Spanish vocabulary by situation

Everything from getting a table to asking for the bill — including the two phrases that stop a waiter switching to English.

Coffee in Spain has its own vocabulary — and ordering it wrong is the fastest way to out yourself as a tourist.

Signs, announcements and the four questions you will be asked at the desk.

Checking in, asking for what is missing, and the one complaint everyone eventually has to make.

Sizes, prices, paying — and the phrase that gets a shop assistant off your back politely.

Asking is easy. Understanding the answer is the hard part — so these are the words that come back at you.

Everyone asks about your family within the first ten minutes. These fifteen words cover the answer.

What you do, where you do it, and how to survive a meeting in Spanish.

Sets, reps, and the one question you need before touching a machine someone else is using.

Getting sick abroad is stressful enough without a language gap, so these words let you book an appointment and describe symptoms clearly.

A Spanish pharmacist handles far more minor complaints than a British one, so a handful of phrases here often saves you a doctor visit.

Public transport in Spain is cheap and good, but the ticket vocabulary is specific, and knowing it stops you overpaying at the machine.

Flat hunting in Spanish means reading adverts full of set phrases, so these words make listings and landlord questions much easier to follow.

Weather is the safest small talk there is, and in Spanish it also drills a grammar point learners get wrong for years: hacer versus estar.

Spanish beaches come with their own signs, flags and rules, and this vocabulary helps you read them instead of guessing from the crowd.

From asking for the wifi password to buying a prepaid SIM, these are the phrases you will use in your first hour in a new Spanish city.

Spanish supermarkets mix self-service aisles with staffed counters, and each of those two worlds needs a slightly different set of phrases.

Opening an account or simply withdrawing cash involves paperwork words you rarely meet in a course book but need on your very first visit.

Saying how you actually feel is what turns textbook Spanish into conversation, and it forces you to handle ser and estar properly.