First Words in Spanish
Start speaking Spanish from zero with the core phrases you actually need. Learn to greet locals comfortably, order food and drinks, and navigate everyday street encounters without freezing up.
Like Duolingo, but for First Words in Spanish. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
A short one: 9 levels across 2 sections, about 18 minutes end to end, roughly 4 days at five minutes a day. It moves through First Contact and Out in the World. It starts from scratch.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android
Key ideas in First Words in Spanish
- 'Hola' works any time of day in casual situations
- 'Buenos días' is used in the morning until midday
- 'Buenas tardes' covers the afternoon until nightfall
- 'Buenas noches' serves as both evening greeting and bedtime farewell
- Spanish has exactly five pure vowel sounds: a, e, i, o, u
- Unlike English vowels that drag or change pitch (diphthongize), Spanish vowels stay short and crisp
- A Spanish vowel keeps its core sound regardless of where it sits in a word
- The letter 'h' is completely silent in Spanish
- Pronouncing 'hola' starts directly on the crisp 'o' sound ('OH-lah')
- Breathing out an English 'h' sound when saying 'hola' or 'hotel' is a giveaway foreign habit
- 'Por favor' turns blunt single-word demands into polite requests
- 'Disculpe' grabs attention or apologizes for interrupting someone
- 'Gracias' shows immediate appreciation and keeps interactions warm
- 'No entiendo' signals a comprehension breakdown rather than social courtesy
- 'Más despacio' directly requests a slower speaking tempo
- 'No entiendo' explains that you don't understand, but doesn't specifically tell them to slow down
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives First Words in Spanish the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
You walk into a café at 9:00 AM. Which greeting fits best?
Get it right to open this lesson and 8 more in the app.
Where First Words in Spanish takes you
- 1
First Contact
- Greetings and Conversational Lifelines
- 2
Out in the World
- Ordering at the Counter
- Finding Places and Getting Around
2 sections · 3 units · 9 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
You pick the voice
First Words in Spanish is taught in the The Bestie style: your friend who just gets it. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
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