Basic Spanish Conversations: 32 most common Spanish phrases to have your first conversation with a native

In this article, aprenderás treinta y dos frases que debes saber en español (you will learn 32 must-know phrases in Spanish). You may instantly use all those phrases in your basic Spanish conversations!

So, if you’re planning a trip to a Spanish-speaking country, have a Skype meeting with Spanish-speaking clients, or if you happen to bump into someone that speaks español, these phrases will be a lifesaver!

1. Basic Spanish Conversations

Having a first basic Spanish conversation with anyone can be challenging, especially if you’re just starting out with Spanish, but no te preocupes (do not worry). Today, we’ll be breaking down a casual conversation in Spanish, and you will be provided with the most common chunks in Spanish that you can use in any conversation with natives!  

The first thing you need to know is how to start a conversation, so let’s see some chunks in Spanish to say “Hi”. They never change, so you can just learn them by heart entirely and you’ll always use them correctly in conversations!

• Hola, ¿cómo estás? (Hello! How are you?)
• Estoy bien, gracias. ¿A ti cómo te va? (I’m doing good, thanks. What about you?) — Literally, “How is it going for you?” This one is used if the other person starts the conversation asking how you’re doing.
• ¡Buenas tardes! ¿Qué tal tu día? (Good afternoon! How’s your day?)
• Me llamo Juan, un placer conocerte. ¿Tú cómo te llamas? (My name is Juan, a pleasure to meet you. What’s your name?) 

2. Common Spanish phrases to say thank you

If the other person did something for you like offering you to come in or help you with directions here are some ways to say thank you in Spanish and you’re welcome:

• ¡Muy agradecido! (Much obliged!)
• Mil gracias por ______ (A thousand thanks for) — and then you add the motive
• Le agradezco su ayuda. (I thank you for your help)
• ¡De nada! (You’re welcome!)
• No, ¡por favor! — If you’re in Argentina and someone thanks you
• ¡A la orden! — If you’re in Venezuela, Colombia or Panamá, this is a way to say “at your service”.

3. Essential Spanish phrases to say goodbye

When the basic Spanish conversation finishes or someone leaves, you can use these chunks to say goodbye:

• ¡Nos vemos luego! (See you later!)
• Que tengas buenas noches. (Have a good night)
• ¡Chao, hasta mañana! (Bye, see you tomorrow!)
• Adiós, fue un gusto verte. (Farewell, it was a pleasure to see you.)

If you want to learn more chunks, check my Spring Spanish playlist, where I cover greetings, saying thank you and you’re welcome, saying goodbye, and much more. Click on this link and de nada (you’re welcome). 😉 

4. Conversational Spanish ice breakers

Ahora que sabes lo básico en una conversación (now that you know the basics in a conversation), let’s jump to some chunks to ask some preguntas para romper el hielo (ice breaker questions):

• ¿En qué trabajas? (What do you do for a living?)
• ¿Te gusta el, la ______ / Te gustan los, las ______? —If you want to ask if the other person likes something in particular, like ¿te gusta la comida callejera? (Do you like street food?) or ¿Te gusta el beisbol? (Do you like baseball?)
• ¿Qué haces en tu tiempo libre? (What do you do in your free time?)
• ¿Tienes hijos?  (Do you have children?)
• ¿Cuántos hermanos tienes?  (How many siblings do you have?)
• ¿Eres de Canadá? ¿De qué parte? (Are you from Canada? Which part?)

And what happens if you’re on the answering side of these questions? Let’s see some examples for these basic Spanish conversations:

• Yo soy abogada. (I’m a lawyer.) —feminine
• Me gustan las empanadas de pollo. (I like chicken empanadas.)
• ¡Qué bien! ¡A mí también me gusta el fútbol! (Cool! I like soccer too!) — This will make you sound like you were born in Latin America if the other person says they like soccer first.
• Yo tengo dos hermanos y una hermana. (I have 2 brothers and 1 sister.)
• Mi amiga es mexicana, pero vive en los Estados Unidos. (My friend is Mexican, but she lives in the U.S.)
• No me gusta hablar de política, perdón. (I don’t like to talk about politics, sorry.) — This one will come in handy, we love to talk about politics. Trust me!

5. Other Lifesavers to have Spanish-speaking small talk

So, once you got your chunks rolling and your basic Spanish conversation with a native going, they might start speaking faster or louder or more people might join that conversation. If you ever get to this point, no temas utilizar la vieja confiable (don’t be afraid to use the old trustworthy):

• Disculpa, no entiendo. (Excuse me, I don’t understand.)
• ¿Puedes hablar más lento? (Can you speak more slowly?)
• Todavía estoy aprendiendo español. (I’m still learning Spanish.)
• ¿Hablas inglés, de casualidad? (Do you speak english by any chance?)
• Perdón, ¿qué significa ____ ? (I’m sorry, what’s the meaning of ____ ?) — This one will be really useful, as Latin Americans love using slang.

If you ever visit a Spanish-speaking country, you’ll be hearing stuff like chanchullo, chicote, coroto, gamba, el cogote, escabio, lepe, carnal, na guará, echar pa’ lante, chido, panita, mae, birra, tirar la data, ya merito,  de una, el guaro, candelilla, funar, hostia, batería, causa,  asere, la cana, echar los perros, cámara, qué volá, ya wey, me mola, su merced, unas chelas, los macundales.

6. Practice conversation in Spanish with our FREE Spanish Training

¡Muy bien! Now you are equipped with the basics you need to have a conversation with a stranger or a friend in Spanish! Don’t be afraid… go out and use what you just learned! If you need ayuda (help) and want to learn more feel free to check out the other videos on our channel! 

Now, if you’re ready to take it a step beyond this survival Spanish and get serious about speaking fluent Spanish, why don’t you let the Spring Spanish team help you? We have a free Spanish training on our website where you’ll discover the method we use in our Spring Spanish Academy to teach students to speak fluent Spanish. You also get some free sample Spanish lessons there that come straight from our Academy!