Home Language Resources 70+ Spanish Phrases for Travel You NEED to Know (PLUS Free Printable)

70+ Spanish Phrases for Travel You NEED to Know (PLUS Free Printable)

by Michele
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common spanish phrases for travel
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Take your Spanish vacation experience to the next level with these common Spanish phrases for travellers.

Whether you’re heading to Spain or the Americas, Spanish is one of the best and most useful languages to learn. Once you learn a few phrases,  can make use of your Spanish skills in over 11 countries around the world.

Why else should you learn Spanish? Well, it makes learning other languages, especially Romance languages like Portuguese, Italian, French and Romanian much easier.


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Have a laugh with these hilarious Spanish expressions

Let’s take a quick look at the Spanish language so you’re a bit more clued up on its origin, use, and vocabulary.

I hope you enjoy this post as much as I enjoyed bringing it together. If you have any requests for other languages, let me know in the comments section!

Where is Spanish spoken?

Being the official or national language in Spain, Equatorial Guinea, and 19 countries in the Americas, Spanish is one a great language to have under your belt as you travel.

There are some 418 million speakers in Americas alone. Instituto Cervantes claims that there are around 477 million Spanish speakers with native competence, 572 million who speak Spanish as a first or second language and more than 21 million students who are learning Spanish.

Spanish is one of the six official languages of the United Nations and is an official language of the European Union.

A brief history of Spanish

Originating in the Castile region of Spain, Spanish (español) is also known as Castilian (castellano).

Spanish evolved from several dialects of Vulgar Latin in Iberia after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century.

Spanish began to spread beyond mainland Europe in the early 16th century when the Spanish Empire established colonies in the Americas, as well as territories in Africa, Oceania and the Philippines.

Ancient Greek contributed substantially to Spanish vocabulary, in addition, up to 75% of modern Spanish is derived from Latin.

What’s not well-known is that Arabic has also left a substantial mark on Spanish vocabulary having been in contact with the language very early on. Around 8% of Spanish vocabulary is of Arabic origin, making it the second most important influence after Latin.

Pronunciation

Spanish spelling is very phonetic with only a few exceptions. This means that if you know how to pronounce the letters of a word, it’s relatively easy to sound out the word itself. A bonus characteristic for new learners.

Accents and Stress

In Spanish, where you place the stress in a word can alter its meaning. Here are some general rules to follow:

  • If a word is marked with an accent, then that syllable receives the stress.
  • If a word is NOT marked with an accent, then
    • if the word ends in a consonant other than N or S, the stress occurs on the last syllable (eg. hospital = “os-pee-TAL”)>
    • if the word ends in a vowel, N or S, the stress occurs on the next to last syllable (eg. muchacho = “mu-CHA-cho”)
  • In Spain (Except in some parts of Andalusia, and in the Canary Islands) a English ci/ce or z sound makes a English “TH”. In Latin America, it makes the “S” sound.

Essential Spanish Phrases for Travel with Pronunciation

Essential Spanish Phrases for Travel with Pronunciation

Want the infographic to take with you? Scroll to the bottom of the page.

Greetings
Essentials
Questions
Eating Out
Getting Around
Numbers
Days
Emergencies

English Spanish Pronunciation

Greetings

   
Hello Hola ¡oh-lah!
Good morning Buenos dias BWEH-nohs DEE-ahs
Good evening Buenas tardes BWEH-nahs TAR-dehs
Good night Buenas noches BWEH-nahs NOH-chehs
Goodbye Adios ah-dee-ohs
How are you? ¿Cómo estás? KOH-moh ehs-TAHS?
I’m well, and you? Estoy bien, y tu? ehs-TOY byehn,
Good, thanks Muy bien, graci MOO-ee byehn, GRAH-syahs
     

Essentials

   
Please Por favor pohr fah-bvohr
Thank you Gracias GRAH-syahs
You’re welcome De nada DAY NAH-dah
Yes SEE
No No NOH
Excuse me (begging pardon) Perdon pehr-DOHN-eh
I’m sorry Lo siento loh seeehn-toh
I don’t understand No entiendo NOH ehn-TYEHN-doh
Do you speak English? Habla ingles? ¿ah-bvlah een-glehs?
     

Questions

   
How much is…? Cuanto cuesta…? ¿koohahn-toh?
Where is…? Donde esta…? dohn-deh ehs-tah
When? Cuando? ¿koohahn-doh?
May I please have…? Quiero… /Me puede poner…? KYEH-roh / meh PWEH-deh poh-NEHR
     

Eating Out

   
Beer Cerveza sehr-VAY-sah
Wine Vino BEE-noh
Water Agua AH-gwah
I don’t eat… No como… noh KOH-moh
I’m a vegetarian Soy vegetariano/a soy beh-heh-tah-RYAH-noh/-nah
the bill, please La cuenta, por favor lah KWEHN-tah, pohr fah-BOHR
     

Getting Around

   
Left Izquierda ees-KYEHR-dah
Right Derecha deh-REH-chah
Straight ahead Todo recto TOH-doh REHK-toh
Turn left Gire a la izquierda HEE-reh ah lah ees-KYEHR-dah
Turn right Gire a la derecha HEE-reh ah lah deh-REH-chah
Bus stop Parada de autobus  pah-RAH-dah de ow-toh-buus
Train station Estacion de tren ah ehs-tah-SYOHN deh trehn
Airport Aeropuerto al aeropuerto
Entrance Entrada ehn-TRAH-dah
Exit Salida sah-LEE-dah
     

Numbers

   
1 Uno OO-noh
2 Dos dohs
3 Tres trehs
4 Cuatro KWAH-troh
5 Cinco SEEN-koh
6 Seis SEH_ees
7 Siete see-EH-teh
8 Ocho OH-choh
9 Nueve noo-EH-beh
10 Diez dee-EHS
20 Veinte VAIN-teh
30 Treinta TRAIN-tah
40 Cuarenta kwah-REHN-ta
50 Cincuenta seen-KWEHN-tah
60 Sesenta seh-SEHN-ta
70 Setenta seh-TEHN-tah
80 Ochenta oh-CHEHN-tah
90 Noventa noh-BEHN-tah
100 Cien see-EHN
     

Days

   
Monday Lunes LOO-nehs
Tuesday Martes MAHR-tehs
Wednesday Miercoles MYEHR-koh-lehs
Thursday Jueves WEH-vehs
Friday Viernes VYEHR-nehs
Saturday Sabado SAH-bah-do
Sunday Domingo doh-MEENG-goh
     

Emergencies

   
Help! ¡Ayuda! ah-YOO-dah!
I need a doctor Necesito un medico neh-seh-SEE-toh OON MEH-dee-coh
I don’t feel well Me siento mal meh SYEHN-toh mahl
Call the police! Llama a la policia YAH-meh oon ah lah poh-lee-SEE-ah
Fire! ¡Incendio! ¡een-sehn-deeoh!

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Essential Spanish Phrases for Travel with Pronunciation


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Over to you!

Which of these common Spanish phrases do you find most useful? Which other phrases would you like to know?
Let me know using the comments section below or join me on social media to start a conversation.

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