Questions in Spanish to Ask
Twenty Spanish questions with English translations for travel and everyday conversation, ordered from first greeting to real conversation. Each one notes the register it belongs to, the answer to expect, and the grammar worth copying.
The questions
Open any question for the note
¿Cómo te llamas? (What's your name?)
Why ask it
Literally "what do you call yourself," which is why the verb is reflexive. Answer with "Me llamo" and your name; "Mi nombre es" is understood but sounds like a form being filled in.
¿Cómo estás? (How are you?)
Why ask it
This is the tú form, for people your age or younger and anyone you have been introduced to socially. Use ¿Cómo está usted? with older strangers, officials and shopkeepers until they switch first.
¿De dónde eres? (Where are you from?)
Why ask it
Expect a city rather than a country, and expect it back immediately. Have "Soy de" plus your town ready, because "Soy americano" invites a follow-up you may not be able to field yet.
¿Cuánto tiempo llevas aquí? (How long have you been here?)
Why ask it
Uses llevar rather than a past tense, which is the idiom worth memorising: llevo dos años aquí, I have been here two years. Trying to build this sentence with estar is the classic learner mistake.
¿Puedes hablar más despacio, por favor? (Could you speak more slowly, please?)
Why ask it
The single most useful sentence on this list, and asking it early sets the pace for everything after. Note despacio, not lento, which describes a thing rather than a manner of speaking.
¿Cómo se dice esto en español? (How do you say this in Spanish?)
Why ask it
Point at the object while you say it and the sentence works even if the rest of your grammar collapses. It also signals that you are learning, which usually makes people slow down without being asked again.
¿A qué te dedicas? (What do you do for work?)
Why ask it
More natural than ¿En qué trabajas? and softer, because it covers studying, caring and being between jobs. Expect the answer to start with "Soy" plus a bare noun, with no article: soy profesora.
¿Qué estudias? (What are you studying?)
Why ask it
The right question for anyone of student age, where asking about work can land awkwardly. Subjects mostly resemble their English names, so this is one exchange you will follow easily.
¿Tienes hermanos? (Do you have brothers or sisters?)
Why ask it
Hermanos covers both, so you do not have to guess. Answers arrive with numbers attached, which is a gentle way to practise hearing numbers at speed.
¿Tienes mascotas? (Do you have any pets?)
Why ask it
Low stakes, and people volunteer names, ages and photographs, which keeps the conversation going without any work from you. Mascota is the pet; masota is nothing, so watch the c.
¿Qué haces los fines de semana? (What do you do at weekends?)
Why ask it
The plural los fines de semana means weekends in general, and the present tense covers habits, so this asks about a routine rather than this Saturday. Drop the los and you are asking about one specific weekend.
¿Practicas algún deporte? (Do you play any sport?)
Why ask it
Spanish uses practicar or jugar a, never the bare English "play sport." A no often comes with a but, and that is where the conversation actually starts.
¿Qué música te gusta? (What music do you like?)
Why ask it
Gustar works backwards from English: the music pleases the person, so the reply is "me gusta" plus the thing. Expect names of artists you can then ask about, which buys you several minutes.
¿Cuál es tu comida favorita? (What's your favourite food?)
Why ask it
Cuál, not qué, when you are asking someone to pick from a set. Answers are usually regional dishes, so follow with ¿Cómo se hace? if you want the conversation to run for a while.
¿Qué me recomiendas para comer aquí? (What do you recommend eating here?)
Why ask it
The most useful question in a restaurant or a market, and it gets you treated as a guest rather than a tourist. The me is not optional: it makes the recommendation for you specifically.
¿Qué es lo que más te gusta de tu ciudad? (What do you like most about your city?)
Why ask it
Lo que más is a construction worth copying wholesale for other questions. People answer with places you can then ask directions to, which turns small talk into an afternoon plan.
¿Has viajado a otros países? (Have you travelled to other countries?)
Why ask it
Uses the present perfect, which is common in Spain and less so in much of Latin America, where ¿Viajaste? sounds more natural. Either will be understood everywhere.
¿Qué planes tienes para el verano? (What are your plans for the summer?)
Why ask it
Future plans in the plain present tense, which is how Spanish usually handles them: voy a plus an infinitive if you need to be explicit. Swap el verano for el fin de semana to make it immediate.
¿Cuál es tu película favorita? (What's your favourite film?)
Why ask it
Safe ground with anyone, and film titles are often translated, so expect a name you do not recognise even for something you have seen. Ask ¿De qué se trata? to hear a whole plot summary in easy present tense.
¿Qué querías ser cuando eras niño? (What did you want to be when you were a child?)
Why ask it
The one question here that produces a story rather than a fact. Say niña if you are asking a woman, and note that both verbs are imperfect because childhood is a stretch of time rather than an event.
Using These Questions in Real Conversation
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Tú, usted and where you are
- Tú for people your own age, anyone introduced to you socially, and children. Usted for older strangers, officials, doctors and anyone serving you, until they switch first.
- In Argentina and Uruguay you will hear vos instead of tú, with a different verb ending: ¿De dónde sos? Nobody will mind you using tú, and they will answer either way.
- In much of Colombia and Costa Rica usted is used even between friends. Copy whatever the other person uses on you rather than following a rule.
- In Spain, plural you is vosotros; almost everywhere in Latin America it is ustedes. If you learn only ustedes, you will be understood in both.
Be ready for the answer coming back
- Nearly every question here returns as ¿Y tú? within seconds. Prepare three sentences about yourself and you will survive the first five minutes of any conversation.
- Numbers, prices and dates are the hardest part of a real reply. Learn one to twenty and the word for hundred before you travel, and ask people to write numbers down.
- Keep three follow-ups ready: ¿Por qué?, ¿En serio?, and Cuéntame más. They do the work of a dozen questions and buy you time to listen.
- When you lose the thread, say Perdón, no te entendí rather than nodding. Nodding through an answer produces a longer answer.
Common pitfalls
Asking ¿Cuántos años tienes? too early
Age is a normal question among students and an odd one to put to an adult you have just met. Wait until they mention a birthday or a decade first.
Estoy embarazada
It means I am pregnant, not I am embarrassed. For embarrassed, use tengo vergüenza or me da vergüenza.
Reaching for family status straight away
¿Estás casado? and ¿Tienes hijos? are fine once a conversation is running and abrupt as an opener. The work, weekend and food questions above get you there more gently.
Translating word by word
Questions such as ¿Cuánto tiempo llevas aquí? and me gusta do not map onto English structure. Learn them as whole phrases and swap the endings, rather than assembling them from grammar rules mid-sentence.
Practising before you need them
- Say each question out loud until you can produce it without reading. The point of failure in real conversation is speed of retrieval, not knowledge.
- Learn the shape of the likely answer, not just the question. Knowing that ¿A qué te dedicas? returns "Soy" plus a job makes the reply audible rather than a blur.
- Record yourself asking five of them and compare with any recording of a native speaker. Question intonation in Spanish rises less at the end than in English.
- Pick three questions to use on one day. A small set you can deploy quickly beats twenty you have to look up.