It’s that time of the year!

The summer holidays are nearly over, but tomorrow I am off to Barcelona and it has had me thinking about the vital things I will need to take.

Speaking Spanish helps me out a lot, but my sister doesn’t know a word of Spanish. Therefore, I have tried to teach her some basic phrases which will come in handy when I’m not about to help.

1. ¡Hola!

Most people know this one, but ‘hola‘ is hello. This is really important; Spaniards are notoriously talkative and saying hola is polite and friendly.

You can say ‘buenas‘ too. To say goodbye, say ‘adios‘, or ‘hasta luego‘ means see you later!

2. ¿Dónde está…?

This simple question literally means ‘where is it?‘. But if you add a word, you form a question based on what you want to ask.

For example… ‘¿dónde está el hotel?‘ ‘¿dónde está el metro?‘. This basic form will help you if you’re lost, and help you to navigate around your city.

3. ‘Por favor’ and ‘gracias’

Please and thank you… remember to be polite! Don’t be offended if you aren’t always reciprocated with either, as I have found that in English we use these terms a lot more than other places.

If someone doesn’t thank you, don’t think that it’s rude! But it is always nice to say please and thank you when you remember.

4. Necesito ayuda

Necesito ayuda means I need help. This basic phrase can help you signal to others that you are not safe, are in pain, or simply that you may need help!

Be it with directions on a map, or a medical issue, signaling that you need help is really important. Other useful words in the case of an emergency are; ‘medico‘ which means doctor, ‘bombero‘ which means fireman, and ‘policía‘ which means police.

5. Me gusta/ no me gusta

I like/I don’t like is a vital phrase! You need to be able to tell people in restaurants and when shopping what you like and dislike so that you avoid confusion and awkward situations. You can say gracias if you feel blunt or rude, but again it is not necessary.

There are tons of phrases that would be useful on holiday, but from my point of view if you had to memorize 5 then they would be the ones that I have mentioned above. Or, of course, you could just learn Spanish with us!

Tiffany Evripidou

Spanish Express Blogger

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