Where Spanish is an official language
Spanish is official in Spain, in Equatorial Guinea in Africa, and in 18 countries of the Americas. It is also spoken by tens of millions of people in the United States, and Puerto Rico, a US territory, uses it as an official language.
The dot shows each country’s accent region, using the map colours above. Country names are given in Spanish first; note that they keep their accents: México, Perú, Panamá.
Five accent regions
Choose a region to see its signature features and hear an example sentence. The audio uses your device’s voice for that region where one is available.
The sound differences behind these accents, such as the Spain “th” and the soft Caribbean s, are taught step by step in Spanish pronunciation.
Four ways to say “you”
The biggest grammar difference between regions is the word for “you”. Every country uses usted for polite address. For friends, most use tú; Argentina, Uruguay and much of Central America use vos, which has its own verb forms. For a group, only Spain separates friendly vosotros from polite ustedes. The verb forms, pronouns and sounds behind each variety are set out in regional Spanish.
| Spain | Mexico, Colombia, Peru… | Argentina, Uruguay | |
|---|---|---|---|
| One friend | tú tienes | tú tienes | vos tenés |
| One person, politely | usted tiene | usted tiene | usted tiene |
| A group of friends | vosotros tenéis | ustedes tienen | ustedes tienen |
| A group, politely | ustedes tienen | ustedes tienen | ustedes tienen |
Learn tú and usted first; they are understood everywhere. The standard forms are in the present tense lesson.
Everyday words that change
Most vocabulary is shared. A few hundred everyday words differ, the way British “flat” is American “apartment”. These are the ones a traveller meets first.
| English | Spain | Mexico | Argentina | Caribbean |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| car | el coche | el carro | el auto | el carro |
| bus | el autobús | el camión | el colectivo | la guagua |
| mobile phone | el móvil | el celular | el celular | el celular |
| computer | el ordenador | la computadora | la computadora | la computadora |
| to drive | conducir | manejar | manejar | manejar |
| flat, apartment | el piso | el departamento | el departamento | el apartamento |
| glasses | las gafas | los lentes | los anteojos | los espejuelos |
| money (informal) | la pasta | la lana | la guita | los chavos |
Food words vary most of all; the food and drink lesson has its own table, and informal expressions are compared in Spanish idioms.
Which Spanish should you learn?
All varieties are correct, and the core is identical. Choose a model by where you will use Spanish most, then learn to recognise the others. Evolang teaches a neutral standard and marks regional forms wherever they differ.