Spanish for Architects

Blueprints on a table with the hands of architects shown gesturing to different parts illustrating the blog topic of Spanish for Architects

A great recommendation for all those who work in the architect industry would be to learn a new language. More specifically Spanish. Not only is Spanish one of the most spoken languages globally, but it’s also a very important language for business.

So if you’re just studying the career right now, there’s no better time to start adding bilingual skills.

And if you’re already a professional, it’s never too late to learn something new. Especially if it’ll give a boost to your career.

But beyond learning general Spanish, you also need to learn some architecture terms in Spanish. So to help you in your language journey, here’s some Spanish for architects.

Why Learn Spanish for Architecture?

Amazing architecture in Hispanic countries

Let’s start by saying you can find amazing architecture in many Spanish speaking countries.

As a professional architect, you probably already know the architectural Hispanic styles or are learning about it. As well as the important architectural sites in different Hispanic countries, which have become part of their culture.

Learning Spanish is an amazing opportunity for you to immerse even more in this part of their art and understand it fully.

 

There are great Hispanic architects

Just like it happens in other countries and languages, the Spanish language also has great architects. Many who have great work and have left their hallmark in the architectural industry.

From Mexico to Chile to Argentina to Puerto Rico to Spain, and from the past to modern days. There are some Spanish-speaking architects you must know.

Knowing Spanish will allow you to know more about their work and background. And if you ever get to meet one, it’ll also help you hold a conversation in Spanish with them! This will be very enriching for you.

 

Do business and enhance communication

Learning Spanish and focusing on learning architecture jargon will also help you in the business side of the industry.

You’ll be able to communicate more effectively with Hispanic business partners, experts in the area, expat employees, and clients. As well as with Spanish-speaking professionals from other industries that have to team up with architects, like construction workers or interior designers.

If you become fluent in Spanish, you take less risks of confusion or misunderstandings in a Spanish-speaking environment. Communication will be more effective than ever!

And even though with many business partners and other professionals you can speak English, if they’re Hispanic, they’ll be happy that you speak Spanish too. Not only will they be impressed but they’ll also feel like you truly care.

 

Improve resume and grow your career

If you add Spanish as a skill in your resume, you have more chances of growing in your career. Nowadays, bilingualism is necessary in all industries; bilingualism is a strong suit.

For example: It could be a determined factor to get your dream job or a better job. Spanish skills could also help you get a pay raise. Or maybe even give a conference in Spanish speaking countries about your area of expertise in the architecture business.

36 Architecture Terms in Spanish

Like it happens in other work industries, architecture also has some terms and specific jargon they use a lot. So, it’s a must that you learn them in your second language.

To help you, here are some Spanish words related to architecture:

  1. Architecture – Arquitectura
  2. Architect – Arquitecto
  3. Plan – Plano
  4. Construction – Construción
  5. Design – Diseño
  6. Math – Matemáticas
  7. Geometry – Geometría
  8. Buildings – Edificios
  9. Space – Espacio
  10. Void – Vacío
  11. Material – Material
  12. Diagram – Diagrama
  13. Architectural plans – Planos arquitectónicos
  14. Parametric – Paramétrico
  15. Façade – Fachada
  16. Columns – Columnas
  17. Pillars – Pilares
  18. Cornice – Cornisa
  19. Portico – Pórtico
  20. Spatiality – Espacialidad
  21. Volume – Volúmen
  22. Area – Área
  23. Elevation – Elevación
  24. Coating – Revestimiento
  25. Structures – Estructuras
  26. Parapet – Parapeto
  27. Bracket – Ménsula
  28. Cantilever – Voladizo / Viga cantilever
  29. Mullion – Parteluz
  30. Bridges – Puentes
  31. Frame – Armazón
  32. Buttress – Contrafuerte
  33. Pediment – Frontón
  34. Scale – Escala
  35. Fenestration – Fenestración
  36. Anthropometry – Antropometría

12 Architectural Styles in Spanish

There are many different styles of architecture. This means you can specialize in a specific one. And make your work highlight that type or style of architecture. Kind of like your hallmark as an architect. Or maybe you prefer to work with different styles of architecture.

Whatever the case, it’ll always help you to know the names of different architectural styles. So here are some of their names in Spanish:

  1. Classical Architecture – Arquitectura clásica
  2. Romanesque architecture – Arquitectura románica
  3. Gothic architecture – Arquitectura gótica
  4. Renaissance architecture – Arquitectura renacentista
  5. Baroque architecture – Arquitectura barroca
  6. Neoclassical architecture – Arquitectura neoclásica
  7. Art Déco architecture – Arquitectura Art Déco
  8. Modern architecture – Arquitectura moderna
  9. Postmodern architecture – Arquitectura Posmoderna
  10. Neo-Futurism architecture – Arquitectura neo-futurista
  11. Deconstructivist architecture – Arquitectura deconstructivista
  12. Industrial architecture – Arquitectura industrial

12 Architecture Jobs in Spanish

An architect has to work with different people doing different roles to make the vision of the architect come true. That’s why it’s so important you know the jobs and roles of the different workers you’ll work with.

To help you out here are the Spanish names of different jobs that go hand in hand with architecture. We’re sure you’ll meet some people in these jobs throughout your career:

  1. Construction manager – Jefe de obra
  2. Mason – Albañil
  3. Engineer – Ingeniero
  4. Urban planner – Urbanista
  5. Painters – Pintores
  6. Carpinter – Carpintero
  7. Plumber – Fontanero
  8. Agrimensor – Surveyor
  9. Roofer – Techador
  10. Demolition worker – Operario de derribos
  11. Interior designer – Diseñador de interiores
  12. Scenographer – Escenógrafo

13 Spanish Verbs for Architecture

Just like it happens with jargon, there are some verbs that are highly used in architecture and its related fields. So here are some of these architectural verbs in Spanish:

  1. To build – Construir
  2. To design – Diseñar
  3. To remodel – Remodelar
  4. To draw – Dibujar
  5. To measure – Medir
  6. To plan – Planear
  7. To fix – Reparar / Arreglar
  8. To lift / To raise – Levantar
  9. To distribute – Distribuir
  10. To enlarge / to extend / to increase – Ampliar
  11. To transform – Transformar
  12. To systematize – Sistematizar
  13. To analyze – Analizar

Tips to Truly Learn Spanish Vocabulary for Architecture

Sitting down to memorize a list of words is not always the best option. It can get boring, tedious, and you might still feel like you don’t know how to apply the words in a real-life scenario.

So here are some tips that will make learning vocabulary more fun:

 

Check out conferences

You can look up on YouTube for interviews and conferences from Hispanic architects. It’s even better, if they’re interviews from your favorite Spanish speaking architects. Because the more you like a topic, the more you’ll enjoy learning.

If you don’t know many architects from Spanish speaking countries, you can simply look up on the internet for the most recognized ones.

By watching and hearing them speak about architecture, you’ll acquire tons of words and phrases important for this industry.

At first, it will be a bit difficult. This is because you’re not used to the speed in which they talk, nor the vocabulary, nor the pronunciation and accents. Help yourself by slowing down the speed of the video or adding Spanish subtitles.

As you can imagine, in an interview or a conference, the words are used within an architectural context. That means that you’ll also learn how and when to use them.

Plus, you’ll also learn the correct pronunciation.

 

Read in Spanish

Here’s another tip where you’ll learn vocabulary in context.

As a professional, you probably already read tons of articles about architecture. As well as news to keep you up-to-date and even books on architecture. After all, there’s always something else you can learn to keep improving.

Well, keep doing that…but in Spanish! Try to read articles, blogs, news, books, magazines, and anything you find about architecture in Spanish.
This will allow you to keep learning about your job while also acquiring vocabulary.

If it’s too difficult at first, try to start by reading a small article. Gradually, start reading bigger and more complicated texts.

 

One word a day

Don’t overwhelm yourself by trying to learn all the words at once. Pick one Spanish word a day and try to use it as many times as you find possible throughout the whole day. Of course, make sure it applies correctly to the moment where you choose to use it. Otherwise, it’ll sound weird, and you can confuse others and yourself.

Maybe you’re in a Spanish business meeting, where you can use the word.

Or you have a Hispanic coworker that will gladly hold a Spanish business conversation with you.

Or maybe you’re traveling with your family in a Spanish speaking country. So you can teach them a bit about some of the architecture there while using some words in Spanish.

If you find it too easy, you can pick two or maybe three words a day. Just make sure it’s not a lot, so you can actually practice using all of them during the whole day.

The next day, pick another word, and so on.

Become Fluent in Spanish with Fluency Corp!

If you and your work team have decided on learning Spanish for your career in architecture, you have to ask yourself: How can I become fluent in Spanish? This might be an overwhelming question, but it’s a necessary one.

You just took the first step by reading this blog and learning the Spanish vocabulary about architecture shown here. It’s time to move even more forward. But don’t get too stressed. We have the solution: Fluency Corp corporate language classes!

All our classes are for you and all your employees, or the ones that need it. The best is that the lessons are completely customized to the job and your language needs.

So, tell us what you and your team need. Is it accent training? Or maybe vocabulary for a business meeting? Or is it better communication among your multilingual employees? Whatever it is, we can help!

On top of that, our lessons are based on the Bellieu Method created by our founder and language expert, Micah Bellieu. This method consists of encouraging students to speak in their target language using all they’ve learned so far. This way, you’ll achieve Spanish fluency!

Oh, and in case you want your work team to become polyglots, we offer classes for more than 10 languages!

Just pick between our online or onsite classes. Then, contact us for a free consultation!

How to Write Your Resume in Spanish

Group of male and female job seekers sitting in row on chairs waiting for job interview | How to Write Your Resume in Spanish

Writing your resume is one of the most important tasks you’ll have to do during the process of finding a job. A resume can destroy you or make you stand out among thousands of people.

This gets even harder when you have to write your resume in your second language. First, it’s not your mother tongue, so it’s not as easy. Second, people in other countries might do things differently with their resumes to what you do in your country and language.

But don’t worry. It’s not time to get stressed, rather it’s time to resolve. And that’s what we’re here for! If you want to apply to Spanish-speaking vacancies, you must know how to write your resume in Spanish. Check out our tips below to excel at this.

Use a Photo

Maybe you don’t use a picture in your resume because you don’t need it or it’s not necessary where you live. But for resumes in Spanish, it is common to put a photo of you.

It doesn’t have to be very big, and it shouldn’t take much of the space of the resume. That will be counterproductive.

It’s usually placed on one side of the resume at the top near your name.

Make sure it’s a serious photo, where your face can be seen clearly and you’re not wearing extravagant outfits. The background must be of one color, preferably one that’s serious, like white.

Personal Contact Information

Every resume must have personal information, but these might change depending on the country. For resumes in Spanish is common to add this information:

  • Full name (This usually goes above or below your photo)
  • Birth date (day / month / year)
  • Phone number
  • Email
  • Location (country)

Some people also add their address.

Nowadays you should also add your LinkedIn if you have it.

Action Verbs

Use action verbs when writing about your experience and your achievements. Though it might seem obvious to use verbs conjugated in past tense to write what you used to do in a certain job, it’s not desirable. Stick to “verbos de acción” (action verbs).

For example:

  • ❌ Diseñé (I designed), gestioné (I managed), preparé (I prepared), redacté (I wrote)
  • ✅Diseñar (to design), gestionar (to manage), preparar (to prepare), redactar (to write)

Write Your Experience Starting with the Most Recent Job

It’s often suggested to write your professional experience before your education and academic background. This way the recruiters will see your experience first, which is what they’re more interested in. You’ll impress them right away.

You should add your most recent job first and then go backwards. This means that your current or latest job will be at the top of your resume and professional experience. And the first job you ever had will be below all the other jobs you’ve had.

Education

Your academic background should go below your job experience.

You should always add the name of the school you studied at. As well as the years that you attended there. For example: 2002-2006.

Of course you should also add what you studied. For example: Degree in philosophy; master’s degree in marketing.

Always add any certification that you have and any course you took that is related to the job you want. If the course is not related, it’s not necessary to put it in the resume.

Extras

Don’t forget to write a list of your skills. These can be personal skills, like patience and leadership. As well as things you learned to do or programs you manage well, like “Canva” editing and proficiency in Microsoft Office packages.

Also, add the languages you speak! Did you know that a highly demanded skill by many different companies is bilingualism? Honestly, that’s not surprising in today’s globalized world.

Language skills will help companies grow stronger, better and towards new markets. But it will also help you as a professional. You might get better jobs or even a raise, and you’ll have the opportunity to apply for your dream job.

Prepare for Your Next Job by Sharpening Your Language Skills

Start growing your and your team’s second language skills now with Fluency Corp. We’re a corporate language training school. This means our classes are customized to your job and your language needs. Just tell us what you need, and we’ll make a plan to achieve those goals.

We have a wide variety of languages to choose from. There’s English, Spanish, French, Korean, Japanese, Mandarin, German, and more. So really, your whole company could become polyglot with us!

As if that weren’t enough, through the Bellieu Method in which we base our lessons, we encourage students to speak in their target language. IN EVERY SINGLE CLASS! It’s the best way they’ll achieve language fluency.

Ready to start? Just choose between our online or onsite lessons. Then, contact us for a free consultation.

YouTube Channels to Learn Spanish for Business

Young professional watching YouTube channels on her laptop to learn Spanish for business

Are you ready to conquer the world of business and reach new international markets, get business partners and connect with more clients? Great! We’re ready to help you, then! How?

First off by telling you that you should learn another language, and Spanish is a great one! Spanish it’s one of the most spoken languages in the world! And more people keep learning it every day.

There are also many countries that have it as an official language. So it’s a great option for business growth and to connect with other markets.

Second, by showing you some YouTube channels to learn Spanish for business. We’re sure you’ll soon be ready to take the business world by storm with your bilingual business skills!

1. Spanish with Vicente

Spanish with Vicente – Vicente is a Spanish teacher. He also helps people prepare for the DELE (Diploma Oficial de Español como Lengua Extranjera), which means “official diploma of Spanish as a foreign language”. These exams are applied by the Instituto Cervantes, a very well acclaimed institute.

So, this is a very important exam that says that you master the Spanish language. If Vicente helps people prepare for it, it means he’s an expert of the Spanish language. You’ll truly learn from him!

He has many different kinds of videos. Such as vocabulary for artificial intelligence, Spanish idioms, Spanish for the elections, everyday expressions, explaining how to use some verbs, prepositions, verb tenses… He even has a whole playlist for the subjunctive mood!

He also has some videos with topics you probably hadn’t thought about learning but are very important too. Like how to give an opinion in Spanish as a native speaker or how to dribble in Spanish.

If you’re looking for videos more focused on Spanish for business, don’t worry. You can also find those in the “Spanish with Vicente” YouTube channel. He has made videos for vocabulary for business, Spanish for finance, vocabulary for a contract…

Nonetheless, don’t disregard the other videos, because they’re still important for business. You need good grammar to impress your boss and clients and communicate properly. And you need to know idioms, expressions and cultural facts to get along with your coworkers.

Some videos are of him explaining a lesson and dividing the topic in small parts for you to understand it. These are especially the grammar ones.
For the vocabulary videos he tends to write on the screen the words he teaches. So you’ll learn the pronunciation, the meaning and also the written form.

Other videos are in a vlog format. So it’s like you’re following through his day or while he’s doing something, like showing you the food he bought. In those kinds of videos, you’ll also learn a lot of Spanish, especially vocabulary about the things he’s doing.

These are actually great for immersion, because it’s a very casual and natural way of learning. It doesn’t feel like studying.

Oh and he speaks 100% of the time in Spanish.

We recommend: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MKslpvYYQM

2. Butterfly Spanish

Butterfly Spanish – Welcome to a bilingual YouTube channel! Yes, you read correctly, this is a bilingual channel. Ana is the teacher, and she speaks in every video using both Spanish and English.

Sometimes she starts talking in English and suddenly changes to Spanish. Some other times, she says a phrase or word in Spanish and translates it to English right after. This method will help you connect the Spanish sound of some words to the English words, so you know the meaning.

With a bilingual channel like this one you start learning Spanish but have the help of the English language as well. Just in case you’re not fluent yet. This is great!

This makes it a great channel for beginners and intermediate. But she does have some videos that work for advanced learners as well.

You’ll learn grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, conversation, and practice your listening. There are videos about Spanish for the dinner table and Spanish for other places and situations.

As well as how to use certain verbs, verb tenses, adverbs, time markers in Spanish. And idioms and everyday expressions, how to use some tricky words, among others.

All of these things are important for working for business even if they’re not targeted just for employees, CEOs, and companies. Nonetheless, she still has some videos related to work.

Like the “learn how to talk about your job in Spanish” video and the “working in a touristy beach town” listening comprehension video.

We think her strong suit is the grammar videos, which she has a lot of. She dissects everything, so you understand clearly.

The way she teaches is with a whiteboard behind her, where she writes everything to properly explain the topic. It’s almost like a class at your school.

Oh, and she’s not boring at all, she uses a lot of examples, which is amazing because it’s easier to understand that way.

We recommend: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0nBKj7gWJ8

3. IPP Emprendedores

IPP Emprendedores – Sergio Fernández is an entrepreneur and author. He founded “IPP formación para la vida real”, where you can find different courses about different things. Some courses are very related to business and entrepreneurship, like finance and selling.

On his YouTube channel, “IPP Emprendedores”, he teaches you many things about entrepreneurship and business. It’s especially good for those who want to be entrepreneurs.

No, this is not a channel specifically for language learning, but it is in Spanish and tackles business topics. So, you’ll learn tons of vocabulary in Spanish for business. You’ll also practice your Spanish listening and pronunciation by watching the videos.

It’s great for Spanish immersion. Why? Because the videos don’t really teach you the language like in a typical school, but rather by talking casually in Spanish. This is great, because immersion is one of the best ways to acquire a second language.

If you think about it, this is how we learned our mother tongue, by being surrounded by people speaking in our first language about anything. This will make you naturally pick up some business words and phrases in Spanish.

There are videos about how to get financial freedom, tips to choose business partners, common mistakes entrepreneurs make, marketing to get more clients, and many more. So you’ll learn more about how to be a better entrepreneur and do better business, while acquiring business Spanish vocabulary!

The people that appear in the videos don’t speak incredibly fast, but since they’re not teaching you a language, they also don’t speak slowly. They’re not worried about you missing something, because they don’t know you’re just learning the language.

So they speak like the native Spanish speakers that they are, at their normal pace. But don’t worry, this will fully train your ear to understand natives. It’s great practice, honestly.

We recommend: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDspjVJ3FXo

4. Learn Spanish with SpanishPod101

“Learn Spanish with SpanishPod101” is a website about learning Spanish and they have their own YouTube channel. There, they constantly upload many different videos about the Spanish language.

You’ll improve different areas of the language, like pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, listening, and writing. There are videos like a grammar guide, how to express your emotions in Spanish, and how to introduce yourself. As well as art vocabulary, explaining the past tense, and many more.

They have a highly useful series of videos where they share common words in Spanish you’ll use every day. That’s great to acquire vocabulary that’ll make you sound more like a local and help your conversations flow more naturally.

This can be super helpful for talking with your boss and with your Hispanic coworkers, and to connect with Hispanic clients!

They also have a series of listening practice videos. In those they’ll play a dialogue or conversation. After the conversation is done, they’ll ask you a question about it to see if your Spanish listening comprehension was on point. Then, they’ll make you listen to another conversation and so on.

Don’t worry, they also have videos focusing on the business side of the Spanish language. Like expressions for business presentations, or how’s the business culture in Mexico.

As you can see, they have different types of videos, but their strong suit are vocabulary videos. They have tons of them. So if you’re looking for a channel to increase your vocabulary, this is it.

Some videos are like a quiz, where they give you a word in Spanish and some options for their meaning in English. So you have to choose the option you think it’s the meaning of the Spanish word they showed you.

After a bit of time, they’ll give you the right answer. These kinds of videos are great to see how much vocabulary you know or how much you’ve learned.

In some other videos they’ll show you the word in Spanish and its pronunciation then they’ll give you a sentence using that word. Thanks to the examples you’ll learn how and when to use that word.

The coaches are from different countries and, therefore, have different accents. This is great to train your ear by listening to different voices and accents. You’ll keep your ears and listening skills sharp!

We recommend: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sM3LoC2cU8

5. Emprende Aprendiendo

Last but not least: “Emprende Aprendiendo”. This is the perfect channel for entrepreneurs. It’s about business and marketing. So whether you want to start a business or already have one, there’s something you can learn. After all, as founders, CEOs, bosses, and employees we’re always learning and improving.

You’ll find videos analyzing and explaining to you different business aspects of famous companies. As well as videos with strategies and other things that will help your business.

There are videos like business trends, IKEA’s sales strategies, and how to create short content to go viral. As well as business ideas, Shakira’s businesses, and even the business of Paw Patrol!

It’s a very interesting channel that will not only help you learn Spanish, but also learn about business. So you’ll kill two birds with one stone.

Also, by watching a business channel in Spanish, you’ll very naturally acquire tons of Spanish words and phrases that are truly used in business. The best thing is that you won’t memorize a sheet of vocabulary.

Rather, you’ll learn when and how to properly apply that vocabulary in a real-life situation. This will help you impress foreign clients and Spanish speaking business partners. How great!

All videos are very well explained and structured. So you’ll really learn a lot.

We recommend: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Th2u4QF-A78

Tips to Learn Spanish for Business with YouTube

Change the speed of the video

If you’re a beginner, you might feel lost at the start of your language journey, especially when hearing natives talk. This can make understanding teachers that are native Spanish speakers a bit difficult, even on videos.

If this is happening to you while watching Spanish learning YouTube channels, don’t be ashamed. It’s normal not to understand everything or feel like they speak too fast. You’re not used to the language and its sounds, and a native accent makes it harder.

So don’t be afraid of slowing down the speed of the video as much as you need. This will help train your ear and get accustomed to the sounds and the speed of a native voice.

It’ll also help you understand the words and phrases more easily, as you won’t feel super lost in the speed. You’ll have more time to process what the person in the video is saying.

As you get accustomed to the speed, you might even feel like it’s too slow now for you. In that case, change the speed again until you go back to normal speed.

The same applies in case you feel like the person on the video speaks too slowly. Maybe you’re an advanced learner now and want a challenge. Then, speed up the video.

 

Lose the subtitles gradually

If you’re using YouTube subtitles, keep doing it as long as you’re a beginner. We understand it can be difficult to get a grasp of what the person is saying and all the vocabulary you’re hearing. So, it’s okay to use the subtitles as a crutch.

But you have to slowly start getting rid of them. At some point you have to walk by yourself, right? It doesn’t have to be from one day to the next. For example: Let’s say the grammar videos are easier for you but the “vlogs” are harder for you to understand.

Then, first lose the subtitles on the grammar videos, so on those that are easier for you. And keep the subtitles on the vlogs, because they’re harder for you to comprehend. After a while, you must also turn off the subtitles on the “vlogs” or any other videos that are hard for you. Don’t be afraid.

It’s okay if you still don’t understand every single word on the videos or feel a bit lost at parts. You can go back to the part where you got lost. Gradually, you’ll start to comprehend more and more.

If you’re an advanced learner, absolutely do not use subtitles on any video.

 

Watch YouTube videos everyday

You can’t expect to acquire a lot of vocabulary and improve your listening if you only get immersed in the language for a little bit. Watching videos once a week or once every two weeks won’t have the effect that you want on your language skills.

You need to watch videos every single day for a better outcome. Even more than 1 video a day if you can. That would be amazing! The more practice and immersion you get, the better.

This way your ear will train every day, and you won’t forget the vocabulary you learned on day 1, because you’ll keep reinforcing it.
Even if you take Spanish lessons, complement those with a YouTube video in Spanish every day.

 

Watch more than 1 channel

You may have a favorite YouTube channel to learn Spanish and that’s great. Keep watching it. But you must also watch another one. We gave you above a list with different YouTube channels to learn Spanish, pick more than 1.

This way, you’ll get to hear different people speak in Spanish; they might even have different accents. You’ll also get to learn different vocabulary. Maybe the person on one channel speaks more formally and the person from the other channel is more informal and uses tons of slang.

You’ll also find different ways of teaching, which is great because nobody learns the same way. Plus, you might like to learn through different methods.

It would be even better if you could pick more than 2 channels. But at least make sure you’re watching more than 1. A great idea is to watch one channel focused on learning Spanish, and another one that’s in Spanish but is focused on learning about businesses.

Will YouTube Make Me a Professional of the Spanish Language?

Sadly, no. YouTube will not make you a professional of the Spanish Language. It will not make you fluent. This, of course, doesn’t mean you can’t learn from it.

As you just saw in the channels above, there’s a lot of Spanish you can learn from YouTube! From vocabulary to listening to even some pronunciation hacks.

But if you want to truly master the Spanish language, you still need classes. Don’t worry. That’s what we’re here for!

Fluency Corp offers corporate language classes. We have many different languages, one of them is Spanish.

Every lesson is customized to your job and needs. So just tell us what you want, and we’ll create a plan accordingly. Must you improve your accent? Do you need more Spanish vocabulary for marketing, medicine, or any other industry in particular?

Or is it that you need to learn how to write a business email in Spanish? We’ll work with you to help you achieve your goals!

The best of all is that we base all classes on our Bellieu Method, created by our founder and CEO, Micah Bellieu. This method consists of encouraging students to speak in their target language. It’s the best way to achieve Spanish fluency. Soo, you’ll be discussing business in an international meeting!

Are you ready to start your language journey towards fluency? All you have to do is choose between our online or onsite classes. Then contact us for a free consultation. See you soon!

Holiday Cultural Differences Between the US and Mexico

Mexican Posada, a group of friends with sparklers during Christmas in Mexico | Holiday Cultural Differences Between US and Mexico

The end of the year is almost here! And with it the celebration of Christmas and New Year’s Eve. As well as all the wishes and changes that the end of a year and the start of a new one can bring. One of those changes can be relocation and moving out of your country of origin. That sounds scary, but it can also be incredible!

A common place for Americans to move to is Mexico. Is this your case? Are you planning to move to Mexico? Congrats! That’s a big deal! We’re sure you’ll love your new life there!

There are many magical things about Mexico, but there are also some differences between Mexico and the USA that can make you feel lost and confused.

Is your move coming at the end of the year? Then one of the main things you must be informed about are the holiday cultural differences between the US and Mexico. So you don’t get too confused when celebrating your first Christmas and New Year’s Eve there.

To help you out, we’ve created this guide with the holiday variations you’ll notice between both countries. It also works if you’re a Mexican moving or relocating to the USA.

Don’t worry, just because there are differences, it doesn’t mean you won’t enjoy the holidays just as much as in your country.

Religion

One of the differences can be religion, which we know is a huge part of Christmas. Even nowadays in which not everyone is religious, many still like to enhance the religious part of these holidays. After all, it’s part of Christmas’ history.

In the USA, you’ll find people from many different religions. But you must know most of them identify as Christians, up to 70%. And even though there are some main religions in the USA, like Judaism and Hinduism with many practitioners, those aren’t the only ones. There are still many more than just those.

Meanwhile, in Mexico you’ll also find many different religions. But you must know that most of the people are Catholic, around 77% of the population! Contrary to most of the people in the USA where, as we said, they’re Christians. We must remember that though they’re similar and they interconnect, Christianity and Catholicism have differences.

Now that you see this you can notice you won’t have a problem celebrating Christmas in Mexico. Because most of the people there are Catholic religious and therefore celebrate it. Even a lot of the people that aren’t religious like celebrating the holidays. Because it’s a tradition and they like the good spirits of it and to reunite with their loved ones.

Posadas

“Posadas” are Mexican parties centered around Christmas that are celebrated throughout the entire holiday season. So throughout the entire month of December. So, yes, they’re a huge tradition in Mexico, but they’re also celebrated in Central America.

They’re hosted in all kinds of places, both professional and personal. Sometimes, companies throw a “posada” in their offices and headquarters for all the employees. Schools do the same for all the kids. And, of course, people also throw posadas in their houses or neighborhoods.

People are always very excited about these kinds of parties, because they’re perfect to reunite with loved ones, maybe even meet new people, and celebrate the Christmas spirit.

People decorate with Christmas ornaments the place where the posada will be held. They also cook or buy traditional food, like tamales and tostadas. An element that can’t be missed in any “posada” is the “ponche de frutas”. Oftentimes, they also have “piñatas” to break them among all the guests.

Of course, they play Christmas carols. And sometimes, more traditional people or kids in the school go singing these carols door to door. This is something we also see in the US, though it’s not that common.

Oh, and people can be invited to many different “posadas”. So, if you have many Latin friends, you can expect to be invited to a lot.

As you can see, Mexicans don’t stick to just the Christmas’ eve celebration dinner or party. They start before that date.

In the US, you might have gone to some Christmas parties, but not necessarily “posadas”. Or maybe you did go to a “posada”, probably organized by a Latin friend. Because the Latin community in the US still likes to celebrate “posadas”, because they’re part of their culture.

Food

Of course food is going to be a huge difference! This is because everyone around the world has their own traditions and gastronomy, which influence what they eat on Christmas.

In the USA, they usually eat turkey, ham, gravy, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, and cranberry sauce. As well as eggnog, pecan tassies, gingerbread, and the classic fruitcake, among others.

While in Mexico it’s common to eat pork leg, pork loin, tamales, menudo, cod, romeritos (rosemary with mole), pozole, churros, and buñuelos. As well as ponche de frutas (fruit punch), and one of the most popular, ensalada de manzana (apple salad).

Though you might miss the traditional Christmas dishes that people eat in your country, this is a great opportunity to try new dishes. Who knows?

Some may become part of your favorites. Plus, remember that this is not obligatory, if you really miss a specific food, you can still prepare it for Christmas. Yes, even if you live in a new country now. You could even do a mix of cultures and prepare dishes from both the US and Mexico.

Do you want to know one dish and one drink that are typically consumed during Christmas in both countries? The turkey and cider! So you won’t miss these.

Guadalupe-Reyes Marathon

You probably already know that Christmas Eve is on December 24th and Christmas is on December 25th. And that New Year’s Eve is celebrated on the last day of the year, so December 31st. And the Three Wise Men Day is on January 6th. These are the typical dates for the celebrations during these holidays.

But did you know that in Mexico they have a marathon with even more dates celebrated during this Christmas season and holidays? No, we’re not kidding. But we also don’t mean a marathon in the sense of running.

Rather, it’s called that because there are many celebrations and food eaten during those days. It’s like celebration after celebration. And it starts on the Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe and ends on the Three Wise Men Day.

Here are the dates for the “Maratón Guadalupe-Reyes”:

  • Throughout December – Posadas
  • December 12 – Día de la Virgen de Guadalupe (Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe)
  • December 24 – Nochebuena (Christmas Eve)
  • December 25 – Navidad (Christmas)
  • December 28 – Día de los Santos Inocentes (Feast of the Holy Innocents)
  • December 31 – Víspera de Año Nuevo / Fin de año (New Year’s Eve)
  • January 1 – Año Nuevo (New Year)
  • January 6 – Día de Reyes (Three Wise Men Day)

So if you go to Mexico, be prepared to celebrate and eat during all these days.

Fluency Corp Helps Celebrate the Holidays in Your New Country

Part of the process of adapting to a new country of residence is recognizing the cultural differences and celebrating the holidays. To do this, you’d have to learn the language, so you can talk and party with your new friends and coworkers.

We just helped you learn the holiday differences, now let us help you with the language part. After all, you need to truly know the language to feel more part of this new culture.

Fluency Corp is a corporate language school truly committed to helping companies and employees improve their language skills. This means you’ll learn everything you need to know to succeed at work. This includes adapting to the new country you live in now, whether because you chose it or you were relocated.

We have native teachers that will make the learning process better. Because you’ll get to hear the real accent and pronunciation of words, as well as learn from those who know the language inside out. After all, they live and use the language every day.

On top of that, our classes are completely customized to the job and your needs. So tell us what you want to achieve and we’ll create a plan accordingly.

Oh, and don’t worry about learning to speak like a local to adapt better to your new country. We make students speak in their target language in every single class using everything they’ve learned. It’s the best way to achieve language fluency.

So, are you ready to master your favorite language? Choose between our online or onsite classes. Then, contact us for a free consultation; we will answer all your questions!

Cultural Differences When Working in Mexico

Group of young business people in meeting using laptop on terrace office working in Mexico

Cultural differences with Mexico can be huge and sometimes confusing. This applies to every area of life. These differences appear while making friends, going to school, ordering food, paying the check at a restaurant, greeting someone and, of course, working.

So, if you’re doing business in Mexico, you must learn the different ways they work and all the cultural differences it has with your hometown. This will make the process of adapting a little bit easier and a lot less confusing. You might also end up loving some of these things.

To guide you, here are some cultural differences when working in Mexico or with Mexican employees.

Greeting

You might’ve heard already that Mexicans are very effusive when it comes to greeting people. They like to show their warm nature. They tend to hug and kiss on the cheek.

If you’re not used to this type of behavior, you’ll probably feel weird and out of place at first. But, imagine how awkward it would’ve been if you went to Mexico without knowing this! Have you ever lived a moment like this?

Here’s the important question: Do they also greet like this in the workplace?

Well, not really. Or not everybody.

If you’re greeting your boss or a figure of authority, then you should greet them with a handshake. You can also say a kind but formal:

  • Buen día (good day)
  • Buenos días (good morning)
  • Buenas tardes (good afternoon)
  • Buenas noches (good night)

That’s how people usually greet others in business. They don’t tend to hug or kiss there. The same applies for your coworkers. Especially men and women, or men and men.

If you’re a woman who is friends with another female colleague, then you may kiss her on the cheek. These kisses are mostly just cheek to cheek and making the sound of a kiss, like sending the kiss to the air. They don’t really give you a kiss.

In some companies, the women that are bosses may also greet each other with a kiss on the cheek. Especially if they have a good business relationship. But it’s not common for them to kiss their employees.

Goodbyes

The same thing happens when Mexicans say goodbye: They tend to be super warm and hug and kiss each other on the cheek. But, this isn’t the case in the workplace.

You can simply wave goodbye and say:

  • Adiós (goodbye)
  • Hasta luego (see you later)
  • Hasta mañana (see you tomorrow)
  • Hasta luego, buenas tardes (see you later, good afternoon)

When a meeting is over, you might see some businessmen give each other a hug. That’s just a kind way of saying goodbye and it’s usually a sign that the meeting went well. But it’s not necessary to do this.

Punctuality

Mexicans don’t have the best sense of punctuality. They tend to arrive late everywhere, sometimes even to work. So, don’t be surprised if somebody arrives after the beginning of their work shift or a meeting starts late. Of course, we can’t generalize; it’s not everybody.

Some companies have an approximate ten-minute tolerance.

That being said, you shouldn’t do this. Just because some Mexicans arrive late, doesn’t mean it’s well seen in the workplace. It actually is not. Some companies even have penalties for not being punctual. So, you better stick to being a punctual person.

This punctuality is especially well seen when you have a business meeting with your boss or an important partner. Because it means you respect them and their time.

But if you’re meeting a friend after work or on a weekend, they might arrive later. Or if you’re going to a party, then expect people to arrive a bit later than the scheduled hour.

Work Shift

The work shift in Mexico starts very early. For most corporate jobs, it can vary from 8:00 am to 9:00 am. And it usually ends at 5:00 pm or 6:00 pm. Basically, it is scheduled to last eight hours a day. At least it should be that way. But, sadly, not many people (bosses) respect the end of the shift.

Some hate to see an employee leave at their scheduled hour. And it’s expected for them to stay longer.

Some workers also stay extra hours if they haven’t finished their work yet. Of course, the company should pay for extra hours, but this is not always the case.

If you’re a boss, it’s up to you to tell them it’s okay to leave at their agreed schedule.

The normal 8-hour workday includes one hour of lunch break. Sadly, not many employees take the whole hour, because of the workload.

We don’t mean to say this is the best way to do it. In fact, many Mexicans don’t think so either. We’re also not saying you should do it this way. But you might see this happening when working in Mexico or with Mexican employees.

By the way, in some companies, they only work half a day on Fridays. But it depends on the company.

Formal Attire

Are you wondering how you should dress when meeting a Mexican business partner or going to work? Good question! You don’t want to look out of place.

In Mexico, people tend to dress formally at work; that’s the way it’s expected.

So, for women it would be formal dresses or skirts not too short, and it’s better if you use tights underneath. It can also be formal pants and suits. No crop tops.

And for men it would be the classic suit, shirt and tie. No shorts.

The shoes should also be more formal, no flip flops at all.

Some companies allow the employees to wear more casual or informal clothes, like jeans, on Fridays.

Celebrate the Employees

This is not how everyone does it, but some companies celebrate the employees that reach a certain amount of time or years working in the company. It’s usually done with those that achieve 5, 10, 15, 20… years in the company.

How do they celebrate them? Simply by giving them a gift! That’s a nice thing to do.

It’s common for companies, bosses and especially coworkers, to celebrate the birthday of an employee. They all cooperate with some money to buy a cake and sometimes food, like a pizza. During lunch break, they sing “las mañanitas”, a Mexican song for birthdays, and eat the cake and the food.

Meetings

Mexicans love to do meetings while eating at restaurants, a hotel’s restaurant, or maybe a nice cafe.

These meetings are usually with clients; they want to impress them. But they can also be among business partners and high executives. These meetings don’t usually involve employees with lower roles.

The meetings that involve employees are hosted at the workplace, in the offices’ boardrooms.

You have to know how to engage in small talks, because that’s how all meetings tend to begin. As we said, Mexicans have a warm attitude and like to feel like they know others a bit better before doing serious business. That’s why they do small talk before starting the business’ topic and discussions.

It’s almost like a warm up.

If at the meeting there’s a new person or someone that you’re interested in doing business with, you can exchange business cards.

New Year’s Eve Dinner

Should we keep up with the celebrations? Some companies host a New Year’s Eve meal to celebrate the holidays. At this celebration, bosses and high executives do tend to hang out with employees.

Sometimes, they raffle prizes.

Of course, these celebrations aren’t exactly on December 31st. They can be any day of December.

Conquer Business Worldwide with Fluency Corp

Do you know what’s appreciated in any job position worldwide? That’s right: Bilingualism! If you learn a second – or even a third – language, you’ll have more chances of success in business.

After all, we’re all connected nowadays, and companies need people that will help them break language barriers and reach new foreign markets.

So, whether you want to learn Spanish for your job in Mexico or because you have Spanish-speaking employees, we can help you! We also have other languages in case you also want to conquer the business world in other countries. Just check our Fluency Corp corporate language training with native teachers!

Did you say native teachers? Yes, we did! This means you’ll learn from people that know all the nuances of your target language and how locals use it. You’ll learn things truly useful for real life.

Plus, all of our classes are customized to the job and your needs. So tell us: What do you want and need? Is it vocabulary for a specific job? Or maybe some accent training? Or is it learning how to write a proper business email? Whatever it is; we’re here for you!

As if that weren’t enough, we focus on speaking. So you can communicate effectively. All classes are based on the Bellieu Method, created by our founder and CEO, Micah Bellieu. It consists of encouraging students to speak in their target language. This constant practice will help you achieve language fluency!

Choose between our online or onsite classes. Then, contact us to schedule a free consultation. We’ll answer all your questions!

Write a Business Email in Spanish

Woman in a bright, contemporary office writing business emails in Spanish on a laptop

Are you working abroad or with foreign people? Then, you have to learn how to write a proper business email.

It doesn’t matter in which industry you work or which language you use. This is one of the first and most important things you must learn when working abroad. Because you need to be sure there’s proper communication.

Of course, writing an email for a friend is different from writing an email for business. There are specific words and phrases used in the working environment, and specific jargon for a business email.

This is no exception for the Spanish language. That’s why today we’ll help you learn how to write a business email in Spanish. Just in case you’re working in a Spanish-speaking country or with native Spanish speakers.

Spanish Words for Writing a Business Email

In the world of emails, there are a lot of specific words we use daily. You might already be too accustomed to those to notice. But what if we use those words in Spanish? Do you know them? How would you say “file”? Or “unread email”?

Here’s a list of common Spanish words for emails:

  1. Correo de negocios – Business Email
  2. Spanish – Español
  3. Escribir / Redactar – To write
  4. Enviar – To send
  5. Texto – Text
  6. Asunto – Subject
  7. Para – To
  8. De – From
  9. Bandeja – Inbox
  10. Spam – Spam
  11. Eliminar – Delete
  12. Con copia – Carbon Copy
  13. Con copia oculta – Blind carbon copy
  14. Archivo adjunto – Attached file
  15. Nuevo mensaje – New message
  16. Responder – Reply
  17. Reenviar – Forward
  18. Correos leídos – Read emails
  19. Correos no leídos – Unread emails
  20. Todos – All mail
  21. Borradores – Drafts
  22. Pospuestos – Snoozed
  23. Destacados – Starred
  24. Marcar como leído – Mark as read
  25. Marcar como leído – Mark as read
  26. Papelera – Trash
  27. Programados – Scheduled
  28. Categorías – Categories
  29. Notificaciones – Notifications
  30. Etiquetas – Labels

Spanish Phrases to Greet the Email’s Recipient

The first thing you must do is address the recipient of the business email in a kind but formal way. So there will be no confusion about who you want to talk to. There are different ways to do this:

  • A quien corresponda – To whom it may concern
  • Hola, buen día/buenas tardes – Hello, Good day/Good morning/Good afternoon
  • Estimado Sr./Sra./Director/Directora – Dear Mr./Mrs./Director

If you don’t want it to be super formal, you can simply say:

  • Hola, (add name of the recipient) – Hello, (name of the recipient)

For this, you can use the name and the last name of the other person, or just the last name.

Kind Phrases in Spanish to Start the Business Email

After making it clear who the email is for, it’s time for some kind words. Before diving deep into the topic of the email, Spanish speakers tend to say something nice to the recipient. It can be some well-wishes or thank the person for contacting you. Whatever you think is nice, but without losing the formality.

Here are some common kind phrases in Spanish to start your business email:

  • Espero que se encuentre muy bien – I hope you’re well
  • Es un placer saludarlo (male) / Es un placer saludarla (female) – It’s a pleasure to greet you
  • Espero esté teniendo un buen día. – I hope you’re having a good day
  • Gracias por su interés en mí/nosotros/nuestro producto – Thanks for your interest in me/us/our product
  • Gracias por contactarnos – Thanks for contacting us

Introduce Yourself in Spanish

You can also introduce yourself in Spanish before diving into the email’s topic. For example:

  • Mi nombre es… – My name is…
  • Permítame presentarme, mi nombre es… – Let me introduce myself; my name is…

As an optional step, after saying your name you can add the company that you work for and your role:

  • I work at… – Trabajo en…
  • I work for… – Trabajo para…
  • Soy el/la… – I am the…
  • Estoy encargado/encargada de… – I’m in charge of…
  • Soy el director / la directora de… – I’m the director of…

Build Your Email’s Message

Why are you writing this business email? Is there a problem with something? Do you want to set up a meeting? Do you have questions about a product? Whatever it is, it’s now your time to write the reason for your email.

Remember to be kind, but still direct and formal. So there are no misunderstandings, but people know you’re still friendly.

We recommend you:

  • Write small paragraphs, so it’s easier to read
  • Be as clear as possible with everything you write, but especially with the purpose of the email
  • Be as brief as possible
  • Use paragraphs, especially if the email is going to be long

Here are some Spanish phrases you can use to start writing the reason and topic for your email:

  • Escribo este correo para… – I write this email to…
  • Escribo este correo porque… – I write this email because…
  • Respondiendo a tu pregunta… – Answering your question…
  • Me gustaría saber más sobre/acerca de… – I’d like to know more about…
  • Le escribo para preguntar… – I write to ask…
  • Lo/La contacto para… – I contact you to…
  • Me comunico con usted para… – I communicate with you to…
  • Me dirijo a usted con el fin de… – I write to you in order to…
  • Nos gustaría programar una reunión… – We’d like to set up a meeting…

Now keep on writing your email. Add links, photos, details… Whatever you need to explain yourself.

Spanish Phrases to End Your Business Email

After writing everything you needed to, it’s time to give the email a proper closure.

You can add some Spanish phrases to let the other person know that you’ll wait for an answer. Or that you’re willing to answer any questions. Basically, say something so they know what you expect next from them.

Here are some popular phrases that will help you do that:

  • No dudes en contactarnos/contactarme – Don’t hesitate in contacting us/me
  • Quedo en espera de su respuesta – Looking forward to your response
  • Quedo en espera de sus comentarios – Looking forward to your comments
  • Quedo a la espera de su confirmación – Looking forward to your confirmation
  • Hágame saber si tiene alguna pregunta – Let me know if you have any questions

After, you can add the goodbye. It can simply be by writing your name. But it’s more common and you’ll sound kinder by using any of these phrases before your name:

  • Saludos cordiales – Kind regards
  • Saludos – Regards
  • Un cordial saludo – A kind greeting
  • Atentamente – Sincerely / Kind regards
  • Seguimos en contacto – We’ll keep in touch
  • Quedo atenta – I’ll be waiting
  • Quedo a su disposición – I remain at your disposal

Example of a Business Email in Spanish

Here’s an example of how to write a business email using the steps and phrases above. Of course, it can vary depending on the phrases you want to use. Because some others might go better with the message you’re writing. It’s just a general example for you to get a good idea of how to write a business email in Spanish:

Estimada Sra. Fernández,

Espero que se encuentre bien. Mi nombre es Ted P. Soy el fundador y director de la compañía “Ted P”.

Escribo este correo porque nos enteramos de que ganó el premio a Mejor Compañia de Belleza 2024. Antes que nada, permítame felicitarla por este gran logro.

Así como usted, nosotros también tenemos el objetivo de lograr que la gente se sienta feliz con quienes son a través de productos de calidad que fortalecen la autoestima.

Por ello creemos que seríamos grandes aliados. Nos gustaría programar una reunión para discutir propuestas de trabajo en conjunto. Sólo envíenos los horarios en que podría reunirse.

Quedo en espera de su respuesta.

Saludos cordiales,

Ted P.

Fundador y director de Ted P.

Learn Business Spanish to Communicate Properly with Your Hispanic Workforce

Like we saw above, there’s a different jargon for working in the business world. This also applies to the Spanish language. You just learned some words and phrases for writing a business email in Spanish.

But there’s so much more you can learn to have proper Spanish communication in any area of your work. That’s why we’re here!

Fluency Corp is an online corporate language school. All of our classes are completely customized to the job and your language needs. So just tell us: What do you need? Whether it’s more Spanish vocabulary for a specific industry, accent training, or preparing for a job interview in Spanish, we’ll be glad to help.

We base all our lessons in the Bellieu Method, created by our founder and CEO, Micah Bellieu. It consists of encouraging our students to speak in Spanish using what they’ve learned so far. That’s the best way to achieve language fluency. After all, practice makes perfect.

The best of all is that we have many more languages. So, you’ll have a multilingual workforce! What are you waiting for? Invest in your bilingual education and that of your employees now!

All you have to do is pick a language and choose between our online or on-site language classes. Then contact us for a free consultation to answer all of your questions.

See you in class!

Essential Spanish Vocabulary for Doctors

Male doctor consulting with Hispanic male patient

Doctors, we’ve got an emergency! There’s a patient speaking Spanish, and we don’t understand what he needs! Could he be feeling dizzy? For how long has he been feeling this way? Where’s his family? We don’t know!

Do not panic, Fluency Corp is here!

Have you ever found yourself in a situation like this? Maybe you have. If not, we hope you never live a situation like that. But it’s possible it’ll happen considering Spanish is one of the most spoken languages in the world.

And there are many Hispanic immigrants or tourists, who just like you and I, are exposed to needing healthcare at some point.

As you can see, knowing even the basics of the Spanish language will help you a lot if you’re a doctor. You’ll be able to help your Spanish-speaking patients more. You’ll truly understand what they say, and they’ll also feel more comfortable talking to you.

Here’s your guide to some essential Spanish vocabulary for doctors. Don’t lose the opportunity of becoming a better healthcare professional.

92 Spanish Words for Doctors

There are some common words about medicine everyone uses, even people that aren’t doctors or nurses. Words like “hospital” and “health”. But there are some other words that are more complicated and specifically of doctors.

Here are the Spanish translations of both of those types of words, which are all useful for healthcare professionals. Inside the parenthesis you’ll see the pronunciation of each word, which we added by basing ourselves in the Span¡shD!ctionary.

You’ll recognize many of these, as we’re sure you’ve used most of these words more than once throughout your career:

 

  1. Doctor – Doctor (male) (dohk tohr) / Doctora (female) (dohk tohr ah)
  2. Doctors – Doctores (dohk tohr ehs)
  3. Nurse – Enfermero (male) (ehn fehr meh roh) / Enfermera (female) (ehn fehr meh rah)
  4. Patient – Paciente (pah syehn teh)
  5. Medicine – Medicina (meh dee see nah)
  6. Hospital – Hospital (ohs pee tahl)
  7. Clinic – Clínica (klee nee kah)
  8. Ambulance – Ambulancia (ahm boo lahn syah)
  9. Health – Salud (sah lood)
  10. Healthy – Saludable (sah loo dah bleh)
  11. Anatomy – Anatomía (ah nah toh mee ah)
  12. Stretcher – Camilla (kah mee yah)
  13. Scrubs – Uniforme (oo nee fohr meh)
  14. First Aid – Primeros auxilios (pree meh rohs owk see lyohs)
  15. Check-up – Chequeo (cheh keh oh)
  16. Residency – Residencia (rreh see dehn syah)
  17. Resident – Residente (rreh see dehn teh)
  18. Body – Cuerpo (kwehr poh)
  19. Symptoms – Síntomas (see toh mahs)
  20. Bones – Huesos (weh sohs)
  21. Muscles – Musculos (moos koo loh)
  22. Tendons – Tendones (tehn dohn ehs)
  23. Blood – Sangre (sahng greh)
  24. Blood tests – Examen de sangre (ehk sah mehn deh sahng greh)
  25. Laboratory / Lab – Laboratorio (lah boh rah toh ryoh)
  26. Prognosis – Prognosis (prohg noh sees)
  27. Diagnosis – Diagnóstico (dyahg nohs tee koh)
  28. Prescription – Receta médica (rreh seh tah meh dee kah) / Receta (rreh seh tah) / Prescripción médica (prehs kreep syohn meh dee kah)
  29. Sickness / Disease / Illness – Enfermedad (ehm fehr meh dahd)
  30. Wound – Herida (eh ree dah)
  31. Fever – Fiebre (fyeh breh)
  32. Dizziness – Mareo (mah reh oh)
  33. Treatment – Tratamiento (trah tah myehn toh)
  34. Broken – Roto (rroh toh)
  35. Virus – Virus (bee roos)
  36. Bacteria – Bacteria (bahk teh ryah)
  37. Benign – Benigno (beh neeg noh)
  38. Malignant – Maligno (mah leeg noh)
  39. Anesthesia – Anestesia (ah nehs teh syah)
  40. Antibody – Anticuerpo (ahn tee kwehr poh)
  41. Pills – Pildoras (peel doh rahs) / Pastillas (pahs tee yah)
  42. Aspirin – Aspirina (ahs pee ree nah)
  43. Painkillers – Analgésicos (ah nahl heh see kohs)
  44. Syrup – Jarabe (hah rah beh)
  45. Stitches – Suturas (soo too rahs)
  46. X-ray – Radiografía (rrah dyoh grah fee ah) / Rayos X (rrah yohs eh kees)
  47. Inflamed / Swollen – Inflamado (eem flah mah doh)
  48. Face mask – Mascarilla (mahs kah ree yah) / Cubrebocas (koo breh boh kahs)
  49. Stethoscope – Estetoscopio (ehs teh tohs koh pyoh)
  50. Allergy – Alergia (ah lehr hyah)
  51. Flu – Gripa (gree pah)
  52. Anemia – Anemia (ah neh myah)
  53. Appendicitis – Apendicitis (ah pehn dee see tees)
  54. Fracture – Fractura (frahk too rah)
  55. Heart attack – Infarto de miocardio (eem fahr toh deh mee oh kahr dyoh) / Ataque al corazón (ah tah keh ahl koh rah sohn)
  56. Tumor – Tumor (too mohr)
  57. Bradycardia – Bradicardia (brah dee kahr dyah)
  58. Arthritis – Artritis (ahr tree tees)
  59. Pregnancy – Embarazo (ehm bah rah soh)
  60. Infection – Infección (een fehk syohn)
  61. Kidney stones – Piedras en el riñón (pyeh dras ehn ehl rree nyohn)
  62. Cancer – Cáncer (kahn sehr)
  63. Carcinoma – Carcinoma (kahr see noh mah)
  64. Seizure – Convulsión (kohn bool syohn)
  65. Microcephaly – Microcefalia (mee kroh seh fah lyah)
  66. Cast – Yeso (yeh soh)
  67. Biopsy – Biopsia (byohp syah)
  68. Specialist – Especialista (ehs peh syah lees tah)
  69. Surgery – Cirugía (see roo hee ah)
  70. Surgeon – Cirujano (see roo hah noh)
  71. Operating room (OR) – Quirófano (kee roh fah noh)
  72. Emergency Room (ER) – Sala de Emergencia (sah lah deh eh mehr hehn syah) / Urgencias (oor hehn syahs)
  73. Critical condition – Condición crítica (kohn dee syohn kree tee kah)
  74. Stable – Estable (ehs tah bleh)
  75. Organs – Órganos (ohr gah noh)
  76. Artery – Arteria (ahr teh ryah)
  77. Veins – Venas (beh nahs)
  78. Hemorrhage – Hemorragia (eh moh rrah hyah)
  79. Metastasis – Metástasis (meh tahs tah sees)
  80. Intensive care unit (ICU) – Unidad de cuidados intensivos (UCI) (oo nee dahd deh kwee dah dohs een tehn see bohs)
  81. Donor – Donante (doh nahn teh)
  82. Intravenous (IV) – Intravenoso (een trah beh noh soh)
  83. Chemotherapy – Quimioterapia (kee myoh teh rah pyah)
  84. Immunotherapy – Inmunoterapia (een moo noh teh rah pyah)
  85. Deficiency – Deficiencia (deh fee syehn syah)
  86. Discharged – Dado de alta (male) (dah doh deh ahl tah) / Dada de alta (female) (dah dah deh ahl tah)
  87. Immune system – Sistema inmunitario (sees teh mah een moo nee tah ryoh)
  88. Side effect – Efecto secundario (eh fehk toh seh koon dah ryoh)
  89. Glucose – Glucosa (gloo koh sah)
  90. Pandemic – Pandemia (pahn deh myah)
  91. Vaccine – Vacuna (bah koo nah)
  92. Recovery – Recuperación (rreh-koo-peh-rah-syohn)

28 Medical Specialties in Spanish

If you’re a doctor or planning to become one there are many specialties you can choose from. What are you more interested in? Is it the heart? Is it the brain? Whatever it is, we’re sure you’ll be a great doctor.

Even more so if you know the name of your medical specialty in Spanish. You even need to know the names of the other specialties in case you have to refer a patient to a doctor of another specialty. So, here are the names of some of those awesome medical specialties in Spanish:

 

  1. General medicine – Medicina general
  2. Internal medicine – Medicina interna
  3. Family medicine – Medicina familiar
  4. Cardiology – Cardiología
  5. Neurology – Neurología
  6. Pneumology – Neumología
  7. Pediatrics – Pediatría
  8. Gynecology – Ginecología
  9. Traumatology – Traumatología
  10. Orthopedics – Ortopedia
  11. Ophthalmology – Oftalmología
  12. Dermatology – Dermatología
  13. Urology – Urología
  14. Nephrology – Nefrología
  15. Geriatrics – Geriatría
  16. Allergology – Alergología
  17. Endocrinology – Endocrinología
  18. Plastic surgery – Cirugía plástica
  19. Anesthesiology – Anestesiología
  20. Gastroenterology – Gastroenterología
  21. Obstetrics – Obstetricia
  22. Oncology – Oncología
  23. Physical therapy / Physiotherapy – Fisioterapia
  24. Psychology – Psicología
  25. Psychiatry – Psiquiatría
  26. Radiology – Radiología
  27. Epidemiology – Epidemiología
  28. Infectiology – Infectología

15 Verbs in Spanish Related to Medicine

Of course, when we speak we use tons of different verbs. But when you’re a doctor there are some very specific verbs you’ll constantly use to talk with patients or fellow doctors. Here are some of them in Spanish:

 

  1. To break – Romper
  2. To examine – Examinar
  3. To infect – Infectar
  4. To spread / to pass along – Contagiar
  5. To transmit – Transmitir
  6. To cough – Toser
  7. To sneeze – Estornudar
  8. To bleed – Sangrar
  9. To operate – Operar
  10. To donate – Donar
  11. To sprain – Torcerse
  12. To rule out – Descartar
  13. To refer – Remitir
  14. To discharge – Dar de alta
  15. To heal / to cure – Curar

32 Parts of the Body in Spanish

Some of the things that we’re taught first when we learn Spanish are parts of the body. This comes very handy for doctors. But in medicine, you’ll need more than the parts you can see, like the eyes and the arms.

You’ll also need to know the names of organs and basically, the whole body, even the smallest parts of it. To help our doctors out there, here are the names of some important parts of our body in Spanish. This are also commonly used in medicine:

 

  1. Eyes – Ojos
  2. Arm – Brazo
  3. Hand – Mano
  4. Fingers – Dedos
  5. Shoulder – Hombro
  6. Elbow – Codo
  7. Leg – Pierna
  8. Knee – Rodilla
  9. Feet / Foot – Pies / Pie
  10. Ankle – Tobillo
  11. Head – Cabeza
  12. Neck – Cuello
  13. Brain – Cerebro
  14. Throat – Garganta
  15. Stomach – Estómago
  16. Abdomen – Abdomen
  17. Back – Espalda
  18. Ribs – Costillas
  19. Thorax – Tórax
  20. Hip – Cadera
  21. Appendix – Apéndice
  22. Heart – Corazón
  23. Kidney – Riñón
  24. Liver – Hígado
  25. Pancreas – Páncreas
  26. Lungs – Pulmones
  27. Colon – Colon
  28. Bladder – Vejiga
  29. Intestine – Intestino
  30. Penis – Pene
  31. Vulva – Vulva
  32. Vagina – Vagina

18 Spanish Phrases Doctors Say

There are some common phrases most doctors say whether it’s during an appointment with a patient or talking to other professionals. Here are some of those phrases in Spanish, as they’re so common that doctors from other countries also use them.

Just pay attention: If you’ve ever been a patient, you’ve probably heard your doctor say one of these:

 

  1. How are you feeling? / ¿Cómo se siente?
  2. Where does it hurt? / ¿En dónde duele?
  3. How would you describe the pain? / ¿Cómo describirías el dolor?
  4. How did you hurt yourself? / ¿Cómo te lastimaste?
  5. Does it hurt when I press here? / ¿Duele cuando aprieto aquí?
  6. Do you consume alcohol or drugs? / ¿Consume alcohol o drogas?
  7. Do you have any allergies? / ¿Tiene alguna alergia?
  8. Have you experienced dizziness? / ¿Has experimentado mareos?
  9. You need plenty of rest for that ankle. / Necesitará mucho descanso para ese tobillo.
  10. You’ll need some stitches. / Necesitarás algunas suturas.
  11. What’s your prognosis for this case, doctor? / ¿Cuál es la prognosis para este caso, doctor?
  12. My prognosis is that the pacient will make a full recovery. / Mi prognosis es que el paciente logrará una recuperación completa.
  13. We’re going to have to run some tests to rule out anemia. / Tendremos que hacer unos estudios para descartar anemia.
  14. You’ll need to come for a routine check-up every six months. / Necesitará venir a un chequeo de rutine cada seis meses.
  15. Here’s your prescription: You’ll take an aspirin every 8 hours. / Aquí está su receta médica: tomará una aspirina cada 8 horas.
  16. I will refer you to a specialist. / Te remitiré a un especialista.
  17. Surgery was a success. / La cirugía fue un éxito.
  18. We’d like to keep you under observation for a couple of days. / Nos gustaría mantenerlo en observación un par de días.

How to Put into Practice Your New Vocabulary for Doctors

You might want to put into practice your new Spanish vocabulary for doctors before using it with real patients. This way you can be sure you’re applying it the right way. Of course, the best method to learn is through real life experience, but there are ways to practice before, so you can feel more confident. Here are some ideas:

 

Read!

As a doctor you probably already have to read a lot. Many papers of different medical things, from anatomy books to history of medicine to new investigations on a disease. Whatever it is, reading is essential both for medicine and for vocabulary practice. Thanks to reading you’ll know how to use the words and phrases correctly, at the right moment.

Now, though you can learn a lot of Spanish vocabulary through reading any book, it’s not that common to learn medical words. You might learn common words related to doctors in a novel, like “disease”, “health”, “hospital”, and “doctor”.

But it’ll be more difficult to find more specific medical jargon. For this, we’d recommend you read medical papers in Spanish. For example: You can search for a new Spanish investigation on a disease you treat in your specialty. This way, you’ll be learning about medicine, while acquiring vocabulary in Spanish for your job.

You can also look up your favorite anatomy book in its Spanish version. So you read something you already know, but you’ll be reading it in a new language. This will make the process of learning easier. It’s an especially good method for beginners.

 

Act out the vocabulary

You can ask fellow bilingual doctors to act a medical scene with you using the vocabulary above. For example: He/she can be the patient, and you can be the doctor. He/she can use the symptoms of any injury or disease and describe it to you in Spanish. You can answer or ask questions using the words we just taught you.

Be sure you act out the whole scene, from the moment the patient arrives to the moment you dismiss him/her. So you can practice the whole scenario that could happen to you with a real Hispanic patient.

Then, practice the other way around. You can be the patient, and your friend or colleague can be the doctor. This way, both of you practice Spanish words and phrases for doctors.

 

Discuss medicine

If you’re too shy to act out a medical scene, you can always discuss medicine in Spanish with colleagues. As a doctor, you probably already discuss medicine with other doctors and researchers.

Maybe you talk about a new disease or a new cure; maybe about a patient’s case to ask for another professional’s opinion, or maybe about why you chose your specialty. Whatever it is, discussions about medicine are important and you use a lot of jargon while doing that.

That means that if you encourage these discussions in Spanish, you’ll learn and use a lot of medical jargon in Spanish.

You can simply ask a Hispanic colleague, or a fellow doctor that’s also learning the language, to speak with you. They’ll probably love to do it, as they’ll also benefit from that. Bilingualism is great for everyone!

 

Enroll yourself in Spanish lessons

This is a very important one. Though you can learn a lot from our blogs and free resources on the internet, such as YouTube videos, that won’t teach you everything. It will especially not force you to speak using your new vocabulary.

Classes are always important. A teacher will give you more vocabulary and perception of the language; he/she will teach you all areas of it. And he or she will also guide you through the whole process.

So, if you make a mistake your teacher can correct you. More importantly, your teacher can also make sure you speak in Spanish using your new vocabulary every lesson, so you become fluent.

Become a Bilingual Doctor with Fluency Corp!

Are you looking for a school where you can practice your Spanish and become even more fluent in it? Awesome! That’s the best you can do for yourself and your career. By doing that, you’ll become the best bilingual doctor you can be. But we know it’s hard to find a school that focuses on your fluency.

Don’t worry though. You’ll find that with us! Fluency Corp is a corporate language school. What does this mean? That we teach languages based on your job and needs. So, if you tell us that you need Spanish for medicine, we got you covered. We’ll teach you all areas of the language, from reading to listening.

But we’ll focus even more on speaking by encouraging you to speak in every class. That way you’ll achieve Spanish fluency. Soon, you’ll be communicating with your Hispanic patients with ease.

You can also tell us your more specific needs. Do you want to learn more vocabulary for doctors? Or do you need to know how to write a prescription in Spanish? That’s fine, we’re here to help.

All you have to do is choose between our online or onsite classes. Then, pick a language (we have many more besides Spanish). And contact us for a free consultation to answer all your questions.

Essential Spanish Vocabulary for Nurses

Female nurse providing care for Hispanic female patient in wheelchair

Believe it or not, languages are also important in the world of medicine. If you’re bilingual, it’ll give you an extra advantage as a healthcare provider. So, if you’re looking for a language to learn for medicine, we believe Spanish is the one. Think about it: It’s one of the most spoken languages in the world. And there are many Hispanic immigrants around the globe.

If you’re a nurse, this is especially perfect for you. Because you have to deal with different kinds of people throughout your shift, from doctors to patients to family. Some of them might be Spanish-speaking people. So if you know even the basics of the language, it’ll be a huge help for everyone.

To help you out, here’s some essential Spanish vocabulary for nurses.

Reasons Spanish is Important for Nurses

High number of Hispanic people abroad

One of the groups of people that immigrate the most is the Hispanic one. Just in 2022 there were 63.7 million Hispanics in the United States. That number keeps increasing through the years. And now Hispanic is considered the biggest group of immigrants in this country. Of course, the U.S. is not the only country with Spanish speaking immigrants.

Let’s not forget about tourism. You might find someone that doesn’t live in your country, but it’s visiting and it’s in need of a nurse or a doctor.
This means that wherever you work, you may encounter a Spanish speaking patient. So, it’s better if you’re prepared for it.

 

Improves communication

The healthcare industry is huge and one that all of us need. After all, we’re all exposed to getting injured or sick. This means that nurses will eventually have to take care of a foreigner, maybe a Hispanic person. Especially considering that Spanish is one of the languages with more speakers. Who knows? Maybe you’ve already faced this situation more than once.

Knowing your patient’s first language will make it easier for communication. They’ll be able to speak their mother tongue, so you can fully understand their symptoms. You can see how this will also benefit medicine. Language nuances can be tricky, so if you know Spanish, there are less chances of confusion. Which means a better treatment.

 

Your patients will feel more comfortable

More times than not, speaking in our mother tongue comes easier and makes us feel more comfortable than speaking in our second language. This can be key for vulnerable situations, like when we speak about our feelings or about symptoms we may be experiencing.

So, your patients may feel more comfortable speaking about what’s going on if they do it in their native language. They’ll probably have more fluency and have more vocabulary to explain everything in detail.

You’ll be a super nurse if you allow them to speak in their beloved Spanish language.

 

Makes you look good

Hey, the benefits of learning Spanish as a nurse aren’t just for your patients. You’ll become a better nurse and that will be loved by the patients.

Because they will feel comfortable talking to you, as they can do it in their native language. They’ll also feel like you care a lot about them, their well-being, and comfort since you took the effort of learning a second language.

Want more? Having bilingual skills, especially for such a necessary language in today’s globalized world, will enhance your resume. All industries are in need of bilingual or even polyglot employees nowadays. So, you’ll be a great contender.

Spanish Words for Nurses

Like all work industries, medicine also has its own jargon. And since there are many areas of the medical field, there are thousands of different words you could use in this industry.

Nursing is one of those highly important jobs in this business. And they also use their own words to talk and to refer to things. Some of these words are used almost daily. That’s why we thought it important to show you some of these major words that nurses use in Spanish.

You’ll notice that in parenthesis we added the pronunciation based on the Span¡shD!ctionary. So, you have everything to practice. Now go impress everyone in the hospital with your new Spanish vocabulary for nurses.

 

  1. Nurses – Enfermeros (male) (ehn fehr meh rohs) / Enfermeras (female) (ehn fehr meh rahs)
  2. Hospital – Hospital (ohs pee tahl)
  3. Pain – Dolor (doh lohr)
  4. Patient – Paciente (pah syehn teh)
  5. Wound – Herida (eh ree dah)
  6. Assessment – Evaluación (eh bah lwah syohn)
  7. Shot – Inyección (een yehk syohn)
  8. Syringe – Jeringa (heh reeng gah)
  9. Symptoms – Síntomas (see toh mahs)
  10. Treatment – Tratamiento (trah tah myehn toh)
  11. Emergency – Emergencia (eh mehr hehn syah)
  12. Vital signs – Signos vitales (seeg noah bee tahl ehs)
  13. Body temperature – Temperatura corporal (tehm peh rah too rah kohr poh rahl)
  14. Heart rate – Ritmo cardíaco (rreet moh kahr dee ah koh)
  15. Respiration rate – Frecuencia respiratoria (freh kwehn syah rrehs pee rrah toh ryah)
  16. Pulse rate – Frecuencia del pulso (freh kwehn syah dehl pool soh) / Pulso (pool soh)
  17. Blood pressure – Presión arterial (preh syohn ahr teh ryahl)
  18. Blood glucose – Glucosa (gloo koh sah) / Glucosa sanguínea (gloo koh sah sahng gee neh ah)
  19. Blood oxygen – Saturación de oxígeno (sah too rah syohn deh ohk see heh noh) / Oxígeno en la sangre (ohk see heh noh ehn lah sahng greh)
  20. Weight – Peso (peh soh)
  21. Blood type – Tipo de sangre (tee poh deh sahng greh)
  22. Hypertension – Hipertensión (ee pehr tehn syohn)
  23. Bradypnea – Bradipnea (brah deep neh ah)
  24. Bradycardia – Bradicardia (brah dee kahr dyah)
  25. Medical studies / Tests – Estudios médicos (ehs too dyohs meh dee kohs) / Estudios (ehs too dyohs)
  26. Dose – Dosis (doh sees)
  27. Fever – Fiebre (fyeh breh)
  28. Dizziness – Mareo (mah reh oh)
  29. Hemorrhage / Bleeding – Hemorragia (eh moh rrah hyah)
  30. Abrasion – Abrasión (ah brah syohn)
  31. Bruise – Moretón (moh reh tohn)
  32. Infection – Infección (een fehk syohn)
  33. Sterile – Estéril (ehs teh reel)
  34. Gown – Bata (bah tah)
  35. Diagnostic – Diagnóstico (dyahg nohs tee koh)
  36. Thermometer – Termómetro (tehr moh meh troh)
  37. Pulse oximeter – Oximetro de pulso (ohk see meh troh dehl pool soh)
  38. Glucometer – Glucómetro (gloo koh meh troh)
  39. Humidifying cup / Humidifier cup – Vaso humidificador (bah soh oo mee dee fee kah dohr)
  40. Nasogastric tube – Sonda nasogástrica (sohn dah nah soh gahs tree kah)
  41. Kangaroo pump – Bomba de canguro (bohm bah deh kahng goo roh)
  42. Dressing – Vendaje (behn dah heh)
  43. Bandage – Venda (behn dah)
  44. Intensive care unit – Unidad de cuidados intensivos (oo nee dahd deh kwee dah dohs een tehn see bohs)
  45. Medical history – Historial médico (ees toh ryahl meh dee koh)
  46. Medical insurance – Seguro médico (seh goo roh meh dee koh)
  47. Medicine – Medicina (meh dee see nah)
  48. Leukopoiesis – Leucopoyesis (leyoo koh poh yeh sees)
  49. Analgesics – Analgésicos (ah nahl heh see kohs)
  50. Aspirin – Aspirina (ahs pee ree nah)
  51. Bair hugger – Bair hugger (b air huh gr) / Sistema Bair hugger (sees teh mah b air huh gr)
  52. Abduction – Abducción (ab duk sion)
  53. Anesthesia – Anestesia (ah nehs teh syah)
  54. Surgery – Cirugía (see roo hee ah)
  55. To bind – Vendar (behn dahr)
  56. To dilute – Diluir (dee lweer)
  57. To examine – Examinar (ehk sah mee nahr)
  58. To cure / To heal – Curar (koo rahr)

Spanish Phrases for Nurses

There are some common phrases nurses use all the time. Whether it’s to talk with other nurses, ask for help, give instructions to nursing interns, or talk to patients. Here are some of those phrases in Spanish that nurses say a lot.

 

  1. This won’t hurt you. / No te dolerá.
  2. It doesn’t hurt. / No duele.
  3. You’re going to feel a small pinch/jab. / Vas a sentir un pequeño piquete/pinchazo.
  4. I’m going to take your blood pressure. / Voy a tomarle la presión arterial.
  5. I’m going to apply a shot that will help you. / Le voy a aplicar una inyección que le ayudará.
  6. Your veins are very thin. / Tus venas son muy delgadas.
  7. You have rolling veins. / Tiene venas bailarinas.
  8. Let’s take your vital signs. / Vamos a tomarle sus signos vitales.
  9. Let’s page Dr. Parker. / Llamemos al doctor Parker.
  10. The doctor will be right with you. / El doctor estará con usted pronto.
  11. You’ll need a dressing. / Necesitará un vendaje firme.
  12. Do you consume drugs or alcohol? / ¿Consumes drogas o alcohol?
  13. On a scale of 1 to 10, how much does it hurt you? Being 1 a mild pain and 10 an intense pain. / En una escala del 1 al 10, ¿cuánto te duele? Siendo el 1 un dolor leve y el 10 un dolor intenso.
  14. The patient reports abdominal pain. / El paciente refiere dolor abdominal.
  15. Catheterized the patient, please. / Canaliza al paciente, por favor.
  16. The patient is stable. / El paciente se encuentra estable.

Become a Bilingual Nurse with Fluency Corp

If you’re ready to take the next step to improve as a healthcare professional, you’ve come to the right place. Here at Fluency Corp we can help you improve even more your language skills.

Not only will we teach you more vocabulary, but also help you upgrade in all the language areas, from listening to speaking. After all, they’re all necessary to work with foreign patients, families and doctors.

You must know that we offer corporate language classes. What does that mean? That our classes are based on your job and needs. So, if you work in medicine, we’ll focus our lessons on that.

You can also tell us specific things you need to learn. Maybe how to do administrative tasks in your target language. Or how to greet a patient in Spanish. Or even more vocabulary for nurses.

You can also invest in classes for your work team. Imagine having your whole team of nurses being bilingual! It’d be super useful!

The best of all is that we not only teach Spanish, but many more languages as well. Pick the best one for you and your team.

Just choose between our online or onsite classes. And contact us for a free consultation to answer all your questions.

You already help your patients every day, now let us help you!

Spanish Vocabulary for Business

Business man holding a card with both hands in the foreground that reads Hablas Espanol? (Do You Speak Spanish?)

Spanish is one of the most spoken languages in the world. That’s also why it’s become so important for business. Many bosses and leaders know the language and many companies are looking for employees that know it too. Because they know that if you speak Spanish, you can help them grow their business.

You’ve probably already seen during international meetings at your office the importance of the Spanish language. Have you felt lost during those reunions? Don’t you know how to say basic business words and phrases in Spanish? Do you want to be more fluent? That’s okay; you can always improve!

So, if you’re looking for a new language that’ll help you improve your business skills for whatever goals you have, look no further. Spanish will bring many benefits for you. It will enhance your curriculum. Whether you’re already a CEO, an employee, or even if you’re just fresh out of school.

Spanish Words for Business

Here’s a list of important words for the world of business with their Spanish translations. We wrote the pronunciation we learned on SpanishD!ctionary in the parenthesis.

We bet you’ll use these words at least once when doing international business:

  1. Business – Negocios (neh goh syohs)
  2. Work – Trabajo (trah bah hoh)
  3. Job – Trabajo (trah bah hoh)
  4. Employees – Empleados (ehm pleh ah dohs)
  5. Boss – Jefe (heh feh)
  6. Company – Compañía (kohm pah nyee ah)
  7. Human Resources – Recursos Humanos (rreh koor sohs oo mah nohs)
  8. Meeting – Reunión (rreyoo nyohn) / Junta (hoon tah)
  9. Contract – Contrato (kohn trah toh)
  10. Customer – Cliente (klyehn teh)
  11. Business partner – Socio de negocios (soh syoh deh neh goh syohs)
  12. Office – Oficina (oh fee see nah)
  13. Salary / Wage – Salario (sah lah ryoh)
  14. Co-workers – Compañeros de trabajo (kohm pah nyeh roh)
  15. Conference – Conferencia (kohm feh rehn syah)
  16. Market – Mercado (mehr kah doh)
  17. Global – Global (gloh bahl)
  18. International – Internacional (een tehr nah syoh nahl)
  19. Industry – Industria (een doos tryah)
  20. Facilities – Facilidades (fah see lee dah dehs)
  21. Report – Reporte (rreh pohr teh)
  22. Results – Resultados (rreh sool tah dohs)
  23. Money – Dinero (dee neh roh)
  24. Lucrative – Lucrativo (loo krah tee boh)
  25. Remuneration – Remuneración (rreh oo neh rah syohn)
  26. Accounting – Contabilidad (kohn tah bee lee dahd)
  27. Project – Proyecto (proh yehk toh)
  28. Product – Producto (proh dook toh)
  29. Loan – Préstamo (prehs tah moh)
  30. Stock market – Mercado bursátil (mehr kah doh boor sah teel)
  31. Budget – Presupuesto (preh soo pwehs toh)
  32. Cash inflow / Income – Ingresos (een greh sohs)
  33. Revenue / Profit – Ganancia (gah nahn syah)
  34. Cash outflow – Egresos (eh greh sohs)
  35. Loss – Pérdida (pehr dee dah)
  36. Recession – Recesión (rreh seh syohn)
  37. Finances – Finanzas (fee nahn sahs)
  38. Insurance – Seguro (seh goo roh)
  39. Supplier – Proveedor (proh beh eh dohr)
  40. Shareholder – Accionista (ahk syoh nees tah)
  41. Investors – Inversionistas (eem behr seeoh nees tahs) / Inversores (eem behr sohr ehs)
  42. Investment – Inversión (eem behr syohn)
  43. Balance sheet – Hoja de balance (oh hah deh bah lahn seh)
  44. Trade off – Compensación (kohm pehn sah syohn)
  45. Goals – Objetivos (ohb heh tee bohs)
  46. Mission – Misión (mee syohn)
  47. Offer – Oferta (oh fehr tah)
  48. Costs – Costo (kohs toh)
  49. Inventory – Inventario eem behn tah ryoh)
  50. Trademark – Marca (mahr kah)

Spanish Professions

In just one company, there can be many different professions and job positions. Here are the Spanish names of some of those jobs:

  1. Founder – Fundador (male) (foon dah dohr) / Fundadora (female) (foon dah dohr ah)
  2. Director – Director (male) (dee rehk tohr) / Directora (female) (dee rehk tohr ah)
  3. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) – Director Ejecutivo (male) (dee rehk tohr eh heh koo tee boh) / Directora Ejecutiva (female) (dee rehk tohr eh heh koo tee bah)
  4. Vice president – Vicepresidente (male) (bee seh preh see dehn teh) / Vicepresidenta (female) (bee seh preh see dehn tah)
  5. Manager – Gerente (heh rehn teh)
  6. Chief Operating Officer (COO) – Director de Operaciones (male) (dee rehk tohr deh oh peh rah syohn ehs) / Director de Operaciones (female) (dee rehk tohr ah deh oh peh rah syohn ehs)
  7. Lawyer – Abogado (male) (ah boh gah doh) / Abogada (female) (ah boh gah dah)
  8. Assistant – Asistente (ah sees tehn teh)
  9. Receptionist – Recepcionista (rreh sehp syoh nees tah)
  10. Customer service agent – Agente de servicio al cliente (ah hehn teh deh sehr bee syoh ahl klyehn teh)
  11. Programmer – Programador (male) (proh grah mah dohr) / Programadora (female) (proh grah mah dohr ah)
  12. Architect – Arquitecto (male) (ahr kee tehk toh) / Arquitecta (female) (ahr kee tehk tah)
  13. Consultant – Asesor (male) (ah seh sohr) / Asesora (female) (ah seh sohr ah)
  14. Accountant – Contador (male) (kohn tah dohr) / Contadora (female) (kohn tah dohr ah)
  15. Recruiter – Reclutador (male) (rreh kloo tah dohr) / Reclutadora (female) (rreh kloo tah dohr ah)
  16. Designer – Diseñador (male) (dee seh nyah dohr) / Diseñadora (female) (dee seh nyah dohr ah)
  17. Engineer – Ingeniero (male) (eeng heh nyeh roh) / Ingeniera (female) (eeng heh nyeh roh)
  18. Editor – Editor (male) (eh dee tohr) / Editora (female) (eh dee tohr ah)

Classic Business Expressions in Spanish

Here are some classic phrases that a lot of businessmen, business women, and leaders use when talking in a business environment.

  • Push back – Retroceder (rreh troh seh dehr)
  • At the latest – A más tardar (ah mahs tahr dahr)
  • By this means I inform you… – Por medio de la presente le comunico… (pohr meh dyoh deh lah preh sehn teh leh koh moo nee koh)
  • Get the ball rolling – Poner manos a la obra (poh nehr mah nohs ah lah oh brah)
  • Let’s get down to business – Hay que entrar en materia (ay keh ehn trahr ehn mah teh ryah) / Entremos en materia (ehn treh mohs ehn mah teh ryah) / Vayamos al tema (bah yah mohs) / Pongamonos a trabajar (pohn gah moh nohs ah trah bah hahr)
  • Going forward – En el futuro (ehn ehl foo too roh) / En adelante (ehn ah deh lahn teh)
  • Push forward – Avanzar (ah bahn sahr) / Impulsar (eem pool sahrr)
  • Pick it off from where we left – Retomar donde lo dejamos (rreh toh mahr dohn deh loh deh hah mohs)
  • Bring to the table – Aportar (ah pohr tahr)
  • Call it a day – Dar el día por terminado (dahr ehl dee ah pohr tehr mee nah doh) / Dejarlo por hoy (deh hahr pohr oy)

Phrases in Spanish for Business

Let’s remember that most people prefer a more formal treatment and talk during work hours. That’s why you can’t express yourself as you normally do with your friends or romantic partners.

So, here are some phrases in Spanish you could use when speaking to your boss or coworkers, or during a meeting. Or even just to present yourself in a formal way.

  • Good morning / Good afternoon / Good day / Buenos días / Buenas tardes / Buen día
  • Good morning, my name is Kate, nice to meet you. I’m here for the interview. / Buenos días, mi nombre es Kate, mucho gusto. Estoy aquí por la entrevista de trabajo.
  • Good morning. You’re calling to Ted Company, with whom do I have the pleasure of speaking with? / Buenos días. Está llamando a la Compañía Ted, ¿con quién tengo el gusto de hablar?
  • Good day, everyone. The meeting is at 2:00 pm. / Buen día a todos. La junta es a las dos de la tarde.
  • Now, tell me, if we hired you, what would you bring to the table? / Ahora, dime, por favor, si te contratara, ¿que aportarías?
  • What’s going to be the economic impact of this project? / ¿Cuál va a ser el impacto económico de este proyecto?
  • On this meeting we will address the cash inflow and outflow of the company. / En esta reunión vamos a abordar los ingresos y egresos monetarios de la compañía.
  • Mr. Josh P. could you, please, check if we have enough inventory? / ¿Señor, Josh P. podría, por favor, checar si tenemos suficiente inventario?
  • I’m so sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but we have to push back on the project due to a lack of investors. / Lamento mucho ser el portador de malas noticias, pero tenemos que retroceder en el proyecto debido a una falta de inversores.
  • Let me introduce you to the new Chief Executive Officer, Mrs. Giselle C. / Permítanme presentarles a la nueva Directora Ejecutiva, la señorita Giselle C.
  • Would it be possible to get these documents ready by Friday at the latest, please? / ¿Crees que sería posible tener estos documentos listos para el viernes a más tardar, por favor?
  • Mr. Johnson, do you think we could talk later? I’d like to present you an idea to increase the sales. / Señor, Johnson, ¿cree que podríamos hablar más tarde? Me gustaría presentarle una idea para aumentar las ventas.
  • This meeting has been too long. Let’s call it a day and we’ll pick it off tomorrow from where we left. / Esta reunión se ha extendido mucho. Demos el día por terminado y mañana retomamos donde lo dejamos.
  • By this means I inform you of my decision to resign the position of programmer. / Por medio de la presente le comunico mi decisión de renunciar al cargo de programador.

Conquer the Spanish Business World with Fluency Corp

You’ve acquired some important vocabulary for business in Spanish throughout this blog. But now you have to use it. Uf! Stepping into the office and actually speaking in Spanish? Yeah, that can be scary. But don’t worry, Fluency Corp is here to help!

We offer corporate language classes in Spanish for you or your employees. That’s right, you can invest in lessons for your teamwork. This could be a great move now that you know that their bilingual skills will not only be beneficial for them, but for your company as well.

Our classes are completely customized to your job and needs. So, if you need to learn business vocabulary for a specific industry, we can help. Or if you want to help your expats improve their accent, we’ll make a plan for them.

Or maybe you need to learn how to write emails in Spanish; we can do that too. Whatever it is you need, we’re ready!

The best of all is our Bellieu Method in which we base our lessons. This method consists of encouraging you to speak in your target language. This way you’ll achieve Spanish fluency. Do you know what this means? That you’ll get to practice all your new business words and phrases during our lessons!

So you feel more prepared for your next business meeting or job interview.

Oh, and we have other languages besides Spanish, in case you’re interested. So pick your language. Then just choose between our online or onsite classes.

Don’t forget to contact us for a free consultation.

What is the Difference Between Spain and Mexico?

Mexico & Spain Differences

Even though they speak Spanish in Mexico, and the Spaniards are the reason for that, there are huge differences between the two peoples. Accent, culture, food, just to name a few.

Today, we’re going to dig into the more granular ways that the two countries and their people are so different, even though the Spaniards colonized the country over 400 years ago.

Top Differences Between Spain and Mexico are:

Where are Spain & Mexico Located?

Now, I do not want to offend you by stating the obvious, but sometimes this fact is not quite so obvious – Spain and Mexico are on two different continents. Mexico is just south of Texas, in North America, connecting the United States to Central America. Spain is just north of Africa, to the east of Portugal, and is in Europe.

At Fluency Corp we believe everything is easier to remember with a story! We’ll tell a short, yet entertaining, story that will help you remember.

Imagine Hernán Cortés: not a super tall Spanish guy in the 16th century. He’s been on a boat for months to get across the Atlantic Ocean. He probably left at the southern port of Cadiz (no clue if this is true, but geographically it makes sense), and he is eager to claim some land and resources for Spain.

Cortés and his boss hit up Cuba, and his boss told him to then go back, but Hernán Cortés wanted more. He pushed on through the Caribbean Sea/Gulf of Mexico and landed in the state of Yucatan. Can you visualize it? Hope that helped.

What are the Biggest Challenges Facing Mexico & Spain?

Corruption and the absence of rule of law are the 2 largest problems facing Mexico today. We are reminded almost weekly that the crime and homicide rate still makes this country out of control.

When 43 students were murdered in 2014, the country rose up in protest.Yet, the murderers, supposedly the exact army that was supposed to be protecting the country, is still not in jail. Enormous crimes like this can be committed, and no one is held responsible. This sends a message that the drug cartels can get away with bribing officials and get away with it.

Spain, on the other hand, has more first world problems, as we call them. In 2008, the housing bubble burst and the GDP growth finally hit a wall. In 2012, the Spanish financial sector could no longer continue and they had to get bailed out by the European Stability Mechanism. This affected the unemployment rate especially hard, caused a severe economic downturn and bankrupted many companies.

At this same time, we saw many Spanish companies go abroad to stay afloat. We’ve been working with infrastructure powerhouse Ferrovial teaching their employees Spanish and English since 2013.

They knew that in order to stay relevant and continue building highways, tunnels and airports, they would have to seek clients in other countries, and in order to be successful in those other countries, they would have to invest in language training. They have most definitely succeeded since they now have projects on almost every continent.

What is the Difference Between Spanish Food & Mexican Food?

Mexican Food
Very different! These two foods could not be any more different, actually. Mexican food staples are corn, chili, beans, tomatoes, fruit and meat. Each region of Mexico has their specialties, like shark and octopus in the Yucatan region.

Corn is mostly found in the famous, warm Mexican tortillas and tamales, which are filled with just about any vegetable or meat and dipped in one of the many salsas, from mild to very picante. Or as my grandfather says, picosa.

When I said chilies, you didn’t think I meant just one, right? Just a few of the chiles you will run into in Mexico are: mulato, cascabel, poblano, serrano, and of course, the one we all know and love, the jalapeno.

Spanish Food
Spain food features a delicious Mediterranean diet: olive oil, fish, vegetables, legumes, fruits, some poultry, and some dairy. As you can see, the Spanish diet hits heavier on the Omega-3s, and contains more of a variety in their vegetables while Mexico leans heavily on corn and beans (what could be found locally, of course).

Spain, surrounded by water, logically gets a large amount of its food from the sea and the olive trees that flourish in Spain. Just like in Mexico, every region in Spain has its own specialties, like the empanadas from Galicia, or the spicy Basque-style chicken from Basque country. Of course, no matter where you are, you can get the famous Jamón ibérico.

What are the Pronunciation Differences Between Mexico & Spain Spanish?

The Z and the C (before e or i) in both languages are pronounced very differently. You can immediately tell if someone is from Spain due to this letter difference. In Mexican Spanish it sounds like a regular English S sound. Using Spain Spanish, it sounds like someone speaking English with a lisp (or, the TH sound in English), but it’s not a lisp – that’s how it’s pronounced.

Why did this happen? Well, this would be the same answer as to why Brits do not pronounce the H and Americans do. Over hundreds of years and many thousands of miles, groups of people change a spoken language over time. The resulting change is very different from the group that is far away. This is the simple evolution of a language.

In Medieval Castilian Spanish, just as in Medieval Olde English, words were spelled differently. Interestingly, Spanish used to use the same letter used in French, the ç, called a cedilla, to spell words like plaça, which is today spelled like plaza (but still using the TH sound where the Z is).

How do Mexico & Spain Communication Styles Differ?

I have lived in both of these countries so I can most definitely tell you that even though Spain brought a lot of people over, they did not bring their communication style. Or, at least, it didn’t stick.

I found the Mexican people to be overly polite (for my blunt American style of communicating), indirect, long-winded (again, for my blunt taste), and sugary sweet (I also lived in the bustling city of Boston, and liked the direct communication style there). They were most definitely polite.

Spain, on the other hand, does not have any of the above characteristics, and I do not mean that in a negative way. They say the truth, even if it may sting a little. Spaniards are direct, but at the same time diplomatic – not rude, but frank. They are quite gregarious and will talk a lot, and possibly loudly to show their feelings about a particular topic.

Similarities are seen in the formal nature of communicating in public, and the respect given by not using first names, but rather Mr., Mrs., etc.

What are the Biggest Cultural Differences Between Mexico & Spain?

Based on one Mexican’s journey to Spain, the largest differences he found were:

  1. The people
  2. The flow of life

When you arrive in Mexico City, you realize quickly that it will take possibly an hour to arrive at your hotel from the airport. During this drive, it will be quite chaotic, people will be running to cross the street, motorcycles fly between cars, and the flow is quite fast. Of course, the capital is the main area where you’ll encounter life at this speed. In Spain, it seems more calm, organized, serene, and CLEAN.

This Mexican tourist also found that the general way of being was intimidating. Remember, we said that the Mexican culture was more affable, polite, and less frank. So the strong character (not rudeness!) of the Spaniards was more in your face than Mexicans, or even Americans, are used to.

Does the Vocabulary Differ Between Spain & Mexico?

Just like an American traveling to Britain, there are stark vocabulary differences between Spain and Mexico. Asking for a fag in the U.S. might make some eyebrows raise. In the same way asking where the loo is might get you an introduction to a large, trucker named Lou! The same happens in Mexico and Spain.

There are hundreds of differences, but here are just a few:

  • Los servicios vs el baño (the bathroom).
  • Vale in Spain expresses ‘okay’ or agreement. This is not said in Mexico.
  • Tio or tia in Spain expresses guy or gal, but the dictionary meaning is uncle or aunt.
  • Boletos (Mexico) versus billetes (Spain) both mean tickets.
  • Computadora (Mexico) versus ordenador (Spain) both mean computer.

These are just a few of the hundreds of differences!

If you interested in learning Spanish from Spain or Spanish from Mexico, or if you have a cultural challenge at your multicultural or multilingual workplaces, please reach out to us.

We transform communication with employees and their families so the success of international relocations are greatly increased. For a free consultation, contact us or call us at (800) 401-3159. Read success stories on our testimonials page.