Spanish Phrases for Travelers

Hola Señor! Habla Español?

Spanish is one of the languages that finds its origins in Latin and will be pretty easy for you if you know Italian or French already. In case you don't, do not worry yourself. Here's a common Spanish phrases guide which will teach you all the easy Spanish phrases for beginners. So are you ready to start the Iberian journey?

Learn the Ñ and Pronunciations

In case you have noticed, there seems to be a predominant occurrence of the letter 'n' with some wiggly thing on top. This letter is an important letter which differentiates the Spanish language from the English language. It is known in Spanish as 'enyay' and is pronounced as 'ny'. Just think of how you say the last syllable of 'lasagna' the 'ñ' is used in a similar way. Ever heard of the pinata? It is pronounced as pinyaata, because in Spanish it is spelled with the 'ñ' i.e piñata.

Unlike English, Spanish is pronounced largely the way it is written. But there are situations where the English and Spanish pronunciations vary. The 'J' as we know it is pronounced as 'kh'. The 'll' is pronounced as 'ya'. And the 'h' isn't pronounced at all.

So now keeping that in mind, let us proceed to the useful Spanish phrases and words.

Popular Basic Spanish Words/Phrases

The first thing that I would encourage you to say if you don't know Spanish, is "I don't know how to speak Spanish". Let's be very open with our ignorance. No point trying to show off knowledge you do not have. So in the order of importance or the recurring nature of these phrases, here are some of the most popular Spanish phrases.

Spanish Phrase	English Meaning
No Hablo Español	I do not speak Spanish
No comprendo Español	I do not understand Spanish
Habla Ingles?	Do you speak English?
Hola! Buenos Dias	Hello. Good Morning/Good Day
Si	Yes
No	no
Buenas Tardes/Buenas Noches	Good Afternoon/Good Night
Donde queda el baño?	Where is the toilet (very important!)
Señores	Gentlemen (so that you don't end up in the wrong toilet!
Mujeres	Ladies
Por favor	Please
Muchas Gracias	Thank you very much
Perdon	Excuse me?/Pardon me?
Como llego a ...	How do you go to ... (name of the place)
Cuanto cuesta esto?	How much does this cost?
Que es esto	What is this?
Me llamo...	My name is...
Como se dice... en español?	How do you say... in Spanish?
Te Quiero	I love you (just in case you find someone nice!)
No fumar	No smoking
Entrada	Entrance
Salida	Exit
Hasta luego	See you later
Adios	Goodbye

So these were the 24 most basic Spanish phrases that travelers will find very useful. So now when you go the Spain, you will be well equipped to handle quite a few situations where English may not be widely spoken!