Spanish is a first language for many people in the United States, especially in California, Texas, South Florida, and the Southwest. A romance language, Spanish is closely related to Portuguese and Italian.
Grammar
Spanish nouns have genders. Most words applied to persons have natural gender: masculine like hombre ("male person") or feminine, like mujer ("female person"). The gender of some animals, things, and some words applied to persons doesn't follow any rule: they have grammatical gender. Casa (house), rana (frog), and visita (visitor) are of the feminine gender. Árbol (tree), sapo (toad) and genio (genius) are of the masculine gender. Invitado, invitada (guest) and mono, mona (monkey) have natural gender. Fortunately, the gender of a noun is usually (but not always) indicated by the last letter of the word; -o indicates masculine nouns, and -a indicates feminine nouns.
Adjectives also have gender and number. Like nouns, -o usually indicates the masculine form of the adjective, and -a indicates the feminine form. Adding an -s at the end of an adjective or noun makes it plural. Adjectives need to match the noun they describe in both gender and number. For example, borracho "drunk", when modifying las mujeres ("the women"), makes las mujeres borrachas.
In this guide, where genders of nouns or adjectives comes up, we use the form "o/a" to differentiate. It should be clear from context when to use the feminine and when to use the masculine form.
Pronunciation Guide
Spanish spelling has the pleasant characteristic of being more or less phonetic. 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 predictablity of exactly what sound is represented by each letter, Spanish has a very clear set of rules about where a stress normally falls, an 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; all other words without an explicit accent mark are stressed on the final syllable. There are no "secondary stresses" within words.
Vowels
a
like 'a' in "art": casa.
e
like the first component of the diphthong 'ay' in "day" (este). Since Spanish also has a diphthong 'ay', as in rey (see "ei" below) you may consider to pronounce Spanish 'e' like the 'e' in "get".
i
like 'ee' in "see" or "deed".
o
like the first component of the diphthong 'ow' in "low". The vowel in "caught" will be equally understood, unless you pronounce it like "cot". Anyway, the full diphthong "ow" does not occur in Spanish, so you don't have to worry about pronouncing clipped enough.
u
like 'oo' in "hoop".
Consonants
b
like 'b' in "bed": boca
c
when followed by 'e' or 'i', like 'c' in "cell" (Latin America) or 'th' in "thin" (Spain): cine; otherwise like 'k' in "kid": calle, doctor
ch
like 'ch' in "touch": muchacho
d
like 'd' in "dog": dedo
f
like 'f' in "fine": faro
g
when followed by 'e' or 'i', like 'ch' in "loch" (general = hai-nai-RAHL), otherwise like "g" in "go" (gato). In the clusters "gue" and "gui", the "u" is silent (guitarra), unless it bears a diaeresis, as in "güe" and "güi" (pedigüeño).
gu, gü
like 'Gu' in McGuire or 'w' in "wire" (agua, agüita)
h
silent: hora
j
like 'ch' in "loch": jabón
k
like 'c' in "cat": kilo
l
like 'l' in "love": lápiz
ll
like 'y' in "yield": lluvia
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 which are very different form their counterparts in most languages. However, if you use your native pronunciation it's unlikely that people understand cerro (hill) when youn meant cero (zero).
single flap r (ere)
Always written "r", and never occurs at the beginning of the word, it sounds like American relaxed pronunciation of "butter": cero, brazo.
rolled r (erre)
Written "r" at the beginning of the word, or after "l", "n", or "s" (ropa, enredo). Written "rr" between vowels (cerro). It's a multiply vibrating sound.
s
like 'ss' in "hiss": sopa
t
like 't' in "top": tapa
v
like 'b' in "bed": vaca, pronounced BAH-kah
w
like 'w' in "weight" in English words, whisky (pronounced WEESS-kee). Like 'b' in "bed" in Germanic words.
x
like 'x' in "sex" (sexo). Like 'ss' in "hiss" at beginning of a word (xilófono). Like 'ch' in "loch" in the words México, mejicano, Oaxaca, and oaxaqueño.
y
like 'y' in "yes": payaso. Like 'y' in "boy": hoy.
z
like 's' in "supper" (Latin America), like 'th' in "thin" (Spain): zorro. See c above.
Diphthongs
ai, ay
like 'eye': baile
au
like 'ow' in 'cow': causa
ei, ey
like 'ay' in "say": reina, rey.
eu
euro
ia
like 'ya' in 'Kenya': piano
ie
like 'ye' in "yes": pie
io
like 'yo': dio
iu
like 'ew' in few: ciudad
oi, oy
like 'oy' in "boy": soy
ou
like 'ou' in "though". Present only in foreign words: show
ua
like 'wa' in "wallet": cuatro
ue
like 'we' in "well": puedo
ui, uy
like 'wi' in "winter": ruido
ui
like 'ooy': cuido
uo
like "wa" in "water": averiguo
Accents and stress
In some words stress is marked with acute accent, as in the following examples
pérdida: loss, perdida: lost
círculo: circle, circulo: I circulate, circuló: he/she/it circulated.
There are some fixed rules to know where the stress goes when the accent is ommited (they are rather complicated when diphthongs are concerned).
Examples: papel = papél, comen = cómen, perros = pérros, baile = báile, ciego = ciégo.
Phrase list
Basics
Hello (informal).
Hola. (OH-lah). For the formal equivalent of hola see good morning, good afternoon, good evening, below.
¿Hay alguien que hable inglés? (eye ahl-GYEN kay AH-blay een-GLAYSS?)
Help!
Ayuda! (ah-YOU-dah!); Socorro! (soh-COH-row!)
Good morning.
Buenos días. (BWAY-nohss DEE-ahss)
Good afternoon.
Buenas tardes. (BWAY-nahss TAR-dayss)
Good evening (when it's dark)
Buenas noches. (BWAY-nahss NOH-chayss)
Good night.
Buenas noches. (BWAY-nas NOH-chayss)
I don't understand.
No entiendo. (noh ehn-TYEHN-doh)
Where is the toilet?
¿Dónde está el baño? (DOHN-day ehss-TAH ehl BAHN-yoh?)
Problems
Leave me alone.
Déjame en paz. (DAY-hah-may en PASS)
Don't touch me!
No me toques! (noh may TOH-kayss!)
I'll call the police.
Llamaré a la policía. (yah-mah-RAY ah lah po-lee-SEE-ah)
Police!
Policía! (poh-lee-SEE-ah!)
Stop! Thief!
Alto, al ladrón! (AHL-toh ahl lah-DROAN!)
I need help.
Necesito ayuda. (ne-say-SEE-toh ah-YOU-dah)
It's an emergency.
Es una emergencia. (ayss oo-nah AY-mayr-HEN-syah)
I'm lost.
Estoy perdido/a (ay-STOY payr-DEE-doh/dah)
I lost my purse/handbag.
Perdí mi bolsa/bolso/cartera. (payr-DEE mee BOHL-sa / BOHL-so / cahr-TAY-rah)
I lost my wallet.
Perdí mi cartera/billetera. (payr-DEE mee BOHLcahr-TAY-rah / bee-yay-TAY-rah; the last may also be said as beel-yay-TAY-rah)
I'm sick.
Estoy enfermo/a. (ay-STOY ayn-FAYR-moh/mah)
I've been injured.
Estoy herido/a. (ay-STOY ay-REE-doh/dah)
I need a doctor.
Necesito un doctor. (nay-say-SEE-toh OON dohk-TOHR)
Can I use your phone?
¿Puedo usar su teléfono? (PWAY-doh oo-SAHR soo tay-LAY-foh-noh?)
Numbers
1
uno (OO-noh)
2
dos (doss)
3
tres (tress)
4
cuatro (KWA-tro)
5
cinco (SEEN-ko)
6
seis (SAISS)
7
siete (SYE-te)
8
ocho (O-cho)
9
nueve (NWAI-be)
10
diez (DYESS)
11
once (OHN-say)
12
doce (DOH-say)
13
trece (TRAY-say)
14
catorce (kah-TOHR-say)
15
quince (KEEN-say)
16
dieciseis (DYEESS-ee-SAYSS)
17
diecisiete (DYEESS-ee-SYAY-tay)
18
dieciocho (DYEESS-ee-OH-choh)
19
diecinueve (DYEESS-ee-NWAY-bay)
20
veinte (BAYN-tay)
21
veintiuno (BAYN-TYOO-noh)
22
veintidos (BAYN-tee-DOHSS)
23
veintitres (BAYN-tee-TRAYSS)
30
treinta (TRAYN-tah)
40
cuarenta (kwah-RAYN-tah)
50
cincuenta (seen-KWAYN-tah)
60
sesenta (say-SAYN-tah)
70
setenta (say-TAYN-tah)
80
ochenta (oh-CHAYN-tah)
90
noventa (noh-BAYN-tah)
100
cien (syehn)
200
doscientos (dos-SYEHN-tos)
300
trescientos (tres-SYEHN-tos)
500
quinientos (kee-NYEHN-tos)
1000
mil (MEEL)
2000
dos mil (dohss MEEL)
1,000,000
un millón (oon mee-YOHN)
half
medio (MAY-dyoh)
less
menos (MAY-nohss)
more
más (MAHSS)
Time
now
ahora (ah-OH-rah)
later
después (day-SPWAYSS)
before
antes (ahn-TAYSS)
morning
mañana (mah-NYAH-nah)
afternoon
tarde (TAHR-day)
night
noche (NOH-chay)
Clock time
one o'clock AM
la una de la madrugada; la una de la mañana (lah OOH-nah day lah mah-drooh-GAH dah; lah OOH-nah day lah mahn-YAH-nah)
two o'clock AM
las dos de la madrugada; las dos de la mañana (lahss DOHSS day lah mah-drooh-GAH dah; lahss DOHSS day lah mahn-YAH-nah)
ten o'clock AM
las diez de la mañana (lahss dee-AYSS day lah mahn-YAH-nah)
noon
mediodía; las doce de la mañana (lahss DOH-say day lah mahn-YAH-nah)
one o'clock PM
la una de la tarde (lah OOH-nah day lah TAHR-day)
two o'clock PM
las dos de la tarde (lahss DOHSS day lah TAHR-day)
ten o'clock PM
las diez de la noche (lahss dee-AYSS day lah NOH-chay)
midnight
medianoche; las doce de la noche (may-dee-yah-NOH-chay; lahss DOH-say day lah NOH-chay)
Writing Time
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. On the other hand, in most countries times are rendered in 24-hour format, with a colon separating hours and minutes:
9 o'clock AM
nueve de la mañana (spoken: noo-WEH-vay day la mahn-YAH-nah), 9:00 (written)
12:30 PM
doce y media de la mañana (spoken: DOH-say ee MAY-dee-yah day la mahn-YAH-nah), 12:30 (written)
1 o'clock PM
una de la tarde (spoken: OOH-nah day lah TAHR-day), 13:00 (written)
10 o'clock PM
diez de la noche (spoken: dee-AYSS day la NOH-chay), 22:00 (written)
2 o'clock AM
dos de la madrugada or dos de la mañana (spoken: DOHSS day la mah-drooh-GAH-dah or DOHSS day la mahn-YAH-nah), 2:00 (written)
Duration
_____ minute(s)
_____ minuto(s) (mee-NOOH-toh(ss))
_____ hour(s)
_____ hora(s) (OHR-ah(ss))
_____ day(s)
_____ día(s) (DEE-aah(ss))
_____ week(s)
_____ semana(s) (say-MAH-nah(ss))
_____ month(s)
_____ mes(es) (MAYSS-(ayss))
_____ year(s)
_____ año(s) (AH-nyoh(ss))
Days
today
hoy (OY)
yesterday
ayer(I-air)
tomorrow
mañana (surely you know how to pronounce this word: mahn-YAH-nah)
this week
esta semana (EHS-tah say-MAH-nah)
last week
la semana pasada (lah say-MAH-nah pah-SAH-dah)
next week
la semana que viene (lah say-MAH-nah kay vee-AYN-ay)
Monday
lunes (LOOH-nayss)
Tuesday
martes (MAHR-tayss)
Wednesday
miércoles (mee-AIR-coh-layss)
Thursday
jueves (WHAY-vayss)
Friday
viernes (vee-AIR-nayss)
Saturday
sábado (SAH-bah-doh)
Sunday
domingo (doh-MEEN-goh)
The week begins on Mondays.
Months
January
enero (eh-NEH-ro)
February
febrero (feh-BREH-ro)
March
marzo (MAR-zo)
April
abril (ah-BRIL)
May
mayo (MAY-o)
June
junio (HOO-nio)
July
julio (HOO-lio)
August
agosto (ah-GO-sto)
September
septiembre/setiembre (se-TEE-YEM-bray)
October
octubre (ok-TOO-brey)
November
noviembre (no-VEE-YEM-bray)
December
diciembre (dee-CEE-YEM-bray)
Writing Dates
Dates are given in day-month-year form. All spoken and written, long and short forms follow this pattern:
October 3rd, 2003
3 de octubre del 2003
May 21st, 1997
21 de mayo de 1997
Day-month constructions (4 de julio, for example) are not usually abbreviated. In the rare cases than an abbreviation is used, the number of the month is not used, but its three initial letters are. Usual examples are:
23-Feb
23 de febrero, date of a failed coup d'êtat in Spain (1981)
11-Sep
11 de septiembre, date of the attack to the Twin Towers (2001) (and of the Chilean coup in 1973).
agua con gas (if you say agua, is without gas); Agua mineral is bottled water with gas, unless you ask for agua mineral sin gas.
beer
cerveza
red/white wine
vino tinto/blanco
May I have some _____?
¿Me puede dar un poco de _____?
salt
sal
black pepper
pimienta
butter
mantequilla , manteca (in Argentina)
Excuse me, waiter? (getting attention of server')
¡camarero!, ¡mesero! (preferred)
I'm finished.
He acabado, terminé (The first phrase can refer to the finishing of a completely unrelated physiological activity)
It was delicious.
Estaba delicioso.
Please clear the plates.
Puede llevarse los platos.
The check, please.
La cuenta, por favor.
Note that in Chile you must ask for the check. A gringo was known to have waited until 2 in the morning because he was too shy to ask :-)
===Bars===
Do you serve alcohol?
¿Hay alcohol?
Is there table service?
¿Hay servicio a la mesa?
A beer/two beers, please.
Una cerveza/dos cervezas, por favor.
A glass of red/white wine.
Un vaso de vino tinto/blanco.
A pint (of beer)
Una jarra de cerveza (normally it will be half a liter, not really a pint, but the size is similar); In Chile un schop might be anywhere from 300cc to one liter.
A glass of draft beer
Un schop (oon SHOHP) (Only in Chile)
_____ (hard liquor) and _____ (mixer).
_____ con _____. In Spain, Cubata is Coke with whiskey
A bottle.
Una botella.
whiskey
whisky (WEESS-key)
vodka
vodka
rum
ron
water
agua
tonic water
(agua) tónica
orange juice
zumo/jugo de naranja
Coke (soda)
Coca-Cola
Do you have any bar snacks?
¿Tiene algo para picar? (In Spain they will give you tapas, depends a lot from the bar.)
One more, please.
Otro/a ______, por favor.
Another round, please.
Otra ronda, por favor.
When is closing time?
¿Cuándo cierran?
Shopping
Do you have this in my size?
¿Tiene esto de mi talla?
How much is this?
¿Cuánto cuesta?
That's too expensive.
Es demasiado caro.
Would you take Visa/American dollars?
¿Aceptan Visa/dólares?
expensive
caro
cheap
barato
I can't afford it.
Es muy caro para mí.
I don't want it.
No lo quiero.
You're cheating me.
Me está engañando.
I'm not interested.
No estoy interesado.
OK, I'll take it.
De acuerdo, me lo llevaré.
Can I have a bag?
¿Tiene una bolsa?
Can you ship it to my country?
¿Puede enviarlo a mi país?
I need...
Necesito...
...batteries.
...pilas.
...cold medicine.
...medicamento para el resfriado.
...condoms.
...preservativos.
...English-language books.
...libros en inglés.
...English-language magazines.
...revistas en inglés.
...an English-language newspaper.
...un periódico/diario en inglés.
...an English-Spanish dictionary.
...un diccionario inglés-español.
...pain reliever. (e.g., aspirin or ibuprofen)
...medicamento para el dolor (Aspirina, Ibuprofeno).
...a pen.
...un bolígrafo.
...postage stamps.
...sellos/estampillas.
...a postcard.
...una postal.
...a razor.
...una hoja de afeitar.
...shampoo.
...champú.
...stomach medicine.
.... medicamento para el dolor de estómago
...soap.
...jabón.
...sunblock lotion.
...crema solar.
...tampons.
...tampones.
...a toothbrush.
... un cepillo de dientes.
...toothpaste.
...pasta de dientes.
...an umbrella.
...un paraguas.
...writing paper.
...papel para escribir.
Driving
I want to rent a car.
Quiero alquilar un coche.
Can I get insurance?
¿Puedo contratar un seguro?
STOP (on a street sign)
STOP (Spain), ALTO (México), PARE (Chile, Argentina, Perú)
