Basic Spanish Language Guide for Your Next Vacation in Mexico – 70+ Useful Phrases

Are you planning your next vacation in Mexico and want to learn some simple phrases in Spanish to get along? This Basic Spanish Language Guide for Mexico helps you out! While you might get along just alright with English in the main tourist destinations like Mexico City and Cancún, some basic Spanish will always help you connect more with people. And if you travel to smaller or even rural destinations, knowing some simple phrases is vital. Let’s learn some Spanish!

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Basic Spanish Language Guide – 70+ Useful Phrases

The following phrases help you get along in the most common situations on your travel through Mexico.

Greetings and Farewells

• Hola (‘o-la) – “Hello”. Informal greeting.
• Buenos días (‘bue-nos ‘dee-as) – “Good morning”. Formal greeting used in the morning until around noon.
• Buenas tardes (‘bue-nas ‘tar-des) – “Good afternoon”. Formal greeting usually used after noon.
• Buenas noches (‘bue-nas ‘no-ches) – “Good evening”. Formal greeting used after sunset.
• Adiós (a-‘dyos) – “Goodbye”. Formal farewell.
• Hasta luego (‘as-ta ‘looey-go) – “See you later”. Informal farewell to someone you probably might see again.
• Hasta mañana (‘as-ta ma-‘nya-na) – “See you tomorrow”

Agreeing or Disagreeing

• Sí. (see) – “Yes”
• No. (no) – “No.”
• De acuerdo. (de a-‘quier-do) – “Agreed./Okay.”
• No quiero. (no ‘quier-o) – “I don’t want to.”
• No lo quiero. (no lo ‘quier-o) – “I don’t want it.”
• No me gusta. (no me ‘gus-ta) – “I don’t like it.”
• Me gusta (mucho). (me ‘gus-ta ‘moo-cho) – “I like it (a lot).”

Being Polite

• Muchas gracias (‘moo-tshas ‘gruh-syas) – “Thank you.”
• Por favor (por fuh-‘vor) – “Please, …”
• Perdón (per-‘don) – “Excuse me.”
• De nada (de ‘nuh-da) – “You’re welcome”
• Lo siento (lo ‘sien-to) – “I’m sorry”
• Con permiso (con per-‘mee-so) – literally: “With permission”. A formal way of saying “Excuse me” when you need to pass or move through in a crowded area, or if someone is blocking the doorway.
• Buen provecho. (buen pro-‘vay-cho) – “Bon appétit!”. You often hear it as a general greeting when someone enters (or leaves) a restaurant or cafe, even if the guests don’t have food on the table.

Communicating With Others

• Perdón, ¿habla inglés? (per-‘don, ‘uh-bluh in-‘gles) – “Excuse me, do you speak English?“
• Hablo sólo un poco de español. (‘uh-blo ‘so-lo oon ‘po-co de espa-‘nyol) – “I only speak a little Spanish”
• No entiendo. (‘no en-‘tien-do) – “I don’t understand.”
• Me llamo Peter Clark. (mey ‘yuh-mo) – “My name is Peter Clark.”
• ¿Cómo te llamas? (‘co-mo te ‘yuh-mus) – “What’s your name?” An informal way to ask for someone’s name.
• ¿Cómo se llama? (‘co-mo se ‘yuh-muh) – “What’s your name? A formal way to ask for someone’s name.
• ¿Puede hablar más despacio, por favor? (‘puey-de uh-‘blahr ‘mas des-‘pass-yo, ‘por fuh-‘vor) – “Can you speak slower, please?”
• ¿Cómo está? (‘ko-mo es-‘tuh) – “How are you?”.
• Estoy bien, gracias (es-‘toy bien, ‘gra-sias) – “I’m fine, thanks”

Asking for Directions

• ¿Perdón, dónde está el hotel X? (per-‘don, ‘don-de es-‘ta el o-‘tel) – “Excuse me, where is the hotel X?”
• ¿Dónde está la estación de autobuses? (‘don-de es-‘ta la es-ta-‘syon de ‘au-to-‘bus-es) – “Where’s the bus stop”
• ¿Dónde está la parada de taxis? (‘don-de es-‘ta la pa-‘ra-da de ‘ta-xis) – “Where’s the taxi stand”
• ¿Dónde está el restaurante X? (‘don-de es-‘ta el res-tau-‘run-te) – “Where’s the restaurant X”
• ¿Dónde está un cajero automático? (‘don-de es-‘ta oon ca-‘her-o au-to-‘muh-tee-co) – “Where is an ATM?“
• A la derecha (a la de-‘re-cha) – “On/to the right”
• A la izquierda (a la is-‘quier-da) – “On/to the left”
• Derecho (de-‘re-cho) – “Straight ahead”
• ¿Queda lejos/cerca? (‘que-da ‘le-hos/’ser-ca) – “Is it far/close?”

At the Restaurant

• Jóven (‘ho-ven) – “Waiter” Literally, “jóven” means “young man“, but it’s a general way of calling the waiter’s/shopkeeper’s attention no matter their age.
• Señorita (sen-yo-‘ree-ta) – “Miss“ If it’s a waitress, you can use “Señorita” instead.
• El menu, por favor. (el me-‘noo, por fuh-‘vor) – “The menu, please.”
• ¿Qué recomienda? (‘que re-co-‘mien-da) – “What do you recommend?”
• Quiero comer carne. (‘quie-ro co-‘mer ‘car-ne) – “I want to eat meat”
• Quiero comer pescado. (‘quie-ro co-‘mer pes-‘kuh-do) – “I want to eat fish”
• Soy vegetariano. (‘quie-ro co-‘mer ve-ge-ta-‘reea-no) – “I am vegetarian”
• ¡Salud! (sa-‘lud) – “Cheers!” (when toasting)
• ¿Dónde está el baño? (‘don-de es-‘ta el ‘ban-yo) – “Where is the bathroom?”
• La cuenta, por favor. (la ‘cuen-ta, por fuh-‘vor) – “The bill, please”
• ¿Puedo pagar con tarjeta? (‘puey-do pa-‘guhr con tar-‘he-ta) – “Can I pay with credit card?”
• Sólo efectivo. (‘so-lo e-fec-‘tee-vo) – “Cash only.”
• La propina es del diez/quince/veinte por ciento. (La pro-‘pee-na es del ‘dies/’kin-se/’vein-te por ‘cien-to) – “The tip is 10/15/20 per cent.”

At the Hotel

• Tengo una reservación. (‘ten-go ‘oo-na re-ser-va-‘syon) – “I have a reservation”
• ¿Dónde está mi habitación? (‘don-nde es-‘ta mi ah-bi-ta-‘syon) – “Where is my room?”
• Necesito ayuda con la maleta. (ne-se-‘see-to a-‘yoo-da) – “I need help with the suitcase.”

In the Taxi/Bus

• Quiero ir al hotel X/…al restaurante X/…a la playa X. (‘quier-o ‘eer al o-‘tel / al res-toh-‘run-te / a la ‘plah-ya) – “I want to go to the hotel /restaurant/beach X.”
• ¿Cuánto cuesta? (‘cuan-to ‘cues-tuh) – “How much does it cost?”
• Alto. (‘UL-to) – “Stop.”
• En la esquina, por favor (en la es-‘kee-na, por fuh-‘vor) – “At the corner, please”. When you’re traveling in a small van, you can ask the driver to drop you off at the next corner.
• Puede cerrar la ventana, por favor? (‘pue-de serr-‘ar la ven-‘tah-na, por fuh-‘vor) – “Can you close the window, please?”
• Puede abrir la ventana, por favor? (‘pue-de uh-‘breer la ven-‘tah-na, por fuh-‘vor) – “Can you open the window, please?”

Traveling By Car

See also my post about Driving in Mexico: How to Prepare and Stay Safe.

• ¿Dónde está el estacionamiento? (‘don-de es-‘ta el ‘es-ta-syo-na-‘mien-to) – “Where is the parking lot/garage?”
• ¿Puedo estacionar aquí? (‘pue-do es-tuh-cyo-‘nar uh-‘key) – “Can I park here?” If you’re unsure about the parking regulations, best to ask a local.
• ¿Dónde hay una gasolinera? (‘don-de ay una ga-so-lee-‘neh-ra) – “Where is a gas station?”
• Lleno, regular, por favor (‘yay-no, re-goo-‘lar, por-fuh-‘vor”) – “Please fill up, regular gas”.
• ¿Con tarjeta o en efectivo? (con tar-‘he-ta o en ef-fec-‘tee-vo) – “By credit card or cash?”
• Los Angeles Verdes (los ‘un-gel-es ‘ver-des) – “The Green Angels”, the Mexican breakdown service on major highways and toll roads
• Topes (‘to-pes) – “Speed bumps”
• Baches (‘buh-ches) – “Potholes”
• Uno por uno (1×1) (‘oo-no por ‘oo-no) – “One by one”: Right of way in alternating turn

Going Shopping

• ¿Cuánto cuesta? (‘cuan-to ‘cues-ta) – “How much does it cost?”
• ¿Tiene cambio? (‘tyen-e ‘cam-byo) – “Do you have change?”
• Una bolsa, por favor. (‘oo-na ‘bol-sa, por fuh-‘vor) – “A bag, please.”
• ¿Puedo pagar con tarjeta? (‘pue-do pa-‘guhr con tar-‘he-ta) – “Can I pay with credit card?”
• Sólo efectivo. (‘so-lo e-fec-‘tee-vo) – “Cash only.”

At the Airport

• Mi vuelo sale del terminal uno/dos. (mi ‘vue-lo ‘sal-le del ter-mee-‘null ‘oo-no/doss) – “My plane leaves from terminal one/two.”
• El pasaje (el pa-‘sa-he) – “plane ticket”
• ¿Dónde está la salida? (‘don-de es-‘ta la sa-‘lee-da) – “Where is the exit?”
• ¿Dónde está la entrada? (‘don-de es-‘ta la en-‘tra-da) – “Where is the entrance?”
• ¿Dónde está la parada de taxis? (‘don-de es-‘ta la pa-‘ra-da de ‘ta-xis) – “Where is the taxi stand?”
• ¿Dónde está la parada de autobuses? (‘don-de es-‘ta la pa-‘ra-da de ‘au-to-‘bus-es) – “Where is the bus stop?”

Asking for Help

• ¡Ayuda! (ah-‘yoo-da) – “Help!”
• Estoy perdido. (es-‘toy per-‘dee-do) – “I’m lost.” As a female, you’d say “Estoy perdida.”
• Necesito un médico. (ne-se-‘see-to un ‘me-dee-co) – “I need a doctor.”
• ¿Dónde está el hospital? (‘don-de es-‘ta el os-pee-‘tull) – “Where is the hospital?”
• ¿Puede llamar la policía? (‘pue-de yum-‘ahr la po-lee-‘see-a) – “Can you call the police?”
• Perdí mi pasaporte. (per-‘dee mi pas-sa-‘por-te) – “I’ve lost my passport.”
• Me robaron. (me ro-‘bah-ron) – “I’ve been robbed.”

Tips for Learning Mexican Spanish

Rome wasn’t built in a day, so be patient when learning a new language. Focus on phrases that you’ll probably need when traveling rather than single words. Don’t be shy and put what you’ve learned to use once you’ve arrived. Most Mexicans appreciate the effort even if your pronunciation or grammar isn’t perfect. Trying to communicate with them in Spanish is a great icebreaker.

If you want to learn more, there are many helpful learning apps like Duolingo or Pimsleur for Latin-American Spanish. And for more complicated conversations or to be able to read the signboards in museums and galleries, I suggest downloading the offline version of a translation app.

If you’re serious about learning Mexican Spanish, I recommend taking classes at UNAM University. They have great teaching material focusing on Mexican Spanish, as it’s a bit different from the Spanish spoken in Spain or other Latin-American countries. You’ll also learn a lot about Mexican culture and history! They have online courses and face-to-face classes, so you can combine your Spanish lessons with a stay in Mexico City.

Enjoy Your Next Trip to Mexico!

With a little preparation and the readiness to put what you’ve learned to use, you’ll see how speaking basic Spanish opens the peoples’ hearts. Enjoy your trip to this beautiful country and its friendly people! ¡Buen viaje! (Have a good trip!)

Read Next:

• 11 Useful Apps for Traveling to Mexico
• Best Options for Staying Connected in Mexico
• Essential Packing List for Mexico – 27 Items You Should Not Forget to Pack
• Driving in Mexico: How to Prepare and Stay Safe
• 9 Best Things to Do in Mazunte – Oaxaca’s Eco-Friendly Beach Town
• 7 Best Things to Do in Zapotitlán Salinas
• 7 Best Things to Do in Chipilo