Common Spanish phrases: 25 everyday expressions

🇪🇸 SpanishA1–A225 words

A handful of fixed phrases carries most small conversations: saying hello, introducing yourself, asking someone to repeat or speak more slowly. This list uses the expressions you actually hear in Spain, such as "¿qué tal?", "vale" and "venga", and the vosotros forms people use with friends.

Where you will use it: Greetings, introductions and polite everyday conversation.

Common Spanish phrases — The word list

Meanings and translations are in English.

Spanish	Meaning and example
¿qué tal?	How are things?“¿Qué tal os ha ido hoy?”How have things gone for you today?
encantado / encantada	Pleased to meet you (male / female).“Encantada de conoceros, soy vuestra nueva vecina.”Pleased to meet you, I'm your new neighbour.
mucho gusto	Nice to meet you.“Mucho gusto, me llamo Ana García.”Nice to meet you, my name is Ana García.
¿cómo te llamas?	What is your name?“¿Cómo te llamas y de dónde eres?”What is your name and where are you from?
me llamo	My name is.“Me llamo Pablo y vivo aquí.”My name is Pablo and I live here.
¿de dónde eres?	Where are you from?“¿De dónde eres, de Madrid o de Toledo?”Where are you from, Madrid or Toledo?
soy de	I am from.“Soy de Sevilla, pero vivo en Bilbao.”I'm from Seville, but I live in Bilbao.
¿cómo estás?	How are you?“¿Cómo estás después de tantas horas de viaje?”How are you after so many hours of travelling?
de nada	You are welcome.“De nada, para eso estamos los amigos.”You're welcome, that's what friends are for.
no pasa nada	It is all right; no worries.“No pasa nada, podemos coger otro autobús.”It's all right, we can catch another bus.
lo siento	I am sorry.“Lo siento, no puedo ir esta noche.”I'm sorry, I can't come tonight.
disculpa	Excuse me; sorry.“Disculpa, ¿sabes dónde está la biblioteca?”Excuse me, do you know where the library is?
con permiso	Excuse me (when passing).“Con permiso, necesito pasar con el carrito.”Excuse me, I need to get through with the pushchair.
¿puedes repetir?	Can you repeat that?“¿Puedes repetir la última frase, por favor?”Can you repeat the last sentence, please?
más despacio	More slowly.“Hablad más despacio, que estoy aprendiendo español.”Speak more slowly, as I'm learning Spanish.
no entiendo	I do not understand.“No entiendo esta palabra del mensaje.”I don't understand this word in the message.
¿qué significa?	What does it mean?“Esta expresión es nueva, ¿qué significa?”This expression is new, what does it mean?
¿cómo se dice…?	How do you say…?“¿Cómo se dice esta palabra en español?”How do you say this word in Spanish?
un momento	One moment.“Un momento, voy a buscar las llaves.”One moment, I'm going to look for the keys.
hasta mañana	See you tomorrow.“Hasta mañana, que descanséis y durmáis bien.”See you tomorrow, rest and sleep well.
nos vemos	See you.“Nos vemos el jueves en clase.”See you on Thursday in class.
¡que aproveche!	Enjoy your meal.“¡Que aproveche! La comida tiene muy buena pinta.”Enjoy your meal! The food looks very good.
¡salud!	Cheers; bless you.“¡Salud! Brindemos por vuestra nueva casa.”Cheers! Let's drink to your new home.
venga	Come on; all right then.“Venga, vamos juntos a tomar algo.”Come on, let's go and have a drink together.
¿os importa…?	Do you mind…? (informal plural).“¿Os importa cerrar la puerta al salir?”Do you mind closing the door when you leave?

Tips for learning Spanish words

Learn the article with the nounWrite el billete or la cuenta, not just the noun: the article tells you the gender, and adjectives agree with it.
Say every example aloudSpanish is spelled almost exactly as it sounds. Play the audio, then read the example aloud — it trains your ear and your pronunciation at once.
Type the accentsIn WordNest a missing accent counts as a mistake. Typing está, mañana and también correctly from the start saves relearning them later.

Spanish as spoken in Spain

Spanish is spoken in more than twenty countries, and everyday words differ between them: a car is a coche in Spain and a carro in much of Latin America, a phone is a móvil rather than a celular. These lists follow Spain's usage — vosotros, coger el tren, el ordenador — and WordNest's examples, audio and AI corrections use the same standard. You will still be understood everywhere.

Add five or six of these words a day rather than the whole list at once, keep the example sentence on the card, and review them when they come due. WordNest schedules each word across seven growing intervals — same day, then 1, 3, 7, 14, 30 and 60 days — so the list is still with you months later. Read how spaced repetition works if you want the reasoning behind those numbers.

Spanish word lists →

Questions about this list

Is this Spanish from Spain or Latin America?

Spanish as spoken in Spain. Where Latin America usually uses a different word, the list gives the Spain one — for example coche instead of carro — but every word is understood across the Spanish-speaking world.

How do I practise Common Spanish phrases?

Start with five words, listen and say each example aloud. Then recall the Spanish word from its English meaning and review it over several days.

How many words are in this list?

This list contains 25 words and phrases with English meanings and example sentences. It is a starting set, not a complete course.

Study these words with spaced repetition

Create a free account, choose Spanish as a study language and add these words to your own deck.