Spanish (Castilian) is spoken by around 400 million native speakers to around 500 million people (including second speakers), especially in southern and southern parts Central America, but also in North America (48 million), Philippines (3.2 million), Africa and Europe. Overall, Spanish is the second most widely spoken language in the world, so a basic knowledge of Spanish is helpful for any "frequent traveler". Spanish can also be helpful for communicating with Portuguese speakers or Italian speakers. It should be noted that in the Spanish regions Catalonia, Balearic Islands and partly in Valencia the Catalan language prevails.
General
There are peculiarities in Spanish grammar. So there are z. B. two verbs with the German equivalent "sein", namely "ser" and "estar". The former is z. B. used when talking about basic properties or when naming the time, the latter for location or for temporary properties. Another peculiarity of the Spanish grammar is the connection of the direct object to the sentence with the preposition "a" when the direct object refers to a person (Pepe busca a su madre [Pepe is looking for his mother]); if the direct object is not a person, the preposition "a" is dropped (Pepe busca su coche [Pepe is looking for his car]). Another interesting aspect of Spanish is that reflexive pronouns are appended to the verb in indefinite forms (infinitive, participle) (e.g. lavarse [to wash]). The same applies in certain cases to the dative and accusative pronouns (e.g. cómetelo [eat it up], escríbeselo [write it to him / her]).
Spanish knows the modes of the indicative (indicativo), imperative (imperativo) and subjunctive (subjuntivo), different tenses of the past (e.g. pretérito pluscuamperfecto, pretérito imperfecto, pretérito indefinido, pretérito perfecto), the present (presente) and the Future (futuro) as well as the conditional (condicional). The subjunctive assumes a special role in the Spanish language, which is used much more frequently than the subjunctive in German and also has a completely different function. The subjuntivo is used on the one hand to form the imperative, on the other hand to express an inner attitude or attitude or to signal that something represents a wish or a non-reality.
Spelling
The spelling of Spanish is done with the usual Latin alphabet set; there is only one special character, the Ñ, ñ (enje, a n with tilde), and an accent, the acute (´). A characteristic of Spanish is the fact that question and exclamation sentences are not only used with the leading punctuation marks ?, ! but also with introductory words that are put upside down: ¿Qué tal? = How are you?, Buenos dias! = Good morning, good day!
The setting of an accent makes it clear
- either an irregular pronunciation (a word with an accent is ALWAYS stressed on the syllable with the accent)
- or a distinction between two words that are spelled the same way, e.g. B. si = 'If, if, whether' and sí = 'Yes'; que = 'That' or 'the (relative pronoun = which)' and ¿Qué? = what?
pronunciation
Assimilations
There is no audible pause between individual words; so-called assimilations arise when speaking, d. H. Speech sounds, which are articulatory far apart, adapt to each other. This is how one becomes n a m, when a p or b follows as in un problema ('A problem') too um problema.
Also immediately successive identical speech sounds of different words are merged into a single one: Aus se explica por sí mismo ('Is self-explanatory') sesplica po si mismo.
Vowels
All vowels are always pronounced briefly, there are no long vowels:
- a as in full, not like in Seeds
- e as in beds, not like in Beds
- i as in in the middle, not like in rent
- O as in Rotten, not like in redden
- u as in Hookers, not like in Grooves
The vowels are also pronounced very openly.
Successive vowels are always articulated separately:
- el maíz (ma-is) = the corn, el país (pa-is) = the state, the country
- traer (tra-er) = pull, empty (le-er) = read
- Europe (e-urope)
The letter y corresponds to the German half-vowel in Spanish j:
- ayuda (ajUda) = Help
- Yolanda (JolAnda) = a female given name
Consonants (if different from German)
Plosives are not breathed in, as is usually the case in German:
- p, not pH
- t, not tH
- k, not kH
- c
- before "a", "o" and "u" like a German "k", but never like a German "z"
before "e" and "i" in Spain it is spoken like an English voiceless "th", in Latin American countries it is spoken like a German voiceless (sharp) "s" - d
- Initially as in German, otherwise very soft and almost like an English voiced "th"; in the final (i.e. at the end of the word) it can often become almost inaudible
- G
- before, "a", "o" and "u" as in German as "g"; before "e" and "i", however, the "g" is spoken roughly like a German "ch": la gente (la chEnte) = the people, the people, the people; girar (chirAr) = turn (on the street)
- If a "g" before "e" or "i" is actually to be pronounced like a "g", a "u" is inserted after the "g" (which is not pronounced): la guerra (la gErra) = the war; la guitarra (la gitArra) = the guitar
- If the sound sequence "gue" is actually to be pronounced (rarely, for example in proper names), this is indicated in the spelling by placing a so-called trema, i.e. a colon, over the "u" (so that it is mistaken for a German " ü "could hold): guero (guEro) = (mexican. :) blond
- H
- is not spoken: Hasta la vista = A.sta la vista
- s
- is never spoken voiced as in the German word "Hase", but always voiceless as in the German word "mug" or like the German "ß"
- r
- like a soft one d with a short stop on the incisors (very difficult)
- v / b
- Loud between German b and wto be found in some German dialects. You can't distinguish between v and b turn off.
- j
- like a German ch in "roof"
- w
- like a short, soft German u or English "w" ("what"). Only occurs in foreign words.
- z
- like an English "th", in all Latin American countries it is spoken like a German voiceless "s" or "ß"
Spanish consonants
The ch, the ll, the ñ and the rr are considered to be independent letters in Spanish. Therefore, words that begin with these (ch, ll, and ñ) are treated that way in alphabetical lists (such as dictionaries). They can either be ranked after the respective other consonants (ch to c, ll to l, ñ to n) or all separately behind the z.
- ch
- 'Tsch' sound like in Chernobyl or coach
- ll
- pronounced like a German "j" or "dj"; in southern South America, on the other hand, like a soft, voiced "sch" or like the French "j" ("journal"), in Argentina also harder and voiceless, similar to the normal German "sch"
- ñ
- nj like in "Cognac"
- rr
- hard, rolled, spoken with the tip of the tongue r
Emphasis
The Spanish pronunciation rules are relatively simple. The basic rule is:
- If a word ends in -n, -s or a vowel, it is written on the penultimate syllable emphasizes:
- C.armen (a female given name), tOros (pl. of toro = bull), chiquita (diminutive of chica = girl), retrete (Toilet, toilet, toilet), goalero (Bullfighter)
- In all other (less common) cases, the last syllable stressed.
- el señOr Aznar (Mr. Aznar), salud (Health; for the benefit!), frontal (frontal)
- Exceptions
If the stress deviates from this rule, the stressed syllable is marked by an accent, the acute (´). So a word with an accent is always stressed on the syllable with the accented vowel:
- plátano (banana), pirámide (pyramid), LeOn (a city), kilOmetro (kilometre), el señor LOpez (Mr. López)
- Diphthongs
The vowel sequences ia, ie, ok as ue are diphthongs (twosomes) and therefore only form one syllable, they are based on the a or the e or that O emphasizes:
- diablo (devil), tiempo (Time; Weather), puerto (port), TueOs (God)
If the accent is irregular, the corresponding letter is given an accent mark:
- diálogo (Conversation, dialogue)
Do these sequences apply (most often ia and ok) as two separate syllables, this is also with an accent on the now stressed vowel i marked.
- María (a female given name), ¡Buenos días! (Good Morning! Good day!), Río Grande (a river)
Little grammar
Gender, number and article
- The definite article
There are only nouns and pronouns in Spanish Masculine and Feminine. All nouns therefore have either
- the masculine article el or
- the female article la
Usually are
- masculine: words ending in -o, -ón, -l, -r
- el libro - the book, el corazón - the heart, el papel - the paper, el señor - the gentleman
- feminine: words ending in -a, -ión, -ad, -z
- la casa - the House, la nación - the nation, la ciudad - the town, la paz - the peace
Exceptions:There are a few exceptions; are common
- masculine words ending in -a: el day - the day, el problema - the problem
- Words in -ista can be masculine and feminine: el / la turista - the tourist, el / la taxista - the taxi driver and others. m.
A neuter only applies to the article in the singular. The neuter article lo only precedes nouns used adjectives or other words: lo grande - the great, lo mío - what is mine, lo primero - the first etc.
The forms in Plural of the definite article read:
- masculine: Come on
- los libros - the books, los señores - the gentlemen etc. (in connection with a family name can los señores also the 'gentlemen' and thus a married couple mean: los senñores López = Mr. López (e.g. father and son) or Mr. and Mrs. Lopez (the López ', analogous to the Müller)
- feminine: read
- las casas - the houses, las señoras - the ladies, etc.
- The indefinite article
- masculine: U.N
- un libro - a book, un corazón - a heart, etc.
- feminine: una
- una casa – a house, una señora - a lady, etc.
In contrast to German, there are also forms of the indefinite article in Spanish Plural; they have the meaning some:
- masculine: unos
- unos libros - Some Books, unos señores - some gentlemen etc.
- feminine: unas
- unas casas - some houses, unas chicas - some girls etc.
- Plural of nouns and adjectives
The main rule (with a few exceptions) are:
- If a word ends in a vowel, the plural becomes -s attached
- el perro - the dog / los perros - the dogs; la calle - the street / las calles - the streets, una chica - a girl / unas chicas - some girls
- If a word ends in a consonant, the plural becomes -it attached
- el señor - the gentleman / los señores - the gentlemen; una ciudad - a city / unas ciudades - some cities;
- Attention spelling! If a word ends in -z, the plural spelling changes to -c-
- la voz - the voice / las voces - the voices (also: the shouting); una vez - once / muchas veces - many times, often; la luz - the light / las luces - the lights
The adjective
The adjective usually comes after the associated noun and is matched in gender and number with this:
- masculine: -o (singular) / - os (plural)
- el vino blanco - the white wine / vinos blancos - white wines
- feminine: -a / -as
- la casa bonita - the beautiful house / las casas bonitas - the beautiful houses
- masculine or feminine: -e / -es, -l / -les, -z / -ces
- el arbol grande - the big tree / los arboles grandes - the big trees
- la paloma grande - the great pigeon / las palomas grandes - the big pigeons
- un pájaro azul - a blue bird / unos pájaros azules - some blue birds
- el toro feroz - the wild bull / los toros feroces - the wild bulls
Some commonly used adjectives can also come before the noun, but then have a figurative meaning (grande will in this case too gran shortened):
- una casa grande - a (spatially) large house / una gran casa - a large (= meaningful) house (also in the sense of: company, company)
- la señora pobre - the poor (= destitute) woman / la pobre señora - the poor (= pitiable) woman
Basic phrases
- Good Morning.
- Buenos dias. (BWE-nossDIass)
- Good day.
- Buenas tardes. (BWE-wet TARR-dess)
- Hello. (informal)
- Hola. (OL-la)
- How are you?
- ¿Qué tal? (Kä TALL.)
- Very good.
- Muy bien. (Mui bjän.)
- Well.
- Bees. (Bjän.)
- Bad.
- Times. (Mall.)
- Thanks.
- Gracias. (GRASS-jass)
- Here you go.
- De nada. (De NA-da.)
- Yes.
- Sí. (ßi.)
- No.
- No. (No.)
- Sorry. (Ask for attention)
- Disculpe. (Diss-KULL-pä.)
- Sorry. (Ask for permission)
- Permiso. (Par-MI-sso)
- Sorry. (Ask for forgiveness)
- Perdón. (Pär-DONG)
- Goodbye
- Adiós. (A-DJOSS)
- Goodbye (informal)
- Hasta luego. (Asta LUÄ-go)
- See you tomorrow
- Hasta mañana
- I do not speak Spanish.
- No hablo español. (No AB-lo Esspan-JOLL.)
- I speak German and English and understand a little bit of Spanish.
- Hablo alemán e inglés y entiendo un poquito español.
- I am from Germany / Switzerland / Austria.
- Soy de Alemania / Suiza / Austria. (ßoi dä AleMANNja / SSUI-ßa / AUStrija.)
- Where is / where are ... around here?
- ¿Dónde hay ... por aquí cerca?
- Is there nearby?
- ¿Hay ... por aquí cerca?
Examples:
- Where is (please) the next train station?
- ¿(Por favor,) Dónde hay una estación de tren por aquí cerca?
- Where is the nearest bakery (please)?
- ¿(Por favor,) Dónde hay una panadería por aquí cerca?
- Where is (please) a toilet around here?
- ¿(Por favor,) Dónde hay servicios (Spain) / baños (America) por aquí cerca?
- Is there a pharmacy here?
- ¿Hay una farmacia por aquí cerca? (far-MA-ssia - emphasis on the 2nd syllable!)
Problems
- I / we have a problem
- "Tengo / tenemos un problema."
- Please speak more slowly"
- "Hable / Habla más despacio, por favor"
numbers
- 1 - uno (the first: el primero / la primera)
- 2 - dos (the second: el segundo / la segunda)
- 3 - tres (the third: el tercero / la tercera)
- 4 - cuatro (the fourth: el cuarto / la cuarta)
- 5 - cinco (the fifth: el quinto / la quinta)
- 6 - seis (the sixth: el sexto / la sexta)
- 7 - siete (the seventh: el séptimo / la séptima)
- 8 - ocho (the eighth: el octavo / la octava)
- 9 - nueve (the ninth: el noveno / la novena)
- 10 - diez (the tenth: el décimo / la décima)
- 11 - once
- 12 - doce
- 13 - trece
- 14 - catorce
- 15 - quince
- 16 - dieciseis
- 17 - diecisiete
- 18 - dieciocho
- 19 - diecinueve
- 20 - veinte
- 21 - veintiuno
- 22 - veintidos
- ...
- 29 - veintinueve
- 30 - treinta
- 31 - treinta y uno
- 32 - treinta y dos
- ...
- 40 - cuarenta
- 50 - cincuenta
- 60 - sesenta
- 70 - setenta
- 80 - ochenta
- 90 - noventa
- 100 - ciento
- 101 - ciento y un
- 102 - ciento y dos
- 110 - ciento diez
- 111 - ciento once
- 147 - ciento cuarenta y siete
- 1,000,000 (one million) - un millón
- 1,000,000,000 (one billion) - un billón! (as in English) regionally too mil millones (a thousand million), then "billón" really is the trillion.
time
- the time - el tiempo (tiempo also known as Weather)
Times of day
In Spanish, the times of day and the greeting are divided somewhat differently than in German:
- the day - the day
- the morning, the forenoon - la mañana
- the noon - el mediodía
- the afternoon - la tarde
- the evening - la tarde
- the night - la noche
- in the morning, in the morning - por la mañana
- at noon, at noon - a mediodía
- in the afternoon, in the afternoon - por la tarde
- in the evening, in the evening - por la tarde
- at night, at night - por la noche
When greeting, the plural form of the time of day is usually used:
- Good Morning! - Buenos dias! (until noon)
- Good day! - Buenos dias! (until noon)
- Good day! - ¡Buenas tardes! (from noon to approx. 5 p.m.)
- Good evening! - Good night!
- Good night! - Good night!
Daily relations:
- today - hoy [Oi]
- this morning, this morning - esta mañana (lit .: this morning)
- tonight, tonight - esta noche
- yesterday - ayer [ajEr]
- yesterday morning - ayer por la mañana
- last night, last night - anoche
- tomorrow - mañana
- tomorrow morning - mañana por la mañana
- tomorrow in the afternoon - mañana por la tarde
- the day before yesterday - anteayer
- day after tomorrow - pasado mañana (literally: the past / the past [of] tomorrow)
Time
- the clock - el reloj [relOch]
- the hour / minute / second - la hora / el minuto / el segundo
- What time is it? - ¿Qué hora it? [ke Ora ess] (lit .: What hour is it?)
- when? - ¿a qué hora? (lit .: at what hour?)
- When are we meeting? - ¿A qué hora nos Finderamos?
The times are formed by It la ... (literally: (It) is the ... - at 1 o'clock!) or Son read ... (literally: (It) are the ... - from 2 o'clock onwards) with the corresponding number behind it.
- It's 1 o clock. - It la una. (To be added in thought hora.)
- It is 2 o'clock. - Son las dos. (To be added in thought horas.)
- It's 3 o'clock. - Son las tres.
- It is 4 o'clock. - Son las cuatro.
- It is 5 o clock. - Son las cinco.
- It is 6 o'clock. - Son read it.
- It's 7 o'clock. - Son read it.
- It is 8 o'clock. - Son las ocho.
- It is 9 o `clock. - Son las nueve.
- It is 10 o'clock. - Son read this.
- It's 11 o'clock. - Son read once.
- It is 12 o'clock. - Son las doce.
- at 1 o'clock - a la una
- at 2 o'clock - a las dos
- at 3 o'clock - a las tres
- Etc.
- It is exactly 1 O 'clock. - It la una en punto. (lit .: "in point")
- It is exactly 2 O 'clock. - Son las dos en punto.
- Etc.
Minutes after a full hour as well as the quarter and half of an hour are expressed by adding the preceding full hour and then "and" (y) and the number of minutes says:
- It's ten past four. - Son las cuatro y diez.
- It's twenty past eight. - Son las ocho y veinte.
- It's five to half past one. - It la una y veinticinco.
- It is a quarter past one. - It la una y cuarto. (Warning: not cuatro!)
- It's half past two. - Son las dos y media.
Minutes after half an hour and three quarters of an hour are expressed by saying the next full hour and then "minus / less" (menos) and the number of minutes says:
- It's five to nine. - Son las nueve menos cinco. or Son cinco para las nueve.
- It's twenty to five. - Son las cinco menos veinte.
- It's five past three thirty. - Son las cuatro menos veinticinco.
- It's a quarter to eleven. - Son las once menos cuarto. or Son un cuarto para las once.
In Latin America is held [Hour] menos [minutes] literally said: (There) are [minutes] missing for [hour].
- It's ten to three. - Faltan diez para las tres.
- It's twenty to eight. - Faltan veinte para las ocho.
If a time of day is given together with an hour, it should be called in the morning, in the afternoon etc. not por la ..., rather de la ... (lit .: of the morning, the afternoon, the evening / night):
- at 10 a.m. - a las diez de la mañana
- at 4 p.m. - a las cuatro de la tarde
- at 11 a.m. in the evening / at night - a las once de la noche
Frequency, duration and relation
- once - una vez
- twice - dos veces
- the first time - la primera vez
- the second time - la segunda vez
- often - muchas veces (literally many times)
- never - well approx
- always - siempre
- Long) (temporal) - mucho tiempo (lit .: much time)
- a long time ago - hace mucho tiempo
- short (temporary) - breve
- early - temprano
- late - tarde
- later - más tarde (when comparing)
- later - luego (See you later! - ¡Hasta luego!)
- from ... to ... - desde ... hasta ...
- from nine in the morning to five in the evening - desde la nueve de la mañana hasta las cinco de la tarde
Days of the week
- the week - la semana
- this week - esta semana
- the holy week - la Semana Santa (lit .: the holy week)
- Monday - lunes
- Tuesday - martes
- Wednesday - miércoles
- Thursday - jueves
- Friday - four
- Saturday / Saturday - sábado
- Sunday - domingo
The days of the week are masculine as in German and have the article el.
- on sunday, sunday - el domingo (Attention: only with article, no additional adverb!)
- the next sunday - el próximo domingo
- next Sunday - el domingo que viene (lit .: the sunday that is coming)
- last sunday - el último domingo
- last Sunday - el domingo pasado
- every Sunday - cada domingo
- always (again) on Sundays, on all Sundays - todos los domingos
Months, year and seasons
- the month - el mes
- per month, monthly - al mes
- the year - el año
- this year, this year - este año
- per year, annually - al año
- January - enero
- February - febrero
- March - marzo
- April - April
- May - mayo
- June - junio
- July - julio
- August - agosto
- September - septiembre
- October - octubre
- November - noviembre
- December - diciembre
As in German, the months are masculine and have the article el.
Seasons:
- the spring - la primavera
- the summer - el verano
- the autumn - el otoño
- the winter - el invierno
Colours
black - negro / negra
gray - gris
white - blanco / blanca
brown - marrón
beige - color crema
blue - azul
turquoise - turquesa
green - verde
yellow - amarillo / amarilla
orange - color naranja
red - rojo / roja
purple - morado / morada
pink - rosado / rosada
traffic
- Airport
- aeropuerto
- plane
- avión
- port
- puerto (also for ferry ports / landing stages)
- ferry
- ferry, transbordador
- ship
- barco
- Cruise ship
- crucero
bus and train
- When does the bus leave?
- ¿A qué hora sale el bus? (A keh OH-ra SA-le ell buss?)
- How much does a ticket cost?
- ¿Cuánto sale / vale un pasaje / un boleto?
- railway station
- Estación de tren / ferrocarril (es)
- Bus station
- Terminal de ómnibus / de autobús / de bus
- bus stop
- Parada (Spain) / Paradero (America)
- Subway
- metro
- tram
- Tranvía
direction
right - derecha (dEretscha)
left - izquierda (Iskierda)
to (right) - a la (derecha)
straight ahead - recto
to the top - hacia arriba
downward - hacia abajo
reverse - dar la vuelta
next - próximo (male) / próxima (female)
taxi
- Taxi rank
- parada de taxis
- Radio taxi
- radiotaxi / teletaxi / draw (Argentina)
- Shared taxi
- taxi colectivo / compartido
accommodation
- Do you have a room available?
- ¿Tiene Usted una habitación libre? or ¿Tienes una habitación libre?
- I would like to reserve a single room
- Quisiera reservar una habitación individual.
- with bath / shower
- con baño / con ducha
- la planta baja
- ground floor
Types of accommodation
Regionally different, roughly classified from luxurious to simple:
- resort
- Resort, residential complex
- apart hotel
- Aparthotel
- spa
- Spa hotel
- hotel
- (normal) hotel
- hostería
- Country Hotel
- motel
- Motel (partly also hour hotel)
- albergue transitorio
- Hour hotel
- residencial
- Hostel (Argentina / Chile)
- posada
- Hostel (Bolivia / Peru)
- hospedaje / casa de huespedes
- small hostel, family accommodation, pension
- pension
- Long-term rented accommodation (e.g. student residence)
- albergue
- youth hostel
- hostal
- (partly also Angliz. hostel) Hostel, hostel
- camping
- campsite
- Area de camping
- Free camping area
money
- the money
- el dinero
- the Bank
- el banco
- ATM
- cajero automático
- Credit card
- tarjeta de crédito
- Do you take credit cards?
- ¿Acepta tarjetas? ("de crédito" can be left out)
eat
- The food is very good.
- La comida está muy bien.
- I love the food.
- A mi me encanta la comida.
- breakfast
- el desayuno
- have breakfast
- desayunar
- the lunch
- la comida or el almuerzo
- to have lunch
- almorzar
- the dinner
- la cena, la merienda
- have dinner
- cenar
Bars
- a beer please
- una cerveza, por favor
- a glass of (draft) beer please
- una caña / copa, por favor
- Mixed drink / cocktail
- bebida (Spain), trago (Latin America)
- Dance
- baile
- Firmly
- fiesta
- Want to dance?
- ¿Quieres bailar?
shop
- How much is it?
- ¿Cuánto cuesta esto? (KWAN-toh KWES-ta ES-to?)
- It like it very much).
- (A mi) me gusta (mucho). (A Mih Meh GUSS-ta MUTT-scho.)
- I like it.
- Me apetece. (polite)
Drive
- How do I get to ....?
- ¿Cómo llego a ...?
- automobile
- auto, coche
- Highway
- autopista
- Expressway
- autovía, vía expresa, vía rápida
- Country road
- ruta
- road
- calle
- one way street
- mano única / solo sentido
- dead end
- calle sin salida
- alley
- pasaje
- parking spot
- párking (Spain), parqueo (parts of Latin America), parqueadero (Latin America), playa de estacionamiento (Argentina)
Authorities
Police! - ¡Policia!
Please help me! - ¡Ayúdeme, por favor!
