85 Phrases for Small Talk in Spanish

In the realm of social interactions, few skills are as essential as the ability to engage in casual conversations. The art of ‘small talk’ is a vital part of everyday communication in Spanish-speaking countries.

With the questions and phrases below, from friendly greetings to commentary about the weather, you’ll be able to strike up a conversation with anyone—and get some great practice speaking Spanish.

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

Greetings in Spanish

The least complicated way to strike up some small talk is to say hello! Here are a few ways to greet someone in Spanish:

(Throughout the post, we’ll put the formal usted version first and then the informal tú version.)

Introductions in Spanish

If you’re meeting someone for the first time, you’ll need to know these basics: 

Small Talk About the Weather

Chatting about the weather is a great ice-breaker! Here are some phrases to help you out:

Getting to Know Someone

Once you’ve covered the basics, you can start getting to know someone better with some questions about their life and family:

Small Talk About Hobbies and Interests 

Most people love talking about the things that make us individuals—like hobbies, food and shopping!

Here are some phrases you can use to talk about hobbies and interests:

Small Talk About Sports

Sports are a universal topic that you can use to connect with others. Here are some questions and phrases to chat about your favorite sports and teams:

Small Talk About Food

Who doesn’t like talking about food? Here are some ways to make small talk about food, restaurants and eating: 

Small Talk About Shopping

Shopping is always an adventure, and it’s a great bonding topic when you’re making small talk. Here are some phrases for chatting about your latest (or future) purchases:

Asking About Travels and Plans 

If you’re traveling the world, you’re bound to meet a plethora of new people. It’s great to have some questions you can ask them about their travels and plans:

Saying Goodbye in Spanish

Close out the conversation with a wave and a smile—and revel in your small talk success!

How to Practice Your Small Talk Skills

Chatting is a fun part of any language program. And there are plenty of great ways you can practice while meeting new people: 

• Look for local events where others who either speak or are studying Spanish hang out. Museums, foreign films and even Spanish cooking classes at a local college are good starting points for finding friends to chat with.
• Join a Spanish club—they’re prime spots for socializing! Most Spanish clubs rely heavily on social events to keep membership up. Search the web or ask at the nearest library for one near you, then join in the fun!
• Find a language partner to chat with in person or online. You can use Tandem to find a partner. Just sign up, log in and choose someone near or far to share your small talk with.
• Use a learning program. A program like FluentU is a great way to see small talk in use through videos by native Spanish videos.

  FluentU takes authentic videos—like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks—and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.

  You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app or Android app.

  P.S. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month)

   

  Try FluentU for FREE!

No Spanish learning program is complete without some language for engaging in casual small talk.

It’s a crucial part of achieving fluency because it allows you to meet new people and start chatting with them. 

Once you feel comfortable using these questions and phrases, you’ll be able to approach and talk to anyone!

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

And One More Thing…

If you've made it this far that means you probably enjoy learning Spanish with engaging material and will then love FluentU.

Other sites use scripted content. FluentU uses a natural approach that helps you ease into the Spanish language and culture over time. You’ll learn Spanish as it’s actually spoken by real people.

FluentU has a wide variety of videos, as you can see here:

FluentU brings native videos within reach with interactive transcripts. You can tap on any word to look it up instantly. Every definition has examples that have been written to help you understand how the word is used. If you see an interesting word you don’t know, you can add it to a vocab list.

Review a complete interactive transcript under the Dialogue tab, and find words and phrases listed under Vocab.

Learn all the vocabulary in any video with FluentU’s robust learning engine. Swipe left or right to see more examples of the word you’re on.

The best part is that FluentU keeps track of the vocabulary that you’re learning, and gives you extra practice with difficult words. It'll even remind you when it’s time to review what you’ve learned. Every learner has a truly personalized experience, even if they’re learning with the same video.

Start using the FluentU website on your computer or tablet or, better yet, download the FluentU app from the iTunes or Google Play store. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)