10 everyday Spanish words you will hear in Spain
Ten words do a lot of work in everyday Spanish in Spain: vale (okay), tío/tía (guy, mate), guay (cool), quedar (to meet up), venga (come on), ¿me pones…? (can I have…?), flipar (to be amazed), mola (it’s cool), currar (to work) and vaya (wow, oh no). Each guide explains the meanings, how informal the word is and how to use it.
vale
“okay”, “all right” · Neutral, everyday
tío / tía
“uncle/aunt”, and “guy”, “mate” · Informal
guay
“cool”, “great” · Informal
quedar
“to meet up” · Neutral, everyday
venga
“come on”, “okay then” · Everyday, informal
¿me pones…?
“can I have…?” when ordering · Neutral, polite
flipar
“to be amazed”, “to love” · Colloquial, slang
mola
“it’s cool”, “I like it” · Colloquial, slang
currar
“to work”; el curro, “job” · Colloquial
vaya
“wow”, “oh no”, “what a…!” · Neutral, everyday
How informal are they?
Vale, quedar, vaya and ¿me pones…? are neutral: you can use them with anyone, including shop staff and colleagues. Venga, tío/tía and guay are informal but friendly, and flipar, mola and currar are colloquial words for friends, family and relaxed conversation, not for job interviews or formal emails.
Several are typical of Spain rather than of Spanish in general. Guay, flipar and currar are marked as Spain usage in the Spanish academies’ dictionary, and vale as “okay”, venga as “come on” and ordering with ¿me pones…? are everyday signs of Spain Spanish. Speakers in Latin America understand most of them, but they would often choose other words.