BBC SPANISH PHRASE BOOK & DICTIONARY

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The table below gives examples of some of the common terms that differ between Spain and Latin America. he) el (the) té (tea) te (you [object]) tú (you [subject]) tu (your) mí (me) mi (my) dé (give [present subjunctive]) de (of/from) sí (yes) si (if) sé (I know) se (one [pronoun]) más (more/plus) mas (but) Castilian and Latin American Spanish [ edit ] single r: For American English speakers, like the dd in "ladder". This sound is created by putting the tip of the tongue up against where the front of the roof of the mouth meets the upper teeth, very similar to the action English speakers make to pronounce l or d. To some English speakers, it may sound a bit like a combined "d-r". Take care to pronounce r separately when it follows a consonant; a blended English tr will not be recognized in the Spanish word otro ("other"), which should be pronounced more like "OHT-roh". Try to avoid the common pitfall to distinguish the words by the vowel: There is no difference in the e sound of pero and perro and Spanish native speakers won't hear any if you try to make one. Unlike in English numbers of years are always pronounced as normal numbers (i.e. in thousands, not hundreds) thus it is "mil novecientos noventa y dos" ("a thousand nine hundred ninety and two") not "diecinuevecientos noventa y dos" ("nineteen hundred ninety and two"), as the literal translation from the English convention would suggest. Counting in hundreds in general is not used once numbers get to 1000.

Lonely Planet is well known for its travel guides, but it also offers a terrific line of phrasebooks. Note: For the most part, these examples give Latin American pronunciation, not actually from Spain. Basics [ edit ] It also offers audio in both Castilian and Latin American Spanish, so it’s a well-rounded option. Additionally, transliterations make pronunciation easy even if you don’t play the audio. Common signs OPEN Abierto ( ah-bee-EHR-toh) CLOSED Cerrado ( sehr-RAH-doh) ENTRANCE Entrada ( ehn-TRAH-dah) EXIT Salida ( sah-LEE-dah) PUSH Empuje/Empujar ( ehm-POO-heh/ehm-poo-HAHR) PULL Tire/Tirar/Jale ( TEE-reh/tee-RAHR/HAH-leh) TOILET Baños ( bahn-YOS) / Servicios ( sehr-BEE-see-yohs) / Aseos ( ah-SEH-ohs); also S.H. or S.S.H.H. for Servicios Higiénicos MEN Hombres ( OHM-brehss) / Caballeros ( kah-bah-YEH-rohss) WOMEN Mujeres ( moo-HEH-rehss) / Damas ( DAH-mahss) / Señoras ( seh-NYOH-rahs) DON'T SMOKE No fumar/fume ( noh foo-MAHR/FOO-meh) FORBIDDEN Prohibido ( pro-ee-BEE-doh) Students appreciate the clutter-free layout of the book and the interactivity offered by its practice exercises.

Explaining why you’re learning Spanish

In Spanish, the term América typically refers to the entire American continent from Canada down to Chile, while the United States of America is properly referred to as los Estados Unidos. Saying " Soy americano." (literally "I am an American.") to mean that you're from the United States is fairly common but may nonetheless earn you a lecture on the meaning of "America", so you're better off saying " Soy estadounidense." (literally "I am a United Statesian").

This book contains a wonderful selection of interesting Spanish short stories for beginners that are designed to be understood by learners who have only been learning Spanish for a short period of time. The vowels in Spanish are short crisp sounds. They are not dragged out like some English vowels. Spanish makes no distinction between "long" and "short" vowels and Spanish-speakers are unlikely to even hear a difference. There is however a distinction between stressed and unstressed. The topics within Practice Makes Perfect: Basic Spanish are short and sweet ensuring the new learner doesn’t get bogged down in a mire of complex grammar. If you’re not impressed with region-specific options, you should be! Don’t underestimate this valuable insight. For instance, you might not need to know a lot of terms to refer to monkeys in Spain, but you will in Costa Rica! Choosing the right phrasebook for the job can make the difference between clear communication and awkward pointing.This is recommended as one of the best books to learn Spanish available and the textbook you need if you want to learn Spanish verbs. To give you an idea of the themes covered in our phrasebook, here are some of the topics you’ll be able to talk about with the help of this Spanish travel guide: 🙋‍♀️ The Basics The Penguin Spanish Phrase Book” is aimed at readers with little or no Spanish experience, so it’s a good option for complete beginners. 5. “Spanish Among Amigos Phrasebook” Be cautious about how you say that you're from a particular state: A Californio is a person whose family was in California while that land was still part of a Spanish colony, a true Tejano may never have set footin the modern US state of Texas, and the family of a Neomexicano was speaking Spanish in the 17th and 18th centuries. Try "Soy de California" (or Texas, or Nuevo México) instead. You must ask for the bill. A gringo was known to have waited until 2 in the morning because he was too shy to ask:).

Are you traveling to a Spanish-speaking country and hoping to sound like a local? Lonely Planet has just the phrasebook for you! Day-month constructions ( 4 de julio, for example) are not usually abbreviated. In the rare cases that an abbreviation is used, the number of the month is not used, but its initial letter is. Usual examples are: Spanish spelling has the pleasant characteristic of being very phonetic, with only a few clearly-defined exceptions. This means that if you know how to pronounce the letters of a word, it's relatively easy to sound out the word itself.

ai, ay like 'eye': baile ( BAI-lay) au like 'ow' in "cow": causa ( KOW-sah) ea like 'ay-ah': fea ( FAY-ah) ei, ey like 'ay' in "say": reina, rey. ( RAY-nah) eu like 'eh-oo': euro ("eh-OO-roh") ia like 'ee-ah': piano ( pee-AH-noh) ie like 'ee-eh': pie ( PEE-eh) io like 'ee-aw': dio ( DEE-aw) iu like 'ew' in "few": ciudad ( syoo-DAHD) oi, oy like 'oy' in "boy": soy ( soy) ua like 'wa' in "wash": cuatro ( KWAH-traw) ue like 'we' in "well": puedo ( PWAY-daw) ui, uy like 'ooey' in "phooey": ruido ( ROOEE-doh) uo like "wo" in "won't": averiguo ( ah-beh-REE-gwaw) Accents and stress [ edit ]

The Spanish verb tense system is fairly similar to English, but all six person/number combinations take different endings in the indicative. The formal you ( usted in singular, ustedes in plural) takes a third-person verb. Adjectives must match the gender and number of the noun they're describing, so a man says encantad o and a woman says encantad a for being "delighted" on meeting you. Adjectives always inflect to match the gender and plurality, even if the noun has the "wrong"-looking ending; for example, "clean hands" is manos limpi as, even though mano ends in an -o. The indirect object and the animate direct object are both marked by a: preguntar a alguien (to ask somebody). The content is excellently prepared and presented so that the student enjoys a comprehensive account of all the key areas of beginner-level Spanish without feeling overwhelmed. a like 'a' in "father" e like 'ay' in "pay" or 'ai' in "hail" when stressed; may take on more of a 'e' in "pet" sound when unstressed i like 'ee' in "see" o like 'o' in "stone" u like 'u' in "rule" y like 'ee' in "see". Very rarely used at the middle or ending of words. Consonants [ edit ] b like 'b' in "bed" (but no aspiration) at the beginning of a word and after 'm': boca. A soft vibration sound almost like English 'v' elsewhere. See v below. c follows the same pronunciation pattern as in English. In most cases it is pronounced like 'k' in "kid": calle, doctor. When followed by 'e' or 'i', it is like 's' in "supper" (in the Americas, the Canaries and some parts of the Philippines) or 'th' in "thin" (Spain): cine ( THEE-nay) ch like 'ch' in "touch": muchacho d like 'd' in "dog": de. In some dialects, a 'd' between two vowels is pronounced with a bit of softness, halfway between the normal 'd' and the 'th' in "the": pasado. You're usually fine just using the 'd' sound. f like 'f' in "fine": faro g when followed by 'e' or 'i', like a throaty 'h' ( general = heh-neh-RAHL), otherwise like 'g' in "go" ( gato). In the clusters "gue" and "gui", the 'u' serves only to change the sound of the consonant and is silent ( guitarra), unless it bears a diaeresis, as in "güe" and "güi" ( pedigüeño). In between vowels, it tends to be voiced and not guturral. gu, gü when followed by another vowel, like 'Gw' in Gwen ( agua, cigüeña, Camagüey) h silent: hora= OR-ah. Pronounced like a softer 'j' only in foreign words. j like a throaty 'h' in "ha": jamón; k like 'k' in "kid": kilo The letter K is only used in foreign words (kárate, kilo, Kiev, etc.). l like 'l' in "love": lápiz ll like 'y' in "year"; pronounced like a Zh as in 'Zhivago' only in Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay: llamar. In at least some parts of Costa Rica and Colombia, pronounced as the English "j" or "g," as in the words "ginger" or "ninja." Also pronounced like 'ly' as in the English word "million" in northern Spain and in the Philippines. m like 'm' in "mother": mano n like 'n' in "nice", and like 'n' in "anchor": noche, ancla ñ like 'ny' in "canyon": cañón, piñata p like 'p' in "pig": perro q like 'q' in "quiche" (always with a silent "u"): queso, pronounced KAY-so r, rr Spanish has two 'r' sounds both of which are different from their counterpart in English. Some effort should be made to approximate each of them, to help listeners distinguish between perro ("dog") and pero ("but")... or perhaps to understand you at all: Verb conjugations are introduced slowly and Madrigal chose to introduce the past tense first rather than the present tense as is typical with most Spanish textbooks. Additionally, if the accent marks a diphthong a syllable break occurs between the two vowels of the diphthong.Common signs STOP PARE, ALTO, STOP ( PAH-reh, AHL-toh, stohp) NO PARKING NO APARCAR / ESTACIONAR ( noh ah-pahr-KAHR/ ehs-tah-syoh-NAR) PARKING APARCAMIENTO / ESTACIONAMIENTO ( ah-pahr-kah-MYEHN-toh/ ehs-tah-syoh-nah-MYEHN-toh) NO ENTRANCE PROHIBIDO EL PASO ( pro-ee-BEE-doh el PAHS-oh) GIVE WAY/YIELD CEDA EL PASO ( SEH-dah el PAHS-oh) SLOW DESPACIO ( dehs-PAH-syoh) DIVERSION/DETOUR DESVÍO ( dehs-BEE-oh) ONE WAY SENTIDO ÚNICO ( sehn-TEE-doh OO-nee-koh) DEAD END SIN SALIDA ( seen sah-LEE-dah) DANGER PELIGRO ( peh-LEE-groh) CAUTION/ATTENION ¡PRECAUCIÓN!/¡ATENCIÓN! ( pray-caw-SYON/ ah-ten-SYON) a like 'a' in "father" e between 'ay' in "pay" and 'e' in "pet" i like 'ee' in "see" o like 'o' in "roll" u like 'u' in "rule" y like 'ee' in "see". Very rarely used at the middle or ending of words. Like "y" in young at the beginning of words. Consonants [ edit ] b like 'b' in "elbow" at the beginning of a word and after 'm': boca (mouth). A soft vibration sound almost like English 'v' elsewhere, specifically a 'v' sound but with your two lips pressed together in a 'b' or 'p' shape with the airflow of a 'v'. c In most cases it is pronounced like 'c' in "scare": calle (street). When followed by 'e' or 'i', it is like 's' in "supper" (in the Americas, the Canaries and some parts of the Philippines) or 'th' in "thin" (Spain): cine (cinema, pronounced by Latin Americans as SEE-nay, Spaniards as THEE-nay) ch like 'ch' in "touch": muchacho (boy) [tʃ] d like 'd' in "dog" at the beginning of a sentence or after 'n' or 'l'; like the 'th' in "the" between vowels: de (of/from), pasado (the adjective or noun past). You're usually fine just using the 'th' sound as in "the". f like 'f' in "fine": faro (lighthouse) g when followed by 'e' or 'i', like a throaty 'h' ( general = heh-neh-RAHL, meaning general), otherwise like 'g' in "ago" ( gato, cat). In the clusters "gue" and "gui", the 'u' serves only to change the sound of the consonant and is silent ( guitarra, guitar), unless it bears a diaeresis, as in "güe" and "güi" ( pedigüeño, beggar). In between vowels, it tends to be weakened to a softer sound, [ɣ]. h silent: hora= OR-ah (hour). Pronounced like a softer 'j' only in foreign words. j like a throaty 'h' in "ha": jamón (ham), the sound of Scottish or German "ch" as in "Loch" is close [x] k like 'k' in "ski" or silent like Spanish H: kilo knox The letter K is only used in foreign words (kárate, kilo, Kevin, Karen, etc.). l like 'l' in "love": lápiz (pen) ll Varies substantially by dialect. The easiest widely understandable pronunciation is like 'y' in "year": llamar (to call). Pronounced like a 'zh' [ʒ] as in 'Zhivago' or 'sh' [ʃ] as in 'show' only in Argentina and Uruguay; in some other countries it may be pronounced like an English 'j' [dʒ] as in "ninja" or like 'ly' [ʎ] as in the English word "million". The [ʎ] pronunciation was once enforced in school education as the "only correct" form especially in Francoist Spain but is now retreating northwards in Spain and otherwise only prevalent among bilingual speakers whose other language (e.g. Catalan or Quechua) contains this phoneme. m like 'm' in "mother": mano (hand, a rare example of a word whose grammatical gender breaks the rules outlined above—"la mano" is correct) n like 'n' in "nice", and like 'n' in "anchor": noche (night), ancla (anchor) ñ like 'ny' in "canyon": cañón (canyon) [ɳ], piñata. This is a separate letter in the Spanish alphabet. Pronouncing this as "n" will usually be intelligible but can sometimes make an entirely separate word. For instance, año is "year" but ano is "anus"—you'll want to avoid saying that you have 33 anuses when you mean to say that you're 33 years old. p like 'p' in "spit": perro (dog) q like 'k' in "ski" (always with a silent "u"): queso, pronounced KAY-so (cheese) r, rr Spanish has two 'r' sounds, both of which are different from their counterpart in English. Some effort should be made to approximate each of them, to help listeners distinguish between perro ("dog") and pero ("but") — or perhaps to understand you at all: You could get a severe sunburn on Mexico’s iconic beaches. You might sprain your ankle dancing the tango in the streets of Buenos Aires. You may find yourself lightly gored after running with the bulls in Spain.