Learn Basic Spanish
Spanish is one of the easiest languages for English speakers to start. In six short lessons you'll learn to pronounce it, say hello, count to twenty, get by on a trip, and use the two words for “to be”.
Pronunciation: say what you see
Good news: Spanish is spelled almost exactly how it sounds. Learn a handful of rules and you can read any word out loud, even if you don't know what it means.
The five vowels never change
English vowels change sound all the time (think “cat”, “car”, “cake”). Spanish vowels don't. Keep them short and crisp:
| Letter | Sounds like | Example |
|---|---|---|
| a | “ah” in father | casa (house) |
| e | “eh” in bet | mesa (table) |
| i | “ee” in see | sí (yes) |
| o | “oh” in go, but shorter | todo (all) |
| u | “oo” in food | uno (one) |
Consonants that surprise English speakers
- h is always silent: hola is “OH-lah”.
- j, and g before e or i, sound like a breathy English “h”: jugo (juice), gente (people).
- ñ sounds like the “ny” in canyon: año (year).
- ll and y sound like the “y” in yes in most places: llamo, yo. (In parts of Argentina and Uruguay they sound more like “sh”.)
- r is a quick tap of the tongue, like the “tt” in American butter: pero (but). rr, or an r at the start of a word, is rolled: perro (dog).
- z, and c before e or i, sound like “s” in Latin America and like “th” in most of Spain: gracias. Both are correct.
- qu is a plain “k”: queso (cheese) is “KEH-so”. v sounds almost the same as b.
Where to put the stress
- Word ends in a vowel, n or s? Stress the second-to-last syllable: CA-sa, HA-blan.
- Ends in any other consonant? Stress the last syllable: ha-BLAR, ciu-DAD.
- An accent mark overrides both rules: ca-FÉ, te-LÉ-fo-no.
Accents can change meaning. Si means “if”, sí means “yes”. El is “the”, él is “he”.
Greetings and introductions
| Spanish | English | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Hola | Hi / Hello | Anytime, with anyone |
| Buenos días | Good morning | Until about lunchtime |
| Buenas tardes | Good afternoon | Afternoon until dark |
| Buenas noches | Good evening / Good night | Both hello and goodbye after dark |
| ¿Cómo estás? | How are you? | Friends, family, kids |
| ¿Cómo está usted? | How are you? (polite) | Strangers, older people, at work |
| Bien, gracias. ¿Y tú? | Fine, thanks. And you? | The standard reply |
| Me llamo… | My name is… | Literally “I call myself…” |
| ¿Cómo te llamas? | What's your name? | Informal |
| Mucho gusto | Nice to meet you | After introductions |
| Adiós · Hasta luego | Goodbye · See you later | Hasta luego is the everyday goodbye |
Tú or usted? Spanish has two words for “you”. Use tú with friends, family, children and people your age in casual settings. Use usted to be polite: with strangers, older people, customers and bosses. If you're not sure, start with usted. People will tell you if they'd like you to switch.
Spelling tip: questions and exclamations open with an upside-down mark: ¿Qué tal? ¡Hola! It tells the reader early how to say the sentence.
Numbers 1 to 20
Tap any number to hear it. Notice that 16 to 19 are built like “ten and six”: dieci-séis.
- Uno shortens to un before a masculine noun and becomes una before a feminine one: un café, una cerveza.
- Prices and phone numbers come up constantly. Practice by reading license plates or price tags out loud in Spanish.
Essential phrases for getting by
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Por favor | Please |
| Gracias · De nada | Thank you · You're welcome |
| Perdón · Disculpe | Sorry · Excuse me (to get attention) |
| Lo siento | I'm sorry (an apology) |
| No entiendo | I don't understand |
| ¿Habla inglés? | Do you speak English? (polite) |
| Más despacio, por favor | More slowly, please |
| ¿Dónde está el baño? | Where is the bathroom? |
| ¿Cuánto cuesta? | How much does it cost? |
| Quisiera… | I would like… (polite way to order) |
| La cuenta, por favor | The check, please |
| ¿Qué significa…? | What does … mean? |
Buenos días. Quisiera un café, por favor. (Good morning. I'd like a coffee, please.)
¿Cuánto cuesta? … Gracias. ¡Hasta luego!
Masculine, feminine and the word “the”
Every Spanish noun is either masculine or feminine. It's grammar, not meaning: a table (la mesa) isn't female. The gender decides which word for “the” and “a” you use.
| Masculine | Feminine | |
|---|---|---|
| the (one) | el libro | la casa |
| the (more than one) | los libros | las casas |
| a / an | un libro | una casa |
| some | unos libros | unas casas |
- Most nouns ending in -o are masculine; most ending in -a are feminine.
- Words ending in -ción, -sión and -dad are feminine: la estación, la ciudad.
- Common exceptions to memorize: el día (day), el mapa, el problema, la mano (hand).
- To make a plural, add -s after a vowel and -es after a consonant: ciudad → ciudades.
- Adjectives usually come after the noun and match it: el gato negro, la casa blanca, las casas blancas.
Learn nouns with their article. Don't memorize “mesa”; memorize “la mesa”. Our flashcards do this for you.
Ser and estar: two ways to say “to be”
English has one verb “to be”. Spanish has two. Roughly: ser is for what something is, and estar is for how or where something is right now.
yo soy · tú eres · él/ella/usted es · nosotros somos · ellos/ustedes son
Who or what you are, where you're from, jobs, descriptions, time and dates.
Soy de Texas. I'm from Texas.
Ella es doctora. She's a doctor.
Son las tres. It's three o'clock.
yo estoy · tú estás · él/ella/usted está · nosotros estamos · ellos/ustedes están
Location, feelings, health, and temporary conditions.
Estoy cansado. I'm tired.
¿Dónde está el hotel? Where is the hotel?
La sopa está fría. The soup is cold.
Some adjectives change meaning: Es aburrido means “he's boring”, but Está aburrido means “he's bored”.
Memory trick: “How you feel and where you are, always use the verb estar.” One catch: events use ser for location: La fiesta es en mi casa.
You'll also see vosotros (you all, informal) in Spain: sois, estáis. Latin America uses ustedes for every “you all”, which is what most US Spanish speakers use too.
Practice with flashcards
Pick a deck, try to recall the answer, then flip. Be honest: cards you mark “Again” come back later in the round. Press Space to flip, ← for again, → for got it, and L to listen.
FAQCommon questions
Should I learn Spain Spanish or Latin American Spanish?
Learn whichever you'll use most. In the US, Mexican and other Latin American Spanish are by far the most common. The differences are mostly accent and some vocabulary, like the “th” sound for z and the vosotros form in Spain. Speakers from everywhere understand each other easily.
How long does it take to learn Spanish?
The US Foreign Service Institute puts Spanish in its easiest group (Category I) for English speakers, at about 30 weeks of full-time class (600 to 750 class hours) to reach professional working ability. You can handle greetings, ordering and directions after a few weeks of short daily practice.
Why does the audio sound robotic, or not play at all?
The audio uses the voices built into your device. Most phones and computers include at least one Spanish voice; some need you to download one in your system's language or speech settings. If no Spanish voice is installed, the page tells you, and you can still use the cards silently.
What's the fastest way to remember vocabulary?
Short, spaced reviews beat long cram sessions. Five to ten minutes a day with flashcards, saying each word out loud, works better than an hour once a week. Mark cards honestly so the hard ones come back.
Do I need to learn verb conjugations right away?
Not all of them. Learn ser, estar, tener (to have) and querer (to want) in the present tense first. With those and the phrases above you can say a lot.