Spanish Phrases
It is true that there are a great many foreigners living in San Miguel de Allende, and that many of the Mexicans in San Miguel can speak English. It is also true that many permanent residents have managed to live here for years without gaining more than a rudimentary grasp of the Spanish language.
However, by not trying to speak the language, you are effectively denying yourself access to 99% of what makes life in Mexico interesting -- the Mexicans.
There are many Spanish language schools here in San Miguel de Allende which offer a variety of learning programs, and we recommend that you consider signing up for a spanish course.
In the mean time, we offer this short list to help you get started.
Notes on pronunciation: in Spanish, all vowels are pronounced the same, no matter where they fall in the word (in sharp contrast to English!). This means that, in theory, once you have learned how to pronounce the vowels, you can say nearly any word in Spanish with a fair degree of intelligibility. This phonetic guide should work for most native English speakers, unless you're from East Texas or the Bronx.
Sorry, y'all just talk funny.
- in Spanish, A is like the 'ah' in 'haha', or 'awe'
- in Spanish, E is like the long a, like the 'a' in 'hay'
- in Spanish, I is like the long e, like the 'ee' in 'keep'
- in Spanish, O is more or less a short 'o', the 'o' in 'or'.
- in Spanish, U is like the 'oo' in 'zoo'
Except: We tricked you. Some of the consonants are pronounced differently as well.
- in Spanish, H is silent. Hotel is 'O-tell'
- in Spanish, J is the 'H' sound. Jalapeño, is 'haw-la-pain-yo'.
- in Spanish, Ñ is a sound like 'nyuh' like in the above example.
- in Spanish, RR is a rolling 'r'. This usually takes practice. Try purring like a cat.
- in Spanish, B is frequently pronounced like the letter 'V'.
- in Spanish, V is frequently pronounced like the letter 'B'.
- in Spanish, G is pronounced with an 'GUH' sound unless in front of a 'U' like guacamole, then it is 'GW', or in front of an 'E' or an 'I', which makes it an 'H' sound.
- in Spanish, LL is a 'Y' sound, for instance the verb "Llegar" (to arrive) is pronounced: "Yaygar".
| "hello." | "hola." |
| "bless you." | "salud." |
| "by your leave." | "con permiso." |
| "excuse me." | "perdón." |
| "good morning." | "buenos días" |
| "good afternoon." | "buenas tardes." |
| "good night." | "buenas noches." |
| "nice to meet you." | "mucho gusto." |
| "please." | "por favor." |
| "thank you." | ""gracias." |
| "thank you very much." | "muchas gracias." |
| "goodbye." | "adiós." |
| "help!" | "socorro!" |
| "I am lost." | "ando perdido." |
| "look out!" | "cuidado!" |
| "may I use the bathroom?" | "puedo usar el baño?" |
| "please call a doctor." | "por favor, llame al médico." |
| "please call the police." | "por favor, llame al policía." |
| "please help me." | "ayúdeme, por favor." |
| "where is a good restaurant?" | "Donde hay un buen restaurante?" |
| "check, please." | "la cuenta, por favor." |
| "I am hungry." | "Tengo hambre." |
| "I am thirsty." | "Tengo sed." |
| "I want to see the menu, please." | "Quiero ver la carta, por favor." |
| "I need a taxi." | "Necesito un taxi." |
| "I need to go..." | "Necesito ir..." |
| "....to the Airport." | "....al aeropuerto." |
| "....to the Bus station." | "....al central de autobús." |
| "....to the Train station." | "....al Estación de Tren." * *technically 'ferrocarriles', but 'tren' works too!? |
| "I need a gas station." | "Necesito una gasolinera." |
| "I need a mechanic." | "Necesito un mecánico." |
| "I need a tire repairer." ....unfortunately, the conditions of some of the roads here means you will probably say this quite often... |
"Necesito una vulcanizadora." |
| "straight ahead." | "derecho." |
| "on the left (side)." | "a la izquierda." |
| "on the right (side)." | "a la derecha." |
| "forward" | "adelante." |
| "backward" | "por atrás." |
| "(number) (city) blocks." | "(x) cuadras." |
| "past the (landmark)." | "pasando (landmark)." |
| "yes." | "si." |
| "no." | "no." |
| "I don't understand." | "No entiendo." |
| "My name is..." | "Me llamo..." |
| "What is your name?" | "¿Como te llamas?" |
| "I am from...(city name)" | "Soy de...(city name)" |
| "Where are you from?" | "¿De donde eres?" |
| one | uno | |
| two | dos | |
| three | tres | |
| four | cuatro | |
| five | cinco | |
| six | seis | |
| seven | siete | |
| eight | ocho | |
| nine | nueve | |
| ten | diez | |
| eleven | once | |
| twelve | doce | |
| thirteen | trece | |
| fourteen | catorce | |
| fifteen | quince | |
| 16, 17, 18, 19 | dieciséis, diecisiete, dieciocho, diecinueve | |
| twenty | veinte | |
|
From now on all numbers follow the same pattern, like in English, twenty-one is " veintiuno", twenty-two is "veintidós", etc. |
||
| thirty | treinta | |
| forty | cuarenta | |
| fifty | cincuenta | |
| sixty | sesenta | |
| seventy | setenta | |
| eighty | ochenta | |
| ninety | noventa | |
| one hundred | cien | |
| two hundred | doscientos | |
| three hundred | trescientos | |
| four hundred | cuatrocientos | |
| five hundred | quinientos | |
| six hundred | seiscientos | |
| seven hundred | setecientos | |
| eight hundred | ochocientos | |
| nine hundred | novecientos | |
| one thousand | un mil | |
| two thousand | dos mil | |
| one hundred thousand | cien mil | |
| one million | un millón | |
SanMiguelGuide.com Recommended Reading List:
Of course this is a very incomplete list of phrases. Here are a few books to help you get a better grip on Spanish...
Berlitz Latin American Spanish Phrase Book & Dictionary: My parents
used this when they visited Mexico for the first time and were delighted by its ease-of-use,
page edges color coded by topic categories for quick look up, and the phonetic spelling
pronunciation printed below the Spanish phrase. By far the best for novice speakers of Spanish.- Random House Latin-American Spanish Dictionary: Everything you'd desire in
a paperback dictionary. Don't make the mistake of not getting a Latin American Spanish
dictionary -- Mexico has been evolving their version Spanish for 500 years. This dictionary
does a good job of identifying a lot of those differences. My personal copy is so dog-eared it
won't even shut properly!
- Eyewitness Travel Guide Phrase Book: Latin American Spanish
- Lonely Planet Mexican Spanish Phrasebook: With 2-Way Dictionary
- 501 Spanish Verbs: Fully Conjugated in All the Tenses:
The mother lode for students of Spanish. Though a little weighty, ounce-per-ounce there's no
refuting that this has most clout. Impress native speakers with your command of tenses that
even they aren't sure how to use!
- Hugo: Latin American Spanish In Three Months (CD)
