Spanish taxi and metro words you'll actually hear

The words on the signs and in the driver's mouth, what each one means, and the line it turns up in.

la parada de taxis

The taxi rank.

'Parada' is any stop — a taxi rank, a bus stop, a metro stop. Context does the rest.

Heard inPerdona, ¿dónde está la parada de taxis?

el taxímetro

The meter.

Spanish taxis are metered and legally have to run it. Asking for it switched on is normal and not an accusation.

Heard in¿Puedes poner el taxímetro, por favor?

el recibo

The receipt.

Worth asking for if you've left something behind — the ride is traceable from it.

Heard in¿Me das un recibo?

hacer transbordo

To change lines.

The single most useful metro word in Spain. It's a verb phrase, not a noun you'd see alone on a sign.

Heard in¿Dónde hago transbordo?

correspondencia

Transfer — the word on the signs.

This is what you follow overhead once you're inside the station. You ask for 'transbordo' and you follow 'Correspondencia'.

Heard inSigue las flechas de "Correspondencia".

el andén

The platform.

Going the wrong way is fixed by changing andén, not by leaving the station.

Heard inTe bajas en la siguiente y cambias de andén.

dirección

Toward — how Spanish metro lines are labelled.

Lines aren't 'northbound'; they're named after the last station. You need the direction, not just the line number.

Heard inLa línea __, dirección __.

bájate

Get off — informal command.

From 'bajarse'. You'll hear it as instruction rather than suggestion, which is normal and not rude.

Heard inBájate en __.

cuántas paradas

How many stops.

Distance on the metro gets measured in stops, not minutes.

Heard in¿Cuántas paradas son?

todo recto

Straight ahead.

The default half of every set of directions you'll be given on the street.

Heard inSí, todo recto y a la izquierda.

al fondo

At the far end / down the back.

Used for the end of a street, a corridor, or a bar. It means further than you think.

Heard inAllí, al fondo.