Madrid City Guide - Language

As soon as a Spaniard opens his/her mouth, everyone knows where they come from. The Madrileños speak Castellano (Castilian Spanish), established as the national language since the Nova Planta decrees of 1716. Although they pronounce all vowels and consonants (as opposed to the elliptic Andalusian Spanish), Madrileños frequently waive standard grammar rules, in a phenomenon known as Laismo (where personal pronoun la replaces le) or Leismo (where le replaces la).

The second decisive factor in determining accent is social class. In Madrid, the upper classes open their mouths extra wide to speak, as though they have a potato in their mouth – patata en la boca. The lower social classes have their own accent. One of its characteristics is the ‘rh’ sound replacing the ‘s’ sound – hence es que (because) becomes erh que.

Madrileños are very fond (in a patronising kind of way) of the accent from Andalusia but are less well-disposed towards the accent and language – Català (Catalan) – of their arch- rivals in Barcelona.

Phrases

Yes - Sí
No - No
Hello - Hola
Goodbye - Adios
Please - Por favor
Thank you - Gracias
My name is ... - Me llamo ...
How are you? - Qué tal estás?
I’m very well - Estoy muy bien
I feel ill - Me siento mal
How much does it cost? - Cuantó es?
Do you speak English? - Habla inglés?
I don’t understand - No entiendo
Where is ...? - Dónde está ...?
Entrance - Entrada
Exit - Salida
Danger - Peligro
Open - Abierto
Closed - Cerrado
Toilets - Servicios
Doctor - Médico
Hotel - Hotel
Restaurant - Restaurante
Beer - Cerveza
Wine - Vino
Menu - Carta
Today - Hoy
Tomorrow - Mañana
Monday - Lunes
Tuesday - Martes
Wednesday - Miércoles
Thursday - Jueves
Friday - Viernes
Saturday - Sábado
Sunday - Domingo
One - Un / uno / una
Two - Dos / dues
Three - Tres
Four - Cuatro
Five - Cinco
Six - Seis
Seven - Siete
Eight - Ocho
Nine - Nieve
Ten - Diez
Twenty - Veinte
Thirty - Treinta
Forty - Cuarenta
Fifty - Cincuenta
Sixty - Sesenta
Seventy - Setenta
Eighty - Ochenta
Ninety - Noventa
One Hundred - Cien
One Thousand - Mil

View Our Airport Guides for Madrid:

     Madrid Barajas Airport