Spanish is an official language spoken in Spain, but it’s not the only one. Spain has three other officially recognized languages, and around 25% of the country’s population use a language other than Spanish as their first language, although they are all fully proficient in Spanish as well. Here’s a brief look at those languages:

Euskara: is the most unusual language of Spain. It is spoken by the Basque people (an ethnic group in Spain and France). Around 600,000 speakers use Euskara as their first language. Here’s some basic vocabulary in Euskara.

Hello – kaixo
Good morning – egunon
Good afternoon – arratsaldeon
Good evening – gabon
Goodbye – agur
See you later – gero arte
Please – mesedez
Sorry – barkatu
Thank you very much – eskerrik asko
You’re welcome – ez dago zergatik
yes – bai
What time is it? – Zer ordu da?
no – ez

Catalan: It is spoken not only in Spain, but also in parts of Andorra, France and Sardina, in Italy. About 4 million people use Catalan as a first language, and about the same amount speak it as a second language. Here’s some basic vocabulary in Catalan.

Hello – hola
Good-bye – adéu
Please – si us plau
Thank you – gràcies
Sorry – perdó, ho sento
How much?- quant val?, quant és?
Yes – sí
I don’t understand – No ho entenc
Where’s the bathroom? – On és el bany?, on és el lavabo?
Do you speak Catalan? – Parles català?

Galician: it is very similar to Portuguese, especially in vocabulary and syntax. People who speak Galician understand around 80% of Portuguese without effort. Around 4 million people speak Galician in Spain, Portugal and Latin America. Here’s some basic vocabulary in Galician, with the Portuguese form included in parentheses.

Good morning – Bo dia / Bo dias. (Bom dia.)
What´s your name? – Como te chamas? (Como você se chama?)
I love you – Quérote / Ámote (Eu te amo)
Thank you – Grazas / Graciña (Obrigado)
Welcome – Benvido (Bem-vindo)
Goodbye – Adeus (Adeus, tchau)
No – Non (Não)
Dog – Can (Cachorro, cão)
Newspaper – Periódico / Xornal (jornal)
Mirror – Espello (espelho)

See you next time!

Adir Ferreira