{"id":5043,"date":"2014-05-25T21:34:09","date_gmt":"2014-05-25T19:34:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/?p=5043"},"modified":"2020-01-22T11:45:23","modified_gmt":"2020-01-22T10:45:23","slug":"essential-notions-of-spanish-to-survive-in-barcelona","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/essential-notions-of-spanish-to-survive-in-barcelona\/","title":{"rendered":"Essential Notions of Spanish to Survive in Barcelona"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">When you&#8217;re in a foreign country for a while working, on vacation, or studying, you would have different needs regarding the use you will give the native language, but you&#8217;re always going to need some preliminary basics to survive the very first days.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">So from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>ShBarcelona<\/strong><\/a>, we want you to offer that first essential\u00a0help with this article.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Related article:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/language-bookstores\/\">Language Bookstores in Barcelona<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_17 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-grey\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class=\"ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1\"><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/essential-notions-of-spanish-to-survive-in-barcelona\/#Useful_tips_to_learn_the_Spanish_language\" title=\"Useful tips to learn the Spanish language\">Useful tips to learn the Spanish language<\/a><ul class=\"ez-toc-list-level-3\"><li class=\"ez-toc-heading-level-3\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/essential-notions-of-spanish-to-survive-in-barcelona\/#The_greeting\" title=\"The greeting\">The greeting<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/essential-notions-of-spanish-to-survive-in-barcelona\/#Initial_conversation\" title=\"Initial conversation\">Initial conversation<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/essential-notions-of-spanish-to-survive-in-barcelona\/#Useful_expressions\" title=\"Useful expressions\">Useful expressions<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/essential-notions-of-spanish-to-survive-in-barcelona\/#Vocabulary\" title=\"Vocabulary\">Vocabulary<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/essential-notions-of-spanish-to-survive-in-barcelona\/#What_if%E2%80%A6\" title=\"What if&#8230;\">What if&#8230;<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Useful_tips_to_learn_the_Spanish_language\"><\/span>Useful tips to learn the Spanish language<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Although you speak Spanish more or less fluently, you must learn what the codes are and how to ask for something or talk to people. You should also know that in Barcelona <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/learn-catalan-free\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Catalan<\/strong><\/a> is spoken, and, although you can live there without speaking it, perhaps understanding it it very useful.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_greeting\"><\/span>The greeting<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<div id=\"attachment_5044\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5044\" class=\"wp-image-5044 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/hola111-300x166.jpg\" alt=\"word 'hola' in playful letters\" width=\"300\" height=\"166\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-5044\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Photo via Pixabay<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">For starters, you should know how to say hello or goodbye depending on the time of the day or the place you are.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The most common is a &#8220;<strong>hola<\/strong>&#8221; or &#8220;<strong>buenos d\u00edas\/tardes\/noches<\/strong>&#8221; as a greeting, and a &#8220;<strong>adi\u00f3s<\/strong>&#8220;, &#8220;<strong>hasta luego<\/strong>&#8220;, &#8220;<strong>nos vemos<\/strong>&#8221; or &#8220;<strong>que te vaya bien<\/strong>&#8221; to say goodbye.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Initial_conversation\"><\/span>Initial conversation<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">To ask someone how is he\/she doing after the greeting they say &#8220;<strong>\u00bfc\u00f3mo est\u00e1s?<\/strong>&#8221; or &#8220;<strong>\u00bfc\u00f3mo te va?<\/strong>&#8221; and usually you have to answer with a &#8220;<strong>Bien, \u00bfy t\u00fa<\/strong>?&#8221;, but does not always mean you want to know how the other is, is just a courtesy formula.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Useful_expressions\"><\/span>Useful expressions<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">To order your food at a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/seaside-restaurants-in-barcelona\/\"><strong>restaurant<\/strong><\/a> can say &#8220;<strong>\u00bfnos toma nota, por favor?<\/strong>&#8220;, for example, and to ask the price of something, &#8220;<strong>\u00bfcu\u00e1nto cuesta esto?<\/strong>&#8220;.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">You can also replace the words by gestures or start speaking in English or another language, in case you can not follow the conversation, but it is always best to get the attention of the person with one of these sentences.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">You might also find helpful to know how to ask for directions to a <strong>local<\/strong> resident with a &#8220;<strong>\u00bfc\u00f3mo puedo llegar a&#8230;<\/strong>( <a href=\"https:\/\/shbarcelona.barcelona.ticketbar.eu\/en\/sagrada-familia-en\/sagrada-familia-skip-the-line-en-\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><strong>la Sagrada Familia<\/strong><\/a>, for example)?&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Related article:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/4-apps-to-help-you-learn-spanish\/\">4 Apps to Help you Learn Spanish<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Vocabulary\"><\/span>Vocabulary<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<div id=\"attachment_5045\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5045\" class=\"wp-image-5045 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Captura-de-pantalla-2014-05-25-a-las-20.47.23-e1475145311198-300x169.png\" alt=\"two ladies with sunglasses looking at map of the city\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-5045\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Photo via Pixabay<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">You must learn to say:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">&#8220;<strong>s\u00ed<\/strong>&#8221; or &#8220;<strong>no<\/strong>&#8220;,<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">or to ask for things preceded by a &#8220;<strong>por favor<\/strong>&#8220;<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">numbers from 1 to 10 (uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco, seis, siete, ocho, nueve, diez)<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">thanking someone with a &#8220;<strong>gracias<\/strong>&#8220;<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">responding to a thanks you with a &#8220;<strong>de nada<\/strong>&#8221; or &#8220;<strong>no hay de qu\u00e9<\/strong>&#8220;<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">apologizing yourself with a &#8220;<strong>perd\u00f3n<\/strong>&#8221; or &#8220;<strong>lo siento<\/strong>&#8221; or an &#8220;<strong>disculpe<\/strong>&#8220;<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">or to get to a place with indications of direction &#8220;<strong>izquierda<\/strong>&#8220;, &#8220;<strong>derecha<\/strong>&#8220;, &#8220;<strong>girar<\/strong>&#8220;, &#8220;<strong>lejos<\/strong>&#8220;<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">or other vocabulary &#8220;calle&#8221;,&#8221;plaza&#8221;, &#8220;paseo&#8221;, &#8220;avenida&#8221;, &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/curiosities-metro\/\"><strong>metro<\/strong><\/a>&#8220;, &#8220;tren&#8221;, &#8220;autob\u00fas&#8221;<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">or other words related to basic food that is already more specific and you may need a dictionary (tapas, cerveza, tortilla de patatas, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/the-best-paella-in-ciudad-condal\/\"><strong>paella<\/strong><\/a>, ensalada, vegetariano, carne, pescado, etc.).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_if%E2%80%A6\"><\/span>What if&#8230;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">If you do not understand what someone is saying, you can also ask them to slow down the rate of speech with a &#8220;<strong>m\u00e1s despacio, por favor<\/strong>&#8221; or simply stating that you do not speak the language with a &#8220;<strong>no hablo espa\u00f1ol<\/strong>&#8220;.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Many times you will have to refer to your relatives, &#8220;mi hijo&#8221;, &#8220;mi hija&#8221;, &#8220;mi marido&#8221;, &#8220;mi mujer&#8221;, &#8220;mi novio&#8221;, &#8220;mi novia&#8221;, &#8220;mi amigo&#8221;, &#8220;mi amiga&#8221;, or you&#8217;ll have to express basic actions like &#8220;<strong>ir al ba\u00f1o<\/strong>&#8221; (going to the toilet in a restaurant, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/museum-summer-barcelona\/\"><strong>museum<\/strong><\/a> or similar) , &#8220;<strong>bajar del metro<\/strong>&#8221; in a particular metro station to ask someone, etc.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">There are many different situations and much vocabulary you would need, we recommend that you always carry on a <strong>dictionary<\/strong> or a <strong>guide<\/strong>, so you can understand the signals that you find on the street or can express yourself in a more or less proper way to ask locals for directions, help or your food.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>How did you manage communicating in Barcelona when you were here on holiday?<\/strong><\/p>\n<div style=\"display: none;\"\n    class=\"kk-star-ratings kksr-valign-bottom kksr-align-left \"\n    data-id=\"5043\"\n    data-slug=\"\">\n    <div class=\"kksr-stars\">\n    <div class=\"kksr-stars-inactive\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"1\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; 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So from ShBarcelona, we want you to offer that first essential\u00a0help with [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5046,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4599],"tags":[3165,825],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5043"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5043"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5043\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":101921,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5043\/revisions\/101921"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5046"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5043"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5043"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5043"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}