How to start a conversation in Spain

Q ¡Perdona! / ¡Oye!Excuse me! / Hey!

They'll say Dime. / ¿Sí?Tell me. / Yes?

Used to get someone's attention.

Q ¿Hablas inglés?Do you speak English?

• A Un poco.A little.
• A No, lo siento.No, sorry.

They'll say Pero te entiendo.But I understand you.

This exchange flips — the local answers this one.

Q Perdona, no te he entendido.Sorry, I didn't catch that.

• A Te lo repito.I'll say it again.
• A ¿Te lo digo más despacio?Shall I say it slower?

They'll say ¿Ahora mejor?Better now?

"No te he entendido" blames the moment rather than your Spanish — softer than "no entiendo".

Q Perdona, ¿me lo repites?Sorry, could you say that again?

• A Claro, más despacio.Of course — more slowly.

Q ¿Cómo se dice __ en español?How do you say __ in Spanish?

• A Se dice __.It's said __.

They'll say ¿Lo pillas? / ¿Lo entiendes?Got it?

The local answers first here with "Se dice __", then checks your understanding.

Q Hasta luego.See you later!

Closing line to end the conversation.

Q Por cierto, ¿cómo te llamas?By the way, what's your name?

• A Me llamo [NOMBRE].My name is [NAME].
• A Me llamo [NOMBRE]. ¿Y tú?My name is [NAME]. And you?

They'll say Encantado de conocerte.Nice to meet you.

Me llamo is literally I call myself, and it is the normal answer. Soy [NOMBRE] works too and is a shade more casual. Tacking ¿y tú? on the end is what turns an answer back into a conversation.

Q ¿De dónde eres?Where are you from?

• A Soy de Estados Unidos.I'm from the US.

They'll say ¿Y tú?And you?

"Y tú?" is your natural follow-up here, not their reply.

Q ¿Hablas español?Do you speak Spanish?

• A No hablo español.I don't speak Spanish.
• A Hablo un poco de español.I speak a little Spanish.

They'll say Tranquilo, hablamos despacio.Relax, we'll talk slowly.

"No hablo español" is a whole sentence and it ends the attempt. "Hablo un poco" keeps the conversation in Spanish, which is the one you want if you came here to use it.

Q ¿Qué te trae por aquí?What brings you here?

• A Estoy de vacaciones.I'm on vacation.
• A He venido por trabajo.I came for work.

They'll say Pues has elegido bien.Well, you picked the right place.

Q ¿Cuánto tiempo llevas aquí?How long have you been here?

• A Llevo __ días/semanas.I've been here __ days/weeks.
• A Acabo de llegar.I just arrived.

They'll say ¿Y qué te parece?What do you think of it?

Q ¿Cuántos años tienes?How old are you?

• A Tengo __ años.I'm __ years old.
• A Adivina.Guess.

They'll say Anda, igual que yo.Oh, same as me.

Spanish has years rather than being them: tener, never ser. "Tengo treinta años", and "soy treinta" is not a sentence.

Q ¿A qué te dedicas?What do you do for a living?

• A Soy profesor.I'm a teacher.
• A Trabajo en una oficina.I work in an office.

They'll say Ah, mira qué bien.Ah, nice.

"¿A qué te dedicas?" is the everyday one and "¿En qué trabajas?" means the same. Spanish drops the article on a job: "soy profesor", never "soy un profesor".

Q ¿Y tú? ¿A qué te dedicas?And you? What do you do?

• A Trabajo en un bar, aquí al lado.I work in a bar, just next door.

Asking back is most of Spanish small talk. A question answered and not returned reads as you being finished talking.

Q ¿Quién va ganando?Who's winning?

• A Van empatados.They're level.
• A Ni idea, acabo de llegar.No idea, I've just got here.

They'll say El árbitro está fatal.The referee's having a shocker.

Q ¿De qué equipo eres?What team do you support?

• A No entiendo mucho, pero me gusta el ambiente.I don't know much, but I love the vibe.
• A Del Madrid. / Del Barça.Real Madrid. / Barça.

They'll say ¡Ese es rival! Es broma.That's the rival! Just kidding.

"El Madrid" and "el Barça" are the big two; fútbol is instant small talk.

Q Yo del fútbol no entiendo, pero me apunto.I know nothing about football, but I'm in.

• A Da igual, tú anima.Doesn't matter — just cheer.

Q ¿Viste el partido?Did you watch the game?

• A No, ¿cómo quedó?No, how'd it end?

They'll say Ganamos dos a cero.We won two-nil.

Q Menudo robo.What a robbery — that was never a foul.

• A ¡Eso digo yo!That's what I said!

The all-purpose Spanish complaint about a referee. Said out loud in a bar, it buys you agreement from strangers.

Q ¿Nos tomamos la última?Shall we have one last one?

• A Venga, la última.Go on then — the last one.
• A Yo lo dejo ya.I'm going to call it there.

They'll say La última siempre es mentira.The last one is always a lie.

Q Me tengo que ir, pero encantado/a.I've got to go, but nice meeting you.

They'll say ¡Igualmente! A ver si nos vemos.Likewise! Hope we run into each other again.

A warm, standard way to wrap up a chat.

Q Se me hace tarde, otro día seguimos.It's getting late, let's pick this up another day.

They'll say ¡Claro! Cuídate.Of course! Take care.

"Otro día" is a soft, polite way to bail.