Are you studying abroad, traveling to Spain or trying to learn Spanish? This list of words and phrases you should learn will help you to speak castellano like a true Spaniard. So, if you want to blend in or be able to communicate more freely, definitely take notes. Even if you already know Spanish, it's always good to familiarize yourself with slang words from another region. This article is coming at you from an expat americana that wished she knew these words before arriving in Spain because, if my accent wasn't enough, the lack of slang really did the trick. Anyways. Regardless of whether you use formal phrases or fun vernacular, Spanish is such a beautiful language and you won't regret studying up. With no further ado, let's get to it!

1. "Qué guay"

This is basically "cool." Honestly, if I had a dime for every time I've heard this I could buy at least sixty rounds of tapas. Which brings us to the next word... But yes! This is a must-have word for your Spanish vocab-- especially if you want to seem guay.

2. "Tapear"

"¿Quieres tapear?" So Spain's eating schedule is vastly different from the USA. Breakfast is light with a large lunch around 2-3 p.m. with snacks in between. Dinner doesn't roll around until at least 9 p.m. and many people eat later. Due to the late hour, people prefer to go out and share what are essentially appetizers. If you're lucky, you'll find a bar that gives you free tapas with the purchase of a drink. (If anyone reading this plans on going to Madrid- El Tigre has multiple locations and serves you a mountain of free tapas as pictured above).

3. "Qué fuerte"

Here's another big staple in Spanish conversations. Translated literally, it means "how strong!" but I promise it sounds better in Spanish. You'll pick up subconsciously how to use it, but I'll help you skip that step. It basically means "wow" or "oh, dam*" and can be used positively or negatively depending on your inflection. This is a great response to chisme as well.

4. "Vale"

This is just a filler and means "okay" or "alright," but you use it in every conversation. I usually said claro or bueno. Then my roommate started repeating me every time I said bueno and said "¡Vale!" Ella es mi maestra favorita.

5. "Eres la leche"

"You are the milk!" Okay so theoretically, this means "You're the best!" and is used in Spain. Sadly, I have yet to hear it in real world. I've heard this from multiple Spanish teachers and language blogs. If anyone hears this please tell me because I need this to be real.

6. "Porfa" or "Porfi"

This is just a faster way of saying "please". Porfa is more common but, c'mon, how adorable is porfi? This is a nice, easy word to remember in order to sound like a human instead of a textbook.

7. "Dime"

In American slang, this means 10/10 would recommend. While this isn't exactly slang, this word means "tell me". But it's good to know as people use it commonly. I've heard people answer their phones with "dime", in restaurants before ordering, or in plain conversations. Always good for your language arsenal!

8. Every cuss word

While we'll keep this post PG, swear words are thrown around pretty commonly. The first day of class, I heard a student refer to a professor as a horrible insult. But he followed it by saying we lucked out, and that's when I learned mother ***** means "the best." There are three very common curses, I'm sure you'll pick them up.

9. "Tío(a)"

Literally, this word means aunt or uncle. But Spanish people use this the same way we'd use "bro" or "girl." You really only use this with friends, but that's intuitive. It'd be weird if you went up to a random on the street and said, "Hey, brah, can you point me towards the train station?".

10. "Pincho"

Remember the tapas conversation earlier? This is the same deal but is more common in the north.

11. "Luego"

This means later and is the most common way of saying goodbye. The full phrase is hasta luego, but people usually skip straight to luego.

12. "Top"

Like guay, this means cool or the best. I haven't heard it nearly as much as guay, but it's still used. McDonald's in Spain has something called "Top Fries" with bacon and cheese. It took lots of bus stop billboards for me to realize it's an actual thing.

13. "Encantado(a)"

The full phrase is estoy encantado a conocerte which is the equivalent of "it's nice to meet you". People will shorten the phrase by saying encantado while they date besitos instead of the typical American handshake.

14. "Todo el mundo"

I haven't heard teens or young adults say this. Yet every one of my professors, without fail, has said this. It means "all the world" and it's a fun way to say "everyone." For example, they'll say ¿Todo el mundo tiene papel?" instead of "does everyone have paper?"