Moving to Spain from the US: what changes in your Spanish
If you learned Spanish in the US or from Mexican Spanish, almost all of it works in Spain: grammar and most vocabulary are shared. What changes is the informal plural vosotros, the th sound for z and soft c, a set of everyday words such as coche, móvil and piso, more use of tú, and local slang.
What carries over, and what to adjust
Spanish learned in a US classroom, at home or in Mexico is complete, standard Spanish, and people in Spain will understand you from day one. Latin American accents are familiar in Spain through music, television and the many Latin Americans who live there, so you do not need to change how you speak before you land.
Most of the adjustment is in listening. In your first weeks you will hear a plural “you” you may never have practised, a sound that sounds like a lisp but is not one, and everyday words for cars, phones and flats that differ from the ones you know. Each is small, and each is easy to learn once you know to expect it.
Vosotros: the plural “you” you will hear everywhere
In most of Spain, talking to two or more friends, relatives or colleagues uses vosotros, with its own verb forms, object pronoun os and possessive vuestro. Ustedes still exists in Spain, but there it is the formal plural, used with groups you would address as usted one by one. The Canary Islands and western Andalusia are the exception: like Latin America, they use ustedes for every group.
You do not have to start saying vosotros. Ustedes is correct everywhere and understood by everyone; with friends it can simply sound a little formal in most of Spain. What you do need is to recognise vosotros forms, because you will hear them at work, in shops and every time someone talks to you and your family together.
| Form | Most of Spain, informal plural | Latin America and US Spanish |
|---|---|---|
| hablar (to speak) | vosotros habláis | ustedes hablan |
| comer (to eat) | vosotros coméis | ustedes comen |
| vivir (to live) | vosotros vivís | ustedes viven |
| ser (to be) | vosotros sois | ustedes son |
| object pronoun | os: ¿Os ayudo? | los, les: ¿Los ayudo? |
| possessive | vuestro piso | su piso, el piso de ustedes |
The th sound, the jota and southern accents
In most of Spain, z, and c before e or i, are pronounced like the th in “think”: gracias sounds roughly like GRAH-thyahs, and caza (hunt) sounds different from casa (house). This is called distinción, and it is not a lisp, because s keeps its normal sound. Latin American Spanish pronounces those letters as s, a pattern called seseo, which the language academies accept as fully correct. You can keep your s; nobody in Spain will expect you to switch.
Two more things help your ear. The jota (j, and g before e or i) is often a strong, raspy sound from the back of the throat in central and northern Spain. In Andalusia and the Canary Islands, many speakers use seseo, soften or drop an s at the end of a syllable and swallow some consonants, so the south can sound closer to Caribbean Spanish than to Madrid.
Everyday words that change
A handful of very common words differ between Spain and Mexico or US Spanish. Context makes most of them obvious, but knowing them saves a few confused looks in your first week.
Two deserve a warning. Coger is an everyday verb in Spain meaning to take, catch or pick up (coger el autobús, coger el teléfono), while in Mexico and much of Latin America it is a vulgar word for sex; in Spain you can use it freely. And a tortilla in Spain is usually a thick potato omelette, tortilla de patatas, not a corn or flour flatbread.
| English | Spain | Mexico and much of US Spanish |
|---|---|---|
| car | coche | carro |
| cell phone | móvil | celular |
| computer | ordenador | computadora |
| apartment | piso | departamento, apartamento |
| bus | autobús | camión (Mexico), autobús |
| to drive | conducir | manejar |
| juice | zumo | jugo |
| potatoes | patatas | papas |
| jacket | chaqueta | chamarra |
| swimming pool | piscina | alberca |
| waiter | camarero | mesero |
| okay | vale | ok, está bien, sale (Mexico) |
Register: tú comes sooner, and requests are direct
Many newcomers from the US and Mexico notice that people in Spain use tú in more situations: with colleagues, with shop and bar staff, and often with strangers of a similar age. Usted is still normal with older people and in formal or official settings. If you are unsure, start with usted; people will often tell you to use tú.
Requests in bars and shops can also sound blunt to an American ear. ¿Me pones un café? (literally “will you put me a coffee?”) or simply Un café, por favor is ordinary and polite in Spain. The other habit you will hear is the present perfect for things that happened today: Hoy he comido con mi jefe, where Mexican Spanish usually says Hoy comí con mi jefe. Both are correct everywhere.
Slang you will hear in your first weeks
Mexican slang such as chido, padre or güey will be understood by many people in Spain, but it marks you as being from elsewhere. Spain has its own everyday words, and these are the ones you will hear first: vale for okay, tío and tía for a mate, guay and mola for cool, quedar for meeting up, venga for come on or bye, currar for working, flipar for being amazed, and guiri for a foreigner, usually a northern European or American tourist. Three more you will hear around town: pasta for money, colega for a mate and cutre for something shabby or cheap.
You do not need to use any of them to fit in. Recognising them is what matters, and each page below explains what the word means, how it sounds and when it would be out of place.
- What does ‘tío’ or ‘tía’ mean in Spain?
- What does ‘guay’ mean in Spain?
- What does ‘quedar’ mean in Spain?
- What does ‘venga’ mean in Spain?
- What does ‘currar’ mean in Spain?
- What does ‘guiri’ mean in Spain?
- What does ‘pasta’ mean in Spain? Informal money
- What does ‘colega’ mean in Spain? Mate or colleague
- What does ‘cutre’ mean in Spain? Shabby or cheap
- All Spanish words as used in Spain
Get your ear ready before you move
A few minutes a day of real Spain voices does more than another grammar chapter.
- Learn to recognise the vosotros forms of the verbs you already use.
- Watch short scenes made in Spain so the th sound stops surprising you.
- Swap the everyday words you will need first: coche, móvil, piso.
- Look up each Spain slang word the first time you hear it.
- Keep your own accent: being understood matters more than sounding local.
Moving to Spain: Spanish questions
Will people in Spain understand my Mexican or US Spanish?
Yes. Grammar and most vocabulary are shared, and Latin American accents are familiar in Spain. A few words differ, such as carro and coche, but context makes them clear in both directions.
Do I have to use vosotros in Spain?
No. Ustedes is correct everywhere and is what people in the Canary Islands and western Andalusia use every day. You do need to recognise vosotros forms, because most of Spain uses them constantly.
Should I start pronouncing z and soft c as th?
Only if you want to. Seseo, pronouncing them as s, is fully correct Spanish, and many people in southern Spain and the Canary Islands use it too. Recognising the th sound is the part that helps.
Is coger rude in Spain?
No. In Spain coger is an everyday verb for taking, catching or picking something up. It is vulgar in Mexico and much of Latin America, so be careful with it when you speak to people from there.
Research and sources
- Real Academia Española & ASALE, Diccionario panhispánico de dudas — vosotros — Vosotros is the informal plural in most of Spain; the Americas, the Canary Islands and western Andalusia use ustedes.
- Real Academia Española & ASALE, Diccionario panhispánico de dudas — seseo — Seseo is general across Latin America and parts of Spain, and is fully accepted in the educated norm.