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Greetings and Courteous Expressions

Author: Sophia

what's covered
In this lesson, you will learn how to greet a Spanish-speaking patient and ask basic questions. Specifically this lesson will cover:
  1. Los Saludos y La Cortesía (Greetings and Courtesy)
  2. Más Básicos (More Basics)

1. Los Saludos y La Cortesía (Greetings and Courtesy)

Before we get to the very specific pharmaceutical terminology, you must first learn the basics: greetings, courteous phrases, numbers, colors, days, months, how to tell time, how to use question words, etc.

Here you will find basic greetings and courteous phrases to help you express your polite personality, even in Spanish!

English Spanish
Hello! ¡Hola!
What's your name? ¿Cómo se llama usted?
What's his name? ¿Cómo se llama él?
What's her name? ¿Cómo se llama ella?
My name is... Me llamo...
Pleasure to meet you. Mucho gusto.
The pleasure is mine. El gusto es mío.
Where are you from? ¿De dónde es usted?
I am from... (place). Soy de... (place).
How are you? ¿Cómo está usted?
How is he? ¿Cómo está él?
How is she? ¿Cómo está ella?
Very well! ¡Muy bien!
So-so. Así así.
Not good. I'm sick. Muy mal. Estoy enfermo.
And you? ¿Y usted?
How old are you/ he/ she? ¿Cuántos años tiene?
How many months old is the baby? ¿Cuántos meses tiene el/la bebé?
I am ____ years old. Tengo ____ años.
and y
or o
Good morning. Buenos días.
Good afternoon. Buenas tardes.
Good night. Buenas noches.
sir / Mr. señor
ma'am / Mrs. señora
Miss señorita
Please. Por favor.
Thank you. Gracias.
You're welcome. De nada.
I'm sorry. Lo siento.
Bless you. Salud.
Is there a problem? ¿Hay un problema?
It's not a problem. No es un problema.
It doesn't matter. No importa.
How wonderful! ¡Qué bien!
How awful! ¡Qué lástima!
Careful! ¡Cuidado!
Look! Watch! ¡Mire!
Listen up! ¡Oye!
Help! (in danger) ¡Socorro!
Help me, please. (calm request) Ayúdeme, por favor.
Of course. Claro.
One moment. Un momento.
Without a doubt! ¡Sin duda!
I speak a little Spanish. Hablo un poco español.
Do you speak English? ¿Habla usted inglés?
Slower, please. Más despacio, por favor.
Repeat, please. Repita, por favor.
again otra vez
What (did you say)? ¿Cómo?
How do you say...? ¿Cómo se dice...?
Write it down, please. Escríbalo por favor.
What is it? ¿Qué es?
What does it mean? ¿Qué significa?
I don't understand. No comprendo.
I don't know. No sé.
Because. Porque.
Because of/Due to Debido a
Excuse me. Perdón.
Good-bye! ¡Adiós!
See you later! ¡Hasta luego!
See you tomorrow! ¡Hasta mañana!


2. Más Básicos (More Basics)

Here are some additional terms that will be helpful when having typical conversations with patients in Spanish.

English Spanish
with con
without sin
well pues
at / to a
at the / to the (masculine noun) al (a + el)
of / from por / para
but pero
always siempre
never nunca
maybe tal vez
each / every cada
every time cada vez
before antes de
after después de
here (location) aquí
there (location) allí
deodorant el deoderante
soap el jabón
toothpaste la pasta dentífrica
shampoo el champú
dollar dólar
dollars dólares
cent(s) centavo(s)
this este/a (esto)
What is this? ¿Qué es esto?
these estos / as
that ese / a (eso)
What is that? ¿Qué es eso?
those esos / as

summary
In this lesson, you learned some phrases to express greetings and courtesy when beginning and carrying on conversations with patients in your profession. You also learned some more basics that you may find useful in a patient care setting.

¡Buena suerte!

Support

If you are struggling with a concept or terminology in the course, you may contact PharmacySpanishSupport@capella.edu for assistance.

If you are having technical issues, please contact learningcoach@sophia.org.

Source: This content has been adapted from "Pharmacy Spanish" by Stephanie Langston.