When you travel to any country, there is always a list of necessary words and phrases that you have to remember including greetings, saying goodbye, asking for the price, bargaining, and asking for directions, etc. By knowing all those words and phrases, you can make your trip much comforting. Giving and asking for directions is a practical skill that's worth learning. Now let's learn how to ask for directions in Spanish and how to give directions.
Asking and giving directions in Spanish – Vocabulary list
There are some words and phrases about directions that you should know:
- Left - Izquierda
- Right - Derecha
- To the left - A la izquierda
- To the right - A la derecha
- In front of - Delante de
- Behind - Detrás de
- Opposite - enfrente de
- Straight - Derecho
- To the west - Hacia el oeste
- To the south - Hacia al sur
- To the north - Hacia al norte
- To the east - Hacia el este
- Next to - Al lado del/ de
- Near - Cerca de
- At the end of - Al final del/de
- At the beginning of - Al comienzo del/de
- Where is…? - ¿Dónde está…?
- To turn - Doblar / Girar
- To cross - cruzar, atravesar
- Stoplight - El semáforo
- Crosswalk - El paso de peatones
- Avenue – Avenida
- Side - Lado
- Block - Cuadra
- Map - Mapa
- The hotel - El hotel
- The church - La iglesia
- Street – Calle
- The bridge - El Puente
- Traffic light - el semáforo
- Kilometer, mile, meter — kilómetro, milla, metro
You also need to know how to say points of the compass in Spanish.
How to ask for and give directions in Spanish
1. Asking for directions in Spanish
There are some common and useful phrases that you can use to ask for directions:
- Excuse me, I’m lost. Can you help me? - Disculpe, estoy perdida. ¿Me puedes ayudar?
- Where is…? - ¿Dónde está…?
- How do I get to…? Cómo llego a….?
- Can you show me on the map? - ¿Me puedes mostrar en el mapa?
Examples:
Q: ¿Cómo llego al banco? - How do I get to the bank?
A: Camina derecho 2 cuadras, doblas a la izquierda, camina 3 cuadras más y el banco estará a la derecha - Walk straight for 2 blocks, turn left, walk 3 blocks more and the bank will be on the right.
Q: ¿Dónde está el zoológico? – Where is the zoo?
A: Sigue derecho hasta que llegas al Calle Rios y dobla a la derecho - Keep going straight until you get to Rios Street and turn right.
2. Giving directions in Spanish
Some expressions to give directions:
- Continue straight - Sigue recto
Example:
Sigue recto hasta el semáforo - Continue straight until the stoplight
- Follow…street - Sigue la calle…
Note: Unlike in English when name of the street (calle) / avenue (avenida) /alleyway (callejón ) / bridge (puente) will be put before the word “street”, name of the street in Spanish will come behind street name.
For example: Chile Street – calle Chile
- Turn left/right - Gira/dobla a la derecha/izquierda
- Go/walk/drive until the… - Ve/camina/conduce hasta
- Take the first right/left Toma la primera derecha/izquierda
For “the second”, you can use “segunda”; “terecera” for “third”.
You can see this article to know more ordinal numbers in Spanish!
Example:
Sigue recto, y toma la segunda izquierda - Continue straight, and take the second left
- It’s on the right/left - Está a la derecha/izquierda
- It’s next to… - Está al lado de
Example:
Mi casa está en frente de la escuela - My house is across from the school
- It’s…minutes away - Está a … minutos
Example:
Está a diez minutos caminando - It’s ten minutes away on foot