Now that you've learned how to introduce yourself in Spanish, let's go over some basic questions and answers when telling others about ourselves or asking about them.
Asking someone where they are from might be a common introductory question when getting to know someone. Let's take a look at both the tú (informal "you") and usted (formal "you") forms of this question:
O, ¿de dónde eres? ¿De dónde es?
Or, where are you from? [with "tú"]. Where are you from? [with "usted"].
Captions 13-14, Karla e Isabel Tú y Usted
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And, what if someone asks you this question? You might use the construction Yo soy de (I'm from) to say the city, country, etc. you come from. Let's see some examples:
Yo soy de San Fernando, Cádiz.
I am from San Fernando, Cádiz.
Caption 27, 75 minutos Del campo a la mesa - Part 21
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Yo soy de Argentina, de la provincia de Córdoba, eh... exactamente de un pueblito que se llama Río Ceballos,
I'm from Argentina, from the province of Córdoba, um... precisely from a little town called Río Ceballos;
Captions 8-9, Luana y Fede Viajes
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Alternatively, you might say your nationality, particularly when talking about yourself in a foreign country:
Yo soy argentina.
I'm Argentine.
Caption 53, Carlos y Cyndy Uso del Voseo en Argentina
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soy español,
I'm Spanish,
Caption 2, Madrid Un recorrido por la capital de España
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To learn more about how to talk about nationalities in Spanish, check out this lesson on Adjectives of Nationality in Spanish. Let's explore some additional common questions/answers when getting acquainted with someone in Spanish.
Another is common question you might ask or get asked is, "What do you do (for a living)"? Let's explore a few ways to ask this question:
Bueno, perdón. ¿Tú a qué te dedicas?
Well, sorry. What do you do?
Caption 48, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa Capítulo 5 - Part 9
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¿En qué trabajas tú, Inmaculada?
In what [field] do you work, Inmaculada?
Caption 31, 75 minutos Gangas para ricos - Part 12
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The usted versions would be "¿Usted a qué se dedica?" and "¿En qué trabaja usted?" Another possible way to ask this question is:
¿Cuál es tu/su trabajo?
What's your job?
Now, let's look at some possible responses.
Me dedico a vender la leche.
I sell milk for a living.
Caption 2, Milkman Milk Seller, Nicaragua
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Yo trabajo en una tienda de ropa de segunda mano... -Ah...
I work at a second hand clothing store... -Oh...
Caption 69, 75 minutos Gangas para ricos - Part 14
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No, yo soy azafata.
No, I'm a flight attendant.
Caption 49, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa Capítulo 5 - Part 9
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Note that when talking about your profession in Spanish, the appropriate verb is ser ("to be" for fixed characteristics) rather than estar ("to be" for more temporary states) and that, in Spanish, unlike English, you don't include the article. For that reason, the aforementioned example reads soy azafata rather than soy una azafata.
The ways to say "How old are you?" in Spanish are "¿Cuántos años tienes?" when using tú and "¿Cuántos años tiene?" with addressing someone with usted. Let's hear the tú version in action:
¿Tú cuántos años tienes, Mariano?
How old are you, Mariano?
Caption 69, 75 minutos Del campo a la mesa - Part 6
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To answer this question, we use the verb tener años, which literally means "to have years," inserting the correct number of years between these two words. This is the Spanish equivalent of "being (a certain number) of years old." Let's take a look:
Tengo dieciséis años.
I'm sixteen years old.
Caption 7, Cleer Entrevista a Lila
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If you'd like to learn or refresh your Spanish numbers, check out the lesson The Numbers from One to One Hundred in Spanish.
In this caption, you will hear both the question and answer to this question.
¿Y eres casado o soltero? Estoy casado con una mujer italiana de Nápoles.
And are you married or single? I'm married to an Italian woman from Naples.
Captions 8-9, Carlos y Xavi Part 2 Ustedes y Vosotros
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You might notice that in the example above, the first speaker uses the verb ser, saying "¿Y eres casado...?" instead of "¿Y estás casado?" while the second speaker uses the verb estar to answer. Although the adjective casado/a (married) is traditionally used with the verb estar, you might hear it used with ser in some Spanish-speaking regions. For more on the nuances of these two verbs, check out Ser vs. Estar- Yo Soy and Ser vs. Estar- Yo Estoy.
We ask both of these questions with the Spanish verb tener (to have), which is conjugated as tiene with usted and tienes with tú. Let's hear how to ask these two questions with tú:
¿Tienes hijos? -No.
Do you have children? -No.
Caption 87, Adícora, Venezuela El tatuaje de Rosana
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¿Tienes hermanos o hermanas?
Do you have brothers or sisters?
Caption 5, Carlos y Xavi Part 2 Ustedes y Vosotros
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It is worth noting that, as the plural masculine noun los hermanos could refer to either just "brothers" or to both "brothers and sisters" or "siblings," you could simply say "¿Tienes hermanos?" when asking if someone has brothers and/or sisters. Similarly, los hijos could specifically mean "sons" or include both male and female "children." The singular and plural feminine nouns la(s) hermana(s) and la(s) hijas, on the other hand, refer to specifically female "sister(s)" and "daughter(s)." With that in mind, let's look at some potential answers to these questions:
Yo tengo dos hijos pequeños y...
I have two small children, and...
Caption 66, El Aula Azul Un día de surf
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Y, bueno, eh... tengo una hija de ocho años, ya sabéis.
And, well, um... I have an eight-year-old daughter, you already know.
Caption 26, Clase Aula Azul La segunda condicional - Part 1
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Sí, tengo una hermana más pequeña que tiene tres años menos.
Yes, I have a younger sister who is three years younger.
Caption 6, Carlos y Xavi Part 2 Ustedes y Vosotros
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Let's move on to our last common question when getting to know someone in Spanish.
Here are some possible ways to broach the topic of what people like to do when they aren't working.
¿qué te gusta hacer?
what do you like to do?
Caption 24, Cleer Entrevista a Lila
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¿Qué cosas te gusta hacer en tu tiempo libre?
What do you like to do in your free time?
Caption 15, El Aula Azul Los profesores de la escuela - Part 1
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Or, you could simply say: "¿Qué te gusta hacer en tu tiempo libre?" A good formula for answering what you like to do is to say (a mí) me gusta (I like) or (a mí) me encanta (I love) plus a verb in the infinitive. Let's see some examples:
Me gusta salir a rumbear...
I like to go out dancing...
Caption 15, Zoraida Lo que gusta hacer
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Pues, me gusta escuchar música, eh... pintar, y me gusta viajar mucho.
Well, I like to listen to music, um... paint, and I like to travel a lot.
Captions 25-26, Cleer Entrevista a Lila
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y me encanta ir a la playa con mis amigos.
and I love going to the beach with my friends.
Caption 39, Clara y Cristina Saludar
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We hope that this lesson has helped you learn some basic questions/answers for getting to know someone and telling them about yourself. Can you think of any other preliminary question you would like to learn to ask or answer in Spanish? Feel free to let us know with your suggestions and comments.
Have you ever found yourself in a foreign country and needing to do some banking other than just using an ATM? Here's a useful list of Spanish banking vocabulary.
The Spanish word for "bank" is banco. Occasionally, you may hear people using the expressions institución bancaria (banking institution) or entidad bancaria (banking entity) as well, but these two are more commonly used in written documents:
Las condiciones, mm... no se las acepta, eh... o no se las concede la entidad bancaria.
The conditions, mm... are not accepted, um... or are not granted by the banking entity.
Captions 56-57, 75 minutos - Gangas para ricos - Part 12
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Note that in Spanish el banco (the bank) is not the same as la banca (banking), a feminine noun you can hear or read quite often if you follow Spanish-speaking world news. Here’s an example:
El candidato a la presidencia de México afirmó que "la banca es uno de los mejores negocios del país".
The candidate for the presidency of Mexico affirmed that "banking is one of the best businesses in the country."
In Spanish the acronym ATM is rarely used. Instead, Spanish speakers use the expression cajero automático (automatic cashier), which is frequently shortened to cajero.
¡Oh! ¿Dónde está el cajero automático?
Oh! Where's the ATM?
Caption 36, Natalia de Ecuador - Palabras de uso básico
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As in English, the word cajero or cajera (cashier) is also used to refer to the person who handles the caja (cash register, literally "box"). This word can be used anywhere a financial transaction takes place—at stores, banks, entertainment venues, and even zoquitos clubs:
Hay días que la caja tiene más zoquitos que euros? -No.
Are there days when the register has more zoquitos than euros? -No.
Caption 70, 75 minutos - Gangas para ricos - Part 5
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Finalmente, debes ir a la caja y pagar lo que quieras comprar.
Finally, you should go to the cash register and pay for whatever you want to buy.
Captions 40-41, Raquel Haciendo compras
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In Spanish as in English, if a cash register is located behind a glass wall or a small window, you may call it ventanilla (window); hence the use of expressions such as pague en ventanilla (pay at the window) or pase a ventanilla 8 (go to window 8). In movie theaters, for example, you may hear people say ventanilla instead of taquilla (box office) quite often. Of course, sometimes a ventanilla is just a window:
¿Y quiere asiento de ventanilla o de pasillo?
And do you want a window or aisle seat?
Caption 36, Raquel - La Compra de un Billete de Tren
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The word depósito means "deposit," and depositar means "to make a deposit." Some useful expressions are: quiero hacer un depósito or quiero depositar (I want to make a deposit, I want to deposit). And the same formula applies for transferencia (transfer), giro (wire), and retiro (withdrawal).
The word for "currency" is moneda (which also means "coin"):
"Zoquitos" es una... una red de moneda local.
"Zoquitos" is a... a network of local currency.
Caption 23, 75 minutos - Gangas para ricos - Part 2
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The word divisa means "foreign currency." To ask for a currency conversion, you can say quiero hacer un cambio de divisas (I want to make a currency exchange). However, for a more colloquial touch, use something like quiero cambiar dólares a pesos (I want to exchange dollars for pesos).
To learn more about financial terms, try our series Cuentas claras.
Let's continue our lesson on llevar (to take, to carry) and traer (to bring).
We have said that the verb llevar (to bring) expresses that something or someone has (or contains) something:
¿Quién es el que ha hecho el arroz?
Who is the one who has made the rice?
¿Qué lleva el arroz, Manolo?
What does the rice have in it, Manolo?
Captions 21-22, 75 minutos - Del campo a la mesa - Part 12
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The previous example could have used the verb haber (to have): ¿Qué hay en el arroz, Manolo?, or the verb tener (to have, to be): ¿Qué tiene el arroz, Manolo?
This is not the only way llevar can be used instead of haber or tener. For example, it can replace tener when it's used to express the duration of time:
Yo ya llevo veintitrés años aquí ya.
I have already been here for twenty-three years now.
Caption 65, 75 minutos - Del campo a la mesa - Part 18
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Compare to: Yo ya he estado veintitrés años aquí and yo ya tengo veintitrés años (which mean exactly the same).
The construction llevar + gerund is also very popular in Spanish. It's used to indicate how much time you are 'carrying' under your belt (so to speak) performing a given action:
¿Cuánto tiempo llevan intentando vender el piso?
How long have you been trying to sell the apartment?
Caption 51, 75 minutos - Gangas para ricos - Part 12
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Compare to: ¿Cuánto tiempo han estado intentando vender el piso? and ¿Cuánto tiempo tienen intentando vender el piso? (which mean exactly the same).
El caso es que llevo esperando
The issue is that I have been waiting
un rato en la puerta de embarque B siete.
for a while at the boarding gate B seven.
Caption 37, Raquel - Avisos de Megafonía
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Equivalent expressions are: He estado esperando un rato, and Tengo esperando un rato.
Llevar is also used in the expression para llevar, which means "to go" or "takeout":
¿Y aquí, antes qué había?
And here, what was there before?
Aquí había unas comidas para llevar.
There were some takeout places here.
Captions 7-8, 75 minutos - Gangas para ricos - Part 10
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The expression llevarse con alguien means to get along with someone, either badly or well:
Mi amiga María se lleva muy bien con mi amigo Alberto.
My friend Maria gets along very well with my friend Alberto.
Caption 10, El Aula Azul - Mis Amigos
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No se lleva muy bien con Aldo, Lucio.
Lucio doesn't get along very well with Aldo.
Caption 7, Yago - 6 Mentiras
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Check out too: Me llevo mal con mi jefe | I get along badly with my boss.
In Mexico, the expression llevarse con alguien, means to treat someone in a overfamiliar, playful, usually disrespectful way. There is even a saying that goes, El que se lleva se aguanta. Literally, it means something like "One who plays the game must endure it," similar to the English expressions "If you play with fire, you will get burned," and "If you can't stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen."
Curiously, the verb traer (to bring) is used in a similar expression: traerla con alguien, or traerla contra alguien, which means to "hold a grudge," or "to have a certain animosity toward somebody:"
¿Por qué la trae con nosotros?
Why does he hold a grudge against us?
Caption 23, El Ausente - Acto 3
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The expression ¿Qué te traes? (What's up with you?) could be used in different situations with different purposes:
He notado tu tristeza estos días. ¿Qué te traes?
I've noticed your sadness these days. What's up with you?
¿Tú qué te traes? ¿Quieres pelea?
What's up with you? Do you want a fight?
¿Qué se traen ustedes dos? ¿ Qué están tramado?
What are you two up to? What are you planning?
The verb andar usually conveys meanings related to movement. Depending on the context, it can mean "to walk," "to work," or even "to ride." However, the verb andar is also used to talk about actions that are more often expressed with the verb estar (to be). Let's see how all this works.
First, andar means "to walk":
Si tienes unas piernas fuertes y ganas de andar,
If you have some strong legs and feel like walking,
te lo recomiendo mucho.
I highly recommend it to you.
Captions 102-103, Blanca - Cómo moverse en Barcelona
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It can also be used to express movement, in which case it's better translated as "to go" or even "to ride":
Y por dondequiera que ando, tu recuerdo va conmigo.
And wherever I go, your memory goes with me.
Captions 16-17, El Ausente - Acto 1
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Yo ando en bici y tú andas en motocicleta.
I ride a bike and you ride a motorcycle.
When you use it to refer to the functioning of a machine or any sort of gadget, andar means "to work":
La lavadora no anda. | El carro anda bien. | La bicicleta no anda.
The washing machine doesn't work. | The car works well. | The bicycle doesn't work.
Spanish speakers also use the verb andar instead of the verb estar (to be). For example:
Me ha gustado, pues, el arte del circo, entonces por eso ando aquí.
I have liked, well, the circus arts, so that's why I'm here.
Caption 4, Circo Infantil de Nicaragua - Learning the Trade
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¿Dónde anduviste hoy?
Where have you been today?
Caption 9, Yago - 1 La llegada
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(Notice andar conjugates as tener (to have). Don't say "andé"!)
It can be used to express the state of being of a person, or an affair:
Tío, ¿qué pasa, hombre, cómo andas?
Pal, what's up, guy? How are you?
Caption 65, Animales en familia - La operación de Yaki
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Es que, bueno, las cosas, bueno... no andan bien.
The thing is that, well, things, well... are not going well.
Caption 21, Muñeca Brava - 8 Trampas
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Ando cansado. | Ella anda un poco triste últimamente.
I am tired. / I am feeling tired. | She has been a bit sad lately.
It is common to use andar for a state of being you have been feeling for some time and to use it with adverbs such as “lately” or “these days.”
Andar can replace estar when used as an auxiliary verb too:
Ando buscando un dormitorio más. (could also be: Estoy buscando un dormitorio más)
I'm looking for one more bedroom.
Caption 18, 75 minutos - Gangas para ricos - Part 12
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To say estar buscando and andar buscando is really the same. You hear Spanish speakers using them interchangeably all the time. If anything, using andar just adds a sense of vagueness or indetermination to the action. That's why it's commonly used to make estimations, for example:
Y ahora andarán sobre los, eh...
And now they would be about, um...
tres mil ochocientos, cuatro mil.
three thousand eight hundred, four thousand.
Captions 46-47, 75 minutos - Gangas para ricos - Part 13
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Here is another example:
¿Cómo explicarte lo que ando pensando? (could also be estoy pensando)
How to explain to you what I'm thinking?
Caption 2, Los Tetas - Como Quisiera Decirte
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So, while estoy pensando means "I'm thinking (right now)," ando pensando means "I'm thinking (right now but also maybe before that)." Again, in this context, both verbs mean exactly the same.
¿Cómo andan con sus estudios de español? Drop us a line when you have the time at support@yabla.com. Thanks for reading!