A shopkeeper you do not know says *Buenos días, ¿cómo está?* What do you say back?

*Estoy un poco cansado, la verdad.*

You ask a friend how she is and she says *acá, luchando*. What has she told you?

Getting by — it is a cheerful non-answer

She is in trouble and wants help

The ritual is done and you need a second line. It is July in Lima. Which lands best?

*¿Por qué no hay verano acá?*

*Hace mucho frío, como en Europa.*

Your friend's mother asks *¿ya almorzaste?* and you have not eaten. What should you keep in mind?

It is a real question and often comes with an actual invitation

It is a polite formula and means nothing

It is a hint that you should leave

You walk up to a counter and lead straight with your question, skipping the greeting. What happens?

It is not rude exactly, but it lands flat and reads as cold

Nothing — it is efficient and welcome

It is taken as rude and you will be refused service

Ten minutes into meeting you, someone asks your age and what you pay in rent. What is going on?

Those questions are far less loaded here than in Britain or the US

They are being deliberately rude

They are testing whether you speak Spanish

They are trying to sell you something

Small talk in Spanish in Peru

Short answer

Peruvian small talk has a fixed opening — greeting, "¿cómo estás?", "bien, ¿y tú?" — that works as a ritual rather than a real enquiry. The useful skill is what comes next: a comment on the weather, the traffic or the day, and a question back. Skipping the ritual reads as cold.

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.

The opening is a ritual, not a question

“¿Cómo estás?” is not asking how you are. The expected answer is “bien, gracias, ¿y tú?” — and then the conversation starts. Answering it truthfully and at length is a recognisable foreigner move.

The full standard opening:

— Buenos días. — Buenos días, ¿cómo está? — Bien, gracias, ¿y usted? — Bien, bien.

Only after that does anyone say what they actually want. Walking up to a counter and leading with your question is not rude exactly, but it lands noticeably flat.

The variants, and who uses them

¿Cómo estás? — standard, tú
¿Cómo está? — standard, usted. Use this with anyone older, anyone serving you, anyone in an official role
¿Qué tal? — slightly more casual, works either way
¿Cómo te va? — how’s it going
¿Todo bien? — everything alright? Very common, and can be a complete greeting on its own
¿Qué hay? / ¿Qué dices? — friends only
Hola, ¿cómo estás? said to someone you know well often gets “acá, luchando” — here, battling on — which is the standard cheerful Peruvian non-answer

If you are unsure between tú and usted, use usted. See tú vs usted in Peru.

The replies that keep it going

The whole skill is having a second line. Three safe ones:

The weather. “Qué calor, ¿no?” — hot, isn’t it. In Lima, more usefully: “Qué húmedo está” or “no sale el sol”, because the winter overcast is a genuine shared grievance and complaining about it is a social bond
The traffic. “¿Mucho tráfico hoy?” — always yes, always a conversation
The day. “¿Cómo va el día?” / “¿Mucho trabajo?”

And the move that does most of the work: ask it back. ¿Y tú? or ¿Y usted? after anything you have just answered. Peruvian conversation ping-pongs; a statement with no question attached tends to end the exchange.

Ending it

Endings are longer here than in English and cutting them short feels abrupt.

“Bueno, te dejo.” — well, I’ll let you go
“Ya, nos vemos.” — right, see you
“Que estés bien.” / “Que le vaya bien.” — be well / may it go well for you. Extremely common, and the usted version is the standard way to leave a shop
“Un gusto.” — a pleasure, on first meeting
“Saludos a tu mamá.” — regards to your mum. Sending greetings to someone’s family is normal and warm, not intrusive

Note que estés and que le vaya — those are subjunctives, and they are among the first ones most learners produce without meaning to. They are fixed phrases long before they are grammar.

Two things that are not small talk

“¿Cuántos años tienes?” and questions about money are far less loaded here than in Britain or the United States, and you may well be asked both within minutes. It is not rudeness.

And “¿Ya almorzaste?” — have you had lunch — is a real question, frequently followed by an actual invitation. Answering “yes” reflexively out of politeness when you have not is a missed meal.

Topics Small talk Register and politeness Peruvian Spanish

The first two minutes

Eight on the opening ritual, the second line that keeps it going, and the two questions that are not small talk at all.

1A shopkeeper you do not know says *Buenos días, ¿cómo está?* What do you say back?
Answer

*Bien, gracias, ¿y usted?* — The question is a ritual, not an enquiry, and the answer plus a question back is the whole move. Answering truthfully and at length is a recognisable foreigner move.
2You are greeting someone considerably older than you, or anyone serving you. Which form?
Answer

*¿Cómo está?* — *Usted* with anyone older, anyone serving you and anyone in an official role. If you cannot decide, *usted* is the safe error.
3You ask a friend how she is and she says *acá, luchando*. What has she told you?
Answer

Getting by — it is a cheerful non-answer — *Acá, luchando* is the standard cheerful Peruvian shrug. It is not a call for help and does not need following up, though asking is never wrong.
4The ritual is done and you need a second line. It is July in Lima. Which lands best?
Answer

*No sale el sol, ¿no?* — The winter overcast is a genuine shared grievance and complaining about it is a social bond. Lima's winter is grey and damp rather than cold, so a comparison to European cold falls flat.
5Your friend's mother asks *¿ya almorzaste?* and you have not eaten. What should you keep in mind?
Answer

It is a real question and often comes with an actual invitation — Saying yes reflexively out of politeness when you have not eaten is a missed meal. Unlike *¿cómo estás?*, this one wants the true answer.
6You are leaving a shop. What does the shopkeeper most likely say as you go?
Answer

*Que le vaya bien.* — *Que le vaya bien* is the standard way to be sent off from a shop. *Adiós* carries a finality that makes it odd for someone you might see again tomorrow.
7You walk up to a counter and lead straight with your question, skipping the greeting. What happens?
Answer

It is not rude exactly, but it lands flat and reads as cold — Nobody will tell you off. The exchange just goes worse than it needed to, and *buenos días* first costs you a second.
8Ten minutes into meeting you, someone asks your age and what you pay in rent. What is going on?
Answer

Those questions are far less loaded here than in Britain or the US — Age and money are ordinary conversation in Peru and no offence is meant. Bristling at them is the misread, not the asking.