Thank you

Use it as you would in English.

Gracias
Pronounced: Grah-see-ahs

Translates to: Thank you

Goodnight

At the end of the day..

Buenas noches
Pronounced: Booeh-nahs noh-chess

Translates to: Goodnight

Good afternoon

In the afternoon greet people and say hello like this...

Buenos dias
Pronounced: Booeh-nohs dee-ahs

Translates to: Good afternoon

If you would like a phrase that is not on the site yet, email me or comment and I will translate and write a post about it.

Thank you for stopping by

Good morning

You should greet locals before you ask for help or directions. In the morning from 12:01am to 11:59pm.

Buenos dias
Pronounced: Boo-eh-nohs dee-ahs

Translates to: Good morning

It is an excellent way to approach someone and ask for directions or help.

Benos dias. Donde esta el baño?

I need to check my email. Where is the closest internet cafe?

When you are on holiday you want to let friends and family know you made it safely and email is a great way to do it. You can find an internet cafe and rent a computer. Here is what you say:

Necesito revisar mi correo electronico. Donde esta el cibercafe mas cercano
Pronounced: Neh-seh-see-toh reh-vee-sahr mee coh-reh-oh eh-lehc-troh-nee-coh. Dohn-deh ehs-tah ehl see-behr-cah-feh mahs sehr-cah-noh?

Translates to: I need to check my email. Where is the closest internet cafe?

Where is the restroom?

I'll be quick with this one. It is not healthy to hold it for too long.

Donde este al baño?
Pronounced: Dohn-deh ehs-tah ehl bah-newoh?

Translates to: Where is the restroom?

The Letter Ñ ñ

Oh yes! Let' s settle this once and for all. The n with the squiggly line on top. How do you pronounce that?

The letter Ñ(lower case ñ) is used in critical words like baño, jalapeño and piñata among others. Without some of these words you could get yourself into some trouble.

To type out an ñ hold the alt key down, type in 164 on your number pad and let go of the alt. Bam! You got an ñ. Use 0209 for a capital Ñ.

The letter ñ is pronounced: Ehnyeh

When its used in a word you really only hear the nye sound. To make it easy, where ever you see an ñ, use the word 'new' in its place. Here are some example...

Baño (means restroom) is pronounced: Bah-newoh

Jalapeño is pronounced: Hah-lah-peh-newoh

Piñata is pronounced: Pee-new-ah-tah

Learn it. I don’t want to hear you say Jaw-law-pe-no anymore. :)

I am hungry. Where is there a good restaurant?

After a nice dip in the picina, you have worked up an appetite. The phrase for today is…

Tengo hambre. Donde hay un restaurante bueno?
Pronounced: Tehn-go ahm-breh . Dohn-deh ahee oon rehs-tah-oo-rahn-teh booeh-no?

Translates to: I am hungry. Where is there a good restaurant?

I need a taxi

You just landed at your vacation destination in Mexico. You need to find yourself a taxi and tell him where you need to go.

Today is a double phrase.

You have your luggage and you walk through the airport. Stop and say this to someone...

Hola, necesito un taxi por favor.
Pronounced: Ohlah, neh-seh-see-toh oon taxi pohr fah-vohr

Translates to: Hello, I need a taxi please.

With your perfect Spanish they will probably think you are a native speaker and start telling you how to find a taxi in real fast Spanish that will overwhelm you. Don't worry, along with all that crazy talk they will probably point. Just go towards where they point and ask someone else. If you get lucky they might walk you to the taxi area.

You found a taxi and all your stuff is in the trunk. You get in and you say...

Lleveme a el hotel [hotel name] por favor.
Pronounced: Yeh-veh-meh ah el Oh-tehl [hotel name] pohr fah-vohr

Translates to: Take me to hotel [insert hotel name here] please.

Where is the pool?

For the next few phrases the theme is going to be vacation vacaciones (Pronounced: Vah-cah-seeoh-ness)

You get to your destination throw your bags in the room and you ask..

Donde esta la picina?
Pronounced: Dohn-deh ehstah lah pee-see-nah?

This means "Where is the pool?"

What's up?

A classic phrase. Used when you greet your friends..

Que onda?
Pronounced: Keh ohndah

Literal translation means "What wave?" or "What vibe?" Que onda? is like asking "What's up?" in English.

Don't suck!!

After consulting with some of my friends I decided to start things off with a bang. The phrase of the day today is:

No mames!
Pronounced: No Mah-mehs

A literal translation means "don't suck" but to Mexican/American Spanish speakers its like saying "C'mon! don't exaggerate", calling "bs", "no way" or knocking someone for being on their "high horse" No mames has many applications. Here are some examples:

You are with a group of friends trying to decide where to eat and someone suggests a really expensive or far away place...

• No mames! Es muy caro. (No way! That's too expensive)
• No mames! Es muy lejos. (No way! That's too expensive)

When someone is telling a story that seems too good to be true and you want to call BS.

• No mames! No te creo! (BS! I don't believe you)
  
• No mames! Cuando fue eso!? (BS! When was that?)

When someone objects to something because they think its beneath them (even though we all know it is not). Example, someone objects to the getting some street tacos. The very same street tacos they didn't mind eating after a long night of drinking the other night. You can say..

• No mames! Eso comiste cuando andabas pedo. (Stop fronting! You ate that when you were drunk!)
• No mames! Tu tio es taquero! (Stop fronting! Your uncle has a taco stand!

A word of caution. No mames is considered rude unless you are among friends. But no worries there is a less strong alternative that can be applied in the same exact way but does not come off as bad..

No manches!

Use it in place of no mames if unsure of what the reaction will be.

No mames, go out and try it.