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March 2, 2020 by Lindsay del Valle Spanish Vocabulary 0 comments

100+ Spanish Conversation Starters for Casual and Formal Occasions

Do you dream of casually striking up a conversation in Spanish?

The thought of doing so is both thrilling and terrifying—will the person you’re talking to understand you? Will the Spanish conversation go smoothly or be completely awkward?

The best way to overcome any hesitancy in speaking Spanish with new people is to prepare yourself well.

With these 100+ casual and formal Spanish conversation starters, you have the ultimate cliff notes to express yourself and learn about your friends! Each section is ordered by the type of situation you may find yourself in, and all of the questions are formed using the informal tú.

If you need a refresher on how to switch them for the formal usted, read up on Spanish pronouns. 

Let’s start talking!

When You Meet a Person for the First Time

  • Hola, ¿cómo estás? – Hello, how are you?
  • Hola, soy Rachel. ¿Cómo te llamas? – Hello, I’m Rachel. What’s your name? 
  • Hola, no creo que nos hayamos conocido. Soy Martín. – Hello, I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Martín.
  • ¿Sabes qué hora es? – Do you know what time it is?
  • ¿De dónde eres? – Where are you from?
  • ¿Eres de por aquí? – Are you from around here?
  • ¿A qué te dedicas? – What do you do for a living?
  • ¿En qué trabajas? – What’s your job?
  • ¿Estudias o trabajas? – Do you study or work?
  • ¿Qué te trae por aquí? – What brings you here?
  • ¿Vienes a menudo por aquí? – Do you come here often?
  • ¿Cuánto tiempo llevas aquí? – How long have you been here?
  • ¿A qué hora llegaste? – What time did you arrive? 
  • ¿A quién conoces aquí? – Who do you know here?
  • ¿Con quién estás aquí? – Who are you here with?
spanish conversation starters

When You Want to Get to Know a New Friend

  • ¿Puedo hacerte una pregunta? – Can I ask you a question?
  • ¿Tienes mascotas? – Do you have any pets?
  • ¿Qué raza es tu perro/gato? – What breed is your dog/cat?
  • ¿Tienes tatuajes? – Do you have any tattoos?
  • ¿Tienes novia o novio? – Do you have a girlfriend or boyfriend?
  • ¿Haces algún deporte? – Do you play any sports?
  • ¿Eres religioso? – Are you religious?
  • ¿Sabes conducir? – Do you know how to drive?
  • ¿Estás interesado en la política? – Are you interested in politics?
  • ¿Te gusta el lugar dónde vives? – Do you like where you live?
  • ¿Vas al gimnasio o participas en otras actividades para hacer ejercicio? – Do you go to the gym or do any other activities for exercise?

When You Haven’t Seen a Friend in a While

  • ¡Hola amigo/amiga! ¿Cómo has estado? – Hi friend, how have you been?
  • ¡Tanto tiempo sin saber de tí! – I haven’t heard from you in a while! (not literal translation)
  • ¡Hacía tiempo que no te veía! – I haven’t seen you in a while! (not literal translation)
  • ¿Dónde estabas? – Where have you been?
  • ¿Qué has estado haciendo? – What have you been up to? 
  • ¿Cómo está tu familia? – How’s your family?
  • ¿Cómo están tus hijos? – How are your kids doing?
  • ¿Qué tal están tus padres? – How are your parents?

When You Have a Friend in Common

  • ¿Has escuchado de Sebastián? – Have you heard from Sebastian?
  • ¿Has visto a Rosa últimamente? – Have you seen Rosa lately?
  • ¿Escuchaste lo que pasó con Miguel? – Did you hear about what happened to Miguel?
  • ¿Has visto lo que le pasó a Alberto? – Did you see what happened to Alberto?
  • ¿Cómo conoces a José? – How do you know José?
  • Ayer vi a Mariana. – Yesterday I saw Mariana.
spanish conversation starters

When You Want to Know All Their Favorite Things

  • ¿Cuál es tu comida favorita? – What’s your favorite food?
  • ¿Cuál es tu restaurante favorito? – What’s your favorite restaurant?
  • ¿Cuál es tu película favorita? – What’s your favorite movie?
  • ¿Cuál es tu libro favorito? – What’s your favorite book?
  • ¿Cuál es tu canción favorita? – What’s your favorite song?
  • ¿Cuál es tu color favorito? – What’s your favorite color?
  • ¿Cuál es tu serie favorita en Netflix? – What’s your favorite Netflix show?
  • ¿Cuál es tu día festivo favorito? – What’s your favorite holiday?
  • ¿Te gusta la navidad? – Do you like Christmas?
  • ¿Te gusta bailar? – Do you like to dance?
  • ¿Qué te gusta hacer? – What do you like to do?
  • ¿Qué deportes te gusta ver? – Which sports do you like to watch?

When You Want to Know What They’re Doing or What They Did

  • ¿Qué tienes planeado para el resto del día? – What are you planning for the rest of the day?
  • ¿Qué hiciste el fin de semana pasado? – What did you do last weekend?
  • ¿Qué vas a hacer después? – What are you going to do after?
  • ¿Tienes planes para este fin de semana? – Do you have plans for this weekend?
  • ¿Has visto alguna película (peli) últimamente? – Have you seen any movies lately?
  • ¿Qué vas a hacer este feriado? – What are you going to do for the holiday?

When You Want to Know Their Thoughts and Opinions

  • ¿Qué piensas tú sobre…? – What do you think about…?
  • ¿Viste lo que ha pasado en la ciudad de México? – Did you see what’s been happening in Mexico City?
  • En tu opinión, ¿cuál es la solución a los problemas del medio ambiente? – In your opinion, what’s the solution to the environmental problems?
  • Si podrías vivir en cualquier lugar, ¿dónde querrías vivir? – If you could live anywhere, where would you like to live?
  • ¿Qué es la cosa más extraña que has visto en tu vida? – What is the weirdest thing you’ve seen in your life?

When You Want to Learn About Their Home and Family

  • ¿Tienes hermanos? – Do you have any siblings?
  • ¿Tienes hijos? – Do you have children?
  • ¿Qué edad tienen? – How old are they?
  • ¿A qué se dedican tus padres? – What do your parents do for a living?
  • ¿Dónde creciste? – Where did you grow up?
  • ¿Ves a tus abuelos a menudo? – Do you see your grandparents often?
  • ¿Eres cercano/a a tus padres? – Are you close with your parents?
  • ¿Cómo es tu pueblo natal? – What’s your hometown like?
spanish conversation starters

When You Meet While Traveling

  • ¿Te gusta viajar mucho? – Do you like to travel a lot?
  • ¿Dónde sueles ir de vacaciones? – Where do you usually go for holiday?
  • ¿Cuál es el lugar favorito en el que has estado? – What’s your favourite place you’ve been to? 
  • ¿En qué países has estado? – Which countries have you been to?
  • ¿En cuántos países has estado? – How many countries have you been to?
  • ¿Has estado en Paris? – Have you been to Paris?
  • ¿Querrías ir a Praga? – Would you like to go to Prague?
  • ¿Para qué vas a Bogotá? – For what reason are you going to Bogotá?
  • ¿Hablas otros idiomas? – Do you speak any other languages?
  • ¿Cómo aprendiste inglés? – How did you learn English?
  • ¿Cuándo empezaste a aprender español? – When did you start learning Spanish?
  • ¿A dónde fuiste la ultima vez de vacaciones? – Where was the last place you went on holiday?

When You Want to Talk About (or at) Work

  • ¿Qué te hizo convertirte en abogado/a? – Why did you become a lawyer?
  • ¿Te gusta tu trabajo? – Do you like your job?
  • ¿Qué es lo que más te gusta de tu trabajo? – What do you like the most about your job?
  • ¿Qué es la cosa más difícil de tu trabajo? – What’s the most difficult thing about your job?
  • ¿Alguna vez te han despedido de tu trabajo? – Have you ever been fired from a job?
  • ¿Puedes ayudarme con algo? – Can you help me with something?
  • ¿A qué hora es la reunión de hoy? – What time is today’s meeting?
  • ¿Necesitas ayuda con este proyecto? – Do you need help with this project?

When You Want to Talk About School and Learning

  • ¿Qué estudias? – What do you study/What’s your major?
  • ¿Cuál fue el último libro que leíste? – What was the last book you read?
  • ¿Fuiste a la universidad? – Did you go to university?
  • ¿A dónde fuiste al colegio? – Where did you go to school?
  • ¿Trabajas como voluntario/a? – Do you work as a volunteer?
  • ¿Qué clases llevas ahora? – How many classes are you taking?
  • ¿Cuál es tu clase favorita? – What is your favorite class?
  • ¿Te llevas bien con tus maestros? – Do you get along well with your teachers?
  • ¿Te dejan muchas tareas? – Do they give a lot of homework?
  • ¿Haces alguna actividad extra curricular? – Do you do any extracurricular activity?
  • ¿Cómo te va con tus notas? – How are your grades?
  • ¿Cuándo sales de vacaciones? – When do you go on break?

Talk It Out With Friends or Teachers

Now you have a massive list of questions and Spanish conversation starters to choose from. Where will you begin? You may feel confident enough to go out and start talking right away. If you would like to practice these with a native Spanish-speaking teacher from Guatemala, sign up for a free class and become a pro!

free spanish class online trial

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Lindsay del Valle
Lindsay del Valle
Director of Content at Homeschool Spanish Academy
Lover of words and a foreign language fanatic, I've studied French and Spanish, earned a BA degree, TEFL certificate, and have 10+ years of teaching experience. I blissfully share Spanish-learning tips, best-idea-ever travel advice, and at-a-glance cultural guides. When you can't find me writing spiritedly from my home office in Antigua, Guatemala, I'm probably outside playing games and exploring nature with my 3 bilingual kids.
Lindsay del Valle
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