Handyman
Describe the leak, ask what it costs, and get it fixed — out loud, in Spanish.
Repair people need three things: location, symptom, urgency. El grifo de la cocina gotea — the kitchen faucet is dripping — gets a plumber moving; a vague "there's a problem with the water" doesn't. Know your region's word for the faucet itself: el grifo is the textbook term, but Mexico says la llave and Argentina says la canilla. And before anyone touches a pipe, ask ¿Cuánto costaría arreglarlo? and ¿Cuánto tiempo tardará? — cost and time, up front.
Below: the words for tools, pipes, wiring and quotes, what locals actually call them by country — and no flashcards anywhere: you learn each word by saying it in a live repair call.
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Regional Spanish
Textbooks teach one word. Locals use several — pick your region's and stay consistent.
| English | Mexico | Argentina |
|---|---|---|
| faucet / tap | la llave | la canilla |
| electrical outlet | el contacto | la ficha |
| repair quote | la cotización | el presupuesto |
Watch out
The part no drill site can do
Olivia
Your vocabulary teacher for this pack
No flashcards, no tool-matching worksheets — in the Handyman lessons you talk, and Olivia answers back. She has you on the phone with a plumber: the drain is blocked, there's a fuga de agua under the sink, and you have to say where it is, how bad it's getting, and how urgent it feels. Then, before you agree to anything, you ask what it will cost — ¿cuánto costaría arreglarlo? — out loud, until the whole call feels routine.
Blank mid-sentence and nothing bad happens — she waits. That's the practice, without unnecessary judgement.
Finish the 5 lessons and Handyman is yours — earned, not given.
First 10 lessons free · 10-minute spoken lessons · your AI coaching team remembers you
Quick answers
Name the place and the symptom: el grifo de la cocina gotea (the kitchen faucet is dripping) or la fuga de agua for a leak. In everyday Latin American speech you'll also hear se está saliendo el agua — the water is getting out.
La llave — as in se rompió la llave del lavabo (the bathroom faucet broke). Argentina says la canilla (gotea la canilla), while el grifo is the term every region understands.
The standard word is el presupuesto; in Mexico ask for la cotización — ¿me das la cotización?. Always get it before work starts: ¿Cuánto costaría arreglarlo? and ¿Cuánto tiempo tardará?
Se fue la luz — that's what locals across Latin America say, not cortocircuito. If the breaker tripped: se botó la pastilla (colloquial) or saltó el fusible.
Both mean to fix. Arreglar works everywhere; componer is the warm colloquial choice in Mexico — ¿puede componer la regadera? (can you fix the shower?).
