Daily Spanish — A New Mini Lesson Every Day
One real, bite-sized Spanish word, phrase, or idiom, published every day — come back tomorrow for a new one.
Every morning I pick one word or phrase I think you'll actually use — not textbook filler — and I write a little about it myself, right below each one.
— Graciela 🇪🇸
Ordering a coffee at the bar
¿Me pones un café?
meh POH-nes oon kah-FEH — Can I get a coffee? (literally: "will you put me a coffee?")
"Buenos días, ¿me pones un café con leche?"
Morning, can I get a coffee with milk?
This is how people actually order at a bar in Spain — "ponerme" with tú, even to a waiter you've never met. It sounds blunt in English, but here it's completely normal and friendly.
"My first full sentence of the day, most mornings, at the café on my corner."— Graciela
Previous lessons
¡Venga! — The Spanish word for "come on" — and "okay"
Day 66 · Everyday
Perdona la molestia — Interrupting someone considerately
Day 65 · Politeness
Un placer — Ending an exchange warmly
Day 64 · Politeness
Muchísimas gracias — Thanking someone properly
Day 63 · Politeness
Faltaría más — Saying "of course" graciously
Day 62 · Politeness
No pasa nada — Brushing off an apology
Day 61 · Politeness
Lo siento mucho — Apologizing sincerely
Day 60 · Politeness
¿Podrías...? — A softer way to ask for something
Day 59 · Politeness
Encantado/a — Meeting someone for the first time
Day 58 · Politeness
Con permiso — Squeezing past someone politely
Day 57 · Politeness
¿Te importa si...? — Checking before you do something
Day 56 · Politeness
¿Hay wifi? — The question every traveler asks first
Day 55 · Travel & Food
Ir de tapas — An evening plan, not a dish
Day 54 · Travel & Food
Una caña — Ordering a small beer like a local
Day 53 · Travel & Food
¿Cuánto tarda en llegar? — Estimating travel time
Day 52 · Travel & Food
Estoy perdido/a — Admitting you're lost
Day 51 · Travel & Food
¿A qué hora sale el tren? — Catching a train on time
Day 50 · Travel & Food
Soy vegetariano/a, sin gluten — Explaining dietary needs
Day 49 · Travel & Food
¿Qué me recomienda? — Asking for a recommendation
Day 48 · Travel & Food
Una mesa para dos, por favor — Getting a table
Day 47 · Travel & Food
¿Dónde está el baño? — Finding the bathroom
Day 46 · Travel & Food
Pedir vs. Preguntar — Two verbs for "to ask"
Day 45 · Grammar
Saber vs. Conocer — Two verbs for "to know"
Day 44 · Grammar
Qué vs. Cuál — Picking between qué and cuál
Day 43 · Grammar
Muy vs. Mucho — When to use muy and when to use mucho
Day 42 · Grammar
Por vs. Para — The shortcut for por vs. para
Day 41 · Grammar
Me gusta / Me gustan — Why gustar sometimes takes a plural verb
Day 40 · Grammar
Hay que — The impersonal "must/have to"
Day 39 · Grammar
Llevar + gerundio — Talking about how long you've been doing something
Day 38 · Grammar
Acabar de — Talking about something you just did
Day 37 · Grammar
Tener ganas de — The structure for "feeling like" doing something
Day 36 · Grammar
Ropa — A word about clothes, not knots
Day 35 · False Friend
Molestar — A word that sounds worse than it is
Day 34 · False Friend
Introducir — A word for introducing ideas, not people
Day 33 · False Friend
Recordar — A word about memory, not recording
Day 32 · False Friend
Asistir — A word about attending, not helping
Day 31 · False Friend
Realizar — A word about doing, not understanding
Day 30 · False Friend
Éxito — A word about winning, not leaving
Day 29 · False Friend
Sensible — A word about feelings, not judgment
Day 28 · False Friend
Constipado — A word about colds, not bathrooms
Day 27 · False Friend
Embarazada — The classic pregnancy mix-up
Day 26 · False Friend
Estar como una cabra — Describing someone a little wild
Day 25 · Idiom
Tomar el pelo — Joking around with someone
Day 24 · Idiom
Ser pan comido — Saying something is really easy
Day 23 · Idiom
Tirar la toalla — Giving up on something
Day 22 · Idiom
No tener pelos en la lengua — For someone who says exactly what they think
Day 21 · Idiom
Meter la pata — Admitting a mistake, casually
Day 20 · Idiom
Costar un ojo de la cara — For something painfully expensive
Day 19 · Idiom
Ponerse las pilas — Telling someone to get moving
Day 18 · Idiom
Dar la lata — For someone who won't stop nagging
Day 17 · Idiom
Estar en las nubes — For someone who's a bit spacey
Day 16 · Idiom
Echar de menos — Talking about missing someone
Day 15 · Everyday
Qué rollo — Complaining about something tedious
Day 14 · Everyday
A lo mejor — Hedging without committing
Day 13 · Everyday
Menos mal — A relieved sigh, in two words
Day 12 · Everyday
Ni idea — Admitting you don't know
Day 11 · Everyday
Ya está — Wrapping something up
Day 10 · Everyday
Vale la pena — Saying something is worth doing
Day 9 · Everyday
Genial — The all-purpose word for "awesome"
Day 8 · Everyday
Oye — Getting someone's attention, politely
Day 7 · Everyday
Qué tal — How's it going, casually
Day 6 · Everyday
Actualmente — The false friend that trips up nearly every English speaker
Day 5 · False Friend
Perdona / Perdone — Two words for "sorry" that aren't interchangeable
Day 4 · Politeness
Estoy hecho polvo — An idiom for when you're completely drained
Day 3 · Idiom
La cuenta, por favor — Asking for the bill without feeling rushed
Day 2 · Travel & Food
Vale — The word Spaniards say more than any other
Day 1 · Everyday