6 Typical Spanish Conversations You Will Have In A Spanish-Speaking Country

Are you ready to review a bunch of conversations you’ll have to have in Spanish?

Hi there! This is Maura from Spring Spanish.

Today we want to show you the most typical conversations you’ll have when traveling to a Spanish-speaking country.

Think of this video as a pattern to guide you through these mandatory exchanges. Let’s begin!

1. Typical Spanish conversations about public transportation

The two most typical scenarios are taxi and metro or bus.

You don’t have to speak too much, but here’s the basics you’ll have to say in the taxi:

MAURA
“Buenos días.”
(Good morning.)

TAXI DRIVER
“Buenos días.”
(Good morning.)

MAURA
“A la calle Gran Vía uno, por favor.”
(To the street Gran Via 1, please.)

TAXI DRIVER
“Seguro.”
(Sure.)

MAURA
“¿Puedo pagar con tarjeta?”
(Can I pay by card?)

TAXI DRIVER
“Claro, sin problema.”
(Sure, no problem.)

TAXI DRIVER
“Hemos llegado. Listo. ¿Quiere copia?”
(We have arrived. Done. Would you like a receipt?)

MAURA
“No. Gracias. Hasta luego.”
(No. Thank you. See you later.)

In the metro or bus, you’ll surely have to ask something more, for example:

MAURA
“Buenos días. ¿Puede ayudarme a comprar un ticket para el metro?”
(Good morning. Can you help me buy a metro ticket?)

SUBWAY ASSISTANT
“Por supuesto. ¿Quieres un ticket sencillo? Te recomiendo el bono de diez pasajes. Tienes hasta diez viajes sin límite de distancia.”
(Of course. Do you want a single ticket? I recommend the 10-ticket voucher. You have up to 10 trips with no distance limit.)

MAURA
“Genial. Ese entonces.”
(Great. That one then.)

Here they’ll tell you the amount and you’ll simply have to pay.

SUBWAY ASSISTANT
“Aquí tienes.”
(Here you go.)
MAURA
“Muy amable. ¡Gracias!”
(Very kind. Thank you!)

2. Typical Spanish conversation at the supermarket

This conversation is repeated over and over again, almost in exactly the same way.

CASHIER
“Buenas tardes.”
(Good afternoon.)

MAURA
“Hola.”
(Hello.)

CASHIER
“¿Quiere bolsa?”
(Do you want a bag?)

MAURA
“Sí, gracias.”
(Yes, thank you.)

CASHIER
“Son trece con veinticinco. ¿Tarjeta o efectivo?”
(That’s 13.25. Card or cash?)

MAURA
“Tarjeta, por favor.”
(Card, please.)

CASHIER
“Ya la puede pasar. Listo. Su recibo. Gracias.”
(You can put it through now. Done. Your receipt. Thank you.)

MAURA
“A usted. ¡Adiós!”
(To you. Goodbye!)

Remember to bring your cloth bag. It’s kinder to the planet and simpler in Spanish.

3. Typical Spanish conversation in a store

Clearly, in the store, you’ll have to pay as in the supermarket.

That conversation will be basically the same. So in this case, let’s see what would happen if you had to ask for information.

MAURA
“Hola, disculpa.”
(Hello, excuse me.)

SHOP ASSISTANT
“Hola, sí, dime.”
(Hello, yes, tell me.)

MAURA
“Estoy buscando esta camisa en talla S.”
(I am looking for this shirt in size S.)

SHOP ASSISTANT
“Déjamela y lo reviso. Sí, al fondo de la tienda debería haber.”
(Leave it with me and I’ll check it. Yes, at the back of the store there should be one.)

MAURA
“Muchas gracias. ¿Me puedes confirmar el precio, por favor?”
(Thank you very much. Can you confirm the price, please?)

SHOP ASSISTANT
“Seguro. Son veinte pesos. Pero como está en cincuenta por ciento de descuento, se te queda en diez.”
(Sure. It’s 20 pesos. But since it’s at a 50% discount, it’ll be 10.)

MAURA
“Buenísimo.”
(Very good.)

SHOP ASSISTANT
“¿Te puedo ayudar en algo más?”
(Can I help you with anything else?)

MAURA
“Nada, gracias.”
(Nothing, thank you.)

4. Asking for directions in Spanish

Imagine you have to stop someone on the street to ask for directions.

This is what could happen:

MAURA
“Hola, disculpa, ¿sabes dónde queda la calle Spring Spanish?”
(Hi, excuse me, do you know where Spring Spanish Street is?)

LOCAL PERSON
“Sí, tienes que seguir derecho hasta la avenida. Y en la avenida cruzas a la izquierda. Hay un edificio grande rosado en la esquina de esa calle.”
(Yes, you have to go straight to the avenue. And on the avenue you cross to the left. There is a big pink building on the corner of that street.)

MAURA
“¿Es muy lejos para caminar?”
(Is it too far to walk?)

LOCAL PERSON
“Como unos quince minutos máximo.”
(About 15 minutes maximum.)

MAURA
“Genial. ¡Muchas gracias!”
(Great. Thank you very much!)

It’s important that you review certain directions such as:

Review these expressions before asking for directions.

5. Typical Spanish conversations at a restaurant

Imagine you’ve just arrived and need to ask for a table.

MAURA
“Hola, ¿tienes mesa para cinco?”
(Hello, do you have a table for 5?)

WAITRESS
“Sí, los llevo a la mesa.”
(Yes, I’ll take you to the table.)

MAURA
“Gracias.”
(Thank you.)

WAITRESS
“¿Desean algo para beber?”
(Would you like something to drink?)

MAURA
“Cinco cervezas y agua para todos, por favor.”
(5 beers and water for everyone, please.)

WAITRESS
“Seguro. ¿Están listos para ordenar?”
(Sure. Are you ready to order?)

MAURA
“No, si nos puedes dar unos minutos, por favor.”
(No, if you can give us a few minutes, please.)

WAITRESS
“Por supuesto.”
(Of course.)

The moment of ordering food is simpler because you can use the menu as a guide. For a more complete video on what to do at the restaurant, watch this:

6. Meeting people

Let’s imagine we’re in a bar and strike up a conversation with one of the locals. Among other things, this is what could happen:

LOCAL PERSON
“¿Y de dónde vienen?”
(And where do you come from?)

MAURA
“De Estados Unidos. Es la primera vez que venimos.”
(From the United States. This is our first time here.)

LOCAL PERSON
“¡Qué bueno! Bienvenidos. ¿Qué han conocido hasta ahora?”
(How nice! Welcome. What have you seen so far?)

MAURA
“Hoy es nuestro primer día. Estuvimos en la playa todo el día.”
(Today is our first day. We were at the beach all day.)

LOCAL PERSON
“Bueno, les puedo recomendar varios sitios si les interesa.”
(Well, I can recommend several places if you are interested.)

MAURA
“¡Claro! Cualquier recomendación es bienvenida.”
(Of course! Any recommendation is welcome.)

LOCAL PERSON
“Te paso datos entonces.”
(I will give you information then.)

Clearly, you might have to talk about many things with the locals. But if there’s something that’s never missing, it’s recommendations.

So be prepared to take notes on those things.

7. Summary about typical Spanish conversations

As you can see, greeting, saying goodbye, and giving thanks are the things that are repeated the most.

In addition to that, it’s important to:

• Say “disculpa” when you’re going to interrupt to ask for information. “Perdón” or “permiso” would work the same way.
• Be clear about the questions you’ll need to ask before speaking. Much of what you need are answers to your doubts.
• Smile a lot. That solves half of the communication.
• And, of course, have your defenses ready with chunks like:
  • “¿Puedes hablar más despacio, por favor?” (Can you speak slower, please?)
  • “¿Me lo puedes repetir más despacio, por favor?” (Can you repeat it slower, please?)

Before traveling to a Spanish-speaking country, it’s obvious that you should practice a little.

We have many conversation-type videos for you.

But there are many more things you can do to practice. Check out our courses and see what we have to offer!