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It is always useful, and rewarding to learn some basic Spanish before arriving in Mexico. The locals love to hear the tourists speaking in their language, and are always extremely helpful to those who make a small effort to learn the basics before their arrival in the area. Please do not be afraid to practice with the local people, they are extremely warm, friendly and helpful.

If you would like to take Spanish classes during your stay in Mexico we would like to recommend a local teacher, Mrs Diana Gutierrez who runs La Terraza restaurant. Diana is a wonderful person and extremely friendly, she is a fully certified Spanish and English teacher at two schools in the area.

Her classes take place on the terrace of her restaurant, and range from the very beginner, up to an advanced level. The hour long classes are very relaxed and can be done on a one-to-one basis or to groups. Days and times of the classes are flexible to suit your requirements where possible.

If you would like to take part in one of her classes please contact us for further information, or drop by the restaurant at any time and ask for Diana personally.

If you feel that classes aren't really for you, or you don't have time to take classes during your stay, we would like to recommend www.how-to-speak.com.

This site explains some very basic (but important) rules about the Spanish language which could add 785 words to your vocabulary in one fell swoop! By signing up to their newsletter, you will also receive 4 chapters from their book, and 3 audio lessons completely free.

LEARN SPANISH WITH SMALL TOWN ADVENTURES MEXICO
To get you started, Small Town Adventures Mexico has compiled a list of some very basic Spanish words and phrases (including the pronunciations) that you are likely to hear in everyday use. We hope this helps to get you started speaking the Spanish language, and make your stay in the area that little bit more enjoyable.

BASIC PRONUNCIATION RULES
Anytime you see the letter Aa in a word, it is always pronounced as in (a)pple.

Anytime you see the letter Ee in a word, it is always pronounced as in (e)gg.

Anytime you see the letter Ii in a word, it is always pronounced like the capital E in english t(ea)m.

Anytime you see the letter Oo in a word, it is always pronounced as in (o)range.

Anytime you see the letter Uu in a word, it is always pronounced as in b(oo)k.

Anytime you see the letter Jj in a word, it is always pronounced as in (h)ear.

Anytime you see the letter Hh in a word, it is never pronounced. Hombre = Ombre.

Anytime you see a double l ll in a word, it is always pronounced as in (y)ear.

Anytime you see the letter ñ in a word, imagine it has a y directly after it. i.e. Baño = Ban-yo

We hope these simple tips help you to follow the pronunciation table in the list of words below. This should set you on your way to learning, enjoying and speaking Español!
ENGLISH SPANISH PRONUNCIATIONS
GREETINGS SALUDOS SAL-OO-DOS
Hello
Hola
 o-la
Goodbye
Adios
 a-dee-os
Please
Por Favor
pour fa-vor
Thank you
Gracias
 gra-see-as
How are you?
Como estas?
 co-mo es-tas
Good morning
Buenos dias
bwen-os dee-as
Good afternoon
Buenas tardes
bwen-as tar-des
Good evening
Buenas noches
bwen-as no-chess
See you later
Hasta luego
asta lwego
Nice to meet you Mucho gusto moo-cho goo-sto
NUMBERS NUMEROS NOO-MER-OS
One
Uno/Una
 oono/oona
Two
Dos
 dos
Three
Tres
 tres
Four
Cuatro
 cwat-ro
Five
Cinco
 seen-co
Six
Seis
 says
Seven
Siete
 see-e-te
Eight
Ocho
 och-o
Nine
Nueve
 nwe-ve
Ten
Diez
 dee-es
Twenty
Veinte
 bayn-te
Fifty
Cincuenta
 seen-qwen-ta
One hundred
Cien
 see-en
Five hundred
Quinientos
 kin-ee-ent-os
DIRECTIONS DIRECCIONES DEE-REC-SEE-ON-ES
Left
Izquierda
 ees-key-er-da
Right
Derecha
 de-re-cha
Straight ahead
Derecho
 de-re-cho
In front of..... En frente de en fren-te de
Behind the..... Atras de a-tras de
QUESTIONS PREGUNTAS PRE-GOON-TAS
Why?
Por que?
 pour ke
Where is it?
Donde esta?
 don-de es-ta
Who Quien key-en
What Que ke
How Como co-mo
How much is it? Cuanto cuesta? cwan-to cwes-ta
How many? Cuantos? cwan-tos
IMPORTANT WORDS PALABRAS IMPORTANTES PALAB-RAS EEM-PORTANT-ES
The
 El or La (depending on article) El / La
And
 Y (Like capital 'E' in english)
Of
 De de
The Toilet/Bathroom El Baño el ban-yo
With Con con
Without Sin seen
Also/Too Tambien tam-bee-en
Me Too Yo tambien yo tam-bee-en
OPPOSITES OPUESTOS O-PWES-TOS
Yes Si see
No No no
Cold Frio free-o
Hot Caliente cal-ee-en-te
A lot Mucho moo-cho
A little Un poco oon po-co
Push Empuje em-poo-hey
Pull Jale ha-ley
Men, Gentlemen Hombres, Caballeros om-bres, ca-ba-year-os
Women, Ladies Mujeres, Damas moo-her-es, dam-as
Good Bueno bwe-no
Bad Malo ma-lo
PHRASES FRASES FRA-SES
There is - There are Hay eye
Is there? - Are there? Hay? eye
It's OK - It's fine Esta bien es-ta bee-en
Hello, how are you?
Hola, como estas?
O-la co-mo es-tas?
Fine thanks, and you?
Bien gracias y tu?
bee-en grass-ee-as E too?
I'm really well thank you
Muy bien gracias
 moo-E bee-en grass-ee-as
More or less Mas o menos mas o men-os
Could I have the bill please?
La cuenta por favor?
la cwen-ta pour fav-or
No problem
De nada
de nah-da
Would you like something else?
Quieres algo mas?
key-er-es al-go mas?
One beer please
Una cerveza por favor
oo-na ser-vay-za pour fa-vor
What time is it, please?
Que hora son, por favor?
ke ora son, pour fa-vor?

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