Spanish for work

Phone calls, meetings, applications and interviews: Spanish for everyday working life.

37 sentences · 3 dialogues · 18 words

Why this field

Spanish is a working language in Spain and almost all of Latin America, and many companies elsewhere have customers or colleagues there. If you can answer the phone or speak up in a meeting in Spanish, you do not have to fall back on English every time.

At work fixed phrases count: how you answer the phone, move an appointment, start an email. They are easy to learn as whole units and they go a long way.

What you will be able to do

Goals by level. Tick what you can already do — the tick stays in this browser only.

A1I can say what I do for a living and where I work.
A2I can make, move or cancel an appointment.
A2I can answer the phone and ask to speak to someone.
B1I can introduce myself at a job interview and talk about my experience.
B1I can give my opinion in a meeting and disagree politely.
B2I can discuss the terms of a contract and give reasons for what I want.

Core vocabulary

18 words from the word lists, ordered by level. A coloured edge shows what you have already practised.

el trabajothe work; the jobA2
la empresathe companyA2
la oficinathe officeA2
el jefethe bossA2
el compañerothe colleagueA2
la reuniónthe meetingA2
el sueldothe salaryA2
el contratothe contractA2
la entrevistathe interviewA2
el currículumthe CVA2
la experienciathe experienceA2
el plazothe deadlineA2
el informethe reportA2
el clientethe customerA2
el puestothe positionB1
el teletrabajoremote workingB1
la jornada completathe standard hoursB1
el periodo de pruebathe trial monthsB1

Practise as flashcards Card box Mixed round

Typical situations

Short dialogues to read along and repeat. Say one part first, then the other.

On the phone

You ring a company and want to speak to Ms Ruiz.

Reception
Buenos días, dígame.Good morning, how can I help?
Caller
Buenos días. Soy Paul Weber. ¿Puedo hablar con la señora Ruiz?Good morning. This is Paul Weber. Could I speak to Ms Ruiz?
Reception
Lo siento, ahora está en una reunión.I’m sorry, she’s in a meeting at the moment.
Caller
¿Le puedo dejar un mensaje?Can I leave her a message?
Reception
Claro. ¿De parte de quién, perdone?Of course. Sorry, who’s calling?
Caller
De Paul Weber. Que me llame cuando pueda, por favor.Paul Weber. Could she call me back when she has a moment, please?
Reception
Muy bien, se lo digo en cuanto salga.Fine, I’ll tell her as soon as she comes out.

Moving a meeting

A colleague wants to reschedule your meeting.

Marta
Tobias, ¿podemos mover la reunión del martes?Tobias, can we move Tuesday’s meeting?
Tobias
Sí, claro. ¿Qué día te viene bien?Yes, of course. Which day suits you?
Marta
¿El jueves a las once?Thursday at eleven?
Tobias
A las once tengo un cliente. ¿Mejor a las doce?I’ve got a client at eleven. Twelve would be better?
Marta
Perfecto, a las doce. Te mando la invitación.Perfect, twelve. I’ll send you the invitation.
Tobias
Genial, gracias.Great, thanks.

At a job interview

You are applying for a job in marketing.

Head of HR
Cuénteme un poco sobre su experiencia.Tell me a little about your experience.
Applicant
Llevo cuatro años trabajando en marketing, sobre todo con clientes internacionales.I’ve been working in marketing for four years, mainly with international clients.
Head of HR
¿Por qué le interesa este puesto?Why are you interested in this position?
Applicant
Porque me gustaría trabajar más con el mercado español.Because I would like to work more with the Spanish market.
Head of HR
¿Cuál diría que es su punto débil?What would you say is your weakness?
Applicant
A veces me cuesta delegar, pero estoy aprendiendo a hacerlo.I sometimes find it hard to delegate, but I’m learning to.
Head of HR
Muy bien. Le llamaremos la semana que viene.Very good. We’ll call you next week.

Sentences to say aloud

The label says where a sentence belongs. The speaker next to it reads it aloud.

¿A qué te dedicas?What do you do for a living?
A1casual The usual question about someone’s job; formally ¿A qué se dedica?
Trabajo en una tienda.I work in a shop.
A1neutral
Hoy trabajo desde casa.Today I’m working from home.
A1neutral
Empiezo a las ocho y termino a las cuatro.I start at eight and finish at four.
A1neutral
Perdón, llego tarde.Sorry I’m late.
A1neutral
¿Tienes un momento?Have you got a moment?
A1casual
Buenos días, ¿está la señora Ruiz?Good morning, is Ms Ruiz in?
A1polite
¿Puede repetir, por favor?Could you repeat that, please?
A1polite
Soy ingeniera y trabajo en una empresa alemana.I’m an engineer and I work for a German company.
A2neutral
Mi oficina está en el centro.My office is in the centre.
A2neutral
Encantado. Soy Jonas, el nuevo compañero de Ana.Nice to meet you. I’m Jonas, Ana’s new colleague.
A2neutral
Mañana tengo una reunión a las diez.Tomorrow I have a meeting at ten.
A2neutral
¿Podemos aplazar la reunión al jueves?Can we postpone the meeting to Thursday?
A2neutral
Llamo de parte de la señora Ruiz.I’m calling on behalf of Ms Ruiz.
A2neutral
Ahora no está. ¿Quiere dejarle un mensaje?She’s not here at the moment. Would you like to leave her a message?
A2polite
Te mando el informe esta tarde.I’ll send you the report this afternoon.
A2neutral
El plazo termina el viernes.The deadline is on Friday.
A2neutral
He trabajado tres años en un hotel.I worked in a hotel for three years.
A2neutral
Ayer estuve todo el día con un cliente.Yesterday I spent the whole day with a client.
A2neutral
Voy con un poco de retraso, llego en diez minutos.I’m running a bit late, I’ll be there in ten minutes.
A2casual
Este mes voy a pedir unos días de vacaciones.This month I’m going to ask for a few days’ holiday.
A2neutral
He visto la oferta de empleo y me gustaría presentar mi candidatura.I have seen the job advertisement and would like to apply.
B1formal
Le envío adjunto mi currículum actualizado.Please find attached my updated CV.
B1formal
Tengo experiencia en atención al cliente.I have experience in customer service.
B1neutral
Mi punto fuerte es la organización.My strength is organisation.
B1neutral
¿Cuándo sería la incorporación?When would the start date be?
B1formal
¿El puesto es de jornada completa?Is the position full-time?
B1neutral
¿Cuántos días de teletrabajo se pueden hacer a la semana?How many days a week can you work from home?
B1neutral
Quería comentarte una cosa sobre el proyecto.I wanted to talk to you about something to do with the project.
B1neutral The imperfect quería makes the request softer than quiero.
Entiendo tu punto de vista, pero yo lo veo de otra manera.I understand your point of view, but I see it differently.
B1neutral
Me alegra que el cliente esté contento.I’m glad the client is happy.
B1neutral After a feeling such as me alegra que comes the subjunctive.
Me dijo que el informe estaría listo el lunes.She told me the report would be ready on Monday.
B1neutral
Durante el periodo de prueba, cualquiera de las partes puede rescindir el contrato.During the probationary period, either party may terminate the contract.
B2formal
Agradecería que me confirmara la fecha por escrito.I would be grateful if you could confirm the date in writing.
B2formal
Si me lo hubieras dicho antes, habría cambiado la reunión.If you’d told me earlier, I’d have moved the meeting.
B2neutral
Teniendo en cuenta mi experiencia, esperaba un sueldo algo más alto.Given my experience, I was expecting a somewhat higher salary.
B2formal
Lo importante es que cumplamos el plazo.The important thing is that we meet the deadline.
B2neutral

What matters here

In many Spanish offices people use tú with each other, even with the boss.
In a first contact, in applications and with customers you still start with usted until the other person offers tú.
túusted
A formal email begins with Estimada señora… or Estimado señor… and ends with Un saludo or Atentamente.
Estimada señora…Estimado señor…Un saludoAtentamente
On the phone you answer with ¿Diga? or ¿Dígame?; the caller says Hola, soy… or Llamo de parte de…
¿Diga?¿Dígame?Hola, soy…Llamo de parte de…
The imperfect softens a request:
Quería preguntarte una cosa sounds friendlier than Quiero…
Quería preguntarte una cosaQuiero…

Quick quiz

6 questions on the words and sentences of this field. The word questions count in your progress like any other exercise.

Try it yourself

Read the meaning, say the sentence aloud in Spanish, then open it to compare.

What do you do for a living?
¿A qué te dedicas?
My office is in the centre.
Mi oficina está en el centro.
Yesterday I spent the whole day with a client.
Ayer estuve todo el día con un cliente.
How many days a week can you work from home?
¿Cuántos días de teletrabajo se pueden hacer a la semana?

Keep learning

The grammar behind it

Word lists that go with it

Practise

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Every sentence on this page was written for EveryLingua. There are no quotations from films, series, books or songs here, and no titles or names of artists — the page shows how people talk in this field, not what somebody once said.