When you are learning a new language, there are certain common expressions that you need to know. Of course, once you know how to ask these questions, you will need to be prepared for understanding the answers. The answers you might hear will be covered in another lesson. See expressions below.
1. Buenos Días – (boo-e-nohs dee-ahs) Good day Note: the e in this pronunciation is pronounced like the ‘e’ in ‘medical’
2. Buenas Tardes – (boo-e-nahs tahr-dis ) Good evening
3. Buenas Noches – (boo-e-nahs no-chess) Good night
4. ¿Como está usted? –(koh-moh ehs-tah oos-ted) How are you? (formal)
5. ¿Como estás?—(koh-moh e-stahss) How are you? (fam.)
6. Por Favor – (por fah-vor) please
7. Gracias—(grah-syahs) Thank you
8. De nada—(d-e nah-dah)You’re welcome
9. Bien—(bee-en) Fine
10. Sí, Sen or- (see s-e-nyor) Yes, sir
11. Sí, Sen ora—(see se-nyor-ah) Yes, ma’am
12. Sí, Sen orita –(see se-nyor-ee-tah) Yes, miss.
13. Quiero—(kee-e-roh) I want
14. ¿A qué hora (ah keh o-rah)—At what time?
15. ¿Cómo se llama usted?—( koh-moh s-e yah-mah oos-ted) What’s your name?
16. ¿Dónde está?—(dohn-de e-stah) Where is?
Also, see below some common vocabulary words that you will need to know.
1. El restaurante – (rest-ô-rhan-te) restaurant Note the ‘e’ at the end of el restaurante is pronounced like the ‘e’ in the word ‘ted’
2. El auto—(ow-tô) car Note: the ‘o’ in ‘auto’ is a short ‘o’
3. El bano-( bah-nô) bathroom Note: the Spanish no is pronounced like the nio in onion. The o is a short ‘o’ like in orange
4. El hotel—(ô-tel) hotel Note: the Spanish ‘h’ is always silent. The o is a short ‘o’ like in orange
5. La Calle (kah-ye ) –street. The sound of the ‘e’ is the sound of the ‘e’ in ted
6. El correo—(kôr-re-ô) -post office Again the o has a short o sound like in orange
7.. El cuarto—(kwahr-t-ô) room Again a short ‘o’
Practice these vocabulary words and common expressions daily. Repeat them out loud 3-4 times each and memorize them as you go. Learning a new language is all about repetition!
Perriann Rodriguez is the founder of http://www.learnESPANOLfree.com , an online resource center to help you learn Spanish free. Visit Learn ESPANOL Free and ‘Apprenda Espanol Rapidamente!’
