20 Spanish Survival Verbs You Really Need A1–A2 Interactive Game

A1–A2 · SURVIVAL SPANISH GAME

20 Spanish Survival Verbs 🎮🇪🇸

Imagine you arrive in Spain tomorrow with only 20 Spanish verbs in your pocket.

Which ones would help you eat, travel, buy, ask, understand, pay, find things and solve problems?

Welcome to the Survival Verbs Game.

You don't need 500 verbs to start communicating. You need a small group of verbs that can do a lot of work.

⭐ XP: 0 🔥 Streak: 0 🏆 Level: ROOKIE

🗺️ Your Survival Verb Map

This infographic is your starting map. Look at it first. How many verbs do you already recognise?

🗺️ MAP DISCOVERED · +10 imaginary XP

👨‍🏫 Manuel's Tip: don't learn a verb — learn what it lets you DO

Knowing that necesitar = to need is useful.

But your brain has much more to work with when you learn:

Necesito ayuda.
I need help.

So throughout this game we won't collect dictionary entries. We'll collect usable Spanish.

LEVEL 1 · STAY ALIVE 😅

NECESITAR · QUERER · TENER · PODER

NECESITAR to need

Necesito ayuda.

QUERER to want

Quiero agua.

TENER to have

Tengo una reserva.

PODER can / to be able to

¿Puedo pagar con tarjeta?

LEVEL 2 · FIND YOUR WAY 🗺️

IR · VENIR · BUSCAR · ENCONTRAR

IR to go

Voy al centro.

VENIR to come

Vengo mañana.

BUSCAR to look for

Busco una farmacia.

ENCONTRAR to find

No encuentro el hotel.

LEVEL 3 · BUY & EAT 🛒🍽️

COMPRAR · PAGAR · COMER · BEBER

COMPRAR to buy

Quiero comprar esto.

PAGAR to pay

¿Dónde pago?

COMER to eat

¿Dónde podemos comer?

BEBER to drink

Quiero beber agua.

LEVEL 4 · COMMUNICATE 🗣️

HABLAR · ENTENDER · SABER · DECIR

HABLAR to speak

Hablo un poco de español.

ENTENDER to understand

No entiendo.

SABER to know

No sé.

DECIR to say / tell

¿Puede decirlo otra vez?

LEVEL 5 · SOLVE THE PROBLEM 🔧

HACER · DAR · PONER · LLEVAR

HACER to do / make

¿Qué tengo que hacer?

DAR to give

¿Me da el recibo?

PONER to put

¿Dónde pongo esto?

LLEVAR to carry / take / wear

Llevo mi pasaporte.

⚡ The real trick: combine your verbs

Twenty verbs don't produce twenty sentences. They produce hundreds of combinations.

QUIERO + COMPRAR

Quiero comprar un billete.

I want to buy a ticket.

NECESITO + ENCONTRAR

Necesito encontrar una farmacia.

I need to find a pharmacy.

PUEDO + PAGAR

¿Puedo pagar con tarjeta?

Can I pay by card?

QUIERO + COMER

Quiero comer algo.

I want to eat something.

This is where vocabulary starts becoming communication.

😂 ExpatFriend tries his new superpowers

ExpatFriend: Quiero...

Waiter: ¿Sí?

ExpatFriend: Comer.

Waiter: Eso espero. Esto es un restaurante.

Technically successful. 😂

But now let's upgrade it:

Quisiera comer algo, por favor.

Survival Spanish gets you through the door. Then we gradually make it more natural, flexible and polite.

🧠 NeuroTip: steal these verb combinations

Don't analyse them first. Say them.

Necesito ayuda.

Quiero reservar.

No puedo encontrarlo.

No entiendo.

¿Dónde puedo pagar?

¿Qué tengo que hacer?

🧠 Read → listen → cover → retrieve → use.

🎮 SURVIVAL MODE ACTIVATED

Five problems. Choose the verb that saves you.

🛒 You want to buy a bottle of water.

🗺️ You can't find your hotel.

💳 You want to ask if you can pay by card.

😵 Somebody is speaking and you understand nothing.

🆘 You need help.

👾 BOSS LEVEL: Spanish disappears!

You arrive at a train station. You want to go to Málaga. You need a ticket. You want to pay by card.

Build the conversation from your survival verbs.

You: Buenos días. Quiero comprar un billete para Málaga.

Employee: ¿Solo ida o ida y vuelta?

You: Perdone, no entiendo. ¿Puede repetirlo?

Employee: ¿Ida y vuelta?

You: Sí. Ida y vuelta. ¿Puedo pagar con tarjeta?

🏆 BOSS DEFEATED.

Notice what happened: you didn't need advanced grammar. You needed high-value verbs + useful chunks.

🛂 Survival Verb Passport

🆘NEED

❤️WANT

💪CAN

🗺️GO

🔎FIND

🛒BUY

💳PAY

🍴EAT

🗣️SPEAK

🧠UNDERSTAND

💡KNOW

🔧DO

Don't collect verbs. Collect independence.

🎙️ The 60-Second Survival Verb Mission

Close the infographic. Don't look at the lists.

Can you say something useful with these verbs?

NECESITAR

QUERER

PODER

IR

BUSCAR

COMPRAR

PAGAR

ENTENDER

For example:

Necesito ayuda.
Quiero comprar esto.
¿Puedo pagar con tarjeta?
No entiendo.

🎙️ 60-SECOND SURVIVAL MISSION · +80 XP

🇪🇸 Where will these verbs take you?

Everywhere else in Neuro-Spanish for You!

You'll meet them again when our learners enter a pharmacy, visit the doctor, shop in a supermarket, book a hotel, take a train or try to solve an everyday problem in Spain.

That's deliberate.

Vocabulary becomes useful when it returns in different contexts.

❤️ Keep your Survival Spanish alive

Follow Neuro-Spanish for You! for visual Spanish, real-life situations, audio, humour and interactive challenges.

🎮 Play · 🔊 Listen · 🧠 Retrieve · 🇪🇸 Survive

👨‍🏫 Created & taught by Manuel Molina

Neuro-Spanish for You!

Practical Spanish through context, visual learning, humour, retrieval and interaction.

A1–A2 · Spanish Survival Verbs · Interactive Learning Resource

40 Essential Spanish Phrases for Expats.| Your First 24 Hours in Spain · A1–A2

A1–A2 · EXPAT SURVIVAL SPANISH

40 Essential Spanish Phrases 🇪🇸

You have just arrived in Spain. Your suitcase survived the flight. Your phone has 23% battery. You're hungry. And your Spanish is... optimistic.

You don't need a grammar book right now.

You need to survive the next 24 hours. 😅

Here are 40 Spanish phrases that can help you ask, understand, buy, eat, travel and solve everyday problems.

⭐ XP: 0 🔥 Streak: 0 🛂 Status: NEW ARRIVAL

🗺️ Your 40-Phrase Survival Map

First, look at the complete visual map. Don't try to memorise all 40 phrases.

Your job is to discover them again when you actually need them.

⏰ Your first 24 hours

Instead of studying a list, we're going to live one day in Spain.

🛬
09:00
ARRIVE

🚕
10:00
TRAVEL

🏨
11:00
HOTEL

☕
12:00
CAFÉ

🛒
17:00
SHOP

🍽️
21:00
DINNER

40 phrases. One day. Let's survive it.

🛬 STOP 1 · You arrive

Before anything else, you need the social basics.

01 Hola. Hello.

02 Buenos días. Good morning.

03 Por favor. Please.

04 Gracias. Thank you.

05 Perdone. Excuse me / Sorry.

☀️ SOCIAL MODE ACTIVATED

🚕 STOP 2 · You need to get somewhere

06 ¿Dónde está...? Where is...?

07 ¿Dónde puedo encontrar un taxi? Where can I find a taxi?

08 Quiero ir aquí. I want to go here.

09 ¿Está lejos? Is it far?

10 ¿Cuánto cuesta? How much does it cost?

👨‍🏫 Manuel's Tip: learn sentence skeletons

One phrase can produce dozens of new phrases.

¿Dónde está + PLACE?

¿Dónde está el hotel?
¿Dónde está la farmacia?
¿Dónde está la estación?
¿Dónde está el supermercado?

That's much more powerful than memorising four separate questions.

🏨 STOP 3 · The hotel

11 Tengo una reserva. I have a reservation.

12 ¿A qué hora es el desayuno? What time is breakfast?

13 ¿Cuál es la contraseña del wifi? What's the Wi-Fi password?

14 Necesito ayuda. I need help.

15 Hay un problema. There's a problem.

😂 ExpatFriend checks in

Receptionist: Buenos días. ¿Tiene una reserva?

ExpatFriend: Sí. Tengo una reserva.

💭 Perfect. I am basically Spanish now.

Receptionist: ¿Me puede enseñar su documentación, por favor?

💭 My Spanish career lasted eleven seconds.

Fortunately, our next group of phrases can rescue him.

🆘 STOP 4 · Communication breakdown

These are among the most valuable phrases on the entire page.

16 No entiendo. I don't understand.

17 ¿Puede repetirlo? Can you repeat that?

18 ¿Puede hablar más despacio? Can you speak more slowly?

19 ¿Qué significa...? What does ... mean?

20 Hablo un poco de español. I speak a little Spanish.

🛡️ COMMUNICATION SHIELD UNLOCKED

☕ STOP 5 · Food becomes urgent

21 Quisiera un café, por favor. I'd like a coffee, please.

22 Quisiera comer algo. I'd like something to eat.

23 ¿Tiene una mesa para dos? Do you have a table for two?

24 ¿Qué recomienda? What do you recommend?

25 La cuenta, por favor. The bill, please.

🛒 STOP 6 · Supermarket survival

26 Busco... I'm looking for...

27 ¿Tiene otra marca? Do you have another brand?

28 ¿Hay una opción más barata? Is there a cheaper option?

29 ¿Está de oferta? Is it on offer?

30 ¿Puedo pagar con tarjeta? Can I pay by card?

🌆 STOP 7 · You explore Spain

31 ¿Qué hora es? What time is it?

32 ¿A qué hora abre? What time does it open?

33 ¿A qué hora cierra? What time does it close?

34 ¿Cómo llego a...? How do I get to...?

35 ¿Puede ayudarme? Can you help me?

🌙 STOP 8 · End-of-day essentials

36 Sí. Yes.

37 No. No.

38 De acuerdo. OK / Agreed.

39 No pasa nada. No problem / It's OK.

40 Hasta luego. See you later.

👨‍🏫 You do NOT need to memorise all 40 today

That would defeat the point.

Instead, choose five phrases that solve problems you are likely to have.

For example:

Perdone.
¿Dónde está...?
No entiendo.
¿Puede repetirlo?
¿Puedo pagar con tarjeta?

Use those until they become automatic. Then add five more.

Useful language first. Quantity later.

🎮 The First-Day Survival Challenge

1. 🏨 You arrive at your hotel.

2. 😵 You don't understand.

3. ☕ You want a coffee politely.

4. 💳 You want to use your card.

5. 🗣️ They're speaking too quickly.

🧠 NeuroTip: the 5 × 5 method

Forty phrases look intimidating. Five phrases don't.

Try this:

1. Choose 5 phrases.
2. Listen to each one.
3. Say each one aloud 5 times.
4. Hide the page.
5. Retrieve them from memory.
6. Use them in one imaginary situation.

Tomorrow, add another five.

🧠 SMALL SETS · ACTIVE RECALL · REAL CONTEXT

😂 Meanwhile, ExpatFriend has reached dinner...

Waiter: ¿Qué desea tomar?

💭 I have trained for this moment.

ExpatFriend: Quisiera una cerveza, por favor.

💭 YES.

Waiter: ¿De barril o de botella?

💭 .............

ExpatFriend: Perdone. ¿Puede repetirlo más despacio?

🏆 THAT is survival Spanish.

Not understanding everything isn't the disaster.

Not knowing how to keep the conversation alive is the problem.

🛂 Your First-Day Survival Passport

👋
SOCIAL

🚕
TRAVEL

🏨
HOTEL

🗣️
REPAIR

☕
CAFÉ

🛒
SHOP

🗺️
EXPLORE

🌙
SURVIVE

40 phrases → 8 situations → one independent learner.

🎙️ Final Mission: survive without the infographic

Imagine this sequence:

🛬 Airport → 🚕 Taxi → 🏨 Hotel → ☕ Café → 🛒 Shop → 🍽️ Dinner

Can you produce at least one Spanish phrase for each situation?

If you can, you've stopped memorising a list.

You're using Spanish to solve problems.

🏆 FIRST 24 HOURS SURVIVED · +100 XP

🗺️ Where do you go next?

These 40 phrases are only the starting point. Each real-life situation deserves its own adventure.

💊 Pharmacy Spanish Explain symptoms and ask for help.

🏨 Hotel Spanish Book, check in and solve problems.

🛒 Supermarket Spanish Find, compare, weigh and pay.

🏫 School Spanish Ask about enrolment and school life.

🚆 Transport Spanish Tickets, directions and timetables.

😂 G.U.I.R.I. Watch ExpatFriend make the mistakes first.

As the individual lessons are connected, this section can become your map to the complete Expat Survival Spanish series.

❤️ Don't just study Spanish. Use it.

Follow Neuro-Spanish for You! for practical Spanish, visual learning, humour, audio and interactive challenges.

🇪🇸 Learn · 🔊 Listen · 🧠 Retrieve · 🌍 Use

👨‍🏫 Created & taught by Manuel Molina

Neuro-Spanish for You!

Real-life Spanish through context, visual learning, humour, retrieval practice and interaction.

A1–A2 · 40 Essential Spanish Phrases for Expats · Survival Spanish