How do you say “do you speak Spanish?” in Spanish? To get the conversation started, you might ask ¿Habla español? or ¿Hablas español? in a casual setting. Putting forth that bit of effort can open the door to a genuine conversation or to opportunities to practice and get help.
Making small talk with those you meet at work or on a trip can be a fun way to practice what you’ve learned, or you can be helpful to Spanish speakers who are looking for someone who speaks their first language. It’s not just Spanish-speaking destinations, either. Spanish can be your common language in many locations in the world, as it’s a popular language to study worldwide.
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How do you say ‘Do you speak Spanish?’ in Spanish
The question to ask is ¿Habla español? (formal) or ¿Hablas español? (informal). Choosing between these questions in Spanish is a matter of knowing whether it’s more appropriate to use usted vs. tú forms of the verb.
The verb hablar (to speak/to talk) is a common -AR verb with regular endings. The tú form of “you” is for casual situations, and is more common than usted among speakers from Spain, for example. But in some countries, it’s reserved only for those you already know well. In other areas, you may wish to begin with the usted form until you know the person better.
hablar (to speak/to talk) present tense
| yo hablo | I speak | nosotros hablamos | we speak |
| tú hablas | you speak (informal) | vosotros habláis | you speak (informal, plural – Spain only) |
| él/ella habla | he/she speaks | ellos/ellas hablan | they speak |
| usted habla | you speak (formal) | ustedes hablan | you speak (plural) |
Discussing what languages you have in common
For business, travel, or other public interactions, it’s increasingly common to encounter speakers of other languages. Whether you’re on a trip or work in the service industry, opportunities to speak another language may arise at any time. You can find out what languages people speak by using the verb hablar.
- No hablo italiano. = I don’t speak Italian.
- ¿Hablas inglés? = Do you speak English?
- Hablamos portugués y español. Mi esposo habla francés también. We speak Portuguese and Spanish. My husband speaks French, too.
- ¿Alguien aquí habla chino? = Does anyone here speak Chinese?
You might be two people who don’t speak each other’s first language, but you can both communicate in Spanish as an additional language. While translation tools abound with today’s technology, knowing at least part of the conversation using basic phrases in Spanish without relying on other tools can help facilitate communication.
| Spanish | English |
| Comprendo más que puedo decir. | I understand more than I can say. |
| Hablo con fluidez. | I speak fluently. |
| Hablo un poco de… | I speak a little bit of… |
| Me gustaría practicar. | I would like to practice. |
| No hablo… pero hablo… | I don’t speak… but I speak… |
| ¿Podemos hablar…? | Can we speak…? |
| Puedo entender… | I can understand… |
| ¿Qué idiomas habla usted?/¿Qué idiomas hablas? | What languages do you speak? |
| ¿Tiene sentido? | Does that make sense? |
| Voy a intentarlo, pero necesito ayuda. | I’m going to try, but I need help. |
Words for other languages in Spanish
Some of the words for the world’s most commonly spoken languages are cognates in Spanish and English, but there are few that don’t resemble the English words.
Meeting friends who speak different languages is a great way to learn them for yourself. With a high enough proficiency level, you can plan to do an intercambio (exchange) in which you help each other practice the other’s idioma/lengua (language). This table covers how to say a few languages from around the world other than “Spanish” in Spanish.
| Spanish | English |
| el alemán | German |
| el árabe | Arabic |
| el bengalí | Bengali |
| el coreano | Korean |
| el farsi | Farsi |
| el francés | French |
| el griego | Greek |
| el hebreo | Hebrew |
| el hindi | Hindi |
| el holandés | Dutch |
| el irlandés | Irish |
| el italiano | Italian |
| el inglés | English |
| el japonés | Japanese |
| el latín | Latin |
| el mandarín/el chino | Mandarin Chinese |
| el polaco | Polish |
| el portugués | Portuguese |
| el ruso | Russian |
| el sueco | Swedish |
| el tagalo | Tagalog |
| el turco | Turkish |
| el vietnamita | Vietnamese |
| la lengua de señas/signos (americana/británica) | sign language (American/British) |
Rosetta Stone offers 25 languages
Learning Spanish can unlock many doors to communication in business, travel, and friendship. With Rosetta Stone, you can answer sí (yes) to the question “Do you speak Spanish?” in Spanish.
Rosetta Stone offers Latin American or Peninsular Spanish, and 23 other languages. You’ll be speaking from the first day, so you can effectively communicate about the languages you speak from the moment you say “my name is” in Spanish.
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