Calling the repairman in Spanish
Calling a repairman to the apartment in Spanish. 7 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Buenos días. En mi piso no hay agua caliente.» — Good morning. There is no hot water in my apartment.; «¿Desde cuándo, más o menos?» — Since about what time? Every line can be played right on the page. The conversation is predictable: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: calling a repairman to the apartment. The conversation is short and predictable — which is exactly what makes it good for a first try: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
- Buenos días. En mi piso no hay agua caliente.Good morning. There is no hot water in my apartment.
- ¿Desde cuándo, más o menos?Since about what time?
- Desde ayer. Y el grifo del baño gotea.Since yesterday. And the bathroom faucet is dripping.
- Entiendo. ¿Cuál es su dirección?I see. What is your address?
- Calle Mayor, tercera planta. ¿Cuándo puede venir?Calle Mayor, third floor. When will you come?
- Mañana por la tarde. Espere en casa, por favor.Tomorrow afternoon. Please wait at home.
- Perfecto. Muchas gracias.Perfect. Thank you very much.
Lines one by one
| Spanish | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Buenos días. En mi piso no hay agua caliente. | — | Good morning. There is no hot water in my apartment. |
| ¿Desde cuándo, más o menos? | — | Since about what time? |
| Desde ayer. Y el grifo del baño gotea. | — | Since yesterday. And the bathroom faucet is dripping. |
| Entiendo. ¿Cuál es su dirección? | — | I see. What is your address? |
| Calle Mayor, tercera planta. ¿Cuándo puede venir? | — | Calle Mayor, third floor. When will you come? |
| Mañana por la tarde. Espere en casa, por favor. | — | Tomorrow afternoon. Please wait at home. |
| Perfecto. Muchas gracias. | — | Perfect. Thank you very much. |
How to prepare for a conversation like this
Memorizing the lines is not enough: the other person will say their own thing, not what is written. What helps more is catching the key words by ear and keeping three rescue phrases ready: “I don't understand”, “repeat, please”, “slower”.
And one more thing phrasebooks do not mention: awkwardness gets in the way more than not knowing the words.
- Fear of making mistakes gets in the way of learning a language, and it gets in the way badly. It is one of the most reliably measured findings in the entire field.checked many timesTeimouri, Goetze & Plonsky, 2019, Studies in Second Language Acquisition 41(2) · 19,933 participants from 23 countries; correlation with results r = −0.36.
- That fear can be dealt with — the methods have been tested and they work.checked many timesXiong et al., 2024, Journal of Language and Social Psychology · 37 studies, anxiety reduced by −0.61. Of the seven conditions examined, only age turned out to matter.
Frequently asked
How do you start a conversation in Spanish in this situation?
“Buenos días. En mi piso no hay agua caliente.” — Good morning. There is no hot water in my apartment.. The first line in such a conversation is almost always the same, and that is the one worth learning: the other person will carry it from there.
What if you did not understand the reply?
Say “I don't understand” and “repeat, please” — both are in the rescue set. Admitting your language is still shaky almost always makes the other person more patient.
Should you memorize the dialogue?
No. It is more useful to catch the key words by ear: the other person will say their own thing, and a memorized line will not always fit their reply.