How to Speak Spanish by Yourself: The Ultimate Self-Study Guide

This guide teaches you real Spanish conversations with word-by-word breakdowns, pronunciation tips, and cultural context.

🗣️ Essential Spanish Phrases (With Exact Pronunciation & Breakdown)

1. Greetings & Responses

English	Spanish	Pronunciation (Breakdown)	Literal Translation
Hello	Hola	OH-lah	(No direct translation)
How are you?	¿Cómo estás?	KOH-moh eh-STAHS?	“How are you?” (informal)
I’m good	Estoy bien	eh-STOY bee-EHN	“I am well”
What’s your name?	¿Cómo te llamas?	KOH-moh tay YA-mahs?	“How do you call yourself?”

Mini Dialogue:

A: ¡Hola! ¿Cómo te llamas? (OH-lah! KOH-moh tay YA-mahs?)
B: Me llamo Carlos. ¿Y tú? (May YA-moh CAR-los. Ee too?)

💘 Flirting in Spanish (With Natural Flow)

English	Spanish	Pronunciation Breakdown	Notes
You’re cute	Eres lindo/a	EH-rehs LEEN-doh/dah	“-o” for male, “-a” for female
Can I buy you a drink?	¿Te invito a algo?	Tay een-VEE-toh ah AHL-go?	Literally “I invite you to something?”
You have beautiful eyes	Tienes ojos bonitos	Tee-EH-nehs OH-hos boh-NEE-tos	More natural than “hermosos”

Example Conversation:

You: Hola, ¿tienes Instagram? (OH-lah, tee-EH-nees een-stah-GRAM?)
Her: Sí, es @maria_lopez (See, ess ah-ROH-bah mah-REE-ah LOH-pehs)
You: [smile] Voy a seguirte. (Voy ah say-GHEER-tay) → “I’ll follow you”

🛒 Shopping Like a Local (With Bargaining Phrases)

English	Spanish	Pronounced As	When to Use
How much is this?	¿Cuánto cuesta?	KWAN-toh KWEH-stah?	Markets/stores
Too expensive!	¡Muy caro!	Moo-ee KAH-roh!	Start bargaining
Give me discount?	¿Me hace descuento?	May AH-say des-KWEN-toh?	Smile when saying this

Market Dialogue:

You: ¿Cuánto por este collar? (KWAN-toh por EH-steh koy-YAR?) → “How much for this necklace?”
Seller: Cien pesos (See-en PEH-sos)
You: [act surprised] ¡Ay, muy caro! ¿Me lo deja en ochenta? (Aye, moo-ee KAH-roh! May loh DAY-hah en oh-CHEN-tah?) → “Can you do 80?”

🍽️ Ordering Food (With Menu Hacks)

English	Spanish	Pronounced Naturally	Pro Tip
I want…	Quiero…	Kee-EH-roh…	More natural than “quisiera”
The bill	La cuenta	Lah KWEN-tah	Say with hand gesture ✋
Delicious!	¡Riquísimo!	Ree-KEE-see-moh!	Better than “bueno”

Restaurant Scene:

Waiter: ¿Listo para ordenar? (LEES-toh PAH-rah or-day-NAR?) → “Ready to order?”
You: Sí, quiero los tacos al pastor y una cerveza. (See, kee-EH-roh lohs TAH-kos ahl pahs-TOR ee OO-nah ser-VAY-sah)
Waiter: [brings food] ¡Buen provecho! (Bwen pro-VEH-cho!) → “Enjoy!”
You: [after eating] ¡Estuvo riquísimo! La cuenta, por favor. (Eh-STOO-vo ree-KEE-see-moh! Lah KWEN-tah por fah-VOR.)

🚕 Survival Spanish (For Travelers)

English	Spanish	Sound Like a Local	Why This Works
Where’s the bathroom?	¿Dónde está el baño?	DON-day eh-STAH el BAH-nyo?	Essential!
Help me!	¡Ayúdame!	Ah-YOO-dah-may!	Stronger than “necesito ayuda”
How do I get to…?	¿Cómo llego a…?	KOH-moh YAY-go ah…?	Better than “dónde está” for directions

Taxi Conversation:

You: Hola, ¿vas al centro? (OH-lah, vahs ahl SEN-troh?) → “Going downtown?”
Driver: Sí, súbete (See, SOO-beh-teh) → “Yes, get in”
You: [during ride] Por favor, pare aquí (Por fah-VOR, PAH-reh ah-KEE) → “Please stop here”

🔥 3 Self-Learning Hacks That Work

Shadowing Technique
- Play Spanish podcasts > Pause > Repeat EXACTLY how they speak
Think in Spanish
- Name objects around you: “Ventana (window), teléfono (phone)…”
Telenovela Method
- Watch “La Casa de Papel” on Netflix > Repeat dramatic lines > Learn slang

🔢 Spanish Numbers 1-100

#	English	Spanish	Pronunciation (Breakdown)
1	One	Uno	OO-noh
2	Two	Dos	Dohs (like “dose”)
3	Three	Tres	Trehs (like “trace”)
4	Four	Cuatro	KWAH-troh
5	Five	Cinco	SEEN-koh
6	Six	Seis	Say-ees (1 syllable)
7	Seven	Siete	SYEH-teh
8	Eight	Ocho	OH-choh
9	Nine	Nueve	NWEH-veh
10	Ten	Diez	Dee-EHS
11	Eleven	Once	OHN-seh
12	Twelve	Doce	DOH-seh
13	Thirteen	Trece	TREH-seh
14	Fourteen	Catorce	kah-TOR-seh
15	Fifteen	Quince	KEEN-seh
16	Sixteen	Dieciséis	Dee-eh-see-SAYS
17	Seventeen	Diecisiete	Dee-eh-see-SYEH-teh
18	Eighteen	Dieciocho	Dee-eh-see-OH-choh
19	Nineteen	Diecinueve	Dee-eh-see-NWEH-veh
20	Twenty	Veinte	VEYN-teh
21	Twenty-one	Veintiuno	Veyn-tee-OO-noh
30	Thirty	Treinta	TREYN-tah
40	Forty	Cuarenta	Kwah-REN-tah
50	Fifty	Cincuenta	Seen-KWEN-tah
60	Sixty	Sesenta	Seh-SEN-tah
70	Seventy	Setenta	Seh-TEN-tah
80	Eighty	Ochenta	Oh-CHEN-tah
90	Ninety	Noventa	Noh-VEN-tah
100	One hundred	Cien	See-EHN

🎯 Key Patterns to Notice:

Teens (11-19): “Dieci” + number (e.g., Dieciséis = 16)
Tens (20-90): End with “-enta” or “-nta” (e.g., Treinta = 30)
Compound numbers (21-29): “Veinti” + number (e.g., Veinticuatro = 24)

💡 Pro Tips for Memorization:

Count objects daily in Spanish (e.g., stairs, coins).
Use phone numbers for practice: “Mi número es cinco, siete, tres…”
Sing along to this number song.

📆 All 12 Months in Spanish

English	Spanish	Pronunciation (Breakdown)
January	Enero	eh-NEH-roh
February	Febrero	feh-BREH-roh
March	Marzo	MAR-soh
April	Abril	ah-BREEL
May	Mayo	MAH-yoh
June	Junio	HOO-nee-oh
July	Julio	HOO-lee-oh
August	Agosto	ah-GOHS-toh
September	Septiembre	sep-TYEM-breh
October	Octubre	ok-TOO-breh
November	Noviembre	no-VYEM-breh
December	Diciembre	dee-SYEM-breh

🗝️ Key Rules to Remember:

No capitals → “enero” (not “Enero”) unless starting a sentence.
Preposition “de” → “El 15 de julio” (not “de Julio”).
Abbreviations → Write as “ene.”, “feb.”, etc. (no apostrophes).

🌍 Regional Variations

September: Sometimes “Setiembre” in Latin America.
July: In some dialects, “Julio” sounds like “HUL-io”.

📅 Example Sentences

“Las clases empiezan en septiembre.”
(Classes start in September.)
“Mi visa expira el 30 de abril.”
(My visa expires on April 30th.)

#SpanishMonths #LearnSpanish #LanguageBasics

Need seasons or holidays per month? Ask below! 🎉

Quick Quiz:
How do you say “Christmas is December 25th” in Spanish?
(Answer: “La Navidad es el veinticinco de diciembre.

💰 How to Say PRICES in Spanish

Format: [Number] + [Currency] + “con” + [Cents]

English	Spanish	Pronunciation
$5.99	Cinco dólares con noventa y nueve	SEEN-koh DOH-lah-res kohn noh-VEHN-tah ee NWEH-veh
€10.50	Diez euros con cincuenta	Dee-EHS EH-oo-ros kohn seen-KWEN-tah
¥1000.75	Mil yenes con setenta y cinco	Meel YEH-nes kohn seh-TEN-tah ee SEEN-koh

Pro Tip:

Drop “con” for whole numbers: “Cien pesos” (100 pesos).
For markets, say: “¿Me lo dejas en…?” (Can you give it to me for…?)

📅 How to Say DATES in Spanish

Format: [Day] + “de” + [Month] (+ “de” + [Year])

English	Spanish	Pronunciation
March 8	Ocho de marzo	OH-choh deh MAR-soh
December 25	Veinticinco de diciembre	Veyn-tee-SEEN-koh deh dee-SYEM-breh
09/15/2024	Quince de septiembre de 2024	KEEN-seh deh sep-TYEM-breh deh DOH-ees VEIN-tee KWAH-troh

Key Notes:

Day first, then month (unlike English).
Years are split: *2024 = “dos mil veinticuatro”*.
Capital letters? Months/days are lowercase in Spanish.

🗓️ Days & Months Cheat Sheet

Days of the Week:

Monday → Lunes (LOO-nes)
Tuesday → Martes (MAR-tes)
Wednesday → Miércoles (MYER-koh-les)
Thursday → Jueves (HWEH-ves)
Friday → Viernes (VYER-nes)
Saturday → Sábado (SAH-bah-doh)
Sunday → Domingo (doh-MEEN-goh)

Months:

January → Enero (eh-NEH-roh)
February → Febrero (feh-BREH-roh)
April → Abril (ah-BREEL)
August → Agosto (ah-GOHS-toh) .. (view list above)

🎤 Real-Life Examples

At a store:
- “¿Cuánto es?” → “Son veinte dólares con veinticinco centavos.”
  (It’s $20.25)
Birthdays:
- “Mi cumpleaños es el tres de mayo.”
  (My birthday is May 3rd.)
Sales:
- “¡Hasta el treinta de junio! Solo por hoy.”
  (Until June 30th! Today only.)

#SpanishForTravel #NumbersInSpanish #LanguageTips

Need audio examples? Try these resources:

Forvo (Native pronunciations)
SpanishDict (Interactive quizzes)

Practice Challenge:
Write your birthday in Spanish below! 👇
(Example: “Veintiuno de agosto”)