Spanish Question Words: 50+ Examples of How to Ask Questions in Spanish
Are you ready to learn how to ask questions in Spanish?
The following video covers everything you definitely need to know about Spanish question words from Spring Spanish (a project where I’m a co-founder)! Check it out!
It doesn’t matter if you’re a beginner who is just starting out on your journey of language learning or if you’re an experienced Spanish speaker looking for a refresher, this blog post will provide you with all the tips and tools needed to boost your questioning abilities.
We will explore different types of questions and examples of how they can be used with key phrases in dialogues.
1. Common Spanish question words for everyday conversations
If you’re planning on traveling to a Spanish-speaking country or just want to improve your Spanish conversational skills, learning common Spanish question words is a great place to start.
Basic greetings in Spanish like:
- “¿Cómo estás?” (How are you?),
- “¿Qué tal?” (What’s up?), and
- “¿Cómo te llamas?” (What’s your name?)
can go a long way in establishing a rapport with locals. But beyond simple pleasantries, there are plenty of other common Spanish queries you can learn to navigate everyday conversations.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| ¿De dónde eres? | Where are you from? |
| ¿Hablas español? | Do you speak Spanish? |
| ¿Dónde está el baño? | Where is the bathroom? |
| ¿Cómo llego a…? | How do I get to…? |
| ¿Cuánto cuesta? | How much does it cost? |
| ¿Podría ver el menú, por favor? | Could I see the menu, please? |
| ¿Qué recomienda? | What do you recommend? |
| ¿Tienes una habitación disponible? | Do you have a room available? |
| ¿Cómo es el clima hoy? | What’s the weather like today? |
| ¿A qué hora abre/cierra? | What time does it open/close? |
| ¿Cuándo sale el próximo bus/tren? | When does the next bus/train leave? |
| ¿Dónde puedo comprar un boleto? | Where can I buy a ticket? |
| ¿Cuál es la contraseña del wifi? | What’s the wifi password? |
| ¿Dónde está la estación de trenes? | Where is the train station? |
| ¿Me puedes ayudar? | Can you help me? |
| ¿Está lejos de aquí? | Is it far from here? |
| ¿Cómo se dice … en español? | How do you say … in Spanish? |
Ready to take your Spanish conversation skills to the next level?
Download our comprehensive practice worksheets now! They’re packed with more basic Spanish question words and offer a deeper understanding of Conversation Based Chunking method.
2. Asking questions with a special question mark
There are two main types of questions in Spanish:
- yes/no questions
- open-ended questions.
Forming questions in Spanish requires a bit of practice, but it’s not too complicated.
Effortless Answers
One thing to remember is that question marks aren’t used in Spanish like they are in English. While English has a single question mark at the end of a query, Spanish uses an inverted question mark at the start and a regular one at the end.
Check the question marks in bold!
“¿Cómo estás?” (How are you?)
This double punctuation rule allows a reader to immediately identify the sentence as a question.
Types of Spanish questions #1: Yes/No question words in Spanish
Yes/No questions in Spanish are quite simple to construct and understand. They are generally used in cases where the expected response is either an affirmation (“sí“) or negation (“no“). The difference between a Spanish question and a statement is often, but not always determined by the inflection of the speaker’s voice and the use of question marks.
- “¿Tienes hambre?” (Are you hungry?)
- “Tienes hambre.” (You are hungry.)
These sentences use the same word order but their meaning is completely different!
The following simple questions are some of the most common Yes/No questions you can encounter in Spanish.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| ¿Estás bien? | Are you okay? |
| ¿Puedo ayudarte? | Can I help you? |
| ¿Quieres más? | Do you want more? |
| ¿Estás seguro? | Are you sure? |
| ¿Es esto correcto? | Is this correct? |
| ¿Has terminado? | Are you finished? |
| ¿Podemos ir? | Can we go? |
| ¿Está incluido? | Is it included? |
| ¿Vienes con nosotros? | Are you coming with us? |
| ¿Está abierto? | Is it open? |
Hint: You can download the PDF version of this article by clicking the button below!
Types of Spanish questions #2: W-Questions to start a conversation in Spanish
Another common type of question in Spanish is the w-question, which is used to ask specific information like:
- ¿Quién? – Who?
- ¿Qué? – What?
- ¿Cuándo? – When?
- ¿Dónde? – Where?
- ¿Por qué? – Why?
- ¿Cómo? – How?
- ¿Cuál? – Which?
- ¿Cuánto/a/os/as? – How much/many?
These questions are used to gather more information and the answers to these questions cannot be simply ‘yes’ or ‘no’. That’s why they’re not simply yes/no questions! 🙂
Let’s see all of this in action! Some of the most useful chunks you can learn with them are:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| ¿Quién es tu mejor amigo? | Who is your best friend? |
| ¿Qué estás haciendo? | What are you doing? |
| ¿Cuándo es tu cumpleaños? | When is your birthday? |
| ¿Dónde vives? | Where do you live? |
| ¿Por qué estás triste? | Why are you sad? |
| ¿Cómo se llama tu perro? | What is your dog’s name? |
| ¿Cuál es tu libro favorito? | What is your favorite book? |
| ¿Cuánto cuesta este vestido? | How much does this dress cost? |
Now, safe to say, this would be too easy, right? Well, por qué vs porque is a little bit different. Lucky for you, we have the article for it on Effortless Conversations!
3. Basic Spanish question words: formal and informal Spanish phrases
Politeness and formality play a huge role in Spanish language and culture. This is particularly true of the way questions in Spanish are asked.
Now, one thing is for sure: it doesn’t matter if it’s a formal or informal setting, using polite Spanish questions and Spanish question words is always appreciated and can earn you respect and trust from anyone
Formal Spanish questions usually include polite words such as “usted” and “por favor.
“Usted” is employed in formal or respectful situations, such as when speaking with older individuals, superiors at work, or when meeting someone for the first time.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| ¿Usted podría ayudarme, por favor? | Could you help me, please? |
| ¿Podría repetir eso, por favor, usted? | Could you repeat that, please? |
| ¿Podría usted darme direcciones, por favor? | Could you give me directions, please? |
| ¿Cómo se llama usted, por favor? | What is your name, please? |
| ¿Dónde vive usted, por favor? | Where do you live, please? |
Informal Spanish questions tend to be less structured and can include Spanish slang or even humor.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| ¿Qué onda? | What’s up? |
| ¿Cómo andas? | How’s it going? |
| ¿Todo bien? | Everything good? |
| ¿Qué te cuentas? | What’s new with you? |
| ¿Vamos a tomar algo? | Shall we grab a drink? |
| ¿Qué piensas? | What do you think? |
| ¿Cómo fue tu día? | How was your day? |
| ¿Cuándo nos vemos? | When shall we meet? |
| ¿Dónde has estado? | Where have you been? |
| ¿Qué haces este finde? | What are you doing this weekend? |
4. Tips for practicing questions in Spanish with Conversation Based Chunking
This post covers the fundamental aspects of forming Spanish questions with Spanish question words
With a few straightforward approaches, you can quickly improve your conversational skills. If you enjoyed learning the basics of building questions in Spanish and want more resources to further master your language skills, sign up for the Conversation Based Chunking Starter Pack.
The CBC Starter Pack includes a Practice Worksheet Library for comprehensive practice on grammar, vocabulary, reading comprehension, and more; a 15-Page Spanish Chunking Lesson with step-by-step explanation of the theory and practice behind learning Spanish with chunks and a 12-Week Study Plan to make more progress in Spanish than the entire past year!
