spanish-small-talk

Small Talk in Spanish: 85 Questions and Phrases for Casual Conversations

In the realm of social interactions, few skills are as essential as the ability to engage in casual conversations.

The art of ‘small talk’ is a vital part of everyday communication in Spanish-speaking countries.

In this post, you’ll learn 85 questions and phrases for small talk in Spanish, from friendly greetings to commentary about the weather and more.

With this language, you’ll be able to strike up a conversation with anyone—and get some great practice speaking Spanish!

Contents


Greetings in Spanish

man-and-woman-waving-to-each-other

The least complicated way to strike up some small talk is to say hello! Here are a few ways to greet someone in Spanish:

(Throughout the post, we’ll put the formal usted version first and then the informal version.)

SpanishEnglish
Hola Hello/Hi
Buenos días Good morning
Buenas tardes Good afternoon
Buenas noches Good evening
¿Cómo está?
¿Cómo estás?
How are you? (formal/informal)

*¿Qué tal? is another informal form
Estoy bien, gracias. I’m fine, thanks.
¿Y usted?
¿Y tú?
And you?

Introductions in Spanish

two-women-shaking-hands-in-office

If you’re meeting someone for the first time, you’ll need to know these basics: 

SpanishEnglish
Mucho gusto. Nice to meet you.
Igualmente. Likewise.
¿Cómo se llama?
¿Cómo te llamas?
What's your name?
Me llamo...
Mi nombre es...
My name is...
¿Habla español?
¿Hablas español?
Do you speak Spanish?
Un poco. A little.
Mas o menos. More or less.

Small Talk About the Weather

woman-with-umbrella-after-rain-clears

Chatting about the weather is a great ice-breaker! Here are some phrases to help you out:

SpanishEnglish
Hace buen tiempo. The weather is nice.
Parece que va a llover. It looks like it's going to rain.
¡Qué calor! It's so hot!
Hace frío. It's cold.
Está fresco esta mañana. It's cool this morning.
El día está despejado. The day is clear.
Es un día hermoso. It's a beautiful day.
¡El viento está super fuerte! The wind is super strong!
¡Este clima es horrible! This weather is horrible!
Se espera una tormenta. A storm is expected.
¿Qué tiempo hace hoy? What's the weather like today?
¿Vio el pronóstico del tiempo?
¿Viste el pronóstico del tiempo?
Did you see the weather forecast?

Getting to Know Someone

two-men-chatting-in-cafe

Once you’ve covered the basics, you can start getting to know someone better with some questions about their life and family:

SpanishEnglish
¿De dónde es?
¿De dónde eres?
Where are you from?
Soy de... I'm from...
¿Usted es de por aquí?
¿Eres de por aquí?
Are you from around here?
No, solo estoy de visita. No, I'm just visiting.
Sí, vivo cerca. Yes, I live nearby.
¿Cuántos años tiene?
¿Cuántos años tienes?
How old are you?
Tengo...años. I'm...years old.
¿Tiene hermanos?
¿Tienes hermanos?
Do you have siblings?
Sí, tengo...hermanos. Yes, I have...siblings.
No, soy hijo único.
No, soy hija única.
No, I'm an only child. (masculine/feminine)

Small Talk About Hobbies and Interests 

happy-couple-cooking-together

Most people love talking about the things that make us individuals—like hobbies, food and shopping!

Here are some phrases you can use to talk about hobbies and interests:

SpanishEnglish
¿Qué le gusta hacer en su tiempo libre?
¿Qué te gusta hacer en tu tiempo libre?
What do you like to do in your free time?
¿Tiene algún pasatiempo?
¿Tienes algún pasatiempo?
Do you have any hobbies?
Me gusta... + [infinitive verb]

leer
correr
escuchar música
tocar música
bailar música
hacer deporte
cocinar
escribir
I like to...

read
run
listen to music
play music
bailar
play sports
cook
write
¿Qué tipo de música le gusta?
¿Qué tipo de música te gusta?
What kind of music do you like?
Me gusta... + [noun]

la música rap
la música pop
la música clasica
el jazz
I like...

rap music
pop music
classical music
jazz

Small Talk About Sports

two-men-playing-basketball

Sports are a universal topic that you can use to connect with others. Here are some questions and phrases to chat about your favorite sports and teams:

SpanishEnglish
¿Le gusta el deporte?
¿Te gusta el deporte?
Do you like sports?
¿Cuál es su deporte favorito?
¿Cuál es tu deporte favorito?
What's your favorite sport?
¿Cuál es su equipo favorito?
¿Cuál es tu equipo favorito?
What's your favorite team?
¿Sigue algún equipo deportivo?
¿Sigues algún equipo deportivo?
Do you follow any sports teams?
¿Practica algún deporte en tu tiempo libre?
¿Practicas algún deporte en tu tiempo libre?
Do you play any sports in your free time?
¿Fue a algún evento deportivo recientemente?
¿Fuiste a algún evento deportivo recientemente?
Did you attend any sports events recently?
Me gusta ver el fútbol. ¿A usted?
Me gusta ver el fútbol. ¿A ti?
I like watching soccer. How about you?
¿Ha jugado al tenis alguna vez?
¿Has jugado al tenis alguna vez?
Have you ever played tennis?
¿Quién es su deportista favorito?
¿Quién es tu deportista favorito?
Who's your favorite athlete?
¿Qué opina sobre los Juegos Olímpicos?
¿Qué opinas sobre los Juegos Olímpicos?
What do you think about the Olympics?
¿Cuál es el deporte más popular en su país?
¿Cuál es el deporte más popular en tu país?
What's the most popular sport in your country?
¿Ve el béisbol?
¿Ves el béisbol?
Do you watch baseball?
¿Vio el partido anoche?
¿Viste el partigo anoche?
Did you see the game last night?

Small Talk About Food

two-women-eating-and-drinking-at-restaurant

Who doesn’t like talking about food? Here are some ways to make small talk about food, restaurants and eating: 

SpanishEnglish
¿Hay un buen restaurante cerca de aquí? Is there a good restaurant nearby?
¿Cuál es su comida favorita?
¿Cuál es tu comida favorita?
What's your favorite food?
¿Cuál es su restaurante favorito?
¿Cuál es tu restaurante favorito?
What's your favorite restaurant?
¿Qué tipo de comida le gusta?
¿Qué tipo de comida te gusta?
What kind of food do you like?
¿Le gustan los mariscos?
¿Te gustan los mariscos?
Do you like seafood?
Me gusta la comida local. I like the local food.
Soy vegetariano.
Soy vegetariana.
I'm vegetarian.(masculine/feminine)
Me gusta el pescado.
I like fish.
Me gustan las hamburguesas. I like hamburgers.

Small Talk About Shopping

two-people-shopping-for-clothes

Shopping is always an adventure, and it’s a great bonding topic when you’re making small talk. Here are some phrases for chatting about your latest (or future) purchases:

SpanishEnglish
¿Hay buenas tiendas cerca? Are there good shops nearby?
¿Le gusta ir de compras?
¿Te gusta ir de compras?
Do you like to go shopping?
¿Dónde le gusta ir de compras?
¿Dónde te gusta ir de compras?
Where do you like to go shopping?
Voy de compras. I'm going shopping.
¿Dónde compró esa blusa?
¿Dónde compraste esa blusa?
Where did you buy that blouse?
¡Me encanta su vestido! ¿Dónde lo compró?
¡Me encanta tu vestido! ¿Dónde lo compraste?
I love your dress! Where'd you get it?

Asking About Travels and Plans 

two-women-chatting-in-hostel-dorm

If you’re traveling the world, you’re bound to meet a plethora of new people. It’s great to have some questions you can ask them about their travels and plans:

SpanishEnglish
Cuanto tiempo lleva aqui?
Cuanto tiempo llevas aqui?
How long have you been here?
¿Cuándo llegó?
¿Cuándo llegaste?
When did you arrive?
¿Cuánto tiempo lleva viajando?
¿Cuánto tiempo llevas viajando?
How long have you been traveling?
¿Cuál es su lugar favorito que ha visitado?
¿Cuál es tu lugar favorito que has visitado?
What's your favorite place you've visited?
¿A dónde irá después?
¿A dónde irás después?
Where are you going next?
¿Con quién viaja?
¿Con quién viajas?
Who are you traveling with?
¿Qué le gusta de viajar?
¿Qué te gusta de viajar?
What do you like about traveling?
¿Tiene planes para el fin de semana?
¿Tienes planes para el fin de semana?
Do you have plans for the weekend?
¿Qué va a hacer mañana?
¿Qué vas a hacer mañana?
What are you doing tomorrow?
¿Quiere salir conmigo?
¿Quieres salir conmigo?
Do you want to go out with me?

Saying Goodbye in Spanish

woman-saying-goodbye-on-video-call

Close out the conversation with a wave and a smile—and revel in your small talk success!

SpanishEnglish
Adiós / Chao Goodbye
¡Nos vemos pronto! See you soon!
¡Hasta mañana! See you tomorrow!
Cuídese.
Cuídate.
Take care.
Fue bueno verle.
Fue bueno verte.
It was good to see you.

How to Practice Your Small Talk Skills

Chatting is a fun part of any language program. And there are plenty of great ways you can practice while meeting new people: 

  • Look for local events where others who either speak or are studying Spanish hang out. Museums, foreign films and even Spanish cooking classes at a local college are good starting points for finding friends to chat with.
  • Join a Spanish club—they’re prime spots for socializing! Most Spanish clubs rely heavily on social events to keep membership up. Search the web or ask at the nearest library for one near you, then join in the fun!
  • Find a language partner to chat with in person or online. You can use Tandem to find a partner. Just sign up, log in and choose someone near or far to share your small talk with.
  • Use a learning program. A program like FluentU is a great way to see small talk in use through videos by native Spanish videos.

 

No Spanish learning program is complete without some language for engaging in casual small talk.

It’s a crucial part of achieving fluency because it allows you to meet new people and start chatting with them. 

Once you feel comfortable using these questions and phrases, you’ll be able to approach and talk to anyone!

And One More Thing…

If you've made it this far that means you probably enjoy learning Spanish with engaging material and will then love FluentU.

Other sites use scripted content. FluentU uses a natural approach that helps you ease into the Spanish language and culture over time. You’ll learn Spanish as it’s actually spoken by real people.

FluentU has a wide variety of videos, as you can see here:

learn-spanish-with-videos

FluentU brings native videos within reach with interactive transcripts. You can tap on any word to look it up instantly. Every definition has examples that have been written to help you understand how the word is used. If you see an interesting word you don’t know, you can add it to a vocab list.

learn-spanish-with-interactive-subtitled-videos

Review a complete interactive transcript under the Dialogue tab, and find words and phrases listed under Vocab.

learn-spanish-with-songs

Learn all the vocabulary in any video with FluentU’s robust learning engine. Swipe left or right to see more examples of the word you’re on.

learn-spanish-with-music-videos

The best part is that FluentU keeps track of the vocabulary that you’re learning, and gives you extra practice with difficult words. It'll even remind you when it’s time to review what you’ve learned. Every learner has a truly personalized experience, even if they’re learning with the same video.

Start using the FluentU website on your computer or tablet or, better yet, download the FluentU app from the iTunes or Google Play store. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)

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