En el Barrio - Around the Neighborhood
Direcciones - Asking and Giving Directions
You've built the pieces — estar, hay, prepositions, place vocabulary. Now you put them to work in the most useful conversation a visitor to Spain can have: stopping someone on the street and asking how to get somewhere. This lesson covers both halves: how to ask politely, and how to understand the answer.
The good news is you don't need a full grammar lesson on commands to do this. You'll learn the imperative phrases — sigue recto, gira a la derecha, cruza la plaza — as set expressions. The grammar behind them comes much later in the course. For now, treat them like vocabulary.
How to Ask
In Spain you almost always open a question to a stranger with perdona (if you'd address them as tú) or perdone (if you'd use usted). Younger people, peers, casual situations: perdona. Older people, very formal situations, or when in doubt to be polite: perdone.
A handful of openers, from most to least specific:
- Perdona, ¿dónde está la farmacia? – Excuse me, where's the pharmacy?
- Perdone, ¿sabe dónde está el metro? – Excuse me, do you know where the metro is? (formal)
- Perdona, ¿hay una farmacia por aquí? – Excuse me, is there a pharmacy around here?
- Perdona, ¿cómo se va al museo del Prado? – Excuse me, how do you get to the Prado?
The phrase ¿cómo se va a…? is the magic one. It means "how does one get to…?" and it works whether you're walking, taking the metro, or cycling. ¿Cómo se va al aeropuerto? ¿Cómo se va a la plaza Mayor?
If you didn't understand the answer (very likely the first few times), you have one more phrase ready:
- Perdona, ¿me lo puedes repetir más despacio? – Sorry, could you say that again more slowly?
How to Understand the Answer
Spanish directions are made of a small number of phrases used over and over. You'll hear the same set in every barrio of every Spanish city.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| sigue todo recto | go straight ahead (informal) |
| siga todo recto | go straight ahead (formal) |
| gira a la derecha | turn right (informal) |
| gire a la derecha | turn right (formal) |
| gira a la izquierda | turn left (informal) |
| gire a la izquierda | turn left (formal) |
| cruza la plaza | cross the square (informal) |
| cruce la calle | cross the street (formal) |
| toma la primera | take the first (informal) |
| coge la segunda | take the second (informal) |
| hasta el final | to the end |
| al final de la calle | at the end of the street |
| en la esquina | on the corner |
Two notes:
- Tú vs. usted endings — verbs ending in -a are usually informal (sigue, gira, cruza, toma, coge). Verbs ending in -e are formal (siga, gire, cruce, tome, coja). Just learn both: when someone uses the formal forms with you, smile and use them back.
- Coger is a normal Spain verb that means "to take" or "to grab". Use it freely in Spain. In some Latin American countries it has a different, very rude meaning, but you're learning Spain Spanish — say coge la segunda calle without hesitation.
A complete answer often sounds like a small recipe:
- Sigue todo recto, gira a la derecha en la segunda calle, y la farmacia está al final, a la izquierda. – Go straight ahead, turn right at the second street, and the pharmacy is at the end, on the left.
- Cruza la plaza, coge la primera calle a la izquierda, y al final de la calle hay un parque. La biblioteca está enfrente. – Cross the square, take the first street on the left, and at the end of the street there's a park. The library is across from it.
Distance and Time
Spaniards rarely give directions in metres. They use minutes and city blocks.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| está aquí mismo | it's right here |
| está cerca | it's nearby |
| está lejos | it's far |
| a cinco minutos andando | five minutes on foot |
| a diez minutos en metro | ten minutes by metro |
| a dos manzanas | two blocks away |
| a la vuelta de la esquina | around the corner |
The unit una manzana literally means "an apple", but in directions it means "a city block". A dos manzanas is "two blocks away" and you will hear it constantly.
Practice
Words to Remember
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| perdona / perdone | excuse me |
| ¿cómo se va a…? | how do you get to…? |
| sigue / siga recto | go straight |
| todo recto | straight ahead |
| gira / gire | turn |
| a la derecha | to the right |
| a la izquierda | to the left |
| cruza / cruce | cross |
| toma / coge | take (a street) |
| la primera (calle) | the first (street) |
| la segunda (calle) | the second (street) |
| hasta | until / as far as |
| al final | at the end |
| en la esquina | on the corner |
| a cinco minutos | five minutes away |
| a dos manzanas | two blocks away |
| andando | on foot / walking |
Conversation
Asking for a street
Turista: Perdona, ¿cómo se va a la Cava Baja? Excuse me, how do you get to Cava Baja?
Madrileña: Sigue todo recto hasta la plaza. Go straight as far as the square.
Turista: ¿Y luego? And then?
Madrileña: Cruza la plaza y coge la primera a la izquierda. Cross the square and take the first on the left.
Asking how far it is
Pablo: Perdone, ¿está lejos el metro? Excuse me, is the metro far?
Señor: Qué va, está a cinco minutos andando. Not at all, it's five minutes on foot.
Pablo: Vale, muchas gracias. Great, thanks.
At a junction
Carmen: Perdona, ¿la farmacia está por aquí? Excuse me, is the pharmacy around here?
Diego: Sí. Gira a la derecha en la esquina. Yes. Turn right at the corner.
Carmen: ¿Me lo puedes repetir más despacio? Could you say that again more slowly?
Practice
Recall
Type the Spanish for each English meaning. Leave a row blank if you draw a blank — that counts as a miss.
Practice
Translation Exercise
Translate each English sentence into Spanish.
Cultural Note
Spaniards almost never give directions in cardinal points (north, south, east, west) and rarely in metres. They give them in landmarks and blocks — hasta la plaza, en la esquina del bar, a dos manzanas del metro. The phrase al lado del Mercadona ("next to the Mercadona supermarket") is more useful than any street name in most of Spain. If you can recognise the place names — plaza, mercado, iglesia, metro, panadería — you can follow almost any answer.
A friendly Castilian tic to listen for: when someone wants to say "absolutely not" or "not far at all", they often start with ¡qué va!. ¿Está lejos? — ¡Qué va, está aquí mismo! It's warm, dismissive in the nicest way, and very Spanish. Add it to your reactions list and you'll suddenly sound a lot less like a textbook.