Spanish for tourists: frequently used phrases and words

No matter how widespread English is around the world, practice shows that in a large number of cases one needs to know at least the basics of the Spanish language when a person goes on a business trip or as a tourist to Spanish-speaking countries. Today, you can learn the basics of any foreign language both independently and after completing targeted courses. For example, a Spanish course for tourists involves learning the basics of this Romance language, and also includes basic phrases that are most useful to tourists.

The Importance of Knowing the Basics of Spanish

When a person travels to another country, he receives a huge amount of new emotions and impressions, learns about new places, about the way of life of foreigners, in a word, about a new culture. Such knowledge will not be complete and vivid if he knows absolutely nothing about the language spoken by the inhabitants of this country. In addition, situations will often arise when a tourist will need to find out some information, for example, how to get to a particular hotel, but he will have problems, because the residents of all Hispanic countries, in comparison with the population of developed European countries, have an extremely low level of knowledge English.

Therefore, if a person wants to get the most satisfaction from a trip to the warm Spanish-speaking countries, which are not limited only to Spain, because almost all of South America and the southern part of North America speak the language of Miguel Cervantes, then he needs to study his basics on his own or sign up for short-term Spanish courses for tourists.

Russian-Spanish phrasebooks

To feel confident in a Hispanic atmosphere, you need to carry a reference book or phrasebook. In these manuals the basic phrases for the most common cases of life are collected. It is better to choose a Russian-Spanish phrasebook for tourists with a pronunciation in which a transcription in Cyrillic will help to pronounce the Spanish phrase as correctly as possible.

It is recommended that you purchase one of the following benefits:

• "Russian-Spanish Phrasebook" St. Petersburg publishing house "KARO", which consists of 144 pages. It contains information about Spain, collected many important phrases in Spanish with transcription in Russian. All phrases are divided into sections on various everyday topics, so finding the necessary expression for a tourist will not be difficult.
• The "Spanish Phrasebook and Dictionary" of the Moscow publishing house "Living Language" is a book of 224 pages, which contains not only phrases, but also about 8000 foreign words. This Spanish phrase book for tourists fits in your pocket. The vocabulary collected in it allows you to communicate with many household people to a person who does not speak Spanish well.
• "Russian-Spanish Phrasebook" publishing house "Victoria Plus", Moscow. This small book is the most popular among our tourists, because it is cheap and easy to navigate.

Also, before traveling to a Spanish-speaking country, it is recommended to learn the 10-20 most necessary phrases that will help the traveler quickly explain what type of help he wants to ask a resident of a foreign country.

Greetings in Spanish

One of the main phrases in Spanish for tourists are expressions of greeting, because it is with them that any communication begins. The following phrases will help start a conversation kindly:

• Hola - hello hello. A simple greeting word that you can say to your peer or to someone you know. It reads "Ola", only unlike Russian, the sound "l" should be pronounced a little softer. A capital letter hereinafter indicates a stressed syllable.
• Buenos días - good morning. This phrase is official in nature, but it can also be used to start informal communication. It reads "buEnos dias." So welcome up to 12 hours.
• Buenas tardes - good afternoon. This expression can be used, for example, when a tourist meets the owners of the hotel in the afternoon. Pronounced "buEnas tArdes".
• Buenas noches - good evening. Thus, it is customary to greet after 18.00. Pronounced "buEnas nOches."

Key words and phrases needed

For tourists, Spanish also requires knowledge of words and phrases such as “thank you,” “please,” “yes,” “no,” “how are you,” etc. The table below shows these and some other expressions that are often used in everyday colloquial speech.

Farewell in Spanish

No living language can do without farewell phrases, and Spanish is no exception. Spoken Spanish for tourists usually includes the following expressions that can be used if a person says goodbye to someone:

• Adiós - goodbye. This is the most popular word that is easy to remember and can be used in absolutely any setting and with any person you talk to when you say goodbye for a while. It is pronounced like adjos.
• Hasta pronto or hasta luego - see you soon. These two expressions are often used when friends or acquaintances say goodbye for a while. They read "Asta pronto" and "Asta luEgo", respectively. It should be noted that people in Spanish-speaking countries, especially in Spain itself, often use diminutive suffixes for such words of farewell. For example, you can often hear hasta lueguito - “Asta luegIto”, which literally translates into Russian “very fast”.
• Hasta mañana - see you tomorrow. For example, a tourist leaves the hotel in order to spend the night on the seashore in a tent, and the next day to return again. In this case, the owners of the hotel, he can say "Asta Magnan." Note that before going to bed, it is preferable not to say hasta mañana, but buenas noches - “buEnas nOchez”, which translates as “good night”. This wish is identical to the greeting "good evening."
• Hasta el año siguiente - until next year. If during a trip around the country a tourist has made new acquaintances and plans to meet new friends again next year, then he can tell them "Asta el Agnogo sigente".
• Nos veremos - see you. If at the farewell of two friends or acquaintances it is not known when the next meeting will occur, then we can say "nose remos".
• Hasta siempre - goodbye. If the tourist does not plan to stop by this hotel anymore, then when saying goodbye, one can say "Asta siEmpre". However, it is still not recommended to use this phrase in such situations, since it has a negative connotation, as if the tourist did not like something in service. The phrase hasta la vista is also very rarely used.

Difficulty in understanding

The Spanish language has a clear pronunciation, almost all the sounds in its phonetics are close to the corresponding sounds of the Russian language. However, difficulties in understanding Spanish speech arise often, and they are associated with the speed of pronunciation of words, which is one of the fastest in the world. Therefore, one should not be afraid to ask again what is not clear the first time. The following phrases are useful for this purpose:

Words and phrases for orientation in the city

Any phrasebook of Spanish for tourists must necessarily include words and phrases that serve as assistants who do not speak this language to help locate in the area, in particular, in an urban setting. Often necessary are the following words and phrases:

Emergency and emergency situations

Emergencies can happen to anyone and anytime, so before traveling to a Spanish-speaking country, it is recommended that you learn a few phrases related to this topic. The simplest are the following:

Other useful words

The following Spanish words for tourists will be very helpful. They can be used in various situations when you need to ask or explain something. At the same time, these words can be pronounced independently, that is, without the use of explanatory verbs, since a person who knows Spanish will still be able to understand what is at stake.

Residents of Hispanic countries are very kind, funny and emotional people, so you should not be afraid to ask them something that is not clear, they will always explain to the tourist in an accessible way.