Greetings
Hello | Hola | Ō-lă
Good day | Buenos diás | BOY-nōs DĒ-ăs
Goodbye (Peru) | Ciao | chow
Goodbye (Mexico) | Adios | ă-dē-ŌS
How are you? | ¿Como esta? | CŌ-mō ĕs-TĂ
I’m very well, thank you. | Muy bien, gracias. | Mūē BYĔN GRĂ-sē-ăs
My name is… | Me llamo… | mā-YĂ-mō
What is your name? | ¿Cómo se llama? | CŌ-mō sā YĂ-mă
It’s nice to meet you. | Mucho gusto. | MŪ-chō GŪ-stō
God bless you. | Dios de bendiga | dē-ŌS dā ben-DĒ-gă

Etiquette
Please | Por favor | PŌR fă-VŌR
Thank you (very much) | (Muchas) gracias | (MŪ-chăs) GRĂ-sē-ăs
You’re welcome | de nada (literally, “It’s nothing”) | dā NĂ-thă
Excuse me | Perdón | pār-DŌN
I’m sorry | Lo siento | lō sē-ĔN-tō

Shopping
How much does it cost? | ¿Cuánto cuesta? | KWĂN-tō KWĔS-tă

Other Useful Phrases
Yes | Sí | sē
No | No | nō
Where is the bathroom? | ¿Donde esta el baño? | DŌN-dā ĕs-TĂ ĕl BĂN-yō
How old are you? | Cuántos años tienes? | KWĂN-tōs Ă-nyōs TYĔN-ās
I’m __ years old. | Tengo __ años. | TANG-gō __ Ă-nyōs
I don’t understand | No entiendo | nō ĕn-tē-ĔN-dō
I’m from the United States. | Soy de los Estados Unidos. | soy dā lōs ĕs-TĂ-dōs ū-NĒ-dōs
How do you say ___ in Spanish? | ¿Cómo se dice ___ en Español? | CŌ-mō sā DĒ-sā ____ ĕn ĕs-păn-YŌL?

Pronunciation tip: a single “r” in the middle of a word is slightly rolled - really just a quick flip of the tongue. If the “r” is doubled or at the beginning of a word the roll is a bit longer - two or three tongue flips. That’s really the extent of the lingual gymnastics in this language. The rest of it is easy to pronounce. The grammar on the other hand… well.. opportunities for mental gymnastics abound.

Take a look at the ministry trips to Spanish-speaking destinations!

Click here for survival phrases in other languages.