🌟 Essential Basics in Spanish

Welcome to the Essential Basics lesson! Here you’ll learn the most important building blocks to start speaking Spanish confidently. From greetings and introductions to basic questions, numbers, days, and time expressions, this guide will help you communicate in everyday situations.

👋 Greetings & Farewells

In Spanish, greetings and farewells are an essential part of everyday interactions. They change depending on the time of day and the level of formality. Here are the most common expressions with examples.

🌞 Greetings

• Hola → Hello
• Buenos días → Good morning
• Buenas tardes → Good afternoon
• Buenas noches → Good evening / Good night
• ¿Cómo estás? → How are you? (informal)
• ¿Cómo está usted? → How are you? (formal)
• ¿Qué tal? → How’s it going? / What’s up?

🌙 Farewells

• Adiós → Goodbye
• Hasta luego → See you later
• Hasta pronto → See you soon
• Hasta mañana → See you tomorrow
• Nos vemos → See you
• Chao → Bye
• Buenas noches → Good night (when leaving)

📝 Examples in Context

• — ¡Hola, María! ¿Cómo estás? → Hello, María! How are you?
• — Buenos días, profesor. → Good morning, teacher.
• — Buenas noches, hasta mañana. → Good night, see you tomorrow.
• — Adiós, nos vemos el lunes. → Goodbye, see you on Monday.
• — ¿Qué tal, Juan? → What’s up, Juan?
• — Hasta pronto, gracias por venir. → See you soon, thanks for coming.
• — Chao, cuídate. → Bye, take care.

🙋 Introducing Yourself

Introducing yourself is one of the first skills you need in Spanish. Here are the most common phrases to say your name, ask for someone’s name, and give basic personal information.

📌 Key Phrases

• Me llamo… → My name is…
• Mi nombre es… → My name is…
• Soy… → I am…
• ¿Cómo te llamas? → What’s your name? (informal)
• ¿Cómo se llama usted? → What’s your name? (formal)
• Encantado / Encantada → Nice to meet you (male / female)
• Mucho gusto → Pleased to meet you

🗣️ Giving More Information

• Soy de… → I’m from…
• Vivo en… → I live in…
• Tengo … años → I am … years old
• Trabajo como… → I work as…
• Estudio… → I study…

📝 Examples in Context

• — Hola, me llamo Ana. ¿Cómo te llamas? → Hi, my name is Ana. What’s your name?
• — Soy Carlos, mucho gusto. → I’m Carlos, nice to meet you.
• — Mi nombre es Laura, encantada. → My name is Laura, nice to meet you.
• — ¿Cómo se llama usted? → What’s your name? (formal)
• — Soy de México, pero vivo en Madrid. → I’m from Mexico, but I live in Madrid.
• — Tengo 20 años y estudio ingeniería. → I’m 20 years old and I study engineering.
• — Trabajo como profesor de español. → I work as a Spanish teacher.

❓ Basic Questions

In Spanish, interrogative words are crucial to ask for information. They always carry a written accent mark (tilde) to distinguish them from regular words. Below are the most common question words with examples.

📌 Key Question Words

• ¿Qué? → What?
• ¿Quién? / ¿Quiénes? → Who? (singular / plural)
• ¿Dónde? → Where?
• ¿Cuándo? → When?
• ¿Por qué? → Why?
• ¿Cómo? → How?
• ¿Cuál? / ¿Cuáles? → Which? (singular / plural)
• ¿Cuánto/a/os/as? → How much? / How many?

📝 Examples in Context

• ¿Qué estudias? → What do you study?
• ¿Quién es tu profesor? → Who is your teacher?
• ¿Dónde vives? → Where do you live?
• ¿Cuándo es la reunión? → When is the meeting?
• ¿Por qué aprendes español? → Why are you learning Spanish?
• ¿Cómo estás hoy? → How are you today?
• ¿Cuál es tu color favorito? → Which is your favorite color?
• ¿Cuántos años tienes? → How old are you?

⚡ Tip

Remember: in Spanish, questions start with an inverted question mark (¿) and end with a regular one (?).

🧾 Numbers & Days

Numbers and days of the week are essential for daily communication: telling your age, setting appointments, talking about schedules, and more. Let’s review the basics.

🔢 Numbers 0–10

• 0 — cero → zero
• 1 — uno → one
• 2 — dos → two
• 3 — tres → three
• 4 — cuatro → four
• 5 — cinco → five
• 6 — seis → six
• 7 — siete → seven
• 8 — ocho → eight
• 9 — nueve → nine
• 10 — diez → ten

📅 Days of the Week

• lunes → Monday
• martes → Tuesday
• miércoles → Wednesday
• jueves → Thursday
• viernes → Friday
• sábado → Saturday
• domingo → Sunday

📝 Examples in Context

• Tengo dos hermanos. → I have two brothers.
• Vivo en el número cinco. → I live at number five.
• La reunión es el lunes. → The meeting is on Monday.
• El sábado vamos al cine. → On Saturday we’re going to the cinema.
• Hoy es miércoles. → Today is Wednesday.
• Tengo una cita el viernes. → I have an appointment on Friday.
• Mi cumpleaños es el ocho de mayo. → My birthday is on May 8th.

⚡ Tip

In Spanish, the days of the week are not capitalized unless they start a sentence.

⏰ Telling the Time

In Spanish, telling the time uses the verb ser. The structure changes depending on whether it is one o’clock or any other hour. Let’s break it down with vocabulary and examples.

📌 Key Vocabulary

• la hora → the time / the hour
• es la una → it is one o’clock
• son las dos → it is two o’clock
• y cuarto → quarter past
• y media → half past
• menos cuarto → quarter to
• de la mañana → in the morning
• de la tarde → in the afternoon
• de la noche → at night

📝 Rules

• Use es la only for one o’clock (singular).
• Use son las for all other hours (plural).
• Minutes are added with y (“and”). Example: Son las tres y diez → It is 3:10.
• Minutes before the hour are expressed with menos (“minus”). Example: Son las cuatro menos cinco → It is 3:55.

🗣️ Examples in Context

• Es la una en punto. → It is one o’clock sharp.
• Son las dos y cuarto de la tarde. → It is 2:15 in the afternoon.
• Son las tres y media. → It is 3:30.
• Son las cuatro menos cuarto. → It is 3:45.
• ¿Qué hora es? → What time is it?
• La clase empieza a las nueve. → The class starts at 9:00.
• El tren llega a las diez menos diez. → The train arrives at 9:50.

⚡ Tip

When giving the time for events, use a la(s): La reunión es a las cinco → The meeting is at 5:00.

📍 Useful Phrases

Here are some universal Spanish expressions you can use every day as a beginner. They will help you survive in basic conversations and make you sound polite.

✅ Essential Everyday Phrases

• Por favor → Please
• Gracias → Thank you
• De nada → You’re welcome
• Perdón → Excuse me / Sorry
• Lo siento → I’m sorry
• No entiendo → I don’t understand
• ¿Puede repetir, por favor? → Can you repeat, please?

🗣️ Conversation Helpers

• ¿Cómo se dice … en español? → How do you say … in Spanish?
• ¿Qué significa …? → What does … mean?
• Más despacio, por favor. → Slower, please.
• Una pregunta… → A question…
• ¿Me puede ayudar? → Can you help me?
• No hablo mucho español. → I don’t speak much Spanish.
• Estoy aprendiendo español. → I’m learning Spanish.

🧳 Travel & Daily Use

• ¿Dónde está el baño? → Where is the bathroom?
• ¿Cuánto cuesta? → How much does it cost?
• Una mesa para dos, por favor. → A table for two, please.
• Necesito ayuda. → I need help.
• Estoy perdido/a. → I’m lost.
• Un momento, por favor. → One moment, please.
• Hasta luego. → See you later.

⚡ Tip

Politeness is important in Spanish. Always add por favor (please) and gracias (thank you) to sound respectful and friendly.

🎤 Pronunciation Tips

Spanish pronunciation is generally phonetic (you say words as they are written), but there are a few important details to master:

🔠 Accent & Stress

• Most words are stressed on the second-to-last syllable: ca-sa (house), a-mi-go (friend).
• If there is an accent mark (´), it shows exactly where to stress: telé-fo-no → te-LÉ-fo-no.
• Pay attention to similar words: papa (potato) vs. papá (dad).

😮 Difficult Sounds for Beginners

• R / RR: Rolled sound with the tongue. Example: perro (dog) vs. pero (but).
• J: Strong "h" sound, like in “hot.” Example: jamón → “ha-MON.”
• C / Z: In Spain, often a “th” sound; in Latin America, pronounced like “s.” Example: cinco → “seen-ko.”
• LL / Y: In many regions pronounced like “y” in “yes.” Example: lluvia (rain) → “yoo-via.”

🗣️ Practice Words

Try saying these slowly, then faster:

• Gracias → Thank you
• Perdón → Excuse me
• Teléfono → Telephone
• Recepción → Reception
• Hablar → To speak

⚡ Tip

Listen carefully to native speakers and repeat out loud. Spanish rhythm is smooth and syllable-based — each syllable has equal weight.

🎯 Practice

Let’s put your new knowledge into practice! Read the questions, try to answer in Spanish, then open the details to compare your response.

👋 Greetings & Farewells

Q1: How would you say "Good morning" in Spanish?

Q2: How would you politely say "Goodbye"?

🙋 Introducing Yourself

Q3: Translate: "My name is Ana."

Q4: Ask someone their name in Spanish.

❓ Basic Questions

Q5: How do you ask "Where do you live?"

Q6: Translate: "How are you today?"

🧾 Numbers & Days

Q7: How do you say "seven" in Spanish?

Q8: Translate: "Today is Monday."

⏰ Telling the Time

Q9: How would you say: "It is three o’clock"?

Q10: Translate: "It is one o’clock."

📍 Useful Phrases

Q11: How do you ask politely: "Excuse me"?

Q12: Translate: "I don’t understand."

✅ Summary

Here is a recap of the most essential Spanish basics you’ve learned in this lesson. Use this table as a quick reference guide.

🎉 Congratulations! You now have the essential building blocks of Spanish: greetings, introductions, basic questions, numbers, days, time, and useful everyday phrases. These will be your foundation for all future lessons.