For this month’s Spanish tip, I would like to talk about traveling. When you travel to Spanish-speaking areas, there are a few key words and phrases that can help you out.
airplane –el avión
train- el tren
bus- el autobus, el camión (in Puerto Rico I think it’s “gua-gua“)
car –el carro, el coche
ferry –la barca, la lancha
taxi- el taxi
ticket- el boleto
fare –la tarifa, el boleto
hotel- el hotel
luggage- equipaje
departure- salida, embarque
arrival- la llegada
itinerary-el itinerario
to travel –viajar
trip –el viaje
vacation- vacación, feriado
to rest- descansar
to relax- relajarse
tourism-turismo
points of interest- puntos de interes
sunglasses –gafas de sol, lentes
bathing suit –traje de baño
the ocean- el mar
the beach- la playa
the mountains –las montañas
the countryside –el campo
photograph/picture –la foto
Some phrases:
Let’s go to the beach! – ¡Vamos a la playa!
Where is the departure lounge? -¿Dónde esta la sala de embarque?
How much is the airplane ticket/air fare? ¿Cuánto cuesta el boleto de avión?
Excuse me, can you please take our picture? ¿Perdón, nos puede usted sacar una foto, por favor?
Are there any taxis available? ¿Hay algunos taxis disponibles?
Happy Trails! ¡Buen Viaje!
I never use “coger” because in Mexican Spanish it is vulgar, so it’s ok in PR Spanish though? What is tapon? Traffic? Traffic jam? I always heard “Bromear” for kidding…that’s weird that it would also be the same word as relax. We heard Awilda call her SUV a “guagua” which I thought was strange. I’ve heard maletas for suitcases, but baules I’ve always thought of as large old fashioned luggage trunks, not trunks as in the backs of a car (or boot in English English 🙂
Gracias Fran e igual a ti y Steve, felices fiestas! ¿Quizas nos vemos en enero cuando vamos a PR? ¿Que te parece? Si tienes tiempo, claro.
“Para evitar que me dieran tíket por estar mal parqueado, dejé el carro y cojí la guagua. Llegué tarde por el tapón. Tuve que cojer la próxima lancha para Cataño. Me causó much estrés. No estoy relajando (I’m not kidding).” Yes, relajar also means to relax.
“El pasaje para Niuyor me salió en 200 pesos, y te cobran adicional por las maletas (suitcases). Ahora te mandan el pasaje por correo electrónico (also imeil). (Note pasaje can be used for fare and also for ticket, but you can also use tíket for any kind of ticket.) ”
Guagua (or guagüita) is also used for SUV, van, and sometimes pickup truck. Camión is a large truck.
In PR, maletas are suitcases and baúl is trunk (car or otherwise). PR Spanish is in a class of its own!
Cassie y Britton, ¡muchas felicidades en el año nuevo! — Fran
I threw in some of those words so you’d ask. When I lived in Venezuela I learned the embarrassing way not to say “coger”! And living among Mexican Americans in California, I was careful as well. It definitely does not have a nasty meaning here. It’s used often, and as you know, it means “to take”. Tapón is a traffic jam. You can say bromear for to kid or joke, but relajar is more common. Many Spanish speaking countries call a car trunk, or boot, a maleta, but not in Puerto Rico, here it’s baúl. That’s why I used those examples. 😉
Steve will be on a sailing trip starting mid January and probably won’t get back till the first part of February. I’ll be here though, so if you’re on this side of the island, let me know and we can arrange something.