Fundamentals of Spanish (pt. 1/10) – Lesson 7

13 basic Spanish words you’ll use all the time

In lesson 1 we learned the basics: hello, how are you and goodbye. Now we build on that with the fundamentals: short words and phrases that you’ll hear and use in almost every Spanish conversation.

This is part 1 of the fundamentals. We’ll come back to them every few lessons throughout the course. Today we keep it light with 13 words and phrases, so you can really learn them instead of feeling overwhelmed.

Yes, no and maybe

Two of these you get for free! Just one thing: write sí (yes) with an accent. Without the accent, si means “if”. And no sounds like a short, clean “no”, not the English “noh-w”.

Tal vez is what you say when you’re not sure. You’ll also hear quizás, which means exactly the same.

Being polite: excuse me, sorry, please

Use disculpa with friends and people your age, and disculpe to be more polite or formal, for example with someone older or a waiter. Both mean “excuse me”, for example when you want to ask someone something.

Perdón means “sorry”, like when you bump into someone. You can also use it as “excuse me” to get past someone.

And por favor literally means “for favor”. See how favor looks just like the English word? Spanish and English share lots of words like this, you just need to know what to look for.

Thank you, you’re welcome, and you too

When you say muchas gracias, the other person will usually answer de nada. Literally that’s “of nothing”, like saying “oh, it was nothing”.

Or they might say a ti, which literally means “to you”. It’s like answering “no, thank you!” You’ll hear other answers too, but for now these two are all you need.

Also, you too and me too

También is one of those words you’ll hear all the time in Spanish. Put tú (you) or yo (I) in front of it, and you get two super useful replies:

I don’t know

Sé means “I know”, and lo means “it”. So no lo sé is literally “I don’t know it”. In real conversations, native speakers usually drop the yo and often the lo too, and just say no sé.

Write sé with an accent here: without it, se is a different word.

Recap: Spanish fundamentals part 1

Spanish	English
sí	yes
no	no
tal vez	maybe / perhaps
disculpa / disculpe	excuse me
perdón	sorry
■■■■■■■■	■■■■■■■■
■■■■■■■■	■■■■■■■■
■■■■■■■■	■■■■■■■■

+ 8 more words & phrases

Get all 13 words & phrases on one printable page, with examples and my tips. Free, straight to your inbox.

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Practice: how do you say it in Spanish?

Say your answer out loud first, then click to check.

1. Please

por favor

2. Maybe

tal vez (or quizás)

3. Excuse me (to a waiter)

disculpe: the more polite form.

4. Sorry! (you bumped into someone)

¡perdón!

5. Thanks a lot!

¡Muchas gracias!

6. Someone says “¡Muchas gracias!” How do you answer?

¡De nada! (or ¡A ti!)

7. Me too!

¡Yo también!

8. I don’t know.

No sé. (or no lo sé)

Quiz: Spanish fundamentals part 1

Ready? 10 quick questions to see what you remember.

Frequently asked questions

What’s the difference between tal vez and quizás?

Nothing really: both mean “maybe”. You’ll hear both everywhere, so use the one you like best.

What’s the difference between disculpa and perdón?

They overlap a lot. Disculpa / disculpe is mostly “excuse me” before you ask something. Perdón is mostly “sorry” after you did something, like bumping into someone. But you’ll hear both used either way.

Why do some words have accents, like sí and sé?

Sometimes an accent is the only difference between two words: sí (yes) and si (if), sé (I know) and se (a small grammar word). We’ll go deeper into accents in a later lesson.

Before you go to the next lesson

That’s it for today: short and sweet. Make sure you know these 13 words before you move on. You don’t have to rush: learning a language isn’t about going as fast as possible, it’s about really soaking it up. Grab the free reference sheet below, and I’ll see you in lesson 8. ¡Adiós!