If you would like to say, “I don’t speak English.” in Spanish, you would simply say, “No hablo ingles.” To be even more polite and apologize for not speaking English, you could add “sorry” to the beginning of the expression and say, “Lo siento, no hablo ingles.”
Learning Spanish is attainable for most who put in the time and effort––especially if you already speak related languages like Italian and French. Both Italian and French are very closely related to Spanish, as all three come directly from Latin. Even English shares many of those same Latin roots. That’s why you’ll notice that there are many English words like “action” that sound nearly identical in French (action), Italian (azione), and Spanish (accíon). The Spanish language also has a truly simple pronunciation system, with only a few irregularities. This is notably unlike English, where the connection between letters and sounds rarely seems to follow obvious rules. The Spanish alphabet is also closely related to French, Italian, English, and most other languages in Western Europe. There are only three extra letters you’ll need to know: ch (chay), ll (elle), and ñ (eñe).
Rosetta Stone’s Dynamic Immersion® methodology teaches you the language, not just the words. What makes it effective is that we prepare you to use your new language in your everyday life. So it’s not just about the features, but what you’re able to do because of them. That way, you’ll be ready to handle any situation with ease and confidence.
Learn Spanish Words and Phrases
For beginning learners of Spanish, one of the most important first steps to take is learning the correct pronunciation of the letters of the Spanish alphabet as well as the Spanish words that represent numbers. This is fortunate for English speakers, because the differences between the English and Spanish alphabets are really quite minor. This means that learning the Spanish alphabet and numbers comes naturally for many English speakers.
To learn the Spanish alphabet and numbers, it’ll be important for you to focus on correct Spanish pronunciation. You will likely find that some letters on the Spanish alphabet have sounds you’re familiar with. Take the letter j for example. The Spanish letter j is pronounced like the English letter h sound. You might be quite familiar with this sound already from hearing Spanish names like Jose, Julio and, Javier. That said, other letters of the Spanish alphabet may sound quite unfamiliar to you.
Just like with Spanish letters, you may already know some of the Spanish numbers. Many English speakers have been taught at school or through TV shows to count to 10 in Spanish:
- uno = one
- dos = two
- tres = three
- cuatro = four
- cinco = five
- seis = six
- siete = seven
- cho = eight
- nueve = nine
- diez = ten
If you already know these first ten Spanish numbers, then you’re ready to move on to larger, compound numbers such as ciento veintiocho (128). You can learn the larger Spanish numbers by applying what you’ve already learned of the smaller numbers, and then applying some simple patterns to form the names of larger Spanish numbers.
Another fortunate characteristic of Spanish is that it’s a more phonetically consistent language than English. So Spanish words are nearly always pronounced just like they are spelled. This phonetic consistency can give you the confidence to pronounce complex-looking, multi-syllable Spanish words. Those big words might look a bit daunting, but you’ll likely find that they really aren’t.
Honing your pronunciation does require that you get immediate and accurate feedback on your efforts to speak in Spanish. This feedback will allow you to make any needed corrections to your Spanish pronunciation. Then, once your pronunciation is correct, you can practice until you’re comfortably able to shape the sounds of spoken Spanish.
Rosetta Stone helps you get the pronunciation just right in a snap with TruAccent. Our patented speech engine instantly compares your voice to native and non-native speakers, so you get real-time feedback for the most accurate pronunciation. It’s also adjustable, which allows you to fine-tune your accent. TruAccent is among the most powerful tools for helping you learn and speak the Spanish language.
After you have acquired the basic words and phrases that are the building blocks of Spanish, you can move onto learning the longer Spanish phrases that make up so much of everyday real-world Spanish conversation. Rosetta Stone’s brief, easily digested, 10-minute lessons are designed to help you do just that. They’ll help you learn the basics, then move onto learning longer phrases and on towards understanding and speaking Spanish with confidence. Rosetta Stone Spanish lessons consistently structure vocabulary acquisition and in context with real-world situations––a proven practice that can help you accelerate your understanding of spoken and written Spanish.
Try Our Award-Winning App
Surround yourself with Spanish whenever, wherever with the Rosetta Stone app .
Download a unit and knock it out on the train or a flight. Select a 5-10 minute lesson and sneak it in while you wait in line or for your ride to show up. And explore dynamic features, like Seek and Speak, where you can point at an object in the real world and get a translation .
The best part? You don’t have to choose between app or desktop. Both come with your subscription and sync, so you can switch between devices seamlessly.
