50 Common Spanish Phrases for Beginners and Travelers

The fastest way to start speaking Spanish isn’t grammar — it’s a pocketful of ready-made phrases you can use the moment you land. Spanish speakers are famously warm with anyone who tries, and a simple hola or gracias opens doors. Here are the essentials grouped by situation, each with a rough pronunciation (Spanish is friendly here — vowels are clean and steady, and words are said as they’re written).

Greetings & courtesy

• Hola — Hello (OH-lah)
• Buenos días — Good morning (BWEH-nos DEE-as)
• Buenas tardes / noches — Good afternoon / evening (BWEH-nas TAR-des)
• Adiós / Hasta luego — Goodbye / See you later (ah-DYOS / AS-ta LWEH-go)
• Gracias / De nada — Thank you / You’re welcome (GRAH-syas)
• Por favor — Please (por fah-VOR)
• Sí / No — Yes / No
• Perdón / Lo siento — Excuse me / I’m sorry (per-DON / lo SYEN-to)

Introducing yourself

• ¿Cómo te llamas? — What’s your name? (KO-mo te YAH-mas)
• Me llamo… — My name is… (me YAH-mo)
• Mucho gusto — Nice to meet you (MOO-cho GOOS-to)
• ¿De dónde eres? — Where are you from? (de DON-de EH-res)
• Soy de… — I’m from… (soy de)

When you don’t understand

• No entiendo — I don’t understand (no en-TYEN-do)
• ¿Puedes repetir? — Can you repeat? (PWEH-des reh-peh-TEER)
• Más despacio, por favor — Slower, please (mas des-PAH-syo)
• ¿Hablas inglés? — Do you speak English? (AH-blas een-GLES)
• ¿Cómo se dice…? — How do you say…? (KO-mo se DEE-se)

At a restaurant or shop

• Quisiera… — I would like… (kee-SYEH-ra)
• La cuenta, por favor — The bill, please (la KWEN-ta)
• ¿Cuánto cuesta? — How much is it? (KWAN-to KWES-ta)
• Está delicioso — It’s delicious (es-TA de-lee-SYO-so)
• ¡Salud! — Cheers! (sah-LOOD)

Getting around

• ¿Dónde está…? — Where is…? (DON-de es-TA)
• ¿Dónde está el baño? — Where is the bathroom? (el BAH-nyo)
• la estación — the station (la es-tah-SYON)
• a la derecha / a la izquierda — to the right / left (de-REH-cha / ees-KYER-da)
• todo recto — straight ahead (TO-do REK-to)

Emergencies

• ¡Ayuda! — Help! (ah-YOO-da)
• Necesito un médico — I need a doctor (ne-se-SEE-to oon MEH-dee-ko)

A quick pronunciation note

Spanish is one of the kindest languages to read aloud: five pure vowels that never change, and spelling that matches the sound. Just remember the h is silent (hola = “ola”), ñ is “ny” (señor), the j is a throaty “h” (jamón), and a double rr is rolled (perro). Copy the rhythm from native audio and you’ll be understood from day one.

Take the phrases further with audio

Rough pronunciation gets you started, but to sound natural you need to hear each phrase from a native speaker and repeat it. Spanish for Kids and Beginners teaches everyday words and phrases with native audio and a slow-playback mode, plus el/la training for every noun, so you go from pointing to actually speaking. For the full roadmap see how to learn Spanish for beginners, and clear up the classic confusion with ser vs estar.

Download Spanish for Kids and Beginners free on Google Play and arrive ready to speak Spanish.