Paying the bill + tipping
| English | ES | CA | PT |
|---|---|---|---|
| The check, please. | La cuenta, por favor. | El compte, si us plau. | A conta, por favor. |
| Yes, I'll bring it right away. | Sí, ahora mismo se la traigo. | Sí, ara mateix l'hi porto. | Sim, já trago. |
| Can we pay separately? | ¿Podemos pagar por separado? | Podem pagar per separat? | Podemos pagar separadamente? |
| Of course, how many bills? | Claro, ¿cuántas cuentas? | I tant, quants comptes? | Claro, quantas contas? |
| Is the tip included? | ¿La propina está incluida? | La propina està inclosa? | A gorjeta está incluída? |
| No, it's not included, but it's not required. | No, no está incluida, pero no es obligatorio. | No, no està inclosa, però no és obligatori. | Não, não está incluída, mas não é obrigatório. |
| Do you accept card? | ¿Aceptan tarjeta? | Accepten targeta? | Aceitam cartão? |
| Yes, of course. With or without tip? | Sí, claro. ¿Con o sin propina? | Sí, és clar. Amb o sense propina? | Sim, claro. Com ou sem gorjeta? |
| Leave a couple of euros, thank you. | Deje un par de euros, gracias. | Deixi un parell d'euros, gràcies. | Deixe uns dois euros, obrigado. |
| Perfect! Thank YOU. Come back soon! | ¡Perfecto! Gracias a usted. ¡Vuelvan pronto! | Perfecte! Gràcies a vostè. Tornin aviat! | Perfeito! Obrigado eu. Voltem em breve! |
Money: cash/card, currency, ¿Cuánto cuesta?
| English | ES | CA | PT |
|---|---|---|---|
| How much does it cost? | ¿Cuánto cuesta? | Quant costa? | Quanto custa? |
| Can I pay by card? | ¿Puedo pagar con tarjeta? | Puc pagar amb targeta? | Posso pagar com cartão? |
| Do you accept cash? | ¿Aceptan efectivo? | Accepten efectiu? | Aceitam dinheiro? |
| The bill, please. | La cuenta, por favor. | El compte, si us plau. | A conta, por favor. |
| Is service included? | ¿Está incluido el servicio? | Està inclòs el servei? | O serviço está incluído? |
| Keep the change. | Quédese con el cambio. | Quedi's el canvi. | Fique com o troco. |
Deep dive — Renfe / Rodalies / metro
| English | ES | CA | PT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Excuse me, is this machine for Rodalies or Renfe? | Perdone, ¿esta máquina es para Rodalies o Renfe? pair-DOH-neh · MAH-kee-nah · roh-dah-LEEZE · REN-feh |
Perdoni, aquesta màquina és per Rodalies o Renfe? pair-DOH-nee · ah-KEHST-ah MAH-kee-nah · per roh-DAH-leez · REN-feh |
Desculpe, esta máquina é para a CP ou regional? deh-SHKOOL-puh · esh-tah MAH-kee-nuh · pah-rah ah seh-PEH |
| This one's for Rodalies. The Renfe one is over there, the orange one. | Esta es de Rodalies. La de Renfe está allí, la naranja. EHS-tah es deh roh-dah-LEEZE · ah-YEE · lah nah-RAHN-hah |
Aquesta és de Rodalies. La de Renfe és allà, la taronja. ah-KEHST-ah · ah-LYAH · lah tah-RON-zhah |
Esta é da CP. A regional fica ali, a laranja. esh-tah eh dah seh-PEH · ah-LEE · ah lah-RAHN-zhah |
| A ticket to Sitges (or Sintra in PT), round trip, please. | Un billete a Sitges, ida y vuelta, por favor. oon bee-YEH-teh · EE-dah ee BWELL-tah · por fah-VOR |
Un bitllet a Sitges, anada i tornada, si us plau. oon bee-LYEHT · ah-NAH-dah ee tor-NAH-dah · see ooz PLAU |
Um bilhete para Sintra, ida e volta, por favor. oom bee-LYEH-tuh · EE-dah ee VOHL-tah · por fah-VOR |
| That's €9.20. Cash or card? | Son 9 euros 20. ¿Efectivo o tarjeta? sohn NWEH-veh YOO-rohs VEYN-teh · eh-fek-TEE-voh · tar-HEH-tah |
Són 9 euros 20. Efectiu o targeta? sohn NOH-oo YOO-rohs · eh-fek-TEEW · tar-ZHEH-tah |
São 9 euros e 20. Dinheiro ou cartão? sown NOH-vuh YOO-rohs ee VIN-tuh · dee-NYAY-roo · kar-TOWNG |
| And which platform does the train leave from? | ¿Y de qué andén sale el tren? ee deh keh ahn-DEN · SAH-leh el TREN |
I de quina andana surt el tren? ee deh KEE-nah ahn-DAH-nah · soort el TREN |
E de que cais parte o comboio? ee deh keh KAISH · PAR-tuh oo kom-BOY-oo |
| Track 7. Leaves in fifteen minutes. | Vía 7. Sale en quince minutos. BEE-ah SYEH-teh · sah-leh en KEEN-seh mee-NOO-tos |
Via 7. Surt en quinze minuts. BEE-ah SET · soort en KEEN-zuh mee-NOOTS |
Linha 7. Parte daqui a quinze minutos. LEE-nyah SEH-tuh · par-tuh dah-KEE ah KEEN-zuh mee-NOO-toosh |
| Do I have to validate the ticket before boarding? | ¿Tengo que validar el billete antes de subir? TEN-goh keh bah-lee-DAR · AHN-tess deh soo-BEER |
He de validar el bitllet abans de pujar? eh deh bah-lee-DAR · ah-BANS deh poo-ZHAR |
Tenho de validar o bilhete antes de embarcar? TEH-nyoo deh vah-lee-DAR · AHN-tuhsh deh em-bar-KAR |
| Yes, at the yellow machine next to the platform entrance. | Sí, en la máquina amarilla junto a la entrada del andén. see · en lah MAH-kee-nah ah-mah-REE-yah · HOON-toh ah lah en-TRAH-dah |
Sí, a la màquina groga al costat de l'entrada de l'andana. see · ah lah MAH-kee-nah GROH-gah · al kos-TAHT deh len-TRAH-dah |
Sim, na máquina amarela junto à entrada do cais. seeng · nah MAH-kee-nuh ah-mah-REH-lah · ZHOON-too ah en-TRAH-dah |
| Do I have to transfer? | ¿Tengo que hacer transbordo? TEN-goh keh ah-SAIR · trans-BOR-doh |
He de fer transbord? eh deh fair · trans-BORT |
Tenho de fazer baldeação? TEH-nyoo deh fah-ZAIR · bahl-dee-ah-SOWNG |
| No, this one's direct. Forty minutes to Sitges. | No, este es directo. Cuarenta minutos a Sitges. noh · EHS-teh es dee-REK-toh · kwah-REN-tah mee-NOO-tos |
No, aquest és directe. Quaranta minuts a Sitges. noh · ah-KEHST es dee-REK-tuh · kwah-RAN-tah mee-NOOTS |
Não, este é direto. Quarenta minutos a Sintra. nowng · esh-tuh eh dee-REH-too · kwah-REN-tah mee-NOO-toosh |
| Thanks. One last thing — what time is the last train back? | Gracias. Una última cosa — ¿el último tren de vuelta a qué hora es? GRAH-syas · OO-nah OOL-tee-mah KOH-sah · ah keh OH-rah |
Gràcies. Una última cosa — l'últim tren de tornada a quina hora és? GRAH-syas · lool-teem TREN · ah KEE-nah OH-rah |
Obrigado. Uma última coisa — o último comboio de volta é a que horas? oh-bree-GAH-doo · oo OOL-tee-moo kom-BOY-oo · ah keh OH-rahsh |
| 11:40 PM. Don't miss it, there's no more after that. | Las once y cuarenta. No lo pierda, no hay más después. las ON-seh ee kwah-REN-tah · noh loh PYAIR-dah |
Les onze i quaranta. No el perdi, no n'hi ha cap més després. lez ON-zuh ee kwah-RAN-tah · noh el PAIR-dee |
Onze e quarenta. Não o perca, não há mais depois. ON-zuh ee kwah-REN-tah · nowng oo PAIR-kah |
Read down a column first. Pick one language (Spanish if you're easing in, Portuguese if you're brave) and read the whole table in that column. You're hearing the cadence of the language, not memorizing.
Then read across. Same phrase, three languages. Notice which two are closest (usually ES and CA, sometimes ES and PT). The pattern repeats — once you internalize "ES and CA are sibling Romance, PT diverged earlier," half the comparison work is free.
The 5-phrase test. Close this email. Recite five phrases out loud, in any language. The ones you can't recover are the slippery ones — they get drilled on Wednesday's phrasebook.
Restaurant vocab maps almost 1:1 across the three. The Iberian peninsula shares table culture — bread, wine, tipping conventions, even the verb to-ask-for-the-check (la cuenta / el compte / a conta) follows the same Romance pattern. The genuine divergence is on transit (Day 4) and pronouns (which are coming Week 3).
Pronunciation difficulty curve. ES is fairly phonetic (what you read is what you say). CA introduces vowel reduction (unstressed 'a' and 'e' become a schwa 'uh'). PT is the hardest — nasalized endings (-ão, -em), silent vowels at word ends, and a soft 'r' that drops at the end of verbs. If you're going to focus practice on one language's pronunciation, make it Portuguese.