Learn Spanish Now

It is estimated that Spanish, after English, is the second most spoken language in the United States. According to another estimation, there are more than seventeen millions Hispanics living in the US and many of them do not speak English fluently - if at all. Conversational Spanish can thus be a great skill to possess, in the United States and particularly in the rest of the Americas.

Practical Spanish

A great argument for starting your language studies by learning how to speak conversational Spanish is that many people may not be knowledgeable about how to go about learning Spanish in a more formal manner, though they are intent on speaking it. This is not necessarily a drawback, as it can be a perfectly good way to learn practical Spanish. The advantage of initially learning conversational skills is that it is very natural and a person can often carry a fruitful conversation even without complete mastery of a language. The main point is to understand as well as being understood by the other party. Learning how to speak conversational Spanish first, can be a great primer for advancing to eventually reading and writing the language.

I like to refer to conversational Spanish as "practical Spanish", because I think that describes it really well. You do not need to know a lot of grammar, as you can easily ignore conjugations, verbs, nouns and many other grammatical rules. It is perfectly adequate to start by learning short, everyday phrases like "Muchas Gracias" (Thank you very much), De nada (You're welcome), "Está bien" (That's alright) etc.

Once you get these basic words ingrained in your memory, you simply move on by gradually adding more words and phrases to your conversational vocabulary. You would need to make a logical connection between the meaning of the words and phrases that you learn. A good idea is to try and picture the thoughts in your head and then there is no real reason to translate them from English. For this to work optimally you need regular practise of course, in order to learn the way that it is spoken, how to pronounce the words correctly as well as be able to deliver words and sentences in the right meter. What you're after is knowing what is being said and not so much about worrying about the where's and whys of certain words.

Here are some simple phrases. For a full guide, including instruction on pronunciation and basic grammar, sign up for the newsletter at my blog Learn Spanish now.

Hello (informal).
Hola. (OH-lah). For the formal equivalent of hola see good morning, good afternoon, good evening, below.

How are you?
¿Cómo estás? (KOH-moh ehss-TAHSS?) (informal); ¿Cómo está usted? (KOH-mo ehss-TAH oo-stehd?) (formal)

Fine, thank you.
Muy bien, gracias. (mooey BYEHN, GRAH-syahss)

What is your name?
¿Cómo te llamas? (KOH-moh tay YAH-mahss?) (informal); ¿Cómo se llama usted? (KOH-mo say YAH-mah ooss-TAID?) (formal)

My name is ______ .
Me llamo ______ . (may YAH-moh _____ .)

Nice to meet you.
Encantado/a. (EHN-kahn-TAH-doh)

Please.
Por favor. (POHR fah-BOHR)

Thank you.
Gracias. (GRAH-SYAHSS)

You're welcome.
De nada. (day NAH-dah)