Ordering a coffee in Spanish
In Spain, say ¿Me pone un café con leche, por favor?; in Mexico and most of Latin America, ¿Me da un café americano, por favor? Then answer para tomar aquí (to stay) or para llevar (to go), and ask ¿Cuánto es? to pay.
Capitals mark the stressed syllable. Spanish vowels are short and clean: a as in father, e as in bet, i as in machine, o as in more, u as in rule.
What to say
- Buenos días.
- Good morning.
- Greet first, always; going straight to the order sounds abrupt. After lunch it's buenas tardes.
- ¿Me pone un café con leche, por favor?
- Could I have a coffee with milk, please? · Literally “Will you put me a coffee with milk?”
- The usual way to order in Spain. It sounds odd translated, but it's warm and normal there.
- ¿Me da un café americano, por favor?
- Could I have an americano, please? · Literally “Will you give me an American coffee?”
- The everyday way to order in Mexico and most of Latin America. ¿Me pone…? would mark you as someone who learned in Spain.
- Quería un cortado.
- I'd like a cortado. · Literally “I wanted a cortado.”
- The past tense softens the request. Polite everywhere.
- Con leche de avena, por favor.
- With oat milk, please.
- Almond is de almendra; soy is de soja in Spain and de soya in Latin America.
- Sin azúcar.
- No sugar.
- In Spain the z sounds like the th in think: ah-THOO-kahr.
- Para tomar aquí. · Para llevar.
- To have here. · To go.
- In Mexico you'll also hear para aquí.
- ¿Cuánto es?
- How much is it?
- ¿Puedo pagar con tarjeta?
- Can I pay by card?
- ¿Me cobras?
- Can I pay? · Literally “Will you charge me?”
- Spain, at the bar, when you're ready to go. At a table in Latin America ask for la cuenta, por favor.
What you'll hear
- ¿Qué te pongo?
- What can I get you? · Literally “What do I put you?”
- Spain. Bar staff use tú with almost everyone.
- ¿Qué va a querer?
- What would you like? · Literally “What are you going to want?”
- Polite usted, common in Mexico.
- ¿Para tomar aquí o para llevar?
- For here or to go?
- ¿Algo más?
- Anything else?
- Nada más, gracias means that's all.
- ¿Con tarjeta o en efectivo?
- Card or cash?
Which coffee is which
| Ask for | What you get |
|---|---|
| un café solo | an espresso (Spain); in Latin America ask for un expreso |
| un cortado | an espresso with a splash of milk |
| un café con leche | about half coffee, half hot milk |
| un americano | espresso topped up with hot water |
| un café de olla | Mexico: coffee brewed in a clay pot with cinnamon and piloncillo (raw cane sugar) |
| un carajillo | coffee with a shot of liquor, often brandy in Spain and Licor 43 in Mexico |
| un descafeinado | a decaf; in Spain, say de máquina if you don't want instant |
Questions
Is ¿me pone…? rude? It sounds like an order.
No. In Spain ¿me pone…? is the normal, friendly way to order. It's the tone and the por favor that make it polite, not the verb.
Should I use tú or usted with the barista?
In Spain, tú is normal in cafés. In Mexico, usted is the safer default with people you don't know, and the request forms on this page (¿Me da…?) work with either.
Keep going
- Meeting the family in SpanishSpanish phrases for meeting a partner's family: greetings, tú or usted, compliments on the food, asking people to slow down, and saying goodbye. With pronunciation and what people actually mean.
- Numbers in SpanishSpanish numbers from 0 to a million, with the rules that trip people up (veintiún, cien or ciento, quinientos), plus dates, telling the time, prices, phone numbers and ordinals. Free, no sign-up.
- How long does it really take to learn Spanish?Realistic numbers for how long it takes an English speaker to learn Spanish, level by level, from the Foreign Service Institute and CEFR estimates, and what actually makes the hours count.