01 · Where the questions start
¿De dónde eres?
Where are you from?
Standard everywhere. In Argentina you'll hear ¿de dónde sos? instead — same question, voseo swap.
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Preguntas
Ask what, who, where, when, why, and how much — and keep conversations going.
Every Spanish question word carries an accent mark when it's asking: qué, quién, dónde, cuándo, cómo, cuánto, cuál. Two pairs do most of the damage for beginners: ¿por qué? (why — two words, with accent) versus porque (because — one word, no accent), and qué vs cuál — it's ¿Cuál es tu nombre?, not ¿Qué es tu nombre?, because cuál asks for specific info from a set. And when you didn't catch something, don't bark ¿qué? — say ¿cómo?, or in Mexico the polite ¿mande?.
Below: the question words lesson by lesson, how the same question changes country to country, the traps that flag a beginner — and a way to actually ask them out loud, in a real back-and-forth.
The warm-up pack
The words that keep a conversation going — and the traps that flag a beginner.
01 · Where the questions start
¿De dónde eres?
Where are you from?
Standard everywhere. In Argentina you'll hear ¿de dónde sos? instead — same question, voseo swap.
02 · Give a reason without porque
Es que no tengo tiempo.
It's that I don't have time.
Porque works, but es que is what people actually reach for to explain themselves — softer, more natural.
03 · The everyday repeat-that
¿Cómo?
Sorry, what?
Softer than a flat ¿qué?, which can land abrupt. This is the one you actually say when you missed something.
04 · Mexico's polite version
¿Mande?
Sorry? (polite, Mexico)
The Mexican default when you didn't hear — never a bare ¿qué?, which can sound short or annoyed.
05 · The one that picks, not defines
¿Cuál es tu nombre?
What's your name?
Cuál asks for one item from a set — a name, a number, an address. Qué asks for a definition. Different job.
06 · Pin down the hour
¿A qué hora?
At what time?
Pair it with any plan. Mexicans often say ¿a qué horas?, plural — grammatically odd, completely normal to hear.
07 · The market haggle
¿A cómo lo da?
How much for it?
What you actually hear at a Mexican market, not the textbook ¿cuánto cuesta?
08 · A question every traveler asks
¿Cuánto hace que vivís acá?
How long have you lived here? (Argentina, voseo)
Sooner or later someone asks you this. Now you can ask it back.
09 · Softer than por qué
¿Y eso?
How come?
Literally "and that?" — what locals say when something surprises them, without sounding like an interrogation.
10 · Open or close any exchange
¿Qué tal?
How's it going?
One line, works at the start of a conversation or the end. No fixed reply needed — that's the point.
11 · Your rescue line
¿Cómo se dice?
How do you say it?
Learn this as one fixed chunk, not word by word — it's the phrase that gets you through every stuck moment.
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/preguntasRegional Spanish
Textbooks teach one word. Locals use several — pick your region's and stay consistent.
| English | Mexico | Argentina | Colombia |
|---|---|---|---|
| what's up? | ¿qué onda? | ¿qué hacés? | ¿qué más? |
| how much is it? | ¿a cómo? | ¿cuánto sale? | ¿cuánto vale? |
| sorry — what? | ¿mande? | ¿cómo? | ¿cómo? |
Watch out
The part no drill site can do
Olivia
Your vocabulary teacher for this pack
There are no question-formation worksheets in the Preguntas lessons — you interview Olivia, live. You've just met: ask where she's from, what she does, how long she's been here. Then you're planning a trip together and you need real answers — when to go, where to stay, ¿cuánto cuesta?, and why she recommends it. Then she flips it and questions you — rising intonation, accents and all, out loud until asking feels automatic.
Blank mid-sentence and nothing bad happens — she waits. That's the practice, without unnecessary judgement.
Finish the 4 lessons and Preguntas is yours — earned, not given.
First 10 lessons free · 10-minute spoken lessons · your AI coaching team remembers you
Quick answers
¿Por qué? — two words, with accent — asks why. Porque — one word, no accent — answers with because. Question = two words, answer = one word.
Use cuál when you're asking for specific info or choosing from options: ¿Cuál es tu nombre? — never ¿Qué es tu nombre?. The same goes for a number or an address.
They carry the accent only when used as questions: qué, quién, dónde, cuándo, cómo, cuánto, cuál. Spanish also opens every question with an inverted mark — ¿ — so the accent and the ¿ arrive together.
It's the polite way to say what? when you didn't hear — a bare ¿qué? can sound abrupt. Across Latin America, ¿cómo? is the everyday soft option for 'sorry, what did you say?'.
The textbook form is ¿cuánto cuesta? — but at a Mexican market you'll hear ¿a cómo?, in Argentina ¿cuánto sale?, and in Colombia ¿cuánto vale?. To haggle, follow up with me lo deja en… — will you give it to me for…