A Few Common Spanish Phrases for the Traveler

Traveling to Mexico and don’t know a lot of Spanish? It is a little overwhelming once you get to a foreign land and you don’t know what people are saying to you. We thought we were good with what we knew but when we got there it was a lot to really take in. It seems like they are talking to you so fast and you’re just pointing at things like a toddler. We tried to speak Spanish the majority of the time we were there and the more we did, the more we learned!  Here are our top ten Spanish phrases that you should know!

Hola, Buenos dias, Buenos tardes or Buenos Noches
(Hello, Good morning, Good Afternoon, Good Evening) All greetings, almost everyone will use these when you walk past them.

Gracias y De Nada y Por Favor.
(Thank you and you’re welcome and please) Be polite please 🙂

Dónde esta el baño
(Where is the bathroom) Comes in handy when you’re walking around town or at a restaurant. Tip: Some restaurants or stores will charge you to use the bathroom if you aren’t a customer! Try to use the bathroom when you make stops or at your hotel.

Lo Siento
(I’m sorry) We used this one a lot! When you can’t understand someone, or when you bump into someone, or when you can’t translate yourself

Como se dice ___ en español?
(How do you say (insert word you don’t know here) in Spanish? A lot of people in the town we were in spoke English and Spanish but we wanted to learn as much Spanish as we could so we used this a lot to learn.

Habla Inglés?
Do you speak English? A lot of people do so if you need directions or anything important ask this first! Or the locals sometimes ask you, “Habla Español?” Do you speak Spanish? A lot of times we would say “Un poquito, hablamos Spanglish” A little, we speak “Spanglish” (a mix between Spanish and English).

Cuanto?
(How much?) Comes in handy when the vendors are trying to haggle you to buy something!

Going along with cuanto… the basic numbers
Uno, Dos, Tres, Cuatro, Cinco, Sies, Siete, Ocho, Nueve, Diez, Once, Doce, Trece, Catorce, Quince, Dieciseis, Diecisiete, Dieciocho, Diecinueve, Viente, Treinta, Cuarenta, Cincuenta, Sesenta, Setenta, Ochenta, Noventa, Cien.
(One-19, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100) I know most people learned these in elementary school but even we needed a little refresher! You will use numbers a lot! Haggling with taxis, getting street tacos, shopping for medicine and street names (they are all numbers).

Necessito agua o cerveza o tequila!
(I need water or beer or tequila!) Ya know, whatever you’re in the mood for! They loveeeee their tequila there! Every time I walked past a bar, Tequila señorita?! No, no mas tequila. (No, no more tequila)

Qué hora es?
(What time is it?) This came in handy, because sometimes we were on the beach without a phone or watch or in most attractions you have to leave all your belongings in a locker and we seldom wear watches.