Conversación Real - Keeping a Conversation Alive
Pedir Aclaración - Asking for Clarification
The hardest moment in any second-language conversation is the half-second when you realise you missed a word. You can panic, freeze, and break the flow — or you can deploy a clarification phrase and keep going. Spanish has a small, well-worn set of phrases for exactly this situation, and they're the single most important set of words to drill in this course. By the end of this lesson, you'll have five smooth ways to ask for clarification, ranked from most to least face-saving, and you'll know which to use when.
The Core Four
Spanish has four phrases that handle 90% of clarification situations. Learn these to reflex.
1. ¿Cómo dices? — "What did you say?"
The most universal one. Used when you missed a phrase or didn't catch the meaning. The literal "how do you say?" sounds odd in English but works as a neutral "what was that?" in Spanish:
- ¿Cómo dices? What did you say?
- Perdona, ¿cómo dices? Sorry, what did you say?
Use ¿cómo dices? as your default first ask. It's polite, contextually neutral, and doesn't commit you to whether you missed a single word or the whole sentence.
2. ¿Me lo repites? — "Can you repeat that?"
A small step more direct. Useful when you specifically need the same content again:
- ¿Me lo repites, por favor? Can you repeat it, please?
- ¿Me repites la última parte? Can you repeat the last part?
The bonus version, ¿me repites la última parte?, is gold. It tells the speaker exactly which chunk you missed, so they don't have to start over from the beginning.
3. ¿Puedes hablar más despacio? — "Can you speak more slowly?"
When the issue isn't the words but the speed, ask directly. Spaniards talk fast, especially in groups, and most will gladly slow down when asked:
- ¿Puedes hablar un poco más despacio? Can you speak a little more slowly?
- Perdona, hablas muy rápido para mí. Sorry, you speak very fast for me.
The Spanish norm is closer to English "rapid-fire" than "polite enunciation," so don't feel bad asking. Lo hablo más despacio ("I'll speak more slowly") is a common Spanish reply.
4. No Te He Entendido — "I Didn't Catch That"
The most honest phrase. No te he entendido ("I haven't understood you") uses the M8 pretérito perfecto and signals you genuinely missed the content:
- Perdona, no te he entendido. Sorry, I didn't catch that.
- No te he entendido la última palabra. I didn't catch the last word.
- No te he entendido bien, ¿me lo repites? I didn't catch that well, can you repeat it?
The face-saving version uses bien — no te he entendido bien ("I didn't catch that well") — which softens the admission. It implies the issue might be context, not vocabulary.
Asking for Meaning — "What Does X Mean?"
A different problem: you heard the word, but you don't know what it means. Two clean phrases for this:
- ¿Qué significa "currar"? What does "currar" mean?
- ¿Qué quiere decir "currar"? What does "currar" mean?
Both work. Significar is more formal/neutral. Querer decir is more conversational and is what Spaniards reach for first.
A useful follow-up phrase: en otras palabras ("in other words") — used to ask for a rephrase:
- ¿Me lo puedes decir en otras palabras? Can you say it in other words?
- ¿Cómo lo dirías en otras palabras? How would you say it in other words?
And the reverse — when you can't find a word in Spanish:
- ¿Cómo se dice "deadline" en español? How do you say "deadline" in Spanish?
- ¿Cuál es la palabra para "anyway"? What's the word for "anyway"?
Spaniards use these phrases even with each other, especially in technical fields where English vocabulary leaks in. Don't feel bad about asking — it's normal speech, not a sign of weakness.
Polite vs. Blunt — Pick the Right Phrase
Spanish clarification phrases exist on a politeness spectrum. Your choice depends on register (friend / stranger / professional setting) and on context (how badly you missed it).
| Phrase | Register / situation |
|---|---|
| ¿Cómo? | quick reply, casual |
| ¿Cómo dices? | neutral, all situations |
| Perdona, ¿cómo dices? | polite, slightly more careful |
| ¿Me lo repites? | casual to neutral |
| ¿Me lo puedes repetir, por favor? | polite, formal |
| No te he entendido. | neutral, honest |
| No te he entendido bien. | softer, face-saving |
| ¿Puedes hablar más despacio? | direct, useful in groups |
| Lo siento, no me he enterado. | self-blaming, very polite |
A small but useful Iberian phrase: no me he enterado literally "I haven't become aware." It's softer than no te he entendido because it puts the fault on you, not on the speaker. Use no me he enterado when you want to sound especially polite — at a job interview, with someone older, in a formal call.
The Last-Word Technique
A small specialist phrase worth memorising: se me ha escapado ("it slipped past me"). It's used when you only missed one specific word in an otherwise comprehensible sentence:
- Se me ha escapado la última palabra. The last word slipped past me.
- Perdona, se me ha escapado lo último. Sorry, the last bit got past me.
This is one of the most natural clarification phrases in Spanish, because it narrates the exact problem (one word missed) without forcing the speaker to start over.
Don't Just Nod — Ask
The single biggest learner trap is fake nodding. You miss a word, smile, nod, and hope context fills in the gap. It almost never does, and the conversation drifts further out of your reach. Spaniards prefer a learner who asks ¿qué significa "vaya tela"? to one who pretends to understand and then misses the next reply too.
A useful self-rule for this lesson: every time you nod when you didn't actually understand, force yourself to ask one clarification phrase in the next thirty seconds. A ver, ¿qué quiere decir...? or Perdona, no me he enterado de la última parte. The pause is small. The recovery is huge.
Practice
Words to Remember
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| ¿cómo dices? | what did you say? |
| perdona | sorry / excuse me |
| ¿me lo repites? | can you repeat that? |
| ¿puedes hablar más despacio? | can you speak more slowly? |
| no te he entendido | I didn't catch that |
| no te he entendido bien | I didn't catch that well |
| ¿qué quiere decir "..."? | what does "..." mean? |
| ¿qué significa? | what does it mean? |
| ¿cómo se dice "..." en español? | how do you say "..."? |
| en otras palabras | in other words |
| ¿puedes explicármelo? | can you explain it to me? |
| se me ha escapado la última palabra | the last word slipped by |
| no me he enterado | I didn't catch / get it |
| más despacio | more slowly |
| más alto | louder |
| lo siento | sorry |
| ¿cómo? | what? / how? |
| ¿cuál es la palabra para...? | what's the word for...? |
| ¿cómo se escribe? | how is it spelled? |
| ¿lo puedes deletrear? | can you spell it? |
Conversation
Missing a word at the bar
Marta: Anoche vimos una pasada de concierto. Last night we saw an amazing concert.
Diego: Perdona, ¿qué quiere decir "pasada"? Sorry, what does "pasada" mean?
Marta: Que estuvo muy bien, en plan increíble. That it was really good, like incredible.
Asking someone to slow down
Pablo: Y luego nos fuimos a una tasca que está chulísima. And then we went to a tavern that's really cool.
Diego: ¿Me lo repites más despacio? Can you repeat that more slowly?
Pablo: Claro, perdona. Fuimos a un bar pequeño muy chulo. Of course, sorry. We went to a small bar that's really cool.
Catching a slang word
Lucía: Hoy estoy hecha polvo. Today I'm wrecked.
Diego: ¿Cómo dices? Se me ha escapado "hecha polvo." What did you say? "Hecha polvo" slipped past me.
Lucía: Quiere decir muy cansada. It means very tired.
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
The most important thing about clarification phrases isn't the grammar — it's the timing. A good clarification request comes within a second or two of the missed word. Ask too late and the speaker has moved on; you'll have to interrupt and rewind, which costs face. Ask immediately and you'll get the rephrase free.
Spaniards admire learners who ask, more than learners who pretend. There's a strong cultural norm in Spain of treating language exchange as a friendly collaboration rather than a test. ¿Qué quiere decir...? asked five times across an evening doesn't make you look bad — it makes you look engaged. The people who get treated as "the learner who isn't really trying" are the silent nodders, not the askers.
A small register tip for tone: pair every clarification phrase with a muletilla. Instead of bare ¿cómo dices?, try pues, ¿cómo dices? or perdona, ¿cómo dices? The muletilla softens the request and signals it's casual. The bare clarification phrase can sound abrupt; the same phrase with a muletilla in front sounds like normal conversation. Pues, perdona, no me he enterado de la última palabra is the gold-standard polite-but-relaxed clarification. Plant it this week.
A pitfall to avoid: do not say ¿qué? on its own as a clarification. In Spain it sounds rude — closer to "what?" with an aggressive edge. Use ¿cómo? instead. ¿Cómo? is the polite "what?" of Spanish, and it never sounds sharp. The English-Spanish trap of dropping ¿qué? in for "what?" is the single most-corrected learner mistake in conversation pedagogy. ¿Cómo? is the safe default.