I can spell out my email address, ask for the Wi-Fi password, find out how much it is, pay in cash or by card, and, if I don't understand, ask someone to repeat more slowly.
Email, paying, and three lifesaver phrases
How to spell out an address and how to pay
In Spain people read email addresses out loud, the cashier asks how you're paying, and when people talk too fast, three set phrases help.
Dictating an address: @ is arroba, the dot is punto, the underscore is guion bajo. Spell the letters with Spanish letter names. The pattern: name + arroba + site + punto + com.
The total: ¿Cuánto es? — how much you pay in all. ¿Cuánto cuesta? — the price of one item.
Paying: the prepositions are fixed — en efectivo (in cash) and con tarjeta (by card; literally “with card”). They never swap.
Wi-Fi: ¿Cuál es la contraseña del wifi?
Three phrases that help: No entiendo. ¿Puede repetir, por favor? Más despacio, por favor. After puede comes the infinitive, as in English “Can you repeat?” — never a second conjugated verb.
In Latin America a cell phone is usually el celular; in Spain it is el móvil.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “con efectivo” — correct: en efectivo.
• NOT “en tarjeta” — correct: con tarjeta.
• NOT “¿Puede repite?” — correct: ¿Puede repetir?
• NOT “at” — in Spanish @ is always arroba.
• NOT “el password” — correct: la contraseña.
Letters: rr in arroba and correo is a rolled r, several quick taps of the tongue; ñ in contraseña is the ny of “canyon”; gu in guion before i is the hard g of “go”, and the u is silent.
Email symbols aloud
In Spain an email address is read out loud, not shown.
| Symbol | What to call it | Where it goes |
|---|---|---|
| @ | arroba | between the name and the site |
| . | punto | before com, es, org |
| _ | guion bajo | inside the name |
What you pay with
Each preposition goes with its word: you can't swap them.
| How you pay | In Spanish | Not like this |
|---|---|---|
| in cash | en efectivo | con efectivo |
| by card | con tarjeta | en tarjeta |
Lesson notes
How to spell out an address and how to pay
In Spain people read email addresses out loud, the cashier asks how you're paying, and when people talk too fast, three set phrases help.
Dictating an address: @ is arroba, the dot is punto, the underscore is guion bajo. Spell the letters with Spanish letter names. The pattern: name + arroba + site + punto + com.
The total: ¿Cuánto es? — how much you pay in all. ¿Cuánto cuesta? — the price of one item.
Paying: the prepositions are fixed — en efectivo (in cash) and con tarjeta (by card; literally “with card”). They never swap.
Wi-Fi: ¿Cuál es la contraseña del wifi?
Three phrases that help: No entiendo. ¿Puede repetir, por favor? Más despacio, por favor. After puede comes the infinitive, as in English “Can you repeat?” — never a second conjugated verb.
In Latin America a cell phone is usually el celular; in Spain it is el móvil.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “con efectivo” — correct: en efectivo.
• NOT “en tarjeta” — correct: con tarjeta.
• NOT “¿Puede repite?” — correct: ¿Puede repetir?
• NOT “at” — in Spanish @ is always arroba.
• NOT “el password” — correct: la contraseña.
Letters: rr in arroba and correo is a rolled r, several quick taps of the tongue; ñ in contraseña is the ny of “canyon”; gu in guion before i is the hard g of “go”, and the u is silent.