Learn Spanish Quickly And Effectively With Babbel

If you’ve always wanted to learn Spanish, you’re not alone; tens of millions of people study the language. And it’s no wonder! Spanish contains beauty, layers of meaning, and a rich linguistic history. It can take you all over the world, from South America to Spain and the islands of the Pacific.

But you might have a lot of questions about how to get started. You can rest assured that learning the Spanish language is an effort worth undertaking. With the right guidance on your journey, you’ll see your work pay off in so many ways.

• Why Learn Spanish?

• Learning Spanish: Background And Basics

• Learn Spanish For Beginners: Basic Spanish Lessons

• What's The Quickest Way To Start Learning Spanish?

• Learning Spanish With Babbel

Learning any language is a challenge that can open up your mind to new perspectives and help you connect with all types of people across boundaries of land and language. There are countless reasons to learn Spanish, and one of the best first steps you can take is figuring out what your motivation is. Once you’ve done that, you can test a free Babbel lesson to see how quickly it will get you speaking the language.

Reasons To Learn Spanish

Picking up a new skill can help you express your creativity, stimulate your mind, and discover new sides of yourself along the way. Here are just a few of the many ways learning Spanish can have a positive impact on your life.

• Build Your Business Spanish Skills — If you’re a professional looking for ways to stay competitive and current in the global market, learning Spanish is an excellent option. Latin and South America are emerging markets full of opportunity. Use Language To

• Train Your Brain — Picking up a new language is more than just memorizing lists of vocab (though you’ll certainly sharpen your lexical recall along the way). It involves making connections between those words and what they represent, thinking on your feet, and sticking with a challenge when it’s frustrating and confusing.

• Immerse Yourself In Spanish Culture, Unfiltered — Learning Spanish opens you up not only to a better understanding of the language itself but also of the arts and culture of the world that speaks it. 

• Learn Spanish For Travel — When you have Spanish in your back pocket, you have a passport to a whole new world. Learning Spanish not only means you’ll be able to navigate new cities, but also lets you connect with the new people you meet there. 

• Live The Spanish Language Abroad In Spain And Latin America — Whether you’re looking to enroll at a university, find a job at a hostel, or retire in a more tranquil, tropical climate, living abroad is hands down the best hands-on approach to getting the most immersive language experience possible.

Where Is Spanish An Official Language?

If you know Spanish, you open yourself up to a whole world of Spanish speakers that spans continental borders. There are around 560 million Spanish speakers around the world, and it’s the second most-spoken native language worldwide behind Chinese.

You can find Spanish speakers spread around the planet in Spain and in most of the countries of the Latin American world, including Mexico and Central and South America. Spanish is the official language of 20 countries, as well as Puerto Rico. Plus, Spanish isn’t an official language of the United States (which has no official language), but there are more combined native and non-native speakers of Spanish in the United States than there are in Spain.

How Long Does Learning To Speak Spanish Take?

Learning Spanish requires a regular commitment and a willingness to challenge yourself — and to stick with it even when it gets tough. When it comes to learning the basics of a new language, about 15 minutes of language study a day, you can learn enough to have a simple conversation in your new language in about 3 weeks.

Determining exactly how long it takes to learn Spanish depends on how often you practice, how well equipped you are to learn and even your attitude. The Babbel self-study app tries to get you speaking as early as possible, so you can start building that muscle, but if you want to one day master the language it will take a longer commitment.

What Is The Spanish Learning Process?

Reaching Spanish fluency is a multi-step learning process, going all the way from beginner to advanced. It can sometimes be hard to distinguish these Spanish learning levels, but there are some specific skills you should focus on to create a kind of roadmap through the language.

Beginner Spanish

When you start out, there are two main priorities: figuring out how to pronounce words in Spanish, and learning enough words and grammar to hold a simple conversation. Here are a few skills you’ll want to tackle first:

• Introducing yourself in Spanish

• Talking about where you’re fun

• Describing people, places and things

• Asking simple questions in Spanish

• The difference between ser and estar (“to be”)

• Spanish gender

• Most common Spanish verbs

• Most common Spanish adjectives

Intermediate Spanish

As you get further along, you’ll build on those basic skills with some more advanced topics, including:

• Past, future, and conditional tenses in Spanish

• Progressive forms (expressing that someone is currently doing something)

• Imperative tense (Telling someone to do something)

• Prepositions including por, para, según, and en

• Adverbs including todavía, nunca, aquí, and allí

• More advanced vocabulary, which you’ll continue building throughout your language process

Advanced Spanish

As you approach the point of becoming fluent in Spanish, you’ll round out the edges of what you haven’t learned or practiced much and begin to use the language as a native Spanish speaker would. 

• Spanish expressions used by native speakers, including idioms, slang, insults and swear words

• The indicative and subjunctive moods, letting you express desires, wishes, doubts and more

• Advanced vocabulary, which could be Spanish for business or for the medical profession, or whatever else you may want to focus on

Spanish Pronunciation And Tips How To Improve

The good thing about Spanish pronunciation and the Spanish alphabet is that each letter typically only has one or two sounds associated with it, and these sounds stay consistent across all the words in the Spanish language. That means it’s very easy to read a Spanish word and know how it’s pronounced on your first try.

One of the most notable unfamiliar sounds is the double-r or rr sound, which is a “rolling” sound made with the tongue. You also roll the r when it’s at the beginning of a word like rojo (“red”) or after the n sound like in sonrisa (“smile”). Another troublesome letter-sound pairing is the double-l or ll sound, found in words like llamar (“to call”) and amarillo (“yellow”). This combination is typically pronounced as the English y sound (like in “yes”), though most Spanish speakers in Argentina would pronounce it as the sh sound in “sheep.” Most people in Spain pronounce it like the English j sound, like in “jump.”

If you see an accent mark over a vowel in Spanish, don’t fret; it only means that you emphasize or stress that specific syllable. So the word algodón (“cotton”) is pronounced al-go-DOHN. Another mark you’ll see in Spanish is the squiggly tilde over the letter ñ in words like año (“year”). This sound is a combination of the English n and y sounds, giving us ahn-yo.

Learning Spanish Basics: Spanish Vocabulary

Where did the Spanish language come from? Spanish is a member of the Romance language family, which means that it (along with Italian, French and Portuguese, among others) derived from Vulgar Latin, the Latin variety spoken colloquially in the Roman Empire. That means if you know one Romance language (or if you’ve studied Latin), you’re bound to find plenty of words you recognize across the languages.

You might be surprised to learn that the second largest influence on Spanish vocabulary after Latin comes from Arabic. In fact, there are about 4,000 modern Spanish words that come from Arabic, evidence of a lasting legacy imprinted on the language today from hundreds of years ago in history.

As an English speaker, you’re in luck. Though it’s a Germanic language, English has adopted many words from Romance languages that you’ll find countless cognates, or words that sound the same and have the same meaning across both languages, in both Spanish and English.

Learning Spanish Basics: Phrases For Conversational Spanish

The best place to start, of course, is with “hello”! There are many common greetings in Spanish to choose from, the most popular of which include buenos días (“good morning,” or literally “good days”), or if it’s later in the day, buenas tardes (“good afternoon”) or buenas noches (“good evening” or “good night”). And of course, in casual situations there’s always the classic hola!

You’ll get familiar with basic Spanish phrases like ¿Cómo estás? (“How are you?”) or ¿Cómo está usted? if you’re speaking to someone more formally. Estoy bien means “I’m doing well,” but if you’re not in high spirits, you can respond with a más o menos (“more or less”) or a no muy bien, meaning “not so well.”

To say goodbye in Spanish, an adiós or a chao will do the trick. Hasta pronto (“see you soon”) or hasta luego (“see you later”) are also great options.

Learning Spanish Basics: Spanish Verbs

Verbs are key elements of any Spanish sentence. Whenever you want to express that someone or something does some action or is something else, you need a Spanish verb.

Without exception, all Spanish verbs end in -ar (like hablar), -er (like comer) or -ir (like vivir). This makes it fairly easy to recognize when you’re dealing with a Spanish verb as opposed to another type of word, like a Spanish noun or Spanish adjective. However, these are only the endings for the verbs in what’s called their infinitive form — “to do,” “to be,” “to eat” or “to speak,” for example. From there, you need to learn each of their conjugations to fit them into sentences, because they change depending on who’s doing the action and when the action happened.

Learning Spanish Basics: Spanish Nouns And Spanish Gender

Each Spanish noun has a gender, meaning it’s classified as either masculine or feminine. This doesn’t mean that every person, place, object or idea is inherently male or female; it’s just a system of grammatical categorization that exists in Spanish and many other world languages that affects how speakers use these languages.

Often, Spanish gender maps to words in ways you’d expect; la mujer (“the woman”) is a feminine noun, whereas el hombre (“the man”) is a masculine noun. But sometimes these gender assignments can be pretty arbitrary. There are patterns of certain word endings that can clue you in to which gender they might be assigned; for example, nouns that end in -o are often masculine, while nouns that end in -a are often feminine (like la cara, or “the face”). But be careful: some words defy this pattern, like the masculine word el problema (“the problem”) or the feminine word la mano (“the hand”).

When discussing Spanish nouns, we can also talk about Spanish adjectives. Adjectives in Spanish must “agree” with the nouns they modify. This means that their endings must reflect the gender (masculine or feminine) and the number (singular or plural) of the noun to which they refer.

How Is Spanish from Spain Different From Mexican Spanish And Latin American Spanish?

There are distinct varieties of Spanish spoken in Spain, Mexico and other parts of Latin America where Spanish is an official language. The good news is that for the most part, each variety of Spanish can be considered mutually intelligible with the others. This means that a speaker of Argentinian Spanish would have little or no trouble communicating with a speaker of European Spanish from Spain and vice versa.

Regional varieties of Spanish sometimes have their own unique words for an everyday item, for example a bus. In European Spanish, it’s el autobús. In Argentina, you’d call it el colectivo. Mexican Spanish speakers call it el camión, and Spanish speakers in the Dominican Republic would call it la guagua. 

There are also differences in regional Spanish pronunciation, like how Spaniards pronounce the letters ll as the English j sound, whereas most Latin Americans pronounce the same letters as the English y instead. Similarly, European Spanish speakers pronounce the letter c (when it comes before an e or an i) and the letter z as the English th sound (like in “think”), whereas these letters sound like an English s sound (like in “sun”) in Latin American Spanish.

When it comes to grammar, one of the most notable differences is in the way to say the pronoun “you all.” European Spanish speakers make a distinction between the informal vosotros/as and the more formal ustedes, both meaning “you all” but used in different contexts depending on who’s being addressed. In Latin American Spanish, however, ustedes is used for both formal and informal situations, meaning you’ll rarely hear vosotros/as used. But speakers of all Spanish varieties will understand you regardless of whether you use ustedes or vosotros/as.

There’s no one way to learn a new language. You’ll find that the fastest and easiest way to learn Spanish is the way that offers you the least amount of friction — so if you can’t stand shuffling through textbook pages or you get bored flipping flashcards, you might want to stick to a method that’s more exciting or engaging.

Ways To Learn And Practice Spanish

Learning Spanish In The Classroom

Spanish is among the most studied languages in school systems and universities around the world. Classroom learning is the most popular option for learners in grade school or university settings. It allows more intensive, regular study with feedback from teachers who know the language and can correct mistakes as they happen and teach content in an interactive way.  Though students make up a large proportion of classroom learners, plenty of adults enroll in Spanish language classes, too. Many cities and communities offer free or fairly cheap language classes, and you’ll be sure to find them in popular languages like Spanish.

Learning Spanish With A Private Tutor

Private tutoring offers a more tailored learning experience than traditional classroom learning with many of the advantages. Having a skilled Spanish tutor at hand who can help you perfect your pronunciation and work with you closely on the aspects of Spanish that cause you trouble is a great way to improve your skills fast — without a teacher needing to split time and attention among multiple students. And Spanish tutoring doesn’t have to be inconvenient; many sessions take place over video call.

Spanish Language Courses And Apps

There are many top-notch, expert-designed online Spanish courses and programs that run from reasonably priced to very expensive. These Spanish courses allow you to learn on your own time and are often more interactive and engaging than many free Spanish courses and resources.

Learning Spanish With Tandem Partners

Tandem learning is a technique where two people who speak different native languages meet up to help each other learn, swapping roles as teacher and student. This is an effective method when both people are able to commit significant time and thought to the partnership, but keep in mind that not everyone is a good teacher. Explaining why your native language works the way it does is often easier said than done; you might understand English grammar subconsciously and use it flawlessly all the time, but not be able to explain to a non-native speaker the rules that govern how you’re supposed to use that grammar.

Spanish Immersion Programs

Spanish immersion or Spanish language travel is definitely the most extreme and intensive option, and it’s not for everyone. (It’s also not technically free if you count airfare to a new place and all the costs of living associated with wherever you go.) But without a doubt, immersing yourself in a new culture and a place that doesn’t speak your language — like choosing to live in Spain or live in Latin America — will force you to make rapid progress in Spanish as you struggle to communicate and understand those around you.

Useful Resources To Learn Spanish

 When you don’t have access to Spanish classes and teachers or even native Spanish speakers, there are still plenty of Spanish media resources to help you get on your way to fluency in Spanish.

Books To Learn Spanish

If you like to read, you’ll find a whole range of literature written in Spanish that can help you master the language. There are thousands of Spanish books that make great learning resources, ranging in skill from beginner-level short story collections like Celia, lo que dice and comics like Mafalda to more advanced works of magical realism like La casa de los espíritus. Using books to learn Spanish is a great way to sharpen your reading skills and to understand how the Spanish language is used in a whole wide range of contexts.

Learning Spanish With Podcasts, Songs, And Audio Resources

Using Spanish podcasts to practice Spanish is a great way to hear the language spoken with the natural patterns, accents and inflections a native Spanish speaker would use. From beginner-level Spanish podcasts like A Zero To A Hero that focus on the basics of Spanish grammar and vocabulary to more intermediate and advanced narrative storytelling podcasts like Radio Ambulante, you can find plenty of Spanish podcasts to pick from.

Listening to Spanish songs works in much the same way as tuning in to Spanish podcasts; both can be perfect to listen to passively. You can find many playlists of Spanish songs on Spotify that are organized by proficiency level, too, from beginner Spanish playlists to more advanced ones.

Learning With Spanish TV Shows And Movies

Watching Spanish movies and Spanish TV shows is an excellent way to connect with the Spanish language in a fun, engaging format. You can find a lot of good content of all different genres and for all learning proficiency levels on streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime. When you’re watching, you can choose to display subtitles in Spanish for some extra reading practice. Try to avoid watching media dubbed in your native language, as you won’t end up hearing any Spanish!. And when you use movies and TV series to learn Spanish, don’t be afraid to break them up into chunks to give your brain some rest.

Free Online Spanish Resources

There’s no shortage of free Spanish content you can find on the web and on your phone. From Spanish grammar wikis to online forums and classes, you’re sure to find hundreds of options that might do the trick. Some of it is better than others in the ways it’s organized and how thoroughly it explains new concepts, so take it with a grain of salt.

Spanish Flashcards And Phrasebooks

There are lots of pre-packaged learning materials you can find online or as a physical resource to help you practice Spanish words, phrases and expressions. Among these are Spanish flashcards, which can be found on learning websites like Quizlet and can be downloaded to your phone to take and practice wherever you go. Spanish flashcards are great tools for boosting your memory retention of the terms you want to remember most.

Babbel is designed by a team of language experts, educators, and designers who know all about what it takes to get the most out of learning a new language — so you’re guaranteed a top-quality Spanish learning journey that’s capable, engaging and fun.

Here are the key ways Babbel Spanish lessons are crafted to get you having real-life conversations in Spanish with confidence.

1. Start speaking right away. If your goal is to communicate with other people, you’re going to want to practice actually speaking from the start. Learning vocabulary is important, but knowing what the words are isn’t helpful if you have trouble getting them out. That’s why Babbel makes you start speaking from the very first lesson, providing native speaker pronunciations and using AI to review what you say.

2. Get grammar guidance. We don’t just throw you into the deep end of Spanish grammar. Babbel’s lessons will clearly explain tricky topics like por vs. para and how to conjugate irregular verbs.

3. Review, review, and review again. It shouldn’t be a surprise that learning something one time doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll remember it a week, a month or a year from now. That’s why Babbel’s Review feature brings back the words and phrases you learned regularly through a process of spaced repetition, so you will move everything into your long-term memory.

4. Explore cultural insights. Language and culture are tied together, which is why Babbel infuses lessons with culture tips that will help you understand the real-world use of the language. Plus, there are lessons specifically about Spanish dialects, food, holidays and more!

Get Started Learning Spanish With The Babbel App

We’re committed to making sure you get the most out of learning Spanish. We offer a free first lesson in every language so you can get a feel for if Babbel works for you. In fact, we offer the first lesson of every course for free, so if you are starting at a more intermediate level, you can still test Babbel to see how it handles more advanced grammar topics.

Try a free Spanish lesson with Babbel and see for yourself how quickly you’ll be on your way to speaking Spanish with confidence!