Spanish (español), also known as Castilian (castellano), is the third most-spoken language (around 500 million speakers) in the world. Originating in Spain and spoken by most residents there, it has slightly different pronunciations from the rest of the world's Spanish speakers, as well as a few vocabulary differences.
A Western Romance language, Spanish is closely related to and mutually intelligible with the other romance languages to an extent, such as Portuguese, Catalan, Italian and Romanian. English and Spanish share variants of approximately one third of their words (via Latin), although the pronunciation tends to be very different.
The Spanish verb tense system is fairly similar to English, but all six person/number combinations take different endings in the indicative. The formal "you" (usted(es)) takes a third-person verb. Spanish has genders, so a man says encantado and a woman says encantada. The indirect object and the animate direct object are both marked by a.
Spanish spelling has the pleasant characteristic of being very phonetic, with only a few clearly-defined exceptions. This means that if you know how to pronounce the letters of a word, it's relatively easy to sound out the word itself.
Besides having a very small number of vowel sounds and a high predictability of exactly what sound is represented by each letter, Spanish has a very clear set of rules about where a stress normally falls, and exceptions are noted with an "acute accent mark" ("´ ") over the vowel of the stressed syllable. Normally, words that end in a vowel, or in n or s, have the stress on the next-to-last syllable (muchacho = "mu-CHA-cho"); all other words without an explicit accent mark are stressed on the final syllable (hospital = "os-pee-TAL"). There are no secondary stresses within words.
like 'b' in "bed" (but no aspiration) at the beginning of a word and after 'm': boca. A soft vibration sound almost like English 'v' elsewhere. See v below.
c
follows the same pronunciation pattern as in English. In most cases it is pronounced like 'k' in "kid": calle, doctor. When followed by 'e' or 'i', it is like 's' in "supper" (in the Americas, the Canaries and some parts of the Philippines) or 'th' in "thin" (Spain): cine (THEE-nay)
ch
like 'ch' in "touch": muchacho
d
like 'd' in "dog": de. In some dialects, a 'd' between two vowels is pronounced with a bit of softness, halfway between the normal 'd' and the 'th' in "the": pasado. You're usually fine just using the 'd' sound.
f
like 'f' in "fine": faro
g
when followed by 'e' or 'i', like a throaty 'h' (general = heh-neh-RAHL), otherwise like 'g' in "go" (gato). In the clusters "gue" and "gui", the 'u' serves only to change the sound of the consonant and is silent (guitarra), unless it bears a diaeresis, as in "güe" and "güi" (pedigüeño). In between vowels, it tends to be voiced and not guturral.
gu, gü
when followed by another vowel, like 'Gw' in Gwen (agua, cigüeña, Camagüey)
h
silent: hora= OR-ah. Pronounced like a softer 'j' only in foreign words.
j
like a throaty 'h' in "ha": jamón;
k
like 'k' in "kid": kilo The letter K is only used in foreign words (kárate, kilo, Kiev, etc.).
l
like 'l' in "love": lápiz
ll
like 'y' in "year"; pronounced like a Zh as in 'Zhivago' only in Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay: llamar. In at least some parts of Costa Rica and Colombia, pronounced as the English "j" or "g," as in the words "ginger" or "ninja." Also pronounced like 'ly' as in the English word "million" in northern Spain and in the Philippines.
m
like 'm' in "mother": mano
n
like 'n' in "nice", and like 'n' in "anchor": noche, ancla
ñ
like 'ny' in "canyon": cañón, piñata
p
like 'p' in "pig": perro
q
like 'q' in "quiche" (always with a silent "u"): queso, pronounced KAY-so
r, rr
Spanish has two 'r' sounds both of which are different from their counterpart in English. Some effort should be made to approximate each of them, to help listeners distinguish between perro ("dog") and pero ("but")... or perhaps to understand you at all:
single r: This sound is created by putting the tip of the tongue up against where the front of the roof of the mouth meets the upper teeth, very similar to the action English speakers make to pronounce l or d. To an English-speaking ear, it may sound a bit like a combined "d-r". Take care to pronounce r separately when it follows a consonant; a blended English tr will not be recognized in the Spanish word otro ("other"), which should be pronouced more like "OHT-roh".
rolled r: Written "r" at the beginning of the word, or "rr" between vowels (cerro). It's a multiply vibrating sound. Whereas most English speakers can learn to tap out a single r, many adults learning Spanish find this sound impossible to produce; in this case, pronouncing it like a Spanish r or fumbling out a d-r will be better understood than pronouncing it like a long English r.
s
like 's' in "son": sopa; in Spain, it is often pronounced like a soft, palatised "sh" at the end of a word or syllable.
t
like 't' in "top": tapa
v
like 'b' in "bed" (but no aspiration) at the beginning of a word and after 'm': vaca, pronounced BAH-kah. A soft vibration sound almost like English 'v' elsewhere. To distinguish v from b when spelling, one says "vay chica" or "bay grande" to indicate which; native Spanish speakers may not hear the difference between "vee" and "bee". But some Spanish speaking countries do say the 'v' as in "vine" with the teeth on the lower lip.
w
like 'w' in "weight" in English words, whisky, pronounced "WEESS-kee"). Like 'b' in "bed" in Germanic words.
x
like 'x' in "flexible" (flexible). Like 'ss' in "hiss" at beginning of a word (xilófono). Like a throaty 'h' in the words México, mexicano, Oaxaca, and oaxaqueño.
y
like 'y' in "yes": payaso. Like 'y' in "boy": hoy. Pronounced like a Zh ONLY in Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay as in 'Zhivago', : yo no sé, pronounced "zhaw naw seh".
z
like 's' in "supper" (Latin America), like 'th' in "thin" (Spain): zorro. See c above.
When speaking, times are given in AM/PM form (but saying de la mañana (morning), de la tarde (afternoon), de la noche (evening/night) or de la madrugada (late night) to distinguish between AM and PM. Rarely do Spanish speakers use the 24-hour system in conversation. On the other hand, in most countries, times are rendered in 24-hour format (as in Britain), with a colon separating hours and minutes:
9 o'clock AM
nueve de la mañana (spoken: NWEH-beh deh la mah-NYAH-nah), 9:00 (written)
12 & 30 PM
doce y media de la mañana (spoken: DOH-seh ee MEH-dee-ah deh la mah-NYAH-nah), 12:30 (written)
1 o'clock PM
una de la tarde (spoken: OOH-nah deh lah TAHR-deh), 13:00 (written)
10 o'clock PM
diez de la noche (spoken: dee-EHS deh la NOH-cheh), 22:00 (written)
2 o'clock AM
dos de la madrugada or dos de la mañana (spoken: DOHS deh la mah-droo-GAH-dah or DOHS deh la mah-NYAH-nah), 2:00 (written)
Dates are given in day-month-year form. All spoken and written, long and short forms follow this pattern:
7 May 2003
7 de mayo de 2003
23 October 1997
23 de octubre de 1997
Day-month constructions (4 de julio, for example) are not usually abbreviated. In the rare cases that an abbreviation is used, the number of the month is not used, but its initial letter is. Usual examples are:
23-F
23 de febrero, date of a failed coup d'état in Spain (1981)
11-S
11 de septiembre, date of the attack to the Twin Towers (2001) (and of the Chilean coup in 1973).
...el consulado de Estados Unidos/ canadiense/australiano/británico? (ehl kohn-soo-LAH-doh deh ehs-TAH-dohs oo-NEE-dohs/ kah-nah-DYEHN-seh/ ows-trah-LYAH-noh/ bree-TAH-nee-koh)
Where are there a lot of...
¿Dónde hay muchos... (DOHN-deh eye MOO-chohs)
...hotels?
...hoteles? (oh-TEH-lehs)
...restaurants?
...restaurantes? (rehs-tow-RAHN-tehs)
...bars?
...bares? (BAH-rehs)
...sites to see?
...sitios para visitar? (SEE-tyohs PAH-rah bee-see-TAHR)
Can you show me on the map?
¿Puede enseñarme/mostrarme en el mapa? (PWEH-deh ehn-seh-NYAHR-meh/mohs-TRAHR-meh ehn ehl MAH-pah?)
street
calle (KAH-yeh)
Turn left.
Gire/doble/da vuelta a la izquierda. (HEE-reh/DOH-bleh/dah VWEHL-tah ah lah ees-KYEHR-dah)
Turn right.
Gire/doble/da vuelta a la derecha. (HEE-reh/DOH-bleh/dah VWEHL-tah ah lah deh-REH-chah)
left
izquierda (ees-KYEHR-dah)
right
derecha (deh-REH-chah)
straight ahead
todo recto (TOH-doh REHK-toh) , siga derecho (SEE-gah deh-REH-choh)
How much does a room cost for one person/two people?
¿Cuanto cuesta una habitación para una persona/para dos personas? (KWAHN-toh KWEHS-tah OO-nah ah-bee-tah-SYOHN PAH-rah OO-nah pehr-SOH-nah/PAH-rah dohs pehr-SOH-nahs?)
Does the room come with...?
¿La habitación viene con....? (lah ah-bee-tah-SYOHN BYEH-neh kohn?)
...bedsheets?
...sábanas? (SAH-bah-nahs?)
...a bathroom?
...un baño? (oon BAH-nyoh?)
...a telephone?
...un teléfono? (oon teh-LEH-foh-noh?)
...a TV?
...un televisor? (oon teh-leh-vee-SOHR?)
...with Internet access?
...con acceso al internet? (kohn ahk-SEH-soh ahl een-terh-NEHT?)
...with room service?
...con servicio a la habitación? (kohn sehr-BEE-syoh ah lah ah-bee-tah-SYOHN?)
...a double bed?
...una cama de matrimonio? (OO-nah KAH-mah mah-tree-MOH-nyoh?)
...a single bed?
...una cama sola? (OO-nah KAH-mah SOH-lah?)
May I see the room first?
¿Puedo ver la habitación primero? (PWEH-doh vehr lah ah-bee-tah-SYOHN pree-MEH-roh?)
Do you have anything quieter?
¿Tiene algo más tranquilo? (TYEH-neh AHL-goh MAHS trahn-KEE-loh?)
...bigger?
...más grande? (MAHS GRAHN-deh)
...cleaner?
...más limpio? (MAHS LEEM-pyoh)
...cheaper?
...más barato? (MAHS bah-RAH-toh)
OK, I'll take it.
Muy bien, la tomaré. (MOO-ee byehn, lah toh-mah-REH)
I will stay for _____ night(s).
Me quedaré ______ noche(s). (meh keh-dah-REH ___ NOH-cheh(s))
Can you suggest other hotels?
¿Puede recomendarme otros hoteles? (PWEH-deh reh-koh-mehn-DAHR-meh OH-trohs oh-TEH-lehs?)
Sólo como comida kosher. (SOH-loh KOH-moh koh-MEE-dah koh-SHEHR) (In a restaurant they will stare at you, since "kosher" is as Spanish as "empanada" is English.)
Can you make it "lite", please? (less oil/butter/lard)
¿A qué hora usted cierra? (ah KEH OH-rah oos-TEHD SYEHR-rah?)
Do you serve alcohol?
¿Sirve usted el alcohol? (SEER-beh oos-TEHD ehl ahl-koh-OHL?)
Is there table service?
¿Hay servicio a la mesa? (eye sehr-BEE-syoh ah lah MEH-sah?)
A beer/two beers, please.
Una cerveza/dos cervezas, por favor. (OO-nah sehr-BEH-sah/dohs sehr-BEH-sahs, pohr FAH-bohr)
A glass of red/white wine.
Un vaso de vino tinto/blanco. (oon BAH-soh deh BEE-noh TEEN-toh/BLAHN-koh)
A pint/half a liter of beer
Una jarra de cerveza
Note: in Spain the most common is una caña which is 200mL in a tube glass; you can also ask for un quinto (200mL bottle) or un tercio (330mL bottle)
A glass of draft beer (Chile and Argentina)
Un schop (oon SHOHP)
Note: in Chile or Argentina un schop might be anywhere from 300mL to one litre.
A glass of draft beer (Mexico)
Una cerveza de barril (OO-nah sehr-BEH-sah deh bahr-REEL) (Mexico)
Note: in Spain you can ask for Cerveza negra, not very common in spanish Bares, but easy to find in Pubs (Pub=small club where just drinks are served).
_____ (hard liquor) and _____ (mixer).
_____ con _____. In Spain, Cubata is Coke with whiskey
Quiero alquilar un coche (Spain)/carro (South America). (KYEH-roh ahl-kee-LAHR oon KOH-cheh/KAHR-roh)
Can I get insurance?
¿Puedo contratar un seguro?
STOP (on a street sign)
STOP (stohp) (Spain), ALTO (AHL-toh) (México), PARE (PAH-reh) (Chile, Argentina, Perú, Colombia, Puerto Rico)
one way
dirección única (dee-rehk-SYOHN OO-nee-kah)
no parking
no aparcar (noh ah-pahr-KAHR) , no estacionar (noh ehs-tah-syoh-NAHR)
speed limit
límite de velocidad (LEE-mee-teh deh beh-loh-see-DAHD) , velocidad máxima (beh-loh-see-DAHD MAHK-see-mah)
gas/petrol station
gasolinera (gah-soh-lee-NEH-rah) , estación de bencina (ehs-tah-SYOHN deh behn-SEE-nah) (Chile), estación de servicio (ehs-tah-SYOHN deh sehr-BEE-syoh) (Argentina)
This is a guide phrasebook. It covers all the major topics for traveling without resorting to English. But please Plunge forward and help us make it a star!
