Travel-To-Spain Vocabulary

By Joaquín Santiponce – Updated September 2026

If you have ever traveled to Spain, it means you already know something about the beautiful Iberian Peninsula, but if you have not, here is a little introduction into the country whose language I am crazy about and I promote at this site.

The Iberian Peninsula is that Finis Terrae jutting from the extreme southwest of Mediterranean Europe into the Atlantic Ocean. It is called Iberian because it is inhabited by the Iberian people, who today are the inhabitants of the two neighbouring countries known as Spain and Portugal. I will not delve into the history of Spain because that can be found all over the Internet, but I will focus here on what my dear readers, who have not been to Spain before and who are interested in the Spanish language, need to know in order to wet their linguistic appetite, for the desire to learn the language of a people greatly has to do with the knowledge one has of that peoples way of life.

The number one symbol of Spain in the air is the airline called Iberia. Chances are, from wherever in the world you live, you would travel Iberia whenever you are ready to go to Spain. If the airline does not operate in your own part of the world, there is always one connection or another through the other European or, indeed, other world airlines.

In the Spanish aircraft, you are surrounded by fellow travellers, most of whom speak Spanish, finding yourself in a good language learning and practice environment. That’s when you need vocabulary like:

Hola  –  Hello, Hi
Buenos días  –  Good morning
Buenas tardes  –  Good afternoon, Good evening
Buenas noches  –  Good night
Como se llama?  –  What is your name?
Me llamo  –  My name is
Encantado de conocerle (if the speaker is male), or
Encantada de conocerle (if the speaker is female)  – Pleased to meet you.

You can equally use the short form; simply say, Encantado or Encantada. Infact, in everyday Spanish, almost nobody uses the long form, as long as they mean, ‘pleased to meet you’ and not ‘pleased to…’, something else. And when you are bombarded with a flurry of highly advanced Spanish, do not panic,  just say,

Perdone, hablo muy poco español  –  Sorry, I speak very little Spanish, or
Perdone, no comprendo tanto  –  Sorry, I don’t understand that much, or
Perdone, eso es demasiado avanzado para mí  –  Sorry, that’s too advanced for me

Then you will see signs all over the aircraft, like

Prohibido Fumar or No Fumar  –  No Smoking
Chaleco Salvavida  –  Life Vest
Salida de Emergencia  –  Emergency Exit
Máscara de Oxígeno  –  Oxygen mask

Then the beautiful hostesses will walk up and down the aisle trying to make you comfortable and tell you to fasten your seat belt and serve you food and drink and bring you a blanket and…

Abróchense los cinturones  –  Fasten your seat belts
Por favor  –  Please
Que quisiera tomar?  –  What would you like to take?
Comida  –  Food
Bebida  –  Drink
Agua  –   Water
Refresco  –  Soft Drink
Te  –   Tea
Café  –  Coffee
Coñac  –  Brandy
Cigarillo  –  Cigarette
Puro or Cigarro  –   Cigar
Naranja  –  Orange
Arroz con pollo  –  Rice with chicken
Verduras  –  Vegetables
Patatas  –  Potatoes
Manta  –  Blanket
Auriculares  –  Earphones, Headphones

And then after that sumptuous meal and watching that beautiful movie thousands of metres above sea level, you dose off for a while, and then you land at the

Aeropuerto de Barajas (el Barajas)  –  Barajas airport,  Madrid.

An then you troop to the arrival hall, where you come face to face with the

Policia Nacional  –  National Police
Inmigración  –  Immigration
Aduanas  –  Customs
Bienvenido a España  –  Welcome to Spain

Then, as you leave the arrival hall and walk out into the Kingdom of Spain, you need the vocabulary to face the good, the bad and the ugly of the beautiful country: the taxi driver, the city traffic, the hotel staff, the cafe, the restaurant, the Guardia Civil (Civil Police), etc. I invite you to visit the Iberian Spanish Classroom and learn this beautiful language. You can ask questions and learn things about the language, enough Spanish words and phrases to be able to make your stay in any Spanish-speaking part of the world less puzzling and more enjoyable, language wise.