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We have all been there – you’re in a new city, on the way to visit a famous landmark, or perhaps finding a restaurant that your friend recommended when suddenly, you realize that you are completely lost. Depending on where you are, knowing how to ask for directions in Spanish will make your life so much easier!
In this post, we’ll tell you the most common vocabulary and phrases to learn so that you’ll be able to understand (and even give) directions in Spanish.
Knowing even a couple of the following phrases will get you a long way if you find yourself lost in a Spanish-speaking country. These are the essential questions for asking directions in Spanish! You may also be interested in our full post on Spanish question words.
English | Spanish |
Excuse me, can you tell me where … is? | Disculpa, ¿puedes decirme donde está …? |
Excuse me, do you know where … is? | Disculpa, ¿sabes dónde queda …? |
Can you explain how to get to this place? | ¿Me explicas cómo llegar a este lugar? |
Where is …? | ¿Dónde está …? |
How can I get to …? | ¿Cómo puedo llegar a …? |
Where is there a …? | ¿Dónde hay un/una …? |
I don’t know where that place is. | No sé dónde está ese lugar. |
Now, let’s see a list of the Spanish words for common places that you may be visiting.
English | Spanish |
Hotel | Hotel |
Hostel | Posada |
Embassy | Embajada |
Airport | Aeropuerto |
Bank | Banco |
ATM | Cajero |
Hospital | Hospital |
Pharmacy | Farmacia |
School | Colegio, Escuela |
Movie theater | Cine, Teatro |
Library | Biblioteca |
Bakery | Pastelería |
Restaurant | Restaurante |
Mall | Centro comercial |
Park | Parque |
The square | La plaza |
Beauty salon | Salon de belleza |
Barber shop | Barbería |
Once you’ve asked the question, you’ll need to know the following vocabulary to understand where to go.
English | Spanish |
Left | Izquierda |
Right | Derecha |
Straight | Derecho |
To the left | A la izquierda |
To the right | A la derecha |
North | Norte |
South | Sur |
East | Este |
West | Oeste |
In front of | Al frente de |
In back of | Detrás de |
At the corner of | En la esquina de |
Next to | Al lado de |
In the middle of | En el medio de |
The next block | La siguente cuadra |
Count XX blocks and then … | Cuenta XX cuadras y luego … |
A map | Un mapa |
Here | Aquí |
There | Ahí |
Street | Calle |
Avenue | Avenida |
Highway | Autopista |
Alley | Callejón |
Neighborhood | Barrio, Urbanizacion |
And now, here are some of the most common verbs to know when asking or receiving directions in Spanish.
English | Spanish |
To follow | Seguir |
To go | Ir |
To walk | Caminar |
To take | Tomar / Coger |
To continue | Continuar |
To turn | Girar |
To turn to the | Cruzar a |
To cross | Cruzar |
To arrive | Llegar |
To need | Necesitar |
If you’re asking for an address or directions via text message, or if someone writes down where to go, here are the most common abbreviations to know to understand Spanish directions.
English | Spanish | Spanish abbreviation |
Avenue | Avenida | Avda. |
Street | Calle | C/ or Cl. |
Right | Derecha | Dcha. |
Left | Izquierda | Izq / Izqda |
Postal code | Código postal | C.P |
Street crossing | Cruce Peatonal | C/C |
Library | Bliblioteca | Bibl. |
Neighborhood | Vecindario | Bo. |
Bank | Banco | Bco. |
City | Ciudad | Cdad. |
No number (house or building) | Sin número | s.n or s/n |
Let’s finish with a couple of example scenarios to give you some practical context of how to ask for directions in Spanish and how to understand the responses. We’ll start with the English dialogues first, and then show the Spanish translations. Each dialogue includes someone asking the Question and another giving the Answers.
English:
Spanish:
English:
Spanish:
English:
Spanish:
English:
Spanish:
English:
Spanish:
English:
Spanish:
With what we’ve seen so far, you’ve got all the essentials for how to ask for directions in Spanish. You know the basic questions to ask, you know a bunch of the common landmarks and place names, you’ve seen the various Spanish direction words that you might hear in response, and you’ve read through a handful of example scenarios to bring them all together.
Now whenever you find yourself looking for something specific in a new city, don’t hesitate to give some of these a try with the locals as you ask directions in Spanish!
For additional lessons on specifics while traveling, we’ll leave you with a few of our other posts that go into greater detail. Happy travels!