does both jobs — hello after dark, and goodnight on the way out

only says goodnight on the way out

Which two phrases keep a conversation going instead of ending it when you get stuck?

*¿habla inglés?* and *no entiendo*

*Un ratito*, *un segundito*, *por favorcito* — the diminutive here is:

politeness, and it softens the request

*Disculpe, una consulta…* is used:

before asking a stranger anything — a small ritual that visibly changes the answer you get

to apologise for something you did

Greetings and the fifteen phrases that get you through week one

Short answer

Learn buenos días, buenas tardes, buenas noches, disculpe, por favor, gracias, and the two that matter most: ¿cómo se dice…? and ¿puede repetir, por favor? Those last two let you keep a conversation going instead of ending it when you get stuck.

Course · Unit: First phrases CEFR A1 Reviewed by Jhoslyn Updated 2026-09-11

Draft copy. Every claim needs a native-speaker check before publishing — the byline is what makes this citable, so it has to be earned.

Greetings, by time of day

	When	Note
Buenos días	until about midday	masculine plural, oddly
Buenas tardes	midday until dark
Buenas noches	after dark	both hello and goodbye
Buenas	any time	clipped, friendly, very common in Peru
Hola	any time	informal, and fine almost everywhere

Buenas noches doing double duty catches people out: it greets someone arriving in the evening and also says goodnight on the way out.

Buenas on its own is what you will hear walking into a shop or a market stall. It is warm without being familiar, and it is a safe default.

How are you

Formal (usted)	Informal (tú)
¿Cómo está?	¿Cómo estás?
¿Cómo le va?	¿Cómo te va?
	¿Qué tal?

Start formal with anyone you do not know — the reasoning is in Tú or usted in Peru.

Answers: Bien, gracias. ¿Y usted? · Todo bien. · Ahí, más o menos. (so-so) · Tranquilo. (all calm — very Peruvian).

Adding ¿y usted? back is not just politeness, it is what keeps the exchange from stalling on you.

The fifteen

Roughly in the order you will need them.

Getting attention and apologising

Disculpe — excuse me, to get attention or to apologise. The single most useful word here.
Permiso — excuse me, to get past someone. Different job from disculpe, and constant on a crowded combi.
Perdón — sorry, for something you did.
Lo siento — I’m sorry, for something that happened.

Basic exchange

Por favor — please.
Gracias / Muchas gracias.
De nada — you’re welcome.
Sí / No.
Claro — of course, sure. Warmer than sí.

Getting by

No entiendo — I don’t understand.
No hablo mucho español — buys you patience immediately.
¿Habla inglés? — worth having, and worth not reaching for first.
¿Cuánto cuesta? or, in Peru, ¿Cuánto me cobra? — see Spanish for taking a taxi in Lima.

The two that change everything

¿Cómo se dice… ? — how do you say…? Point at the thing. You now have a way to learn any word from any person, for the rest of your life here.
¿Puede repetir, por favor? or Más despacio, por favor — can you repeat / slower please.

Those last two are the difference between a conversation that ends when you get stuck and one that continues. Learn them before you learn a single verb conjugation.

Introducing yourself

Me llamo… — my name is. Literally “I call myself”.
Soy… — I’m… Also works: soy Ana.
¿Cómo se llama? / ¿Cómo te llamas? — what’s your name?
Mucho gusto. — pleased to meet you.
Igualmente. — likewise. The standard reply.
Soy de Estados Unidos / de Brasil / de Inglaterra.
Encantado (if you are male) / encantada (if female) — a shade more formal than mucho gusto.

Goodbyes

Chau — by far the most common, informal and friendly.
Adiós — correct, and a little more final than English “goodbye”.
Hasta luego / hasta mañana.
Nos vemos. — see you. Literally “we see each other”, from reflexive verbs.
Que estés bien. — take care.

Chau and nos vemos together will cover almost every goodbye you make.

The Peruvian layer

Buenas for hello, chau for goodbye. Those two alone make you sound less like a phrasebook.

Ya as acknowledgement — see Peruvian question tags.

Disculpe, una consulta… — “excuse me, a question” — before asking a stranger anything. It is a small ritual and it visibly changes the answer you get.

The diminutive softens. Un ratito, un segundito, por favorcito, ahorita. It is politeness, not baby talk.

Gracias, muy amable. — thanks, that’s very kind. Costs nothing and lands well.

The one thing to practise out loud

Disculpe, una consulta. No hablo mucho español. ¿Cómo se dice esto?

Four sentences, and between them they open almost any interaction, lower expectations honestly, and give you a way to learn from whoever answers.

→ The five Spanish vowels · or the course in order

Topics Small talk Getting around Register and politeness

Week one phrases

Eight questions on greetings by time of day, the apologies that do different jobs, and the two phrases that keep a conversation alive.

1*Buenas noches*:
Answer

does both jobs — hello after dark, and goodnight on the way out — The double duty catches people out. *Buenas tardes* runs from midday until dark, and after dark everything becomes *buenas noches*, coming or going.
2Walking into a shop in Lima, the warm and safe default greeting is:
Answer

Buenas. — Clipped *buenas* works at any hour and is very common in Peru. It is friendly without being familiar, which is exactly what you want with a stranger.
3You need to get past someone on a crowded combi. You say:
Answer

Permiso — *Permiso* is for getting past; *disculpe* is for getting attention or apologising. Different jobs, and mixing them up is the commonest slip.
4Which two phrases keep a conversation going instead of ending it when you get stuck?
Answer

*¿cómo se dice… ?* and *¿puede repetir, por favor?* — One lets you learn any word from whoever is in front of you; the other buys you a second pass at what they said. Learn both before a single verb conjugation.
5Someone says *mucho gusto*. The standard reply is:
Answer

Igualmente. — *Igualmente* is *likewise*. *De nada* answers *gracias*, so it is the right phrase in the wrong slot.
6A woman introducing herself, a shade more formally than *mucho gusto*, says:
Answer

Encantada — It agrees with the speaker, so a woman says *encantada* and a man *encantado*. *Encantadas* would need the group of you to be introducing yourselves together.
7*Un ratito*, *un segundito*, *por favorcito* — the diminutive here is:
Answer

politeness, and it softens the request — Peruvian Spanish softens constantly, and the diminutive is one of the main tools for it. *Ahorita* belongs to the same habit.
8*Disculpe, una consulta…* is used:
Answer

before asking a stranger anything — a small ritual that visibly changes the answer you get — It signals that a question is coming and asks permission for it in one move. Put it in front of *¿cómo se dice esto?* and you have an opening for almost any interaction.