Basic Spanish for Taco Bell Customers

A news item, a few years ago, was that a customer at a Taco Bell in Florida was unable to find anyone who could speak English. 

If you speak only English and you want to have a conversation with the people who work in a store or restaurant, it's a good idea to look for a fellow anglophone before becoming indignant.

Sentence intonation sounds slightly different in Spanish than it does in English, but impatience sounds enough alike in both languages to scare the English right out of shy food service workers' minds.

Additionally, this incident was reported during a heat wave when the body had to work so hard, extracting enough oxygen from the hot humid air to run the brain, that even people who spoke no other language were reporting difficulty making intelligent conversation in English, which may explain the customer's agitation. Anyone who lives in Florida all year ought to be able to speak Spanish fluently, probably with a Cuban accent, but some days, when you wonder whether what is dripping down your face is actually melted brain...

Yes, it is good manners to use the language of the country you are in...but arguably, in restaurants that advertise an international theme, it's part of the experience to use the language of the menu. If you can.

A case can be made, if the restaurant is so authentic that the servers have not learned English yet, for helping them practice English. This is of course done in a polite. encouraging way. Everyone would be better off if more of us refused to pay for bad service, as in "Build computers to last 75 years or don't build computers at all!", but when people haven't sold us anything yet and we want to help them remember whatever English they've learned, it is usually helpful to speak slowly, clearly, and patiently, like a teacher or like the voice on a language-for-tourist recording. You want, if possible, to stimulate the vocabulary-learning circuits in their brains, not the emotional ones.

Still...Taco Bell? The epitome of simple fast food? How much vocabulary, in English or Spanish, does the Taco Bell experience require?

Basic Taco Bell Vocabulary

ENGLISH: Taco. SPANISH: Taco. 

ENGLISH: Tortilla. SPANISH: Tortilla. 

ENGLISH: Chalupa. SPANISH: Chalupa. 

ENGLISH: With. SPANISH: Con.

ENGLISH: Without. SPANISH: Sin. 

ENGLISH: Yes. SPANISH: Sí. 

ENGLISH: No. SPANISH: No. 

ENGLISH: Meat. SPANISH: Carne. 

ENGLISH: Beef. SPANISH: Carne de vaca. (Default kind of meat, so often just "carne.")

ENGLISH: Chicken. SPANISH: Pollo. 

ENGLISH: Fish. SPANISH: Pez. 

ENGLISH: Lettuce. SPANISH: Lechuga. 

ENGLISH: Tomato. SPANISH: Tomate. 

ENGLISH: Onion. SPANISH: Cebolla. 

ENGLISH: Cheese. SPANISH: Queso. 

ENGLISH: Cream. SPANISH: Crema. 

ENGLISH: Corn. SPANISH: De maíz. 

ENGLISH: Wheat. SPANISH: De trigo. 

ENGLISH: Salt. SPANISH: Sal. 

ENGLISH: Pepper. SPANISH: Pimenta. 

ENGLISH: Salsa. SPANISH: Salsa. 

ENGLISH: Water. SPANISH: Agua. 

ENGLISH: Coca-Cola. SPANISH: Coca-Cola. (Other name brands are also the same in either language.)

ENGLISH: Ice. SPANISH: Hielo. .

ENGLISH: Small. SPANISH: Pequeno.

ENGLISH: Medium. SPANISH: Medio.

ENGLISH: Large. SPANISH: Grande.

ENGLISH: Please. SPANISH: Por favor. 

ENGLISH: Thanks. SPANISH: Gracias.

Additional Taco Bell Vocabulary

ENGLISH: It’s good. SPANISH: Está bien. 

ENGLISH: I like it. SPANISH: Me gusta. 

ENGLISH: The food smells good. SPANISH: Huele rico.

ENGLISH: This is not good. SPANISH: Eso no está bien.

ENGLISH: There are 25 of us. SPANISH: Somos veinticinco.

ENGLISH: We're from Tokyo. SPANISH: Venimos de Tokyo.

ENGLISH: The two of us speak English. SPANISH: Nosotros dos hablamos ingles.

ENGLISH: Where is? SPANISH: ¿Dónde está? 

ENGLISH: Bathroom (restroom, washroom). SPANISH: Lavatorio (or bano). .

ENGLISH: There is. SPANISH: Hay. 

ENGLISH: Problem. SPANISH: Problema. 

ENGLISH: Phone. SPANISH: Telefono.

ENGLISH: Internet. SPANISH: Internet.

ENGLISH: It's not working. SPANISH: No funciona.

ENGLISH: I feel ill. SPANISH: Me siento mal. 

ENGLISH: The car won’t start. SPANISH: El coche no va. 

ENGLISH: Help. SPANISH: Ayuda. 

ENGLISH: Police. SPANISH: Policia. 

ENGLISH: Hospital. SPANISH: Hospital.

ENGLISH: Doctor. SPANISH: Medico.

ENGLISH: Baby. SPANISH: Bebe.

ENGLISH: Fire. SPANISH: Incendio.

ENGLISH: Dollar. SPANISH: Dolar.

ENGLISH: Dollars. SPANISH: Dolares. 

ENGLISH: Cents. SPANISH: Centavos. 

Numbers

One = uno (or una) = 1

Two = dos = 2

Three = tres = 3

Four = cuatro = 4

Five = cinco = 5

Six = seis = 6

Seven = siete = 7

Eight = ocho = 8

Nine = nueve = 9

Ten = diez = 10

Eleven = once = 11

Twelve = doce = 12

Thirteen = trece = 13

Fourteen = catorce = 14

Fifteen = quince = 15

Sixteen = dieciseis = 16

Seventeen = diecisiete = 17

Eighteen = dieciocho = 18

Nineteen = diecinueve = 19

Twenty = veinte = 20

Twenty-one = veinte y uno = 21

Twenty-two = veinte y dos, etc.

Thirty = treinta = 30

Forty = cuarenta = 40

Fifty = cincuenta = 50

Sixty = sesenta = 60

Seventy = setenta = 70

Eighty = ochenta = 80

Ninety = noventa = 90

Hundred = cien (or ciento) = 100

Two hundred = doscientos = 200, etc.

Now you can say just about anything you are likely to need to say in a Taco Bell.