Thank you and hello in SpanishWith pronunciation, and the replies you'll hear back
Spanish is one of the easiest languages to pronounce from a respelling, because the letters do the same job every time. Five words will carry you through most of a trip. Here are 18 phrases people actually use in Spain, Mexico and most of Central and South America, in the order worth learning them. The replies you will hear back are included too.
"Thank you" in Spanish
Gracias
GRAH-syahss
In Spain the c sounds like the th in "thin": GRAH-thyahss. Both are understood everywhere.
Thank you
Gracias
GRAH-syahss
Hello
Hola
OH-lah
The h is silent. Buenos días works until lunch, buenas tardes after.
Excuse me / sorry
Perdón
pehr-DOHN
Use it to squeeze past people and to apologise. Both work.
Yes / No
Sí / No
SEE / NOH
Please
Por favor
pohr fah-VOR
Tack it onto the end of anything and the request becomes polite.
The respelling is an approximation. Spanish spelling is regular, so an English respelling gets you genuinely close. The two sounds you cannot fake are the rolled r and the Spanish e, which is shorter and flatter than the English "ay". Neither will stop you being understood, so say it and move on.
Five phrases is genuinely enough for Spanish
You do not need to work through a phrasebook before you go. Almost everything a traveller says falls into these five shapes, and they are listed under "Start with these five" above.
- Thank you … The one you will use most. If you learn a single word, make it this one.
- Hello … Said the moment you walk into a shop. Whether you say it changes how you are treated.
- Excuse me … Some languages split calling someone over and apologising into different words. Check the list above.
- How much is it? … Needed for every purchase and every meal. If you miss the number, ask them to show it.
- I don't understand … Without this you end up nodding along and walking off in the wrong direction.
Getting these five automatic beats memorising twenty. Twenty phrases you have to search your memory for are worth nothing at the moment you need them.
Spain and Latin America split on a few everyday words
The differences are small but they land exactly where a traveller needs them. In Spain, ask for los servicios in a restaurant rather than el baño, which sounds like you want a bath. Spaniards also use vosotros for "you all" and pronounce c and z as th, neither of which exists in Latin America. A coffee, a bus and a car all have different regional names, so if a word draws a blank, point and say esto (ESS-toh). Nobody expects you to pick the local variant, and using the wrong one marks you as a visitor, not as rude.
The hard part is not speaking, it is understanding the reply
Almost every phrasebook only covers what you say. What actually stops people is the second after they finish talking, when the other person answers. How many of you. For here or to go. Card or cash. Go quiet and the exchange dies. Nod along and you get the wrong thing.
The good news is that the replies are a small, predictable set. Choose "You hear" in the list above and you will see only the ones that actually come back at you in Spain, Mexico and most of Central and South America. Reading them once before you go is most of the work.
If you still cannot catch it, ask them to write it down. Numbers and place names are far easier to read than to hear.
Say it clearly rather than say it perfectly
Spanish spelling is regular, so an English respelling gets you genuinely close. The two sounds you cannot fake are the rolled r and the Spanish e, which is shorter and flatter than the English "ay". Neither will stop you being understood, so say it and move on.
The usual failure is not a wrong vowel, it is going quiet because you are unsure. Keep it short, say it at normal volume, and finish the phrase in one breath. Everyone can tell you are a visitor attempting Spanish, and if it does not land they will simply ask again. Copy the written form to your phone so you have something to show when speaking does not work.
Other languages
FAQ
Q.How do you say thank you in Spanish?
Gracias, pronounced roughly GRAH-syahss. In Spain the c sounds like the th in "thin": GRAH-thyahss. Both are understood everywhere. If you learn one word before you travel, make it this one. It works at the till, when someone gives you directions, and when someone gives up a seat.
Q.Will the pronunciation guide alone get me understood?
Spanish spelling is regular, so an English respelling gets you genuinely close. The two sounds you cannot fake are the rolled r and the Spanish e, which is shorter and flatter than the English "ay". Neither will stop you being understood, so say it and move on.
Q.How much should I learn before I go?
Five phrases. Thank you, hello, excuse me, how much is it, and I don't understand. That covers nearly every situation a traveller hits. Getting those five automatic matters far more than adding a sixth, because at the moment you need them there is no time to think.
Q.Why bother when I have a translation app?
For getting something done, the app wins. People still learn a few words because it changes how they are treated. In a 2025 Preply survey of 1,526 US adults, 47 percent of those who used the local language said locals treated them better, 80 percent said learning phrases before a trip is important, and 58 percent actually did it. A greeting is less about transferring information and more about signalling that you made an effort.
Q.I can ask the question, but I cannot understand the answer.
That is the most common way this goes wrong, and it is why this page includes the other side. Choose "You hear" in the list above to see only what gets said back to you in Spain, Mexico and most of Central and South America. There are not many variations: how many of you, eat in or take away, card or cash. Reading them once removes most of the surprise.
Q.Does this work offline?
Yes. Everything runs in the browser, with no account and nothing sent to a server. Open it once before you fly and it will usually still be there on the plane or in a dead zone. You can copy any phrase and show the screen when speaking does not work.
Reading a phrase is not the same as saying it
You can recognise every phrase on this page and still freeze at the counter, because there is no time to think. Inko lets you say Spanish out loud to an AI for 60 seconds a day, and afterwards it shows you what you could have said instead. A week before you fly is enough to make a difference.