Pick a place on the right to see the route and hear the directions a local would give. Red names take la, dark ones take el.
¿Dónde está…? · Where is…?
¿Dóndewhereestáisla farmacia?the pharmacy
DON-deh es-TAH lah far-MAH-thyah · “Where is the pharmacy?”
↑
Sigacontinuetodo recto.straight-on
SEE-gah TOH-doh RREK-toh · “Go straight on.”
↑
Crucecrossla calle.the street
KROO-theh lah KAH-yeh · “Cross the street.”
→
Estáit-isa la derecha.on the right
es-TAH ah lah deh-REH-chah · “It’s on the right.”
Short answer: ask for a place you know exists with ¿Dónde está…? (¿Dónde está la estación?), and ask whether one exists at all with ¿Hay…? (¿Hay una farmacia por aquí?). The answer comes as polite commands: siga (keep going), gire (turn), cruce (cross). Learn every place with its el or la.
Places
Signs you will see in a Spanish street
Spanish towns label places on simple street signs. Tap a sign to hear it. El centro is the town centre; el barrio is your neighbourhood.
Asking the way
¿Dónde está? or ¿Hay?
Spanish has two ways to ask for a place, and the choice depends on one thing: do you already know the place is there? Está comes from estar, the verb “to be” used for location; hay means “there is” or “is there”. An article is the little word before a noun: el / la mean “the”, un / una mean “a”.
Do you know the place is there?
Yes: the station, the museum
¿Dónde está + el / la …?“Where is the …?” Use it for one specific place: the station, the cathedral, your hotel.
No: any pharmacy will do
¿Hay + un / una … por aquí?“Is there a … around here?” Use it when you just need one, whichever is nearest.
Try it: pick a place, see both questions
You know it is there
¿Dóndewhereestáislathefarmacia?pharmacy
DON-deh es-TAH lah far-MAH-thyah · “Where is the pharmacy?”Why:farmacia is feminine, so “the” is la.
You need any one
¿Hayis-thereunaafarmaciapharmacypor aquí?around here
eye OO-nah far-MAH-thyah por ah-KEE · “Is there a pharmacy around here?”Why:la becomes una: hay never takes el or la.
What you will hear back
Estáit-isaatcincofiveminutos.minutes
es-TAH ah THEEN-koh mee-NOO-tohs · “It’s five minutes away.”Distance uses a: a cinco minutos, a dos kilómetros.
Estáit-isenfrenteoppositedelof-thebanco.bank
es-TAH en-FREN-teh del BAN-koh · “It’s opposite the bank.”De + el always joins to make del.
Estáit-isal ladonextdetola plaza.the square
es-TAH al LAH-doh deh lah PLAH-thah · “It’s next to the square.”Al is a + el joined.
Nonohaythere-isningunanonepor aquí.around here
noh eye neen-GOO-nah por ah-KEE · “There isn’t one around here.”Ninguna (feminine) or ninguno (masculine) means “not a single one”.
Dialogue
A tourist asks a local
A stranger always gets usted, the polite “you”, so the directions are polite commands (forms that tell someone to do something): siga, gire. A friend would hear sigue, gira. More in Spanish commands.
Turista
Perdone,excuse-me¿hayis-thereun cajeroa cash-machinepor aquí?around here
per-DOH-neh, eye oon kah-HEH-roh por ah-KEE · “Excuse me, is there a cash machine around here?”Perdone is the polite usted way to stop a stranger.
Vecina
Sí,yeseninla plaza.the square
see, en lah PLAH-thah · “Yes, in the square.”
Turista
¿Estáis-itlejos?far
es-TAH LEH-hohs · “Is it far?”Lejos = far; cerca = near.
Vecina
No,noestáit-isaatdos minutos.two minutes
noh, es-TAH ah dos mee-NOO-tohs · “No, it’s two minutes away.”
Vecina
Sigacontinuerectostraightyandgireturna la izquierda.to the left
SEE-gah RREK-toh ee HEE-reh ah lah ith-KYEHR-dah · “Go straight on and turn left.”Siga and gire are usted commands.
Turista
Muchasmanygracias.thanks
MOO-chahs GRAH-thyahs · “Thank you very much.”
Transport
Getting around: en metro, but a pie
Say how you travel with en + the vehicle, with no article: voy en metro, “I go by underground”. Walking is the one exception: a pie, “on foot”.