Useful phrases in Spanish for beginners (and some essential vocabulary)

Spanish is a highly “oral” language, meaning conversation and verbal exchange play an important role in daily and social life. When learning Spanish as a beginner, you should therefore put great emphasis on learning to speak and understand basic Spanish. A lot of simple communication in Spanish happens with short phrases and replies of often just a few words. Fortunately, you can acquire basic language skills by learning a few key phrases, expressions and words. We’ll give you an overview of useful Spanish phrases as well as essential vocabulary.

• Greetings
• Being polite and social
• Asking simple and common questions
• In conversation and daily situations
• Saying goodbye
• The most frequent Spanish words

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Greetings

You can use the following simple Spanish phrases to greet someone formally and informally.

• Good morning – Buenos días
• Good afternoon/good evening – Buenas tardes
• Good night – Buenas noches
• Hello – ¡Hola!
• Greetings – Saludos

Being polite and social

With the following Spanish phrases, you can introduce yourself and ask about the well-being of someone else:

• How are you? –  ¿Cómo estás? (informal) or ¿Cómo está usted? (formal)
• How are you? / What’s up? – ¿Qué tal?
• How’s it going? – ¿Cómo te va?
• What are you doing? – ¿Qué haces?
• What’s going on? – ¿Qué pasa?
• My name is… – Me llamo… or Mi nombre es… 
• I am (from)… – Soy (de)… 

To reply and start a conversation, you can use these phrases:

• Nice meeting you – Mucho gusto or Encantado/encantada
• I am fine – Estoy bien
• Good, thank you – Bien, gracias
• Very well – Muy bien
• So, so – Así, así
• As always – Como siempre
• And you? – ¿Y tú? (informal) or ¿Y usted? (formal)

Here are more polite expressions for conversation:

• Thank you, thanks a million. – ¡Gracias! or ¡Muchas Gracias!
• You’re welcome! – ¡De nada!
• Please (at the beginning or end of a request) – Por favor
• Excuse me – ¡Perdon!, ¡Perdóname, ¡Permiso! or ¡Disculpe!
• I’m sorry! – ¡Lo siento!
• Welcome! – ¡Bienvenido! / ¡Bienvenidos!
• Congratulations! –  ¡Felicidades! or ¡Enhorabuena!
• Enjoy! – ¡Disfruta!
• Bon appetit! – ¡Buen provecho!
• Cheers! / Bless you! – ¡Salud!
• Happy Birthday! – ¡Feliz Cumpleaños!

Asking simple and common questions

These are the most common words to begin or ask a question in Spanish:

• What…? – ¿Qué…?
• Who…? – ¿Quién…?
• When…? – ¿Cuándo…?
• Where…? – ¿Dónde…?
• Why…? – ¿Por qué…?
• Which…? – ¿Cuál…?
• How…? – ¿Cómo…?

Here are more phrases for asking basic questions in Spanish:

• What time is it? – ¿Qué hora es?
• Where are you from? – ¿De dónde eres?
• How much does it cost? – ¿Cuánto cuesta?
• How do you say…? – ¿Cómo se dice…?
• How do you call…? – ¿Cómo se llama…?
• What does … mean ? – ¿Qué significa…?
• Can you help me? – ¿Puede ayudarme?
• Do you understand? – ¿Entiende?
• Can you repeat? – ¿Podría repetir, por favor? or ¿Podría repetirlo, por favor?
• Can you speak slower? – ¿Puedes hablar más despacio?
• In English? – ¿En inglés?
• Do you speak English? – ¿Habla inglés? (formal) or ¿Hablas inglés? (informal)
• Where is…? – ¿Dónde está…?

You can use these simple and common answers to reply to many questions:

• Yes – Sí
• No – No
• Maybe – Tal vez or Quizás
• Always – Siempre
• Never – Nunca
• Of course – Claro
• No problem! – ¡Sin problema!
• I don’t understand – No entiendo
• I don’t know (it) – No (lo) sé
• I don’t speak Spanish – No hablo español
• I’m lost – Estoy perdido
• I need help – Necesito ayuda

Useful in conversation and daily situations

Whether you want to order food or ask for directions, these phrases will help you navigate daily life in Spanish:

• I need… – Necesito…
• I would like… – Quisiera…
• I like (I enjoy)… – Me gusta…
• The check, please – La cuenta, por favor
• Where’s the bathroom? – ¿Dónde está el baño?
• I’m hungry / thirst. – Tengo hambre / sed
• Breakfast – el desayuno
• Lunch – el almuerzo
• Dinner – la cena
• Water – el agua
• A coffee (with milk and sugar) – Un café (con leche y azúcar)
• The soup – la sopa
• The salad – la ensalada
• The chicken – el pollo
• The meat – la carne
• Red / white wine – vino tinto / blanco
• A beer – una cerveza
• A ticket – un billete
• When does the bus / train / plane arrive? – ¿A qué hora llega el bus / tren / avión?
• Where can I find a taxi? – ¿Dónde puedo encontrar un taxi?
• Where is the (metro / train) station? – ¿Dónde está la estación de metro / tren?
• Here – aquí
• There – allí
• On the right / left – a la derecha / izquierda
• Straight ahead – derecho
• At the corner (with) – en la esquina (con)

Saying goodbye

• Goodbye – Adiós, Chao
• See you later / soon – ¡Hasta luego!
• See you tomorrow – ¡Hasta mañana!
• See you, I’ll be seeing you – Nos vemos
• Have a good day – ¡Buen día!
• Have a good trip – ¡Buen viaje!
• Have a nice day – ¡Tenga un buen día!

The most frequent Spanish words

The Royal Spanish Academy, or Real Academia Española, has analyzed millions of word forms as used in written and spoken Spanish to compile a list of the most frequent words. Jump-start your Spanish vocabulary learning with these fifty most commonly used Spanish words.

ENGLISH	SPANISH	TYPE
of; from	de	preposition
the (third person feminine singular pronoun)	la	article, pronoun
that, which	que	conjunction
the	el	article
in, on	en	preposition
and	y	conjunction
to, at	a	preposition
the (third person masculine direct object)	los	article, pronoun
-self, oneself (reflexive)	se	pronoun
from the	del	preposition
The (third person feminine direct object)	las	article, pronoun
a, an	un	article
by, for, through	por	preposition
with	con	preposition
no, not	no	adverb
a, an, one	una	article
his / her / its / your	su	possessive
for, to, in order to	para	preposition
is	es	verb
to the	al	preposition
the (third person masculine direct object)	lo	article, pronoun
like, as	como	conjunction
more	más	adjective
or	o	conjunction
but	pero	conjunction
your	sus	possessive
third person indirect object	le	pronoun
he / she / it has (done something)	ha	verb
me	me	pronoun
if, whether	si	conjunction
without	sin	preposition
on top of, over, about	sobre	preposition
this	este	adjective
already, still	ya	adverb
between	entre	preposition
when	cuando	conjunction
all, every	todo	adjective
this	esta	adjective
to be	ser	verb
they are, you are (pl.)	son	verb
two	dos	number
too, also, as well	también	adverb
was	fue	verb
I / he / she / it / there was	había	verb
was	era	verb
very	muy	adverb
years	años	noun(masculine)
until	hasta	preposition
from, since	desde	preposition
is	está	verb

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¡Suerte!

Learning a new language can be challenging, but it’s also incredibly rewarding. We’ve highlighted some of the most useful phrases and expressions in Spanish for beginners. From basic greetings to essential vocabulary, these phrases are the building blocks of any conversation in Spanish. By mastering these phrases, you’ll be able to communicate more effectively with native Spanish speakers and immerse yourself in the language and culture. Whether you’re planning a trip to a Spanish-speaking country or simply want to expand your language skills, these phrases are a great place to start. ¡Suerte!

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