01 · The line you'll say to whoever's helping
¿Me pasas el martillo?
Can you pass me the hammer?
This is the exact phrasing that gets used between two people working — casual, direct, no need to overthink it.
andbefluent.com/spanish/handyman
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.
The warm-up pack
What actually gets said on a repair call — the tool, the leak, and the number before anyone touches anything.
01 · The line you'll say to whoever's helping
¿Me pasas el martillo?
Can you pass me the hammer?
This is the exact phrasing that gets used between two people working — casual, direct, no need to overthink it.
02 · Naming the problem precisely
El grifo de la cocina gotea.
The kitchen faucet is dripping.
Location plus symptom in one line — that's what gets a plumber moving instead of asking you three follow-up questions.
03 · The Mexico version of the same call
Se rompió la llave del lavabo.
The bathroom faucet broke.
Llave, not grifo, is what you'll hear in Mexico — same object, completely different word, and both are correct.
04 · The short version everyone actually uses
Se fue la luz.
The power went out.
This is the phrase across Latin America — not cortocircuito, which sounds like a technical report, not something you'd say on the phone.
05 · Fixing it yourself, fast
Súbele al apagador.
Flip the switch.
Apagador is Mexico's word for the light switch — interruptor is what you'll see written, súbele is what gets said.
06 · Offering the quick fix
Le doy una manita de pintura.
I'll give it a quick coat of paint.
Manita — literally 'little hand' — makes it sound like the small, easy job it usually is, not a whole renovation.
07 · Asking with the warmer word for 'fix'
¿Puede componer la regadera?
Can you fix the shower?
Componer is the gentler, more colloquial choice in Mexico — arreglar works everywhere, but this one sounds like a neighbour, not a form.
08 · Getting the number before anything starts
¿Me das la cotización?
Can you give me a quote?
Cotización is what's asked for in Mexico — presupuesto is the word everywhere else, and either gets you a number before work begins.
09 · The casual way to ask the same thing
¿En cuánto me sale?
How much will it run me?
Looser and more conversational than asking for a formal quote — this is what you'd say to someone you already trust.
10 · Locking down cost and time together
¿Cuánto costaría arreglarlo? ¿Cuánto tiempo tardará?
How much would it cost to fix? How long will it take?
Asking both, back to back, before anyone touches a pipe — it's the two-question habit that avoids surprises later.
11 · The other kind of emergency call
Reventó el caño.
The pipe burst.
Caño is Chile and Peru's word for pipe — reventó makes clear this isn't a slow drip, it's happening now.
FLUENT
Finally, someone to talk to in Spanish.
Ten-minute spoken lessons. A teacher who answers back — and gently fixes what you got wrong.
First 10 lessons freeandbefluent.com/spanish/handymanRegional 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?).