Spanish

Polite Basics

Learn the small phrases that make everyday interactions easier and more natural.

4 min

The idea

A few polite phrases do a lot of work.

In shops, cafés, transport and daily life, short expressions such as perdonaPronunciation: pehr-DOH-nah and gracias keep interactions smooth.

Core polite phrases

01Por favorpor fah-BOR.Please.02Gracias.Thank you.03Muchas graciasMOO-chahs GRAH-thyahs.Thank you very much.04De nada.You’re welcome.

Perdona and perdone both mean “excuse me,” but the tone differs.

Informal

Perdona.Use with someone you would address as tú.

Polite or formal

Perdone.Useful with staff, strangers or older people.

When you did not understand

01Perdona, no entiendonoh en-TYEN-doh.Sorry, I don’t understand.02¿Puedes repetir?Can you repeat?03Más despaciomahs des-PAH-thyoh, por favor.More slowly, please.04¿Qué significa…?What does … mean?

Very useful in Spain

Vale means “okay.”

You will hear vale constantly in Spain. It can mean okay, agreed, understood or sounds good.

Tiny responses that sound natural

01Sí.Yes.02No.No.03Vale.Okay.04Claro.Of course.05No pasa nada.No problem.

Remember this

Perdona, gracias, vale and no entiendo are survival Spanish.

You can keep an interaction moving even when your Spanish is still limited.

Lesson complete

Reviewed 2026-09-07

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