Basic Spanish

Basic Conversational Spanish

Basic Spanish is what most people holidaying in Spain are keen to learn. They don't want to be declining verbs and learning perfect grammatical structures – they just want to be able to order a drink, order some food, say hello and goodbye, and perhaps one or two other basic Spanish words or phrases that convey a simple message.

Most people who have been to Spain on a holiday in the Costas, where they are cushioned from the "real Spain" by the fact that nearly everyone speaks English, don't really have any need to learn even basic Spanish. But they may encounter a local, so it's always best to be able to say, "hola" when you meet and "adios" when you part.

Ah, but here you will run into a potential problem. You see, the Spanish have a habit of saying "goodbye" when they meet you in passing. It seems to be their reasoning that you are imminently going to be parting your ways, so why waste time saying "hello" when just saying goodbye first gets the last part over immediately.

For this reason, when you meet someone and don't intend to stop and exchange pleasantries, then simply saying, "hasta luego," or "see you later," is the usual thing to say.

People do say "hola" of course when they meet, but they will just as readily say "adios" too. It may seem strange greet someone with what is effectively "goodbye," but that is often the Spanish way, so your basic Spanish will be better served by knowing this.

In some parts of Spain "hasta luego" is shortened so much that to the untrained ear it sounds almost exactly like the English "hello." This has confused many an English speaker, so if it happens to you, realize that the person you meet may simply be saying "goodbye."

In English we usually ask for something politely by saying "please" at the end of the request. This is not the Spanish way. In some parts of southeast Spain where British people are thick on the ground, they have become known as the "por favores." This is a derogatory term that stems from the fact that they invariably ask for drinks in the bars saying, "una cerveza, por favor," or un vino, por favor."

The Spanish consider themselves every bit as polite as anyone else, but they don't say "please" every time they ask for something. They are more direct and that's just the way they are. Saying "please" at the end of a request comes over as being rude. It a bit like when in English you emphasize the "please" heavily because you've been kept waiting too long. Don't include "por favor" when purchasing something. It's not how it's done.

There are many small words and phrases that will make your basic Spanish stand out better. These are the words that you can interject at appropriate moments. Words like, "claro" and "verdad" are good interjecting words. They mean "of course" and "it's the truth" respectively. Another widely used word is "vale" pronounced like "valley," or even a bit like "balley." It is used in the same way as "OK." This is a very important word for your basic Spanish arsenal; it will make you sound knowledgeable and much less foreign.