Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Appendix B:
Survival Spanish
Argentine Spanish has a rich, almost I talian sound, with the double
“ll” and “ y” pronounced with a “j”-like sound. S o
llave
(key) sounds like “
zha
-ve” and
desayuno
(breakfast) sounds like “ de-sa-
zhu
-no.”
Usted
(the formal “you”) is used exten-
sively, and
vos
is a form of “ you” that 's ev en mor e familiar than
tú
(informal “ you”).
Peculiar terms y ou may come acr oss only in Argentine include
bárbaro
(v ery cool);
Porteño (a resident of Buenos Aires);
pasos
(steps in a tango);
bandoneón
(a cousin of the
accordion, used in tango music); and
subte
(the Buenos Aires subway).
Uruguayan Span-
ish
closely resembles the Spanish spoken in Buenos Aires.
BASIC WORDS & PHRASES
English Spanish
Pronunciation
Good day
Buenos días
bweh
-nohss
dee
-ahss
How are you?
¿Cómo está?
koh
-moh ehss-
tah
Very well
Muy bien
mw
ee byehn
Thank you
Gracias
grah
-syahss
You're welcome
De nada
deh
nah
-dah
Goodbye
Adiós
ah-
dyohss
Please
Por favor
pohr
fah-
bohr
Yes
Sí
see
No
No
noh
Excuse me
Perdóneme
pehr-
doh
-neh-meh
(to get by someone)
Excuse me
Disculpe
dees-
kool
-peh
(to begin a question)
Give me
Déme
deh
-meh
Where is . . . ?
¿Dónde está . . . ?
dohn
-deh ehss-
tah
the station
la estación
lah
ehss-tah-
syohn
a hotel
un hotel
oon
oh-
tel
a gas station
una estación de
oo
-nah ehss-tah-
syohn
deh
ser
vicio
sehr-
bee
-syoh
a restaurant
un restaurante
oon
res-tow-
rahn
-teh
the toilet
el baño
el
bah
-nyoh
a good doctor
un buen médico
oon
bwehn
meh
-dee-coh
the road to . . .
el camino a/hacia . . .
el
cah-
mee
-noh ah/
ah
-syah
To the right
A la derecha
ah lah deh-
reh
-chah
