Useful Spanish expressions for beginners

How to say “how are you” in Spanish? What does “vale” mean in Spanish? When you start learning a new language, you will have a lot of questions, there are always a myriad of useful expressions that you need now, immediately, as soon as possible.

The most popular Spanish phrases for beginners starts here. Enjoy!

Where are you from? Where do you live? - Basic Spanish questions

Important things to bear in mind:

Unlike in English, in the Spanish language you have to distinguish between different subjects. In English a phrase like “do you speak English” may refer to singular as well as plural. However in Spanish there are different forms for each subject. In practice it means, that “do you speak English” might mean “¿hablas inglés?” (tú – singular form of you) or “¿habláis inglés?” (vosotros – plural form of you). In the tables I have prepared for you, you’ll always find the “tú” version. You should be aware of the difference though.

Need more information about grammar? Don’t miss the Spanish grammar section!

Words like donde, cuando or como sometimes have a graphical accent, sometimes they don’t. Do you know why? Skip to the Spelling and Pronunciation section to find the answers.

How to say have a nice day in Spanish? Some basic everyday Spanish expressions

Remember!

If you are a man, you should use the form “encantado de conocerte”, meanwhile if you are a woman the correct form for you is “encantada de conocerte”.

How to say call me in Spanish? More useful Spanish phrases!

Remember!

Guapo is a version of the word beautiful for men and guapa for women.

How to say by the way in Spanish? Other popular Spanish expressions

Did you know?

If you want to say “me too” in Spanish, you have to think if the verb used is a regular verb or a gustar-like verb. If it’s a regular verb, like for example “odiar” (to hate), you will use the form “yo también”, however if it’s a verb like “gustar” (to like), you should choose the form “a mí también”.

Hungry for more details? Take a look at the grammar section dedicated to gustar-like verbs!

In Spanish there’s a huge difference between que and qué, as they are definitely not the same thing. If you’re searching for a good explanation, you’ll find it in the article What's the difference between que and qué in Spanish.