Have you ever walked into an office or a business meeting in Spanish and notice people say certain phrases quite often? Well, that’s because just like in English, there exist some phrases in Spanish people use all the time to communicate more effectively in the business industry.
It’s like the business jargon that everyone understands. It’s important you know them too if you’re going to enter the Hispanic workforce.
So, check out this guide on some of the most common Spanish phrases for doing business. They might seem confusing at first, but it’s not much once you’ve learned and practiced them. So give yourself some grace; you’ll end up impressing everyone at the office soon.
Spanish Greetings for Business
Spanish greetings in a business environment must be formal, because it’s a serious situation. So here are the best formal greetings for business in Spanish:
- Good morning – Buenos días
- Good afternoon – Buenas tardes
- How are you? – ¿Cómo está usted? / ¿Cómo se encuentra?
- Hello – Hola
- I introduce myself; I am… – Me presento, soy…
- It’s a pleasure to meet you – Es un placer conocerlo/conocerla
The “hello” is good for your coworkers, especially those that you already know well. But to make it more formal to use it with other people, like your boss or a client, add a good morning or afternoon after it. For example: “Hola, buenas tardes” (hello, good afternoon).
In Spanish business, a greeting often goes well along with a handshake.
Spanish Goodbyes for Business
When doing business in Spanish, goodbyes are as important as greetings. If you don’t say goodbye before leaving a meeting or an important business place, you’ll give the wrong impression.
People might think you are uneducated or disrespectful. Don’t worry, all you have to do is say goodbye when you’re leaving. But do make sure it’s a formal goodbye, like one of these:
- See you tomorrow – Hasta mañana
- See you later – Hasta pronto
- Have a nice day – Que tenga buen día
- It was a pleasure to meet you – Fue un placer conocerlo/conocerla
- Goodbye – Adiós
The “adiós” by itself can be good for coworkers that you know well and are your friends. But you might want to use it with more formal people, like your boss, and in more formal situations, like a meeting. In those cases, add a well-wishes phrase or a “nice to meet you”, like the phrases above, before the goodbye.
For example: “Adiós, fue un placer conocerlo” (goodbye, it was a pleasure to meet you).
Sometimes, people also give a handshake when saying goodbye in formal environments.
Spanish Phrases to Apologize
Sometimes when we’re doing business, we make mistakes. We probably didn’t mean it. It’s normal; it happens. But we must apologize to our boss, the client, our coworkers, or whoever was affected by our mistake.
Sure, it’s no easy task to admit it and say sorry, but it’s necessary. We bet many people will appreciate your apology and will give you another chance, especially if you often work hard.
So, to help you learn the best way to say sorry in a business environment, here are some phrases to apologize in Spanish:
- I made an oversight – Cometí un descuido
- I apologize for my mistake… – Me disculpo por mi error…
- First of all, let me apologize for the inconvenience that I cause you… – Primero que nada permítame disculparme por el inconveniente que le causé…
- I must tell you I’ve made a mistake… – Debo decirle que he cometido un error…
- I rushed to sent the email and make a mistake – Me precipité al mandar el correo y cometí un error.
- I’m willing to correct my mistake – Estoy dispuesto/dispuesta a enmendar mi error
Common Spanish Idiomatic Expressions Used in Business
In business there are different expressions people often use to refer to different things and situations. Some are used in formal environments, like meetings, and with formal business people, like your boss.
Some others are also used in business, but with more informal people and in more informal environments, like talking to a coworker that’s also your friend.
To help you navigate your way through business chit chat, here are some common idiomatic expressions for business in Spanish. You’ll notice that many of these can also be used in other contexts beyond work and the office.
Ponerse al día (to catch up)
This is used for when you were gone for any reason and now you have to catch up on something. In business, you have to catch up with work, with what happened in the meeting, or any other important business situation.
Subir la escalera corporativa (to climb the corporate ladder)
Used in a context where you want to or are going to get a job promotion or advance in your career.
Evaluar los pros y contras (evaluate the pros and cons)
“Pros” and “contras” are ways of calling the positive aspects and negative aspects of someone or something. It can be used in many different contexts, including business.
For example: In business you can say you’re going to “evaluar los pros y contras” of a project or campaign. You can also say that a project “tiene sus pros y sus contras” (has its pros and cons).
Fichar la entrada / Fichar la salida (to clock in / to clock out)
You can “fichar” your arrival and entrance to work and your way out of it. So, “fichar” is used to say you have to register your “entrada” (entrance) and “salida” (exit) of work.
Hacer lluvia de ideas (brainstorming)
You’ve probably brainstormed in your work during a meeting or discussing how to continue a project with your coworkers. That’s what “lluvia de ideas” is, to give different ideas to do and achieve something.
Dejarlo por hoy / Dar el día por terminado (Call it a day)
This is used especially by a boss that’s telling people to call it a day. So to stop the discussion, project, or whatever they were doing and they’ll get back to it the next day.
Trabajar como perro (work like a dog)
This means you’re working extremely hard. It can be good but also bad if you’re neglecting yourself and other areas of your life.
Estar hasta el tope de trabajo (to have too much work)
This means that you have excess work. This could lead to feeling stressed and overwhelmed. That’s why it’s used in negative situations.
For example: “No he dormido bien, porque estoy hasta el tope de trabajo” (I haven’t slept well because I have too much work). It can also be used to cancel things or deny doing more work, because you can’t take on anything else.
Dar luz verde (give the green light)
This is used when an authority – in a business situation it could be your boss, client or business partner – gives “green light”, so the permission, to someone or something.
For example: “El señor Pérez le dio luz verde a la nueva campaña de moda. ¡Finalmente podemos llevarla a cabo!” (Mr. Pérez gave green light to the new fashion campaign. We can finally do it!)
Tirar la toalla (throw in the towel)
This means you’re giving up on something. In business you can use it to say you’re giving up on a project or even that you’re quitting. This expression is not formal at all, so don’t use it when quitting in front of your boss. You can use it mainly with coworkers that are your friends.
Sube la Escalera Corporativa with the Help of Fluency Corp!
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