Survival Spanish for Visiting Miami

Hispanics make up about 60% of Miami's population. Most visitors to Miami can get by speaking only English, but it may come in handy to brush up on some basic Spanish. You will need it if you plan to venture into largely Spanish-speaking areas like Little Havana or Hialeah, or just to speak to workers or vendors with limited English skills. Note that Miamians speak Latin American Spanish, as opposed to what you will hear in Spain - the two are very different. Buy a pocket English-Spanish dictionary, but take a look first at the handy phrases below.

Greetings & Requests

Yes - Si
No - No
Hello - Hola
Goodbye - Adios
See you later - Hasta luego
Good morning - Buenos dias
Good afternoon - Buenas tardes
Good evening - Buenas noches
Please - Por favor
Thank You - Gracias
Thank You very much - Muchas gracias
You're welcome - De nada
Excuse me - Perdone
The check, please - La cuenta, por favor
Where is the bathroom? - Donde esta el bano?

Getting Through the Language Barrier

Do you speak English? - Habla Ingles?
I don't speak Spanish - No hablo Espanol
I speak a little Spanish - Hablo un poco de Espanol
I don't understand - No entiendo
Say it more slowly please - Repitalo mas despacio por favor

Directions

Left - Izquierda
Right - Derecha
Straight ahead - Derecho
Here - Aqui
There - Alla
Far - Lejos
Near - Cerca
Street - Calle
Avenue - Avenida

Days of the week

Monday - Lunes
Tuesday - Martes
Wednesday - Miercoles
Thursday - Jueves
Friday - Viernes
Saturday - Sabado
Sunday - Domingo

Numbers

zero - cero
one - un, uno, una
two - dos
three - tres
four - quatro
five - cinco
six - seis
seven - siete
eight - ocho
nine - nueve
ten - diez
eleven - once
twelve - doce
thirteen - trece
fourteen - catorce
fifteen - quince
sixteen - dieciséis
seventeen - diecisiete
eighteen - dieciocho
nineteen - diecinueve
twenty - veinte
thirty - treinta
forty - cuarenta
fifty - cincuenta
sixty - sesenta
seventy - setenta
eighty - ochenta
ninety - noventa
one hundred - cien