Languages › Spanish How Well Could You Speak Spanish as a Tourist? Test Your Knowledge With This Quiz Hotel de Puerto Vallarta, México. Manuel Canela/Creative Commlons Spanish Vocabulary History & Culture Pronunciation Writing Skills Grammar By Gerald Erichsen Gerald Erichsen Spanish Language Expert B.A., Seattle Pacific University Gerald Erichsen is a Spanish language expert who has created Spanish lessons for ThoughtCo since 1998. Learn about our Editorial Process Updated on March 06, 2017 1. Since the word for bread is "pan," which word would you be right in assuming refers to a bakery? panadería panísimo panobaco panalero pañuela Correct Wrong The suffix -ería is very often refers to a place where a person can obtain goods or services. Thus you will find pizza at a pizzería and shoes at a zapatería (the word for "shoe" is zapato). 2. If you want to say that something is very inexpensive, one way of doing it would be to say: Es mucho chipo. Es muy barato. Es muy rico. Es muy pobre. No tengo dinero. Correct Wrong Barato can mean either "cheap" or "inexpensive," depending on the context. 3. If you wish to introduce yourself to somebody and your name is Chris, one way of doing so would be to say: Me llamo Chris. Su nombre es Chris. Yo nama Chris. Mi namo es Chris. No soy Chris. Correct Wrong A common way to introduce yourself is to use a form of the verb llamar, which usually means "to call." 4. If you would like to leave a note for the manager of your hotel, a good salutation to use before your name would be: Atentamente, Un brazo fuerte, Con todo mi afecto, Muchos besos, Any of the above. Correct Wrong All four of the above phrases are salutations, but only the first would be approriate for a business letter to a stranger. The others mean, respectively, "a strong hug," "with all my affection," and "many kisses." 5. What is the Spanish number for 10? Tehn. Cinco. Decimo. Diez. Tener. Correct Wrong The numbers through 10 in order are uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco, seis, siete, ocho, nueve, diez. 6. If you want your luggage, what is a word or phrase you might look for on a sign? Lugaje. Salida. Cajero automático. Equipaje. Sanitarios. Correct Wrong Equipaje is the most common word for luggage. Other words here may be useful as well: An exit is a salida, an ATM is a cajero automático, and bathrooms are usually called sanitorios or baños. 7. What is one way of asking how much something costs? ¿Es mucho caro? ¿Cuánto cuesta? ¿Qué caro? ¿Tengo mucho dinero? ¿Habla dinero? Correct Wrong "¿Cuánto cuesta?" literally means "How much does it cost?" Another way of asking is to ask "¿Cuántos pesos," changing pesos to the correct unit of currency such as euros or dólares. 8. If a road sign says that the speed limit is 100 km/h, approximately what is that in miles per hour? 10. 26. 40. 60. 90. Correct Wrong Or 62.1371, to be precise. All Spanish-speaking countries use the metric system. 9. How do you say, "I don't speak Spanish?" No speak-o Spanish-o. Mi lengua es mejor que suya. Su lengua no me gusta No me gusta español. No hablo español. Correct Wrong Hablo is the word for "I speak" and español is the word to refer to the Spanish language. In some areas, castellano is also used to refer to the language. 10. Which of these sentences might get you some help finding downtown? ¿Está lejos el centro? ¿Dónde está el centro? Busco el centro. ¿Cómo puedo llegar al centro? Any of the above. Correct Wrong The fourth question shows a typical way to ask for directions, The other questions mean: 1) Is downtown far away? 2) Where is downtown. 3) I'm looking for downtown. 11. Which meal is "el desayuno"? Breakfast. Lunch. Dinner or supper. A snack. That could refer to any meal. Correct Wrong A breakast is un desayuno. The word comes from the prefix des- (similar to the English "dis-") and the verb ayunar, which means to fast or abstain from eating. 12. What is the Spanish word for "hotel"? Hotel. Jotel. Hotelero. Dormitorio. None of the above. Correct Wrong Spanish and English share the word hotel, although in Spanish the initial h is silent. 13. What is the Spanish word to describe one-hundredth of a unit of currency (such as "cent" in U.S. English)? Cent. Centavo. Céntimo. Three of the above, depending on which country you're in. Two of the above, depending on which country you're in. Correct Wrong Note that the plural of cent, a hundredth of a euro, used in Spain, is cents. 14. If you wish to thank someone, which is a word or phrase you might use? El gusto es mío. La pena es mía. De nada. Muchas gracias. Por favor. Correct Wrong Gracias (thank you), muchas gracias (many thanks), and mil gracias (literally, 1,000 thanks) are all very common. 15. How do you say "hello" in Spanish? Adiós. Eres loca. De nada. Que tenga un buen día. Hola. Correct Wrong Hola is a very common greeting and can be used in both formal and informal settings. 16. Which word should you be careful about using because you might inadvertently say something embarrassing? Huevo. Coger. Tamaño. All of the above. None of the above. Correct Wrong In some contexts, any of the above can be create a double entendre or otherwise be misunderstood. Their standard meanings are, respective, "egg," "choose" and "size." 17. If it's 30 degrees C outside, how does it feel? Too cold to go outside, putting you at risk of frostbite. Cool to cold, depending on what you're used to. Kind of cool, kind of warm, depending on what you're used to. Warm to hot, depending on what you're used to. Hot enough to melt lead. Correct Wrong That's approxiamtely 86 degrees F. 18. If the weather forecasts predicts "lluvia," what can you expect? Sunshine. Snow. Strong winds. Hail. Rain. Correct Wrong See our lesson on weather for related terms. 19. How can you ask what time it is? ¿Qué timeo es? ¿Qué hora es? ¿Qué es el reloj? ¿Estoy perdida? ¿El tiempo es mal? Correct Wrong Although hora is the word for "hour," it often is used in speaking of time in general. 20. What is the Spanish word for "beach"? Piscina. Arena. Ola. Bicho. Playa. Correct Wrong The first three words above are related to beaches, meaning "swimming pool," "sand," and "wave," respectively. How Well Could You Speak Spanish as a Tourist? You got: % Correct. You'll Do Great! Un mercado en Asunción, Paraguay. (A meriket in Asuncion, Paraguay.). Leandro Neumann Ciuffo/Creative Commons. You don't have to be fluent to get around well, so you'll do just fine with what you already know. ¡Buen viaje! Share Your Results How Well Could You Speak Spanish as a Tourist? You got: % Correct. You'll Have a Great Time! Vista desde Argentina de las cataratas del Iguasú. (View from Argentina of Iguazu Falls.). MIke/Creative Commons. You know enough of the basics of Spanish to be polite, and that's more than can be said of many English speakers. If you struggle, just be sure to smile, and you'll have a great time. ¡Buen viaje! Share Your Results How Well Could You Speak Spanish as a Tourist? You got: % Correct. It's Time To Study! Estudia hoy. (She is studying today.). Universidad de Montevideo/Creative Commons. Yes, you can get by in the most popular tourist areas without knowing a lick of Spanish. But wouldn't it more fun if you could learn some more before you go? Share Your Results