Spanish For Beginners

Learning Spanish for beginners

Spanish is a great language to learn as a beginner. The reason is, it shares similar characteristics to English, there are tons of resources to learn, and it’s one of the most useful languages out there.

As someone who’s just starting to learn Spanish, there are some basic knowledge that you want to begin with. These include basic greetings, questions, grammar, and more.

Basic Spanish greetings

Let’s start with simple greetings that will help you meet new people in Spanish.

Hello – Hola
Good morning – Buenos dias
Goodbye – Adiós
See you later – Hasta luego
Excuse me – Por favor!
Thank you – Gracias
I don’t know – No sé
Sorry – ¡Discúlpeme!

Questions in Spanish

Being able to ask the right questions is equally as important as Spanish greetings. Here are the most vital ones to know.

How are you? -¿Cómo estás?
Do you speak Spanish? – ¿Hablas español?
What is your nationality – ¿Cual es tu nacionalidad?
What are you doing here? – ¿Qué estás haciendo aquí?
What are some good places to eat? – ¿Cuáles son los buenos lugares para comer?
Can you help me please? – ¿Podría ayudarme, por favor?
Leave me alone! – ¡Déjeme tranquilo!
How much is it? – ¿Cuánto cuesta?
Bill please? – ¿La cuenta por favor?
Where is the bathroom? – ¿Dónde están los baños?

Numbers in Spanish

cero – 0
uno – 1
dos – 2
tres – 3
cuatro – 4
cinco – 5
seis – 6
siete – 7
ocho – 8
nueve – 9
diez – 10
once – 11
doce – 12
trece – 13
catorce – 14
quince – 15
dieciséis – 16
diecisiete – 17
dieciocho – 18
diecinueve – 19
veinte – 20
treinta – 30
cuarenta – 40
cincuenta – 50

Ordering food in Spanish

From ordering delicious tacos from Mexico to the juicy steaks from Argentina, knowing how to order food in Spanish is critical for beginners. We’ve gathered a basic list of questions and sentences you should know to impress your friends.

What would you like to eat? – ¿Quieres comer?
Where can we eat? – ¿Dónde podemos comer?
The menu, please! – ¡El menú, por favor!
Dinner – Cenar
Lunch – Almuerzo
Breakfast- Desayuno
A knife – Un cuchillo
A fork – Una cuchara
A spoon – Un tenedor
Desert – Un postre
Salad – Una ensalada
Fruit – Frutas

Traveling and getting around in Spanish

When you’re visiting a new city, learning the basic words and questions will help you travel stress-free. Especially if you’ve never been there before.

Do you have a room available? – ¿Tiene alguna habitación disponible?
How much per night? – ¿Cuál es el precio por cada noche?
Can I reserve for tonight? – Puedo hacer una reserva para esta noche?
Could you take care of my luggage? – ¿Podría cuidar mi equipaje, por favor?
Can you take me to the airport? – ¿Me puede llevar al aeropuert por favor?
How much is it going to be? – ¿Cuánto va a costar?
Can I have a receipt? – ¿Me puede dar un recibo, por favor?
Where would you like to go? – ¿A dónde quiere ir?
Where does this train go? – ¿Hacia dónde va este tren, por favor?

Spanish hacks for beginners

With each language, including Spanish, there are learning shortcuts that you can leverage to learn Spanish faster. Instead of following the traditional paths to learning a new language, you can follow these Spanish hacks for beginners.

1. Learn the most common words

Studies show that when you learn 1,000 of the most common words in Spanish (or any other language), you gain up to 85% of oral understanding. That percentage may seem high at first, but in hindsight, it makes sense. Most of us use the same common words over and over again, and there are more complicated words that we rarely use (even if we know them).

That means to have a natural, fluent conversation with a native Spanish speaker, you don’t need to know nearly as many words as you think. Just focus on the 1,000 of the most common words first then learn the rest afterwards.

2. Grammar hacks: Eight golden sentences

Grammar is one of the least favorite parts of learning a new language for most people. The reason is, it’s taught in an overcomplicated way that doesn’t resonate with Spanish beginners. It needs to be simplified, and that’s why the eight golden sentences was introduced. It was popularized by Tim Ferriss, bestselling author of The 4-Hour Workweek, and here’s how it works.

The following eight sentences offer all the different sentence structures in Spanish. By looking at the English sentences and Spanish sentences side-by-side, you can see the major differences between the two. You can memorize/familiarize yourself with these eight structures, and you’ll have a much clearer understanding of Spanish grammar.

3. Use the power of live immersion

Research shows that live immersion learning can be 15x more powerful than learning through an unengaged classroom lecture. Live immersion could mean: taking 1-on-1 Spanish lessons with a private Spanish teacher, finding a conversation partner, etc. By taking advantage of a learning method where humans retain more information, you can learn much faster in less time.