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Welcome to SpanishPod101.com's “Español en tres minutos”.

The fastest, easiest, and most fun way to learn Spanish.

Hola, soy Lucia. Mucho gusto. Hi, I'm Lucia. Nice to meet you.

In this series, we're going to learn basic Spanish phrases.

It's super easy and it only takes three minutes!

In this lesson, you're going to learn how to introduce yourself in Spanish.

You'll be surprised at how easy it is.

Are you ready?

Listen again to my introduction.

Hola, soy Lucia. Mucho gusto.

Hi, I'm Lucia. Nice to meet you.

[slowly] Hola, soy Lucia. Mucho gusto.

The first word is Hola, which means “hi”, or “hello”.

After that comes soy, which means “I am”.

Hola, soy...and then your name.

Hola, soy Lucia. means “Hi, I'm Lucia.”

Finally, say Mucho gusto, which means “nice to meet you”.

So all together it would be:

Hola, soy Lucia. Mucho gusto.

Hi, I'm Lucia. Nice to meet you.

This is a polite and common way to greet to someone.

There is also another way to say your name.

Instead of Soy Lucia, I could say Me llamo Lucia.

Me llamo...literally means “I call myself”.

But we use it to mean “my name is”.

Hola, me llamo Lucia. Mucho gusto.

Hi, my name is Lucia. Nice to meet you.

[slowly] Hola, me llamo Lucia. Mucho gusto.

Again, let's take a look at these two ways to introduce yourself.

Hola, soy Lucia. Mucho gusto.

Hi, I'm Lucia. Nice to meet you.

Hola, me llamo Lucia. Mucho gusto.

Hi, my name is Lucia. Nice to meet you.

Now it's time for Lucia's Insights.

In formal situations, people in Spanish speaking countries greet each other by shaking hands.

On the other hand, if we meet someone we are very friendly with, we kiss each other on

both cheeks.

So don't be surprised if this happens to you!

In the last lesson, we learned how to introduce ourselves in Spanish.

In this lesson, we're going to learn how to use good manners as we thank people.

¿Estan listos?; Are you ready? Empecemos!, Let's start!

There are several ways to thank someone, let's start with the easiest.

It is just one word: Gracias. [slowly] Gracias.

Gracias means “thank you”.

To say “thank you very much”, you just need to add muchas before it.

Muchas means “very” or “a lot”.

Muchas gracias.

[slowly] Muchas gracias.

For a simple “thanks”, Gracias will be enough.

If you would like to say more than just “thanks”, Muchas gracias is good to use.

Now, how do you respond to “thank you” in Spanish?

It's easy!

The most common way to say “you're welcome” is: De nada.

[slowly] De nada.

Nada means “nothing”. So de nada literally means “it's nothing”,

so we use it to mean “you're welcome”.

So when someone says Gracias to you, you can simply reply with: De nada.

Now it's time for Lucia's Insights.

If you're not sure about whether to use Gracias or Muchas gracias, keeping it simple

is always your safest bet.

You don't have to worry about formal or informal situations;

Gracias can be used with just about anyone, anywhere and at anytime!

In the last lesson, we learned how to show thanks by saying Gracias.

In this lesson we'll learn some of the most common greetings used in Spanish.

¿Estan listos?; Are you ready?

Empecemos!, Let's start!

The most used informal greeting is:

Hola.

[slowly] Hola.

Hola means “hi,” or “hello”.

We can use it in formal and informal situations, at any time of day.

It's very convenient.

Hola!

Now let's look at some greetings that are used at certain times of day.

First is “good morning”.

“Good morning” in Spanish is Buenos días.

[slowly] Buenos días.

Buenos días literally means “good day”, but we use it to mean “good morning”.

During the day, we say:

Buenas tardes.

[slowly] Buenas tardes.

Buenas tardes means “good afternoon”.

This can be used all day, as long as it's light outside.

Again, buenas tardes.

Once it starts to get dark, you can switch to this:

Buenas noches.

[slowly] Buenas noches.

Buenas noches means “good evening” or “good night”, depending on the situation.

If you're greeting someone in the evening, it means “good evening”.

If you're speaking to someone before you go to sleep, it means “good night”.

Again, that's: Buenas noches.

Now you can greet people in many different ways in Spanish!

Let's review them all again.

As a general greeting:

Hola!

In the morning:

Buenos días.

In the afternoon, or during the day:

Buenas tardes.

In the evening, or at night:

Buenas noches.

Pretty easy, right?

Now it's time for Lucia's Insights.

If you're not sure which greeting is appropriate to use -

buenos días, buenas tardes, or buenas noches just remember that hola can be used any time

of day.

In the last lesson, we learned the most common greetings in Spanish. Do you remember them?

In this lesson we're going to learn a very useful phrase: “Do you speak English?”

If you're in a situation where you need help in English, this phrase can be a lifesaver.

Here's the formal way to say it.

¿Habla ingles? [slowly] ¿Habla ingles?

Again, this means : Do you speak English?

The word habla is a form of the verb hablar, which means “to speak”. This is the formal

way to say “he speaks”

Hablar is known as an A•R-verb, because it ends in “a-r”. Most A•R-verbs conjugate

in a similar way.

To learn how to properly conjugate A•R verbs, like hablar, please check out our Absolute

Beginner series on SpanishPod101.com.

Now, let's make this sentence informal. This is done by adding an “s” to the end

of habla.

When we do that, we get: Hablas. All together:

¿Hablas ingles?

[slowly] ¿Hablas ingles?

This is the informal way to ask “Do you speak English?”

The responses you receive could be one of these three:

Si, hablo inglés. "Yes, I speak English."

[slowly] Si.

Si, hablo un poco. "Yes, I speak a little."

[slowly] Un poco.

No, no hablo inglés. "No, I don't speak English."

[slowly] No, no hablo inglés.

In all of these, hablo means “I speak”. In the last one, we have No hablo, which is

the negative form. It means “I don't speak”.

Now it's time for Lucia's Insight.

If you want to ask about a different language, just change the word inglés. Here are some

language names to get your started:

Italiano for Italian.

Ruso for Russian. Francés for French.

Alemán for German. And of course, Español, which is Spanish.

In the last lesson, we learned the phrase ¿Habla ingles?; "Do you speak English?"

In this lesson we're going to learn how to apologize or say “excuse me” in Spanish.

The basic phrase for “excuse me” is Disculpe.

[slowly] Disculpe.

We should use Disculpe in formal situations, like when we are ordering something at a restaurant.

For example:

Disculpe, un cafe, por favor.

Excuse me, a coffee please.

[slowly] Disculpe, un cafe, por favor.

We can also use it when asking a question:

Disculpe, donde esta el bano?

Excuse me, where is the restroom?

[slowly] Disculpe, donde esta el bano?

Another way to say "excuse me" is Perdón.

[slowly] Perdón.

Just like disculpe, we can use perdón when asking a question, or when apologizing.

Both of these phrases can be used for either “excuse me” or “I'm sorry.”

But if you really want to apologize for something, it might be better to use a different phrase.

That phrase is Lo siento.

It means “I'm sorry” and can be used in both formal and informal situations.

[slowly] Lo siento

Unlike the others, Lo siento only has the meaning of “I'm sorry”, and not “excuse

me”.

Now it's time for Lucia's Insights.

Please remember that if we accidentally bump into someone on the street, we don't usually

say “I am sorry,” Lo siento; instead we say disculpe, or perdón, "excuse me".

Are you are able to count in Spanish?

In the next lesson we will learn the numbers in Spanish from one to ten!

Hasta la próxima! See you soon!