100+ natural phrases to start, maintain, and end conversations in Spanish.
| Spanish | English | Context |
|---|---|---|
| ¿Qué tal? | How are you? (casual) | Very common greeting |
| ¿Cómo va todo? | How is everything going? | Friendly, casual |
| ¿Qué hay de nuevo? | What is new? | Among friends |
| ¿Qué me cuentas? | What can you tell me? | Very casual |
| Oye, ¿tienes un minuto? | Hey, do you have a minute? | Starting a topic |
| Perdona que te moleste... | Sorry to bother you... | Polite approach |
| ¿Sabes qué? | You know what? | Introducing news |
| Spanish | English | Use |
|---|---|---|
| ¿En serio? | Really? | Showing surprise |
| ¡No me digas! | You don't say! | Strong surprise |
| ¿Y qué pasó? | And what happened? | Asking for more |
| Cuéntame más | Tell me more | Showing interest |
| Eso me recuerda... | That reminds me... | Connecting topics |
| A propósito... | By the way... | Changing topic |
| Hablando de eso... | Speaking of that... | Related topic |
| Yo también / Yo tampoco | Me too / Me neither | Agreeing |
| Spanish | English | Tone |
|---|---|---|
| Yo creo que... | I think that... | Soft opinion |
| En mi opinión... | In my opinion... | Formal |
| Me parece que... | It seems to me... | Moderate |
| Estoy de acuerdo | I agree | Agreement |
| No estoy de acuerdo | I disagree | Polite disagreement |
| Depende | It depends | Neutral position |
| Tienes razón | You are right | Conceding |
| No lo veo así | I don't see it that way | Soft disagreement |
| Spanish | English | Emotion |
|---|---|---|
| ¡Qué bien! | How great! | Positive |
| ¡Qué pena! | What a shame! | Sympathy |
| ¡Qué suerte! | How lucky! | Envy/congratulations |
| ¡Qué horror! | How awful! | Shock |
| ¡Menos mal! | Thank goodness! | Relief |
| ¡No puede ser! | It can't be! | Disbelief |
| Me alegro mucho | I am very glad | Happiness |
| Lo siento mucho | I am very sorry | Sympathy |
| Spanish | English | Register |
|---|---|---|
| Bueno, me tengo que ir | Well, I have to go | Casual exit |
| Ha sido un placer | It has been a pleasure | Formal |
| Nos vemos pronto | See you soon | Friendly |
| Te llamo luego | I'll call you later | Promise to reconnect |
| Cuídate mucho | Take care | Warm goodbye |
| Dale, hablamos | OK, we'll talk | Very casual (LATAM) |
1. '¿Qué me cuentas?' means:
2. To show surprise, say:
3. 'Menos mal' expresses:
4. To politely disagree:
5. 'A propósito' means:
6. 'Me tengo que ir' means:
7. 'Yo tampoco' means:
8. To ask for more details:
9. '¡Qué pena!' expresses:
10. 'Tienes razón' means:
Native speakers use these filler phrases and reactions constantly. Learning them makes you sound natural even if your grammar is not perfect. They buy you time to think while keeping the conversation flowing.
Memorize 5-10 of these phrases and force yourself to use them in your next Spanish conversation. Reactions like ¿En serio? and ¡Qué bien! are easy to insert and dramatically improve how natural you sound.