Car Hire Spain: The Language Of The Road
- Posted by: Editor
- On: 23/04/2007 13:51:12
- In: Spain Car Hire
Struggling with the local language? Don’t worry we’ve sorted out a handy little guide to those all important phrases for when you’re on the road in sunny Espana.
It can be tough going on foreign roads if you don’t have the foggiest what this word or that word means, so we’ve picked out all the lingo you need to know, along with some handy little phrases to help you out on the Spanish roads. Best of luck, or ¡suerte! as they say in Spain!
Just click on the appropriate title:
Directions
Handy Phrases
On The Road
You, Your Car & Other Drivers
Important Road Signs
Directions:
Go straight on – ‘Siga todo recto’
Turn left – ‘Toma el giro a la izquierda’
Turn right – ‘Toma el giro a la derecha’
Take the first left – ‘Toma la pròxima calle a la izquierda’
Take the second left – ‘Toma la segunda calle a la izquierda’
Take the third left – ‘Toma la tercera calle a la izquierda’
Take the fourth left – ‘Toma la cuarta calle a la izquierda’
Take the first right – ‘Toma la pròxima calle a la derecha’
Handy Phrases:
Excuse me, I’m lost… (!) – Por favor, estoy perdido…
Excuse me, could you give me a hand? - ¿por favor, échame una mano?
Where is the nearest petrol station? – ¿Donde es la gasolinera la más cercana?
How do I get to…? – ¿Por dónde se va major à…?
There is an accident – hay un accidente de carretera
My car has broken down – mi carro se averío
What You Might Meet On The Road
Accident – un accidente
Amber light – el semáforo ámbar
Bridge – el puente
Bus lane – un carril bus
Diversion – un desvío de carretera
Dual carriageway – una autovía
Green light – la luz verde
Lane – un carril
Motorway – una autopista
Petrol station – una gasolinera
Pedestrian – un peatón
Red light – el semáforo en rojo
Sign – una señal vial
Roundabout – una glorieta/un tiovivo
Side road – una carretera secundaria
Toll road – una carretera de peaje/una carretera de cuota
Traffic lights – el semáforo
Traffic jam – un embotellamiento
Zebra Crossing – un cruce de peatones
You, Your Car & Other Drivers
Bonnet – la capota
Boot – el maletero
Breaks – el freno
Car – el carro
Diesel – el gasoléo/diésel
Driver – el conductor
Lights – los faros
Overtake (to) – adelantar
Radio – la radio
Rearview mirror – el espejo retrovisor
Petrol – la gasoline/la bencina (Chile)/la nafta (Argentina)
Seatbelt – el cinturón de seguridad
Snow chains – las cadenas
Speed limit – velocidad máxima
Tyre – un neumático
Windscreen – el parabrisas
Wheels – las ruedas
Important Road Signs
Aduana - Customs
Ceda el paso - Give way
Carratera cortada – Road close
Centro ciudad – City centre
Circule por la derecha – Keep right
Circunvalación – Bypass
Curva peligrosa – Dangerous bend
Direccíon unica – One way street
Modere su velocidad – Slow down
Prohibido aparcar - No parking
Stop(Spain)/Alto (Mexico)/Pare (Chile/Argentina/Peru) - Stop
Vehículos pesados – Heavy vehicles
That’s just about it, so you should be all set for hitting the Spanish roads. If there’s any vocab that you’re not sure about, or you have any questions, suggestions, additions or opinions just fire off an email and we’ll get back to you asap.
¡Que tenga un buen viaje! (Safe journey!)
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Comments
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- #1
- Posted by: akhtar
- On: 25/05/2007 18:03:47
this is very nice site for trafic rules i m interesting to get a licence may you send me some informations which i can study and will able to go for driving licence will be thankfull to you thnxbye bye- #2
- Posted by: Editor
- On: 28/05/2007 09:05:34
Hi ahktar, thanks for your question - in order to gain a driving licence in Spain there are various procedures you must follow along with the completion of various documents.We've had a look around for you and found the following website - http://www.spainexpat.com/spain/information/driving_licenses_in_spain/ (just copy and paste this into your web browser) to be pretty useful...hope this helps. All the best & good luck!- #3
- Posted by: jennifer
- On: 26/05/2008 15:12:31
I am leaving for Spain shortly and was wondering if you have any idea the lane divsion on the roads...Centre lines, double lanes etc.Thanks jenn- #4
- Posted by: Editor
- On: 27/05/2008 11:30:58
Hi Jenn,The Road Markings in Spain are fairly standard when compared with the rest of Europe.
An unbroken line in the middle of the road means do NOT overtake, while a dashed line means you can overtake.
On Dual Carriageways, you may have several lanes going in the same direction.
Unlike Northern Europe, all these lanes can be in use at once; similar to what you’d find in the USA.
In fact many local drivers will drive on the white line, so that faster drivers can overtake them but they will still be able to overtake slower drivers so don’t be alarmed if you see an occurrence of this.
Hope this helps and have a fun holiday.
- #5
- Posted by: Jim Gregson
- On: 26/07/2008 12:37:10
Hi,Please can you let me know if Sat Nav's are legal in Costa Brava? If so, mine has built in radar detector and speed cameras, are these legal? If not, they can be switched off on my sat nav, does that then make it legal? Any advice you can give would be most appreciated.Regards,Jim GregsonLeave a comment