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Basic Spanish You Should Know
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These are some of the basic Spanish words that could be very helpful if you are going to visit Dominican Republic (first lesson; República Dominicana is the way to say the name of this country in Spanish) or any Spanish speaking country.
Spanish is not necessary if you are staying at a resort and do not plan to go off the property as most people at the resorts will speak many different languages. Yet, it is still fun to try and use the language of the country where you are visiting. People do appreciate that you tried to speak their native tongue. If you do not pronounce a word accurately or use it in exactly the correct context it is not really important. Also, it never hurts to learn something new and keep the ole brain working.
Some great basic Spanish words to know to get by in any Spanish speaking country.
*Sí - Yes
*No - No
*Por favor - Please
*Thank you - Gracias
*Perdone - Sorry
*Disculpe - Excuse me
*De nada-Your welcome
*Perdón; Con permiso-Excuse me
*Un momento-Just a second
*Está Bien; Muy bien-Okay
*Buenos dias-Good morning
*Buenas tardes-Good afternoon
*Buenas noches-Good night, Good evening
*Señor-Sir
*Señora-Madam
*Señorita-Miss
*Arriba-up
*Abajo-down
*Tengo hambre/sed-I am hungry/thirsty
*¿Cómo?-What did you say?
*¡Ayúdeme! - Help me!
*No entiendo - I don't understand
*¿Me ayuda? - Can you help me?
*Estoy perdido - I am lost
*Hola - Hello
*Adiós - Goodbye
*¿Cómo está? - How are you?
*Question - Pregunta
*¿Habla inglés/español? - Do you speak English/Spanish?
*¿Cómo se dice _____ en español?How do you say______ in Spanish?
*No hablo español - I don’t speak Spanish
*Más despacio,por favor - Slower please
*¿Cómo se llama? - What's your name?
*¿De dónde es? - Where are you from?
*¿Dónde está?-Where is____?
*¿Cuándo?-When?
*¿Cuánto?-How much?
*¿Quién?-Who?
*¿Por qúe?-Why?
*¿Cómo?-How?
*¿Qué?-What?
*¿Qué hora es? - What time is it?
*Son las 3 - It is 3 o'clock.
*A las quatro de la mañana/tarde/noche - at 4 o'clock in the morning/afternoon/night
*Necesito un médico - I need a doctor
*¡Peligro! - Danger!
*¡Cuidado! - Careful!
*¡Llame al policia! - Call the police!
*¡Ladrón! - Thief!
*¡Para! - Stop
Days of the Week / Días de la semana
When learning about the days and months of the year remember that none of the words are capitalized when you write them.
domingo, lunes, martes, miércoles, jueves, viernes, sábado
Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday
Months/ Meses
enero, febrero, marzo, abril, mayo, junio, julio, agosto, septiembre, octubre, noviembre, diciembre
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
Four Seasons of the Year / Las cuatro estaciones del año
The names of the seasons are good to know when you come to Dominican Republic, even if there is not much difference in the yearly temperatures. There is very little fluctuation in the temperature (unless you go into the mountain areas where it does get cold) but there is a noticeable change in the humidity. Dominican people love talking about the weather even if is only about how hot it is or how much it rained.
el verano - summer
la primavera - spring
el otoño - fall
el invierno - winter
Public transportation / El transporte público words. These are good to know if you plan on going out and about to discover the country. If you cannot remember a word just point almost everyone understands a pointed finger as it is a universal way to communicate.
(for information about transportation in Dominican Republic)
*Antes de cruzar - Before the intersection
*Después de cruzar - After the intersection
*Déjeme - Let me out
*Dónde pueda - Wherever you can
*En la esquina - Stop at the next corner
*Derecho - straight ahead
*Derecha - right
*Izquierda - left
Some important Christmas/ Navidad Words. After you learn the words test your brain with our Christmas Crossword puzzle. All the answers are listed here, but try not to look. See how much you remember.
*el acebo - holly
*árbol de navidad - Christmas tree
*bambalinas - ornaments
*bastón de dulce - candy cane
*la cabalgata - On 6th January there is a Christmas parade, the
principal characters are the "magi kings" who drive around
the city on *a float and shower the children and people with
sweets and other presents.
*campana - bell
*cascabel - sleigh bell
*duende - elf
*dulce - a piece of candy
*el espíritu navideño - the Christmas spirit
*el espumillón - tinsel
*¡Feliz Navidad y Próspero Año Nuevo! - Merry Christmas and a
Prosperous New Year!
*galleta - cookie
*hombre de nieve - snow man
*luces - Christmas Tree lights
*muérdago - mistletoe
*navidad - Christmas
*nieve - snow
*noche buena - Christmas eve
*ornamento - decorations
*oye - hear
*Papá Noel - Father Christmas
*polo norte - north pole
*pone - hang
*prende - light an object
*un ramo de Navidad - a Christmas wreath
*reno - reindeer
*los Reyes Magos - the Three Kings, the Three
Wise Men
*trineo - sleigh
*un villancico - Christmas carol
*vela - candle
*vuela - flies
Basic Spanish Pronunciations / Pronunciaciones españolas básicas
It is very important to learn how the letters of the Spanish alphabet are pronounced. The vowels (in bold) are where I would suggest starting. Learning the vowels is the first and the most important step when trying to learn Spanish. Vowels are only pronounced one way, they do not have long and short sounds as in the English language. Since there is only one way to pronounce these letters it makes it much easier to pronounce words when you see them written.
a ah (yacht)
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g (before e, i) breathy h (hot)
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e ay (day) eh (pet)
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h always silent
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i ee (meet)
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j breathy h (hot)
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o oh (open)
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ll y (yes)- in Dominican Republic ll generally sounds like jah
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u oo (tooth)
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ñ ny (canyon)
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c (before a, o, u) hard k (cat)
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v b (book)
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c (before e, i) soft s (cent)
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y by itself y = i (ee)
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g (before a, o, u) hard g (go)
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The Spanish alphabet/ Alfabeto español has 2 more letters than the English alphabet. Many of the letters are pronounced very differently than what you might be used to. It is a good idea is to practice how to spell your name using the Spanish alphabet. Learning the A, B, C's will really help with hotel check-in.
- a - a
- b - be
- c - ce
- ch - che
- d - de
- e - e
- f - efe
- g - ge
- h - hache
- i - i
- j - jota
- k - ka
- l - ele
- ll - elle
- m - eme
- n - ene
- ñ - eñe
- o - o
- p - pe
- q - cu
- r - ere
- s - ese
- t - te
- u - u
- v - ve
- w - doble u/doble ve
- x - equis
- y - i griega
- z - zeta
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LANGUAGE - Basic Spanish
What is Dominican Spanish? | Dominicanismos Dictionario / Dominican Idiom Dictionary | Sayings | Basic Spanish | Alphabet and Pronunciation | Transportation Words | Christmas Words | Names of Nature | Animal Talk | Symbols | Taino Words | Town Names | Cooking Terms | Word of the Day and Other Lessons | Travel and Learn Spanish | Language Games (Crossword - Christmas Crossword)| Food Dictionary/ Words |
Hotel Be Live Hamaca - Boca Chica
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How is Christmas celebrated in Dominican Republic? Traditions - Dominican Christmas.
A more complete list of Christmas words can be found on Learn Spanish.com.
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