Picture it: you walk into a small café in Mexico City or Madrid. In the first ten seconds you'll need a greeting, maybe your name, and a "thank you". That's this whole deck, and you can learn it today.
Saying hello
- Hola: hello, any time, to anyone.
- Buenos días: good morning, until about midday.
- Buenas tardes: good afternoon, until it gets dark.
- Buenas noches: good evening and good night. In Spanish it works as a greeting after dark, not only as goodbye.
Tú or usted?
Spanish has two ways to say "you":
- tú for friends, family, children and people your own age;
- usted for older people, strangers and anyone you'd be formal with.
So "How are you?" is ¿Cómo estás? to a friend and ¿Cómo está usted? to your friend's grandmother. When in doubt, start with usted; people will tell you if they'd rather you used tú. (In Spain, "you all" informal is vosotros; in Latin America, ustedes is used for everyone.)
Introducing yourself
- Me llamo Sam. My name is Sam (literally "I call myself Sam").
- ¿Cómo te llamas? What's your name?
- Soy de Chicago. I'm from Chicago.
- Mucho gusto. Nice to meet you. The reply: Igualmente (likewise).
- Encantado (if you're a man) or encantada (if you're a woman): pleased to meet you.
Being polite
Por favor (please), gracias (thank you), de nada (you're welcome). Leaving: adiós, hasta luego (see you later), hasta mañana (see you tomorrow).
Mistakes learners make
- Saying "buenas noches" only when leaving. It's a greeting too, after dark.
- Using tú with everyone. It can sound overfamiliar with an older stranger.
- Copying "encantado" whatever your gender. It describes the speaker.
- Answering "mucho gusto" with "de nada". That replies to "gracias".
Try it
Say this out loud, with your own details: "Hola, buenas tardes. Me llamo… Soy de… Mucho gusto." Then flip through the cards and say each answer before you look. ¿Cómo se dice "See you tomorrow"?