Spanish phrases for Arguineguín, with pronunciation and Canarian words

By Terje Moy, editor · Published 25 October 2026

About thirty phrases cover most of what you need in Arguineguín, from ordering a coffee to asking the bus driver. Each comes with a rough pronunciation and a note on the Canarian differences.

You can get by in English in most hotels and tourist restaurants in Arguineguín, but a handful of Spanish phrases change the tone of everything else: the market stall, the bakery, the bus driver, the pharmacy counter. This page gives about thirty of them, with an English-style respelling to read aloud (stressed syllable in capitals), and a short section on the Canarian words you will hear that a mainland phrasebook will not teach you.

It is a phrasebook, not a course. For a longer list of words, including menu items, see the glossary of Spanish and Canarian words.

How Spanish sounds, and how Canarians change it

Spanish is read almost as it is written, and the vowels never change: a as in «father», e as in «bet», i as in «machine», o as in «hot», u as in «rule». The h is silent, j is a throaty «h», ll sounds like «y» in most places, and ñ is the «ny» of «canyon». In Arguineguín's name, the gu before i is a hard «g» and the u is silent, so it is roughly ar-gee-neh-GEEN.

Three things make Canarian Spanish sound different from the Spanish of Madrid.

• No lisp. The letters z and c (before e or i) are pronounced «s», as in Latin America, not «th». Gracias is GRAH-syass; cerveza is ser-BEH-sah.
• Soft final s. The s at the end of a syllable is weak or almost dropped, so buenos días can sound like «bueno dia».
• Ustedes, not vosotros. For «you» (plural) the islands use ustedes, as in Latin America, where mainland Spain uses vosotros.

If you pronounce it the textbook way, you will be understood perfectly. These are just the sounds you will hear around you.

Greetings and manners

Greet people when you enter a small shop, a bar or a bus: a quiet «buenas» is enough and is the single most useful word. Saying it first is simply expected.

In a café, bar or restaurant

In Spain you usually ask for the bill when you are ready; it does not arrive by itself. Tipping is optional and small, covered on the practicalities page, and the dishes behind the menu words are explained in the Canarian food guide.

Canarian words you will hear

Some words on the island are not the ones in a mainland phrasebook, and you will see them on menus and timetables.

The fish and the sauce names matter on a harbour-side menu; for what to order, see the seafood and fresh fish guide.

On the bus, the boat and the taxi

Lines, fares and where to board are on the buses page. On the bus you pay the driver in cash or by bank card, so a «un billete a…» and the destination is all the dialogue needed.

At the Tuesday market and in the shops

The market happens on Tuesday from 08:30 to 15:00; see the Tuesday market guide for the layout.

At the pharmacy, and in an emergency

The emergency number is 112; the page on emergency numbers covers the health centre, hospitals and what to say when you call. A farmacia is identified by the green cross.

Numbers, days and directions

One to ten: uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco, seis, siete, ocho, nueve, diez (OO-noh, dohss, trehss, KWAH-troh, SEEN-koh, sayss, SYEH-teh, OH-choh, NWEH-beh, dyehss). The days run lunes, martes, miércoles, jueves, viernes, sábado, domingo; Tuesday is martes, market day. For directions: a la derecha (right), a la izquierda (left), todo recto (straight on), cerca (near), lejos (far).

Before you go

For the rest of the preparation, the first-time checklist covers the essentials, and the mobile and internet guide helps if you plan to use a translation app. A translation app helps, but a spoken «buenas» is still the better opener.