Spanish for culture and traditions
Most of what goes wrong for a visitor is not grammar. It is arriving at eight for dinner, leaving the table after twenty minutes, or shaking hands when the other person was going in for two kisses. This page is the social machinery, with the words that go with it.
Meeting people
Greetings carry rules about closeness. Dos besos is for friends and introductions in Spain, a handshake for business, and podemos tutearnos is how someone invites you to drop the formal usted.
The shape of the day
Spain has more names for parts of the day because it has more parts: the aperitivo before lunch, the sobremesa after it, the merienda in the afternoon, dinner at ten. Learn the names and the timetable explains itself.
Festivals and the calendar
Festivals are named, not described, and the names are worth knowing as words: la feria, la Semana Santa, los Reyes Magos. Mi santo is a name day, the day of the saint you are named after, still celebrated by some families.
Being a good guest
A guest's Spanish is short and warm: ¿llevo algo?, shall I bring something, and ¡qué rico!, how tasty. Gracias por invitarme thanks someone for the invitation itself, which is what Spanish speakers say on leaving.
Three things worth knowing
Right cheek first, then left, and they are cheek to cheek rather than lip to skin. Women greet nearly everyone this way. Two men usually shake hands unless they are family or close friends. If you are not sure, hold still for half a second and follow what the other person starts: nobody minds the hesitation, and everybody notices a dodge.
La sobremesa can run longer than the meal, and it is the part where the conversation actually happens. Standing up to leave as the plates go is the single most common way a visitor seems cold. If you have to go, say tengo que irme, lo siento, and give it a minute.
Reyes Magos, Semana Santa processions and la sobremesa vary enormously across Latin America, and some of them are barely a thing. This page leans Spanish. Ask rather than assume: ¿aquí cómo se hace? is a question people enjoy answering.
Most of what goes wrong on a first trip to Spain is not grammar. It is arriving at eight for dinner, or a handshake when they went in for two kisses.
Two kisses, dinner at ten, and the sobremesa →The 90 day course builds these phrases into real conversation, one short lesson a day. Days 1 to 7 need no account.
Open Day 3 →