOOD The toast with glasses raised, and what you say when someone sneezes
De nada You're welcome deh NAH-dah The set answer to gracias; among friends you also hear "nada, nada"
No pasa nada No worries noh PAH-sah NAH-dah The all-purpose reply after an apology or any small mishap
Vale OK BAH-leh Spain says this constantly for yes, agreed, got it; Latin America says "dale"
Venga Right then BEN-gah Spain wraps up a chat with it, usually "venga, hasta luego"

How to get the most from these phrases

Learn by situation, not alphabetically. Your memory files Hola next to the moment you would use it, so run through the greetings before you fly, the restaurant block on the way to dinner, and the emergency block once so it is there if you ever need it.

The pronunciation guide is written the way an English speaker would read it aloud, with the stressed syllable in capitals. It is a crutch, not the real sound. Press play, listen once, then say the phrase back: the audio fixes the vowels that plain English spelling cannot capture. Once a phrase feels easy, say it together with the voice, a beat behind, the way interpreters drill: our guide to shadowing explains the sequence.

Phrases get you to the country. What gets you fluent is meeting the same words again and again in context, which is exactly what reading does. Once Por favor and Gracias feel automatic, the next step is a real Spanish sentence, then a page, then a book. That is the whole idea behind reading in Lingo7.

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Frequently asked questions

What are the most important Spanish phrases for travel?

Start with greetings and politeness, then the phrases that solve a real problem: asking directions, ordering, paying, and getting help. On this page that is Hola (hello), Por favor (please), Gracias (thank you), ¿Dónde está el baño? (where's the toilet?), and ¡Socorro! (help!). Learn those few and you can be polite and safe almost anywhere.

What do Spanish locals say that a phrasebook leaves out?

A phrasebook translates English, so it gives you the Spanish for "hello" and stops. The phrases people there actually trade all day are the ones with no English slot: ¡Salud! (cheers!), De nada (you're welcome), No pasa nada (no worries). The "Locals say" block on this page collects 5 of them and says when each one is used, which is usually what turns a correct sentence into a normal one.

What do these Spanish phrases sound like?

Tap the play button next to a phrase and you hear it read aloud, so you can copy the sound instead of guessing it from the spelling. The written pronunciation is a crutch for English eyes, the audio is the real thing. Play Hola and Gracias a few times, say them back, and they come out right when it counts.

How do you say hello and thank you in Spanish?

In Spanish, hello is Hola (pronounced OH-lah) and thank you is Gracias (GRAH-thyahs). Add Por favor (please) and Hasta luego (see you later), and you have the words that carry most short exchanges with a shopkeeper, waiter, or stranger.

How do you ask where the toilet is in Spanish?

Ask ¿Dónde está el baño? (pronounced DOHN-deh es-TAH el BAH-nyoh), which means "where's the toilet?" in Spanish. If you only catch part of the reply, No entiendo (I don't understand) and a smile usually gets it repeated or pointed out. It is one of the few phrases worth memorizing word for word before you go.

Do I need to learn Spanish before traveling?

No, but a dozen Spanish phrases go a long way. Locals warm up fast when you open with Hola and Gracias instead of English. You do not need grammar or fluency for a trip, just the survival set above. For anything past that, the fastest route to real Spanish is reading, which is exactly what Lingo7 is built for.