Is it far from here? in Spanish
A visitor asks a passerby for directions in Spanish. 9 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Perdone, ¿le puedo preguntar una cosa? Busco el museo del puerto.» — Excuse me, may I ask you something? I'm looking for the port museum. 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: a visitor asks a passerby for directions. 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.
- Perdone, ¿le puedo preguntar una cosa? Busco el museo del puerto.Excuse me, may I ask you something? I'm looking for the port museum.
- Claro. Está en el paseo marítimo, al final de la avenida.Of course. It's on the seafront promenade, at the end of the avenue.
- ¿Está lejos de aquí? Voy andando.Is it far from here? I'm going on foot.
- Qué va, está a diez minutos andando. Siga todo recto hasta el semáforo.Not at all, it's a ten-minute walk. Keep going straight to the traffic light.
- ¿Y en el semáforo cruzo al otro lado de la calle?And at the traffic light, do I cross to the other side of the street?
- No, siga por la acera de la derecha y luego gire en el segundo cruce.No, keep along the right-hand sidewalk and then turn at the second intersection.
- Perdone, no le he oído bien. ¿Enséñemelo en el mapa, por favor?Excuse me, I didn't hear you well. Could you show it to me on the map, please?
- Mire: aquí está usted, y el museo queda justo enfrente del faro.Look: here you are, and the museum is right opposite the lighthouse.
- Ahora lo entiendo. Muchísimas gracias, ha sido usted muy amable.Now I understand. Thank you very much, you have been very kind.
Lines one by one
| Spanish | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Perdone, ¿le puedo preguntar una cosa? Busco el museo del puerto. | — | Excuse me, may I ask you something? I'm looking for the port museum. |
| Claro. Está en el paseo marítimo, al final de la avenida. | — | Of course. It's on the seafront promenade, at the end of the avenue. |
| ¿Está lejos de aquí? Voy andando. | — | Is it far from here? I'm going on foot. |
| Qué va, está a diez minutos andando. Siga todo recto hasta el semáforo. | — | Not at all, it's a ten-minute walk. Keep going straight to the traffic light. |
| ¿Y en el semáforo cruzo al otro lado de la calle? | — | And at the traffic light, do I cross to the other side of the street? |
| No, siga por la acera de la derecha y luego gire en el segundo cruce. | — | No, keep along the right-hand sidewalk and then turn at the second intersection. |
| Perdone, no le he oído bien. ¿Enséñemelo en el mapa, por favor? | — | Excuse me, I didn't hear you well. Could you show it to me on the map, please? |
| Mire: aquí está usted, y el museo queda justo enfrente del faro. | — | Look: here you are, and the museum is right opposite the lighthouse. |
| Ahora lo entiendo. Muchísimas gracias, ha sido usted muy amable. | — | Now I understand. Thank you very much, you have been very kind. |
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?
“Perdone, ¿le puedo preguntar una cosa? Busco el museo del puerto.” — Excuse me, may I ask you something? I'm looking for the port museum.. 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.