Greetings
Hola / Buenos días
OH-la / BWEH-nos DEE-as
Hi / good morning — switch to 'buenas tardes' from about 2pm.
¿Qué tal?
keh TAL
How's it going? — the everyday casual greeting.
Gracias / De nada
GRA-thyas / deh NA-da
Thank you / you're welcome (note the Castilian 'th' for c/z).
Por favor
por fa-VOR
Please.
Social
Vale
BA-leh
OK / sure / got it — the single most Spanish word; you'll say it constantly.
Tío / Tía
TEE-o / TEE-a
Dude / mate — how friends address each other in Spain.
Guay
gwai
Cool / great.
Daily life
¿Cuánto es?
KWAN-to es
How much is it?
¿Dónde está el baño?
DON-deh es-TA el BA-nyo
Where's the toilet? (also 'el aseo').
Food
La cuenta, por favor
la KWEN-ta por fa-VOR
The bill, please.
Una caña
OO-na KA-nya
A small draught beer — the default social order, often with a free tapa.
Emergency
¡Socorro! / Ayuda
so-KO-rro / a-YOO-da
Help! — for emergencies.
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