100+ Common Spanish Phrases for Real Conversations
🔊 Every example is playable — the same AI voices you’ll talk to in Vamos Speak.
Looking for the common Spanish phrases that actually get used in real life? Here they are — not the textbook's "the cat drinks milk," but the sentences that order your coffee, find your hotel, and survive your first small talk. If you only have five minutes, memorize these ten; they carry more real conversations than your first hundred vocabulary words:
Hola Hello — works everywhere, at any hour, with anyone. Buenos días Good morning — until roughly lunchtime. Por favor Please. Gracias Thank you — reply: de nada (you're welcome). Sí / No Yes / no. Half of all conversations, honestly. ¿Cómo estás? How are you? — reply: bien, ¿y tú? (fine, and you?) No entiendo I don't understand — the most honest sentence in this list. ¿Habla inglés? Do you speak English? — formal and polite. ¿Cuánto cuesta? How much is it? — markets, shops, taxis. La cuenta, por favor The check, please.Got those? Good. Now let's build out the full toolkit — over a hundred useful Spanish phrases sorted by the situations you'll actually be in, with notes on which ones to learn first and where the regional traps hide.
Pronunciation in 20 seconds: Spanish is written the way it sounds. Vowels never change: a = "ah", e = "eh", i = "ee", o = "oh", u = "oo". The letter h is silent (hola = OH-la), ll sounds like "y" (llamo = YAH-mo), and ñ is "ny" (mañana = ma-NYA-na). That's 90% of what you need to say every phrase on this page out loud — which you should, starting now.
Greetings & goodbyes: basic Spanish phrases to open and close
Learn the time-of-day greetings first — Spanish speakers use them constantly, even with strangers in elevators. The casual ones (¿qué tal?, ¿qué onda?) come second.
Buenas tardes Good afternoon — from lunch until sunset. Buenas noches Good evening / good night — greeting and farewell. Buenas The casual all-day shortcut — like "hi there." ¿Qué tal? How's it going? — casual, universal. ¿Qué onda? What's up? — Mexico, very casual. ¿Cómo le va? How are you doing? — polite/formal version. Mucho gusto Nice to meet you — reply: igualmente (likewise). Me llamo… My name is… — or the simpler: soy Ana (I'm Ana). Adiós Goodbye — more final than English "bye." Hasta luego See you later — the default goodbye in most places. Hasta mañana See you tomorrow. ¡Que te vaya bien! Have a good one! — warm send-off, very common.One more thing while we're here: Spanish has a polite "you" (usted) and a casual one (tú). As a learner, the rule of thumb is simple — usted for officials, elders and anyone serving you professionally; tú for peers and anyone who smiles first. Nobody will be offended by a learner picking the polite option too often.
Politeness: the phrases that open every door
Spanish-speaking cultures run on courtesy formulas. Using them marks you as someone worth helping; skipping them marks you as a tourist in a hurry. These eight are non-negotiable.
Disculpe Excuse me — to get someone's attention (formal). Perdón Sorry / pardon — bumped into someone, small mistakes. Con permiso Excuse me — squeezing past someone; Latin America loves it. Muchas gracias Thank you very much. Muy amable Very kind of you — a thank-you upgrade that melts hearts. No hay problema No problem. No se preocupe Don't worry (formal) — casual: no te preocupes. ¡Salud! Cheers! — also said when someone sneezes.Getting by: when your Spanish runs out mid-sentence
These are the most useful Spanish phrases on this entire page, because they keep the conversation alive when you're lost. Native speakers switch to English the moment you look panicked — these phrases buy you the time to stay in Spanish.
¿Puede repetir, por favor? Can you repeat that, please? Más despacio, por favor Slower, please — your best friend in week one. ¿Cómo se dice…? How do you say…? — point at the thing if needed. ¿Qué significa…? What does … mean? No hablo mucho español I don't speak much Spanish — todavía (yet) earns smiles. Estoy aprendiendo español I'm learning Spanish — magic phrase; people become patient instantly. ¿Puede escribirlo? Can you write it down? Un momento, por favor One moment, please — while you dig for a word. ¿Cómo? Sorry, what? — politer than ¿qué? in most places. Creo que sí / creo que no I think so / I don't think so.Regional trap: in Mexico, the polite "what did you say?" is ¿mande? — not ¿qué?, which can sound curt there. In Spain you'll hear ¿cómo? or ¿perdona? instead. One little word, instant local credibility.
Restaurant & ordering: the phrases you'll use three times a day
Nowhere do a few phrases pay off faster. Learn quisiera (I'd like) instead of textbook quiero (I want) — same meaning, twice the politeness.
Una mesa para dos, por favor A table for two, please. La carta / el menú, por favor The menu, please. ¿Qué me recomienda? What do you recommend? — waiters light up at this one. Quisiera… I would like… — the polite ordering opener. Para mí, … For me, … — simplest possible way to order. Un café con leche, por favor A coffee with milk, please. Una cerveza / un vino tinto A beer / a red wine. Agua sin gas / con gas Still / sparkling water. Soy vegetariano/a I'm vegetarian. Tengo alergia a… I'm allergic to… — worth practicing until perfect. ¿Está picante? Is it spicy? — ask in Mexico. Ask twice. Está delicioso It's delicious — cooks everywhere love hearing it. ¿Aceptan tarjeta? Do you take cards? Es para llevar It's to go / takeaway.Directions & transport: Spanish phrases for not getting lost
You mainly need to ask one question — and then understand the answer. Learn the four direction words (derecha, izquierda, recto, cerca) before anything else, because they're what comes back at you.
¿Dónde está…? Where is…? — the single most useful question in Spanish. ¿Dónde está el baño? Where is the bathroom? — you will need this. A la derecha / a la izquierda To the right / to the left. Todo recto Straight ahead — Latin America also says: derecho. ¿Está cerca / lejos? Is it near / far? ¿Cómo llego a…? How do I get to…? ¿Cuánto cuesta el viaje? How much is the ride? — settle taxi prices first. A esta dirección, por favor To this address, please — show your phone. Pare aquí, por favor Stop here, please. ¿A qué hora sale? What time does it leave? — buses, trains, tours. Un billete / boleto para… A ticket to… — billete in Spain, boleto in Latin America. Estoy perdido/a I'm lost — say it with a smile, help arrives.Shopping & money
Two phrases do most of the work here: solo estoy mirando keeps eager shop assistants at bay, and ¿cuánto cuesta? (from the top-ten list) opens every price conversation. Haggling, by the way, is normal at markets in much of Latin America and absolutely not normal in regular stores anywhere — read the room before deploying your discount phrase.
Solo estoy mirando I'm just looking — deploys instantly in any shop. ¿Tiene…? Do you have…? ¿Tiene una talla más grande / pequeña? A bigger / smaller size? Me lo llevo I'll take it. Es muy caro That's very expensive — step one of haggling. ¿Me puede hacer un descuento? Can you give me a discount? — markets only, with a grin. ¿Puedo pagar en efectivo? Can I pay cash? ¿Me da una bolsa, por favor? Could I have a bag, please? Nada más, gracias That's all, thanks. Quédese con el cambio Keep the change.Small talk & feelings: where conversations actually live
This is the section that separates "tourist Spanish" from talking to people. You don't need deep grammar — these ready-made reactions keep a conversation flowing while your brain catches up. Learn the question pair first (¿de dónde eres? / soy de…), because it opens nearly every conversation with a stranger, then stack the one-word reactions: they make you a rewarding person to talk to long before you can build complex sentences.
¿De dónde eres? Where are you from? — reply: soy de… (I'm from…). ¿A qué te dedicas? What do you do for work? Me gusta / me encanta I like it / I love it. No me gusta I don't like it. ¡Qué bueno! How great! ¡Qué lástima! What a shame! ¿En serio? Seriously? — your all-purpose reaction. ¡No me digas! You don't say! — bigger surprise. Estoy de acuerdo I agree. Depende It depends — sounds thoughtful, buys time. Estoy cansado/a I'm tired. Tengo hambre / sed I'm hungry / thirsty — literally "I have hunger." Hace calor / frío It's hot / cold — weather talk works in every language. Fue un placer It was a pleasure — the elegant conversation-closer. Nos vemos See you around — casual and warm.Gender check: phrases ending in -o/a change with the speaker — a man says cansado, a woman cansada. And note the pattern tengo hambre ("I have hunger") — Spanish has feelings rather than being them: tengo frío, tengo miedo, tengo 30 años.
Emergencies: hope you never need these, learn them anyway
These are the phrases you can't afford to look up when you need them, so they're the ones to drill until they're automatic. Practice the health ones especially — under stress, your brain drops its newest skills first, and pointing at your stomach while saying me duele aquí works even when full sentences have abandoned you.
¡Ayuda! / ¡Socorro! Help! Llame a la policía Call the police. Necesito un médico I need a doctor. Es una emergencia It's an emergency. Me duele aquí It hurts here — point. Me siento mal I feel sick. ¿Dónde está la farmacia? Where's the pharmacy? — green cross, everywhere. Me robaron I was robbed. Perdí mi pasaporte I lost my passport. ¿Me puede ayudar? Can you help me? — opens almost any request.Knowing phrases ≠ being able to say them
Here's the catch with every phrase list on the internet, including this one: reading a phrase and retrieving it mid-conversation while a real person waits are completely different skills. The first one you've just done. The second one only comes from saying these sentences out loud, repeatedly, ideally to something that answers back.
A suggested learning order, if you want one: the top ten first (obviously), then "getting by" — because those phrases rescue every other phrase — then whichever section your next real situation lives in. Trip booked? Restaurant and directions. Spanish-speaking coworkers? Small talk. There's no prize for learning them in page order.
So pick ten phrases from this page and go use them: rehearse the restaurant scene before you're in it, say the small-talk reactions until they're reflexes, and practice speaking even if you're alone — an AI conversation partner will happily play the waiter, the taxi driver, and the curious stranger, and correct you as you go. Then add the final polish: filler words that make you sound natural between all these phrases. That's the difference between carrying a phrasebook and carrying a conversation.