The 10 Dos and Don’ts of what to say in Spain

When you move to a new country, cultural misunderstandings can be a real minefield, so to help you navigate your way through the muddy world of Spanish culture, we present you with ten things you should bear in mind when talking to a Spanish person.

1. Don’t say you support Real Madrid if you’re in Barcelona, or vice versa

The two football teams are mortal enemies and even joking about supporting the wrong team can get you evil looks. If you do have a preference for one team or another and want to watch their games in public, look for a friendly bar where you won’t get glared at for cheering for the other side.

2. Do try to speak some Spanish

Even if your Spanish skills are a bit rusty, it’s better to try and say the little bit that you can instead of automatically falling back on English. Learn a few handy phrases to open a conversation, like "¿qué tal?" and "¡hola caracola!" and you’ll get appreciative looks from the locals.

3. Don’t say “Let’s meet for dinner at 7 o’clock”

At best you’ll get a pitying laugh, and at worst you’ll find yourself eating alone. Spanish people normally don’t eat supper until at least 9pm at the earliest, and if you’re going out to eat it’ll most likely be later. Don’t worry, you can tide yourself over until then with a merienda, a mid-afternoon snack.

4. Do interrupt at any opportunity

While it may seem odd to you at first, it’s common practice in Spain for people to speak over each other, especially when there are more than two people in the conversation. No one will take offence, so neither should you.

5. Don’t be too polite

You may notice that Spanish people aren’t big on such niceties as “please” and “thank you”. Again, they’re not being rude, it’s just not necessary and may even come off as insincere if you say “por favor” and “gracias” too much.

6. Do swear like a sailor

Spanish people have some of the best swearwords in the world, as they’re not so much words but a whole sentence, and pretty vivid at that. Once you hear them a few times and learn to master them, you’ll have no problem defecating in the dairy products and on the mothers that gave birth to people in no time. Just be sure there are no children or old people around.

7. Don’t mention the war

Or the Catalan independence issue. Or Gibraltar. Or any other potential political hot potato, for that matter. Although the Spanish Civil War happened around 80 years ago, it still has the power to cause strong emotions and opinions in people, as do other controversial political topics. If in doubt, just steer clear.

8. Do say “tú” instead of “usted”

You may have learned in your Spanish classes that usted is the polite way of saying “you”, but in truth it’s not really used that much in modern Spanish. Unless you’re talking to a grandmother, the King or a Mexican person, and you really want to show respect, then just stick to “tú”.

9. Don’t say “This country is so cheap!”

Spain went through a pretty bad economic recession and is only just starting to recover now. Even so, there are still lots of people unemployed or working for very low wages in the country, and what might be a very cheap price for tourists and ex-pats could be expensive for Spanish people, so saying it’s dirt cheap might be seen as insensitive.

10. Do say, “Vale” and “A ver” a lot

Roughly equivalent to simply “Okay” and “Let’s see”, these two phrases are probably the most common things you’ll hear in Spanish. They get thrown into every conversation, sometimes more than once per sentence, so if you want to fit in, use both liberally. If you want to be really cool, try saying “en plan” a few times, too, anywhere in the sentence you like – it’s basically the Spanish equivalent of saying “like” all the time.