01 · Stopping a stranger politely
Disculpe, ¿dónde está...?
Excuse me, where is...?
Lead with disculpe and you can drop in any place name after it — this opener does all the work.
andbefluent.com/spanish/mi-barrio
Mi Barrio
Name the places around town, ask where they are, and catch the answer — out loud.
Open politely: Disculpe, ¿dónde está la farmacia? — though in much of Latin America you'll hear ¿dónde queda…? instead, and both work. Keep the answers you give (and expect) to phrases you can actually catch: está cerca, está lejos, al lado de. The place names themselves shift by region — the little corner shop is la tiendita in Mexico but el almacén in Argentina, and the sidewalk is la banqueta in Mexico but la vereda in Argentina and Peru. You won't get this from flashcards: asking where something is only becomes automatic once you've asked a real voice and understood what came back.
Below: the places and direction words lesson by lesson, how street vocabulary changes between Mexico and Argentina, the mix-ups that trip beginners — and a way to rehearse asking your way around, out loud.
The warm-up pack
The words for asking where something is — and actually understanding the answer.
01 · Stopping a stranger politely
Disculpe, ¿dónde está...?
Excuse me, where is...?
Lead with disculpe and you can drop in any place name after it — this opener does all the work.
02 · The everyday alternative
¿Dónde queda el banco?
Where's the bank?
Many people actually prefer queda over está in casual speech — understand both, use either.
03 · The answer you're listening for
Está cerca. Está lejos.
It's close by. It's far.
These two short answers are what you're actually straining to catch — everything else is detail.
04 · Right around the corner
Está aquí nomás. Aquí a la vuelta.
It's right here. Just around the corner.
Two interchangeable ways locals say "really close" — either one means don't worry, it's nothing.
05 · Turning at the corner (Mexico)
Da vuelta en la esquina.
Turn at the corner.
The instruction you'll actually be given in Mexico when someone points the way.
06 · Turning at the corner (Argentina)
Doblá en la esquina.
Turn at the corner.
Same instruction, voseo form — this is what you'll hear in Argentina instead.
07 · Straight ahead, warmly
Derechito.
Straight ahead.
The diminutive that makes directions sound friendly, not just correct — locals say it constantly.
08 · Two words for corner store
La tiendita. El almacén.
The corner shop. (Mexico) — El almacén in Argentina.
Same little shop, completely different word depending which country you're in.
09 · Sidewalk, depending where you are
La banqueta. La vereda.
The sidewalk. (Mexico) — La vereda in Argentina and Peru.
One of those everyday words that quietly changes at the border — worth knowing both.
10 · Asking a friend where they study (Argentina)
¿En qué facu estudiás?
What college do you study at?
Facu is the casual clip of facultad — sounds like a real question between friends, not a form.
11 · Making plans
¿Nos vemos en la plaza?
Shall we meet at the plaza?
The plaza is the social heart of most neighborhoods — this is how you actually make a plan to be there.
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/mi-barrioRegional Spanish
Textbooks teach one word. Locals use several — pick your region's and stay consistent.
| English | Mexico | Argentina |
|---|---|---|
| corner shop | la tiendita | el almacén |
| sidewalk | la banqueta | la vereda |
| turn at the corner | da vuelta en la esquina | doblá en la esquina |
Watch out
The part no drill site can do
Olivia
Your vocabulary teacher for this pack
There are no flashcards in the Mi Barrio lessons — you use the words the way you will on the street. Olivia plays the stranger you stop for the nearest pharmacy, then flips it: now a lost tourist is asking you for the bus station, and you're reaching for la esquina, el semáforo, está cerca — or the wonderfully local aquí a la vuelta and derechito. Two steps at a time, out loud, until directions stop being scary in either direction.
Blank mid-sentence and nothing bad happens — she waits. That's the practice, without unnecessary judgement.
Finish the 5 lessons and Mi Barrio is yours — earned, not given.
First 10 lessons free · 10-minute spoken lessons · your AI coaching team remembers you
Quick answers
They mean the same thing. ¿Dónde está el banco? is the textbook form; in many countries ¿dónde queda el banco? is what people actually prefer in casual speech. Understand both, use either.
Lead with disculpe: Disculpe, ¿dónde está…? Then expect (and give) short answers — está cerca, está lejos, al lado de — one or two steps at a time.
La biblioteca is the library — books you borrow. La librería is a bookstore — books you buy. Spanish shop names love the -ería suffix: la panadería (bakery), la carnicería (butcher), la frutería (fruit shop).
La acera is the general word, but locals rarely say it: it's la banqueta in Mexico and la vereda in Argentina and Peru. Traffic light is el semáforo — though in the Caribbean you'll hear la luz.
Use a for going somewhere and en for being there: voy a la farmacia (I'm going to the pharmacy) but estoy en la farmacia (I'm at the pharmacy).