Useful Phrases and Some simple Spanish numbers & tips
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GREETINGS
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Hello / Hi!
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¡Hóla!
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Good day
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Buenos diás
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Good evening
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Buenos tardes
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Good night
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Buenos noches
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Good bye
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Adiós
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See you soon
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Hasta luego
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GENERAL RESPONSES
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Yes
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Sí
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No
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No
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That depends
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Depende
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I don't know
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No lo sé
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I don't think so
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Creo que no
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I think so
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Creo que sí
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It doesn't matter
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No importa
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I don't mind
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No me molesta
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Of course!
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¡Claro!
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True
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Es verdad
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With pleasure
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Con gusto
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QUESTION WORDS
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Where?
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¿Dónde?
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When?
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¿Cuándo?
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Why?
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¿Por qué?
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What?
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¿Qué?
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Who?
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¿Quién?
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How?
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¿Cómo?
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How much/many?
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¿Cuántos / cuánto?
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Is/are there?
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¿Hay?
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SPECIAL OCCASIONS
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Congratulations!
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¡Felicitaciones!
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Happy Birthday!
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¡Felíz cumpleaños!
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Happy Christmas!
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¡Felices Navidades!
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Happy New Year!
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¡Felíz año nuevo!
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Happy Easter!
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¡Felíz Pascua!
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Good Luck!
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¡Que tengas suerte!
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Enjoy the meal!
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¡Comer con gusto!
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Have a safe journey!
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¡Buen viaje!
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Have a good holiday!
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¡Buenas vacaciones!
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Take Care!
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¡Cuidados!
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ETIQUETTE
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Please
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Por favor
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Thank you (very much)
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(Muchas) Gracias
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Excuse me
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¡Perdone!
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I'm sorry, but...
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Lo siento, pero...
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That's a shame
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Es una lástima
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May I... ?
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¿Puedo...?
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0 TO 19
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0
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cero
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1
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uno / una
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2
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dos
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3
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tres
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4
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cuatro
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5
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cinco
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6
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seis
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7
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siete
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8
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ocho
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9
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nueve
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10
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diez
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11
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once
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12
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doce
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13
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trece
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14
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catorce
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15
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quince
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16
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dieciséis
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17
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diecisiete
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18
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dieciocho
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19
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diecinueve
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20 TO 39
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20
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veinte
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21
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veintiuno
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22
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veintidós
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23
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veintitrés
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24
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veinticuatro
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25
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veinticinco
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26
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veintiséis
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27
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veintisiete
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28
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veintiocho
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29
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veintinueve
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30
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treinta
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31
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treinta y uno
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32
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treinta y dos
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33
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treinta y tres
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34
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treinta y cuatro
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35
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treinta y cinco
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36
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treinta y seis
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37
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treinta y siete
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38
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treinta y ocho
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39
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treinta y nueve
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The numbers up to 29 are irregular special cases and need to be learnt.
The numbers above 30 are of the form tens y units (y means and), e.g. 42 is cuarenta y dos.
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TENS
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10
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diez
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20
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veinte
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30
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treinta
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40
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cuarenta
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50
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cincuenta
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60
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sesenta
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70
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setenta
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80
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ochenta
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90
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noventa
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Uno drops the -o before masculine nouns, e.g. un libro, and when in compound numerals, e.g. treinta y un niños . Note that veintiuno is not a compound numeral.
100 is a special case. 100 itself is cien, but to form any number 101-199 it becomes ciento. Take the stem ciento and follow it with the relevant number from 1 and 99. So for example 152 is written ciento cinquenta y dos. Note that ciento is not merged with the number following it.
Hundreds agree with the noun that follows them, e.g. doscientas pesetas (two hundred pesetas), excepting numbers 100-200.
One thousand is mil. Two thousand, etc are formed by preceding this with the number of thousands, e.g. tres mil (3,000).
The millions are somewhat different. Millón becomes plural in two million, etc and therefore loses its accent: e.g. cuatro milliones (4,000,000).
Ordinals are irregular in Spanish and need to be learnt. Primero and tercero (1st and 3rd) shorten before masculine nouns to become primer and tercer respectively.
Ordinals agree with their subject. Ordinals above 10 are very rarely used, generally being replaced by cardinals which follow the noun.
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LARGER NUMBERS
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100
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cien
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152
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ciento cinquenta y dos
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1,000
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mil
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3,139
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tres mil ciento treinta y nueve
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1,000,000
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un millón
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ORDINALS
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first (1st)
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primero/a (1O)
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second (2nd)
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segundo/a (2O)
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third (3rd)
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tercero/a (3O)
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fourth (4th)
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cuarto/a (4O)
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fifth (5th)
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quinto/a (5O)
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sixth (6th)
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sexto/a (6O)
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seventh (7th)
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séptimo/a (7O)
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eighth (8th)
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octavo/a (8O)
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ninth (9th)
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noveno/a (9O)
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tenth (10th)
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décimo/a (10O)
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TELLING THE DOCTOR
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I feel unwell.
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No me siento bien.
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I feel ill.
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Me siento mal.
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I have a headache.
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Me duele la cabeza.
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I have stomach ache.
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Me duele el estomago.
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Can you give me something for the pain?
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¿Puede-usted me da algo para el dolor?
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I have a temperature.
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Tengo fiebre.
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I feel dizzy.
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Me mareo.
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I have been sick.
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Vomité.
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I've been stung by a bee/wasp.
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Una abeja/una avispa me picó.
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She's allergic to...
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Tiene alegia a...
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His thumb is swollen.
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Tiene el pulgar hinchado.
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I have toothache.
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Tengo dolor de muelas.
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It is not serious.
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No es de gravedad
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PHRASES TO FACILITATE UNDERSTANDING
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I don't understand.
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No comprendo.
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Please speak slower.
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Hablad más lentamente, por favor.
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Would you write that down please.
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Puede usted escribirlo, por favor.
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Could you explain that please.
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Puede-usted explicarlo, por favor.
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How is that pronounced?
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¿Cómo le pronuncia?
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I have forgotten the word for...
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No me recuerdo la palabra por...
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How do you say that in French/English?
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¿Cómo se lo dice en Español/Inglés?
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What does that mean?
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¿Qué quiere decirlo?
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Can you repeat that please.
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Puede-usted repetirlo, por favor.
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EXPLAINING
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It's a bit like...
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Es un poco como...
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It's a sort of...
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Es una clase de...
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It's as small / big as...
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Es tan pequeño / grande como...
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It's shorter / longer than...
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Es más corto / longo que...
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What is it?
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¿Qué está?
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The Alphabet
In Spanish the same 26 letters are used as in the English alphabet. In addition to the sounds found in spoken English, there are also the following: ch, ll, ñ and rr. See below for an explanation of how to pronounce these.
Accents
Acute(á, é, í, ó, ú) accents are used in Spanish to alter the stress on a word. If a word ends in a vowel, or in n or s, then the penultimate syllable is stressed, eg. Historia, palabra. Diaereses (ï, ü) are used above i and u to indicate that the letter should be pronounced.
Consonants (and combinations)
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b
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• starting a phrase, after ma, and after n - like b in boy
• otherwise - as above but lips should not meet
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c
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• before e or i - like th in thin
• otherwise - like k in kick
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ch
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• like ch in church
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d
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• starting a phrase, after l, and after n - like d in dog
• otherwise - like th in this
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f
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• like f in for
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g
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• before e or i - like ch in Scottish loch, strong and guttoral
• starting a phrase, after n - like g in g et
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h
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• always silent
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j
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• like ch in Scottish loch, strong and guttoral
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k
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• like k in kick
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l
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• like l in love
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ll
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• like ll in million
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m
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• like m in made
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n
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• before v - like m in made
• otherwise - like n in none
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p
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• at the end of a word - generally silent
• otherwise - like p in put
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qu
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• like k in kick
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r
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• rolled/trilled like r in Scottish (generally quieter at the end of a word)
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rr
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• as r, but rolled/trilled more strongly
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s
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• before d, g, l, m, n - like s in rose
• otherwise - like s in same
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t
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• like t in tame
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v
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• starting a phrase, after ma, and after n - like b in boy
• otherwise - as above but lips should not meet
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x
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• between vowels - like x in box
• otherwise - like s in same
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y
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• like y in yes
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a
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• like a in pat, but longer
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e
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• in a syllable ending with a vowel - like e in they
• otherwise - short like e in set
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i
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• like ee in seek
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o
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• in a syllable ending with a vowel - like o in note
• otherwise - like o in pot, but very slightly longer
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u
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• either like u in rule or oo in food
• silent after q, and in the groups gue and gui (not güe, güi though)
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y
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• at the end of a word (incl. the word y) - like ee in seek
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If this all seems a bit daunting then there is help at hand, there are Spanish classes for Expats in most towns. In Albatera there are two per week and you just need to be signed on the Padron. They are held at one of the junior schools, Cervantes on a Monday and Wednesday evening 7.10 until 8.10