Common Spanish Phrases

It is true that there are a great many foreigners living in San Miguel de Allende, and that many of the Mexicans in San Miguel can speak English. It is also true that many permanent residents have managed to live here for years without gaining more than a rudimentary grasp of the Spanish language.

However, by not trying to speak the language, you are effectively denying yourself access to 99% of what makes life in Mexico interesting -- the Mexicans.

Of course, this is a very incomplete list of Spanish phrases, if you are planning on staying in Mexico for any length of time, we'd recommend enrolling in a class to learn Spanish in Mexico.

Notes on Spanish pronunciation: In Spanish, all vowels are pronounced the same, no matter where they fall in the word (in sharp contrast to English!). This means that, in theory, once you have learned how to pronounce the vowels, you can say nearly any word In Spanish with a fair degree of intelligibility. This phonetic guide should work for most native English speakers, unless you're from East Texas.

Sorry, y'all just talk funny.

In Spanish, A is like the 'ah' in 'haha', or 'awe'.

In Spanish, E is like the long a, like the 'a' in 'hay'.

In Spanish, I is like the long e, like the 'ee' in 'keep'.

In Spanish, O is more or less a short 'o', the 'o' in 'or'.

In Spanish, U is like the 'oo' in 'zoo'.

Except: We tricked you. In Spanish, some of the consonants are pronounced differently as well.

In Spanish, H is silent. Hotel is 'O-tell'.

In Spanish, J is the 'H' sound. Jalapeño, is 'haw-la-pain-yo'.

In Spanish, Ñ is a sound like 'nyuh' like in the above example.

In Spanish, RR is a rolling 'r'. This usually takes practice. Try purring like a cat.

In Spanish, B is frequently pronounced like the letter 'V'

In Spanish, V is frequently pronounced like the letter 'B'

In Spanish, G is pronounced with an 'H' sound unless in front of a 'U' like guacamole, then it is 'GW'.