Whether you like to spend your holidays under the sun, or you just simply like Spanish speaking culturesâŠyou might need to learn how to build conversation with these friendly (and not at all quiet) people.
Yes, Latin American people (and, let's face it⊠Spanish people are pretty much the Latino part of Europe) love to talk! Just as much as we like to hug or dance, haha. So I know how important it is for new learners to know how to keep small talk flowing. Thatâs why this article is not about grammar, but rather all the ways you can feel like a local and chit-chat with people like an old friend.
Saludar
So, letâs start for the basics: Los saludos. How to say âHiâ in all the different situations that might happen to you during your adventure. The first thing to say here is that we must pay attention to context. We differentiate, for instance, between formal or informal. So, itâs not the same if you are talking with your beautiful Latina neighbour or if you are talking with the grandma of your girlfriend, Âżright? So pay attention to:
Hola (informal)
Para cualquier hora del dĂa.
You can use it for everything! And with everyone. Is the most commonly used greeting.
Buenos dĂas
Hasta las 12 (mediodĂa).
This one only goes until noon.
Buenas tardes
Desde las 12m hasta que se ponga el sol.
You can say this until sundown.
Buenas noches
Desde el atardecer hasta la mañana.
For any type of occasion as long as the sky is dark.
Que tengas (tĂș) buenos dĂas / buenas tardes / buenas noches. (informal)
Que tenga (ud.) buenos dĂas ... (formal)
You are wishing that person the best for the day
Que gusto de verte (informal)
Que gusto de verlo (formal)
âNice to see youâ.
Tanto tiempo sin verte (informal) / verle (formal)
âLong time no see!â
Preguntar por el bienestar de alguien
Here again, all the suggestions are possible. They also depend on formal or informal context and can be used in all Spanish speaking countries. They all mean: ÂżHow you doing?
ÂżCĂłmo estĂĄs (tĂș)? - informal
ÂżCĂłmo estĂĄ Usted? â formal
This is most commonly used in Latin American countries.
ÂżQuĂ© tal? (it doesnât use a subject)
Used mostly in Spain.
¿Qué mås?
Used in Colombia.
ÂżCĂłmo te va? (informal)
ÂżCĂłmo le va? (formal)
ÂżCĂłmo has estado?
It goes like: âHow you have been doing lately?â
ÂżCĂłmo te ha ido?
*You can add: hoy (today) esta semana (this week), to be more specific.
ÂżCĂłmo estĂĄ(n) tu _____? hermano(s), novia, familia, padre(s), etc.
- To ask about the wellbeing of loved ones. It's used as a gesture of interest and to show how much you care about the person and all that goes around he/she.
And, letâs not forget how to answer those questions. Here are some of the most commons answers. They are basic, because itâs just small talk! So, if you really want to talk about your life, stay tuned for my lessons and upcoming articles about âdeep Spanishâ.
- Bien, Âży tĂș? / Âży Ud?
- Todo bien, mucho trabajo y muy ocupado â Iâve had a lot of work so Iâve been busy.
- En mi casa (that means your family) todos estĂĄn muy bien.
Preguntar en detalle
Now we start going into the details of small talk. If you like to show more interest in the person and ask how everything is going in his/her life, you can use these phrases:
- ÂżQuĂ© has hecho (Ășltimamente)? â ÂżWhat have you been doing lately?
- ÂżQuĂ© hay de nuevo? â ÂżWhatâs new?
- ÂżQuĂ© (me) cuentas? â ÂżWhat do you have to tell me? And I know, sounds weird. But we used it like to ask for the news in one personâs life.
There is no specific formula to answer that, because it will depend on the recent events and highlights of your life. So, just to fill up, if you donât want to get into detail, you can say: Todo bien / Nada nuevo.
After all these formalities, we can decide which topic we want to use to keep the flame burning. And at this point, small talk is the same in all languages. Therefore, you can decide between those âlightâ topics like weather, news, compliments or even the context. So, here, I will help you out with some examples.
Weather â El tiempo (o clima)
âhow crazy is the weather, right?â
-¥Qué tiempo loco, no?
- ÂĄTotalmente! Estaba lloviendo y ahora hace sol. .. ya no se sabe si abrigarse o salir en shorts.
â
âHow hot is it here?â (and how people here resist this burning sun)
-¥Uff! ¥Qué calor tan impresionante! Mås de 30 grados ya.
â-ÂĄIncreĂble, sĂ! pero espero en la noche se ponga mĂĄs fresquito.
â
News or recent events â Noticias de actualidad.
When there are tragedies occurring in the world:
-ÂżTe enteraste de la tragedia en Tailandia?
-SĂ, lo escuchĂ© hoy a la mañana. Es tan horrible que no lo puedo creer.
When speaking about pop-culture:
- ÂżVas a ir al concierto de Coldplay? Creo que van a venir en diciembre.
- ¥Qué bien! Si tengo dinero me compro un bolete.
When speaking about social events:
- ÂżVas a ir al cumpleaños de MarĂa? Lo va a celebrar en Provenza.
- SĂ, claro. ÂĄNo me lo pierdo! Va a estar buenĂsimo.
Compliments â Hacer cumplidos
Complimenting hair (always good):
â-ÂĄLaura, quĂ© brillante tienes el pelo hoy!
-ÂżSi? Estoy usando la crema que me recomendaste.
Complimenting clothing:
-ÂĄTe veo muy elegante hoy, Pablo!
-SĂ, es que tengo una cena despuĂ©s del trabajo.
âContext â Contexto
Speaking about surroundings:
-Este parque estĂĄ un poco abandonado, Âżno?
SĂ, se ve que hace mucho que no cortan el cĂ©sped.â
Speaking about the neighbourhood:
-ÂżTe gusta tu nuevo barrio, Juana?
-ÂĄMe encanta! EstĂĄ lleno de bares bonitos y el supermercado y el gimnasio me quedan muy cerca de casa.
Now I will give you general answers for the (unlikely or rather very likely) case that you didnât understand something or just donât know what to say.
Letâs say they give you bad news or they say they arenât doing so well:
- ¥Qué mal!
- No sabĂa nada. ÂĄQuĂ© triste!
- Qué pena.
This will work for all the bad news about politics-religion-environment-context:
- ¥Qué barbaridad!
- Es una vergĂŒenza
- No me lo puedo creer.
- ¥Qué horrible!
â
This will work when they tell you good news:
- ¥En serio? ¥Qué bien!
- ÂĄMe alegro mucho!
- ¥Qué genial!
- ¥Qué interesante!
â
And this one works well for super great or âunbelievableâ news:
- ÂĄNo lo puedo creer! ÂżEs en broma, no?
- ÂĄWow! ÂĄEn serio?
- ¿Quééé? ¿Me lo estås diciendo en serio?
â
And finally, to say goodbye:
- Bueno, chao ÂĄnos vemos!
- Te dejo que tengo que ir a (place) ÂĄHasta luego!
- Me voy a la oficina que llego tarde ÂĄHablamos pronto!â
- Me alegro de que andes bien. ÂĄNos vemos!
- Bueno, que bueno verte. ¥Que estés bien!
With this, I also say goodbye. And I hope that you will have success having small talk with people from Spanish speaking cultures. ÂĄChao!
Hero image by sydney Rae on Unsplash