Español · 63 phrases · 7 categories

Basic Spanish Phrases for Travelers

Hello in Spanish is Hola, thank you is Gracias, and the one to memorise before anything else is ¡Auxilio! / ¡Ayuda! — help. Below: all 63 phrases across 7 travel situations, each one tappable to copy.

Reliable in the tourist cores of Barcelona, Madrid and Cancún. It thins out fast in smaller towns and away from the coast.

Usted is the formal you, tú the informal. Usted with older people, officials and shopkeepers is safe everywhere.

The Spanish phrases to learn first

A greeting, a thank-you, an apology, a question, a price and an emergency — enough to get through a first day in Español.

Hello

Hola

Thank you

Gracias

Please

Por favor

Excuse me / sorry

Perdón

Do you speak English?

¿Habla inglés?

How much is this?

¿Cuánto cuesta?

Where is...?

¿Dónde está...?

Help!

¡Auxilio! / ¡Ayuda!

How Spanish is written

Latin alphabet plus ñ and the accented vowels á é í ó ú ü. Questions open with an upside-down ¿, which is your cue that the sentence rises at the end.

Where it gets you further

Spain, Mexico, and every country in Central and South America except Brazil.

🇪🇸 Spanish — 20+ countries

Saying Español out loud

  • The five vowels are pure and never change: a-e-i-o-u do not glide the way English vowels do.
  • H is always silent — hola is OH-la, hotel is oh-TEL.
  • Ll and y sound like English y across most of Latin America, but like sh in Argentina and Uruguay.
  • In Spain, z and c before e or i are a soft th; in Latin America they are a plain s.
  • Stress falls on the second-to-last syllable unless an accent mark moves it.

The mistake travelers make in Spanish: Embarazada does not mean embarrassed — it means pregnant. The word you want is avergonzado or avergonzada.

All 63 Spanish phrases, by situation

Yes

Sí

No

No

Please

Por favor

Thank you

Gracias

You're welcome

De nada

Excuse me / Sorry

Perdón

I don't understand

No entiendo

Do you speak English?

¿Habla inglés?

I don't speak [lang]

No hablo español

A little

Un poco

Phrase guides in other languages

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Ready to Go?

You've got the phrases — now plan your full trip with costs, transport, and a day-by-day itinerary.

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