You don't need to be fluent to travel Latin America confidently. With the right 50 phrases, you can navigate almost any situation — from ordering food and taking taxis to handling emergencies and making friends. Here they are, organized by situation, with pronunciation tips where it matters most.
Pronunciation Basics
Before the phrases: a few rules that cover 80% of Spanish pronunciation.
- J sounds like a breathy English "H" (como, jamón, viaje)
- LL and Y both sound like English "Y" (yo, llama, calle)
- RR is a rolled R — practice by saying "butter" quickly and repeatedly
- H is always silent (hola, hotel, hablar)
- Every vowel in Spanish is short and consistent: A = "ah", E = "eh", I = "ee", O = "oh", U = "oo"
- Accent marks (á, é, í, ó, ú) indicate which syllable to stress
Greetings and Basic Politeness
These are non-negotiable. Use them constantly — Latin American culture values greetings, and skipping them feels rude.
1. Hola — Hello (use anytime)
2. Buenos días — Good morning (until about noon)
3. Buenas tardes — Good afternoon (noon until sunset)
4. Buenas noches — Good evening / Good night
5. ¿Cómo está usted? — How are you? (formal, use with strangers and older people)
6. ¿Cómo estás? — How are you? (informal, use with people your age or younger)
7. Bien, gracias. ¿Y usted? — Fine, thank you. And you? (the standard reply)
8. Por favor — Please (put it at the end of any request to soften it)
9. Gracias — Thank you
10. De nada — You're welcome
11. Mucho gusto — Nice to meet you (on first meeting)
12. Con permiso — Excuse me (when passing through a space or leaving a group)
13. Perdón / Disculpe — Sorry / Excuse me (when interrupting or making a mistake)
Getting Around
14. ¿Dónde está...? — Where is...? (add the place: el baño, el hotel, la parada de bus)
15. ¿Cómo llego a...? — How do I get to...?
16. A la izquierda / a la derecha — To the left / to the right
17. Recto / derecho — Straight ahead
18. ¿Cuánto cuesta ir a...? — How much does it cost to go to...? (for taxis)
19. Lléveme a esta dirección, por favor — Take me to this address, please (show your phone or a note)
20. ¿Para aquí el bus? — Does the bus stop here? (in Ecuador, often "¿Para aquí?")
21. Bájeme aquí — Let me off here (on buses and taxis)
22. ¿A qué hora sale el próximo bus para...? — What time does the next bus to... leave?
Accommodation
23. ¿Tiene habitaciones disponibles? — Do you have rooms available?
24. ¿Cuánto cuesta la habitación por noche? — How much does the room cost per night?
25. Quisiera quedarme por... noches — I'd like to stay for... nights
26. ¿Está incluido el desayuno? — Is breakfast included?
27. La llave / La habitación — The key / The room (useful when something is wrong: "Hay un problema con mi habitación")
Food and Restaurants
28. Una mesa para... personas, por favor — A table for... people, please
29. ¿Qué recomienda? — What do you recommend?
30. ¿Qué tiene sin...? — What do you have without...? (add: carne, gluten, lácteos — meat, gluten, dairy)
31. Soy vegetariano/a — I'm vegetarian
32. La cuenta, por favor — The bill, please
33. ¿Está incluido el servicio? — Is service included?
34. Está delicioso — It's delicious (say this and watch the cook beam)
35. Agua sin gas / con gas — Still water / sparkling water
36. Sin hielo, por favor — Without ice, please (practical advice in many places)
Shopping and Markets
37. ¿Cuánto cuesta esto? — How much does this cost?
38. ¿Tiene algo más barato? — Do you have something cheaper?
39. ¿Me puede hacer un descuento? — Can you give me a discount? (always worth asking at markets)
40. Me llevo esto — I'll take this
41. Solo estoy mirando — I'm just looking (useful when vendors approach you)
Emergency and Health
42. ¡Ayuda! — Help!
43. Llame a la policía — Call the police
44. Necesito un médico — I need a doctor
45. Me duele... — My... hurts (add: la cabeza = head, el estómago = stomach, la pierna = leg)
46. Soy alérgico/a a... — I'm allergic to... (critical to know; add the allergen)
47. Perdí mi pasaporte / cartera — I lost my passport / wallet
Making Connections
48. ¿Habla inglés? — Do you speak English?
49. No entiendo. ¿Puede repetir más despacio? — I don't understand. Can you repeat more slowly?
50. ¿Cómo se dice... en español? — How do you say... in Spanish? (the single most useful language learning phrase of all)
Bonus: Ecuador-Specific Phrases
If you're traveling specifically in Ecuador, these regional expressions will make locals smile:
Chévere — Cool / Great ("¡Qué chévere!" = "How cool!")
¿Aló? — Hello? (used when answering the phone)
Achachay — It's cold! (Quechua-origin exclamation, very Ecuadorian)
Atatay — That's disgusting! (another Quechua expression)
¿Qué más? — What's up? / What else? (casual greeting)
How to Actually Use These Phrases
Reading this list is not the same as having these phrases ready to use. Here's how to make them stick:
1. Say them out loud — not just in your head. Your mouth needs to learn the muscle memory.
2. Record yourself and compare to native speaker recordings (YouTube and Forvo are good resources).
3. Use them on Day 1. Even if your pronunciation is rough and your accent is obviously foreign, the attempt is valued. People in Ecuador are patient with travelers who try.
4. Don't overthink gender. If you say "el agua" instead of "la agua" or mix up your adjective endings, people will understand you. Intelligibility matters more than grammatical perfection at the start.
5. Add vocabulary to the frames. "¿Dónde está...?" is a frame. Once you know it, you just need to add the location. "¿Cuánto cuesta...?" plus any item. Most communication in a new language is framework + vocabulary.
Learn More Than Phrases: Stay with a Spanish-Speaking Family
Phrases get you started. Immersion makes you fluent.
If you want to go beyond survival Spanish and develop real conversational ability, the single most effective approach is living with a local Spanish-speaking family. Through JoyNativo, you can book a room with a host family in Ecuador, share daily meals in Spanish, and practice these phrases (and thousands more) in real conversations every day.
Your host family becomes your language teacher, cultural guide, and local connection all at once. It's the way people have always learned languages — by necessity, by repetition, and by genuine human connection.
👉 Start your Spanish immersion in Ecuador — JoyNativo
No app can replace the moment when someone understands you in a new language for the first time. Go start collecting those moments.