Probably the most appealing reason for learning Spanish stems from a professional and business perspective. Spanish is the fastest-growing language in the U.S. (apart from English). As of today, roughly 12.9 million Americans speak Spanish. Consequently, many industries, including construction, development, media, marketing, and nursing, have an increasing demand for Spanish-speaking professionals.
More so, according to recent statistics, in the U.S., bilinguals earn $7,000 more than monolingual speakers.
Thus, if you wish to advance your career or secure a new job opportunity, learning Spanish can be a great way to do so. To get you started, I have compiled a list of need-to-know Spanish words and phrases to help you succeed!
Essential Spanish Business Vocabulary
Let’s start with a few basic yet important terms every business person should know:
- Agreement – Acuerdo
- Archive – Archivo
- Assistant – Asistente
- Audit – Auditoría
- Balance – Balance
- Benefit/Advantage – Beneficio
- Boss – Jefe/Jefa
- Budget – Presupuesto
- Business Card – Tarjeta de Presentación
- Business Plan – Plan de Negocios
- Business Strategy – Estrategia de Negocios
- Campaign – Campaña
- Capital/Funds – Capital/Fondos
- Collaborator – Colaborador/Colaboradora
- Colleague – Colega
- Competition – Competencia
- Contract – Contrato
- Demand – Demanda
- E-mail – Correo Electrónico
- Employee – Empleado/Empleada
- Goods – Bienes
- Human Resources – Recursos Humanos
- Insurance Policy – Póliza de Seguros
- Investment – Inversión
- Invoice – Factura
- Management – Gerencia
- Manufacturer – Proveedor/Fabricante
- Market – Mercado
- Meeting – Reunión
- Mission – Misión
- Partner – Socio
- Photocopier – Fotocopiadora
- Planning – Planificación
- Printer – Impresora
- Process – Proceso
- Purchase – Compra
- Report – Reporte
- Sale – Venta
- Saving – Ahorro
- Secretary – Secretaria
- Seller – Vendedor/Vendedora
- Semester – Semestre
- Tax – Impuesto
- Trimester – Trimestre
- Vision – Vision
Keep in mind that some nouns have a feminine and masculine version. For example, the word “boss” translates to “jefe” (male) or “jefa” female. Plus, it is always best to use the masculine term when referencing plural nouns as it is considered more inclusive. For instance, when mentioning “sellers” instead of saying “vendedoras,” which would only include saleswoman, you would say “vendedores” that translates to sellers (without specifying if these sellers are male, female, or both.)
Here a list of other vital Spanish terms that have proven to be useful in the workforce.
Verbs
Now let’s move on to crucial Spanish verbs that will come in handy within a professional environment:
- Advertise – Publicitar
- Approve – Aprobar
- Analyze – Analizar
- Authorize – Autorizar
- Buy – Comprar
- Calculate – Calcular
- Call – Llamar
- Cancel – Cancelar
- Check – Chequear
- Confirm – Confirmar
- Decrease – Disminuir
- Deliver – Entregar
- Develop – Desarrollar
- Distribute – Distribuir
- Employ – Emplear
- Exchange – Intercambiar
- Fix – Arreglar
- Fund – Financiar
- Improve – Mejorar
- Increase – Incrementar
- Invest – Invertir
- Manage – Gerenciar
- Organize – Organizar
- Owe – Deber
- Pay – Pagar
- Prevent – Prevenir
- Produce – Producir
- Promote – Promocionar
- Raise – Aumentar
- Recruit – Reclutar
- Resign – Renunciar
- Succeed – Triunfar
- Write – Escribir
It is important to note that there are three main things you must know to correctly conjugate verbs in Spanish:
- The person performing the action
- Whether it is a regular verb (verbs ending in -ar, -er, -ir) or an irregular verb (i.e., ser, estar, haber)
- The verb’s tense
Of course, you must consider other things, such as stem-changes, accent marks, pronouns, etc. But, if you manage to identify the three things mentioned above correctly, you are half-way there!
As I mentioned before, certain industries require more Spanish-speaking professionals than others, given their market, audience, and business nature. Hence, below you will find three lists categorized by sectors with a crescent demand for Spanish.
Key Spanish Digital Marketing/Marketing Words
- Advertisement – Anuncio Publicitario
- Blog – Bítacora Web
- Brand – Marca
- Comments – Comentarios
- Conversion – Conversión
- Conversion Rate – Tasa de Conversión
- Cost Per Click – Costo por Click
- Domain – Dominio Web
- Interface – Interfaz
- Impressions – Impresiones
- Key Performance Indicators – Indicadores Clave de Rendimiento
- Keyword – Palabra Clave
- Landing Page – Página de Aterrizaje
- Leads – Prospectos
- Likes – “Me Gusta”
- Links – Enlace
- Marketing Campaign – Campaña de Mercadeo
- Newsletter – Boletín Informativo
- Pay Per Click – Pago por Click
- Positioning – Posisionamiento
- Projections – Proyecciones
- Public Relations – Relaciones Públicas
- Publicity – Publicidad
- Reach – Alcance
- Return On Investment (ROI)- Retorno Sobre la Inversión
- Search Engine – Buscador
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO) – Posicionamiento en Buscadores
- Social Media – Redes Sociales
- Target Audience – Audiencia/ Público Objetivo
- Targeting – Focalización
- Television Ad – Anuncio de Televisión
- Template – Formato/Plantilla
- Tracking – Seguimiento
- Unique Selling Proposition – Propuesta Única de Ventas
- User Experience – Experiencia de Usuario
- Website – Página Web/ Sitio Web
Key Spanish Medical/Nursing Words
- Allergy – Alergia
- Asthma – Asma
- Blood Pressure – Presión Sanguínea
- Blood Work – Éxamen de Sangre
- Bump/Lump – Bulto
- Condition – Condición
- Constipation – Estreñimiento
- Disease – Enfermedad
- Doctor – Doctor/Doctora
- Dosage – Dosis
- Emergency Contact – Contacto de Emergencia
- Emergency Room – Sala de Urgencias
- Fatigue – Fatiga
- Fever – Fiebre/Calentura
- Flu – Gripe
- Food Poisoning – Intoxicación Alimenticia
- Health Insurance Card – Tarjeta de Seguro Médico
- Heart Disease – Cardiopatía
- Illness – Enfermedad
- Intensive Care Unit – Unidad de Cuidados Intensivos
- Lab Test – Prueba de Laboratorio
- Labor – Parto
- Medication – Medicamento
- Nausea – Naúseas
- Nurse – Enfermero/Enfermera
- Ointment – Ungüento
- Operating Room – Sala de Operaciones
- Operation – Operación
- Oxygen – Oxígeno
- Pain – Dolor
- Palpitations – Palpitaciones
- Patient – Paciente
- Pharmacy – Farmacia
- Pill – Píldora/Pastilla
- Pregnancy – Embarazo
- Prescription – Prescripción
- Pulse – Pulso
- Radiography – Radiographía
- Rash – Sarpullido
- Stroke – Infarto
- Surgery – Cirugía
- Therapy – Terapia
- Tomography – Tomografía
- Virus – Virus
- Vital Signs – Signos Vitales
- Weight Loss – Pérdida de Peso
Key Spanish Construction/Development Words
- Abatement – Remoción de Asbesto
- Adjustable Wrench – Llave Ajustable
- Aerial Bucket – Canasto Aéreo
- Air Compressor – Compresor de Aire
- Anchorage – Anclaje
- Asphalt – Asfalto
- Backfilled Excavation – Excavación Rellenada
- Bank – Terraplén/Relleno
- Barrier – Barrera
- Bearer – Soporte
- Blasting – Detonación
- Blueprints – Planos
- Bracing – Reforzamiento
- Cable – Cable
- Cement – Cemento
- Chain – Cadena
- Chute – Ducto
- Clearance – Margen / Espacio Libre
- Concrete – Concreto
- Crane – Grúa
- Demolition – Demolición
- Dig – Excavar
- Dry-wall – Tabla de Yeso
- Electric Cord – Cable Eléctrico
- Equipment – Maquinaria
- Escalator – Escalera Mecánica
- Fire alarm – Alarma de Incendios
- Flammable – Inflamable
- Flooring – Piso
- Fuse – Fusible
- Gear – Engranaje
- Hydraulic – Hidraúlico
- Insulated – Aislado
- Jack – Gato
- Level – Nivel
- Nails – Clavos
- Nut – Tuerca
- Outlet – Tomacorriente
- Pipe – Tubería
- Pump – Bomba
- Scaffold – Andamio
- Shovel – Pala
- Steel – Acero
- Tie Line – Línea de Conexión
- Toolbox – Caja de Herramientas
- Voltage – Voltaje
- Wrench – Llave para rosca
The terms mentioned throughout this article will not be sufficient for you to express yourself in Spanish at a professional level. Nonetheless, knowing and understanding the meaning and usage of these words can go a long way.
Essential Spanish Business Phrases
As you know, the Spanish language is very rich. Thus, it is virtually impossible to go over all the possible business phrases you might need to learn to communicate effectively and efficiently at a professional level.
Nonetheless, below a list of some common phrases to get you started:
• “It is a pleasure to meet you” – Es un placer conocerlo/conocerla
• “Could I have your business card?” – Me podría dar una tarjeta de presentación
• “The meeting starts at…” – La reunión esta pautada para las…
• “I would very much like to schedule a meeting with you” – Me encantaría poder reunirme con usted
• “It was a pleasure doing business with you” – Fue un placer hacer negocios con usted
• “Let’s go over the contract/proposal” – Revisemos el contrato/la propuesta
• “I can have it done by…” – Puedo entregarlo el…
• “I will not be able to…” – No voy a poder cumplir con…
• “Could you help me with…” – Me podrías ayudar con…
• “As soon as possible” – Lo antes posible
• “Stay within the budget” – Permanecer dentro del presupuesto
• “Please follow up with…” – Por favor, hazle seguimiento a…
These simple phrases will get your foot in the door. Nonetheless, we live in a digital world. Thus, the odds are you will be writing more business e-mails in Spanish than what you will be talking in Spanish. Therefore, I have come up with a list of phrases to remember when drafting an e-mail:
- “To whom it may concern” – A quien pueda interesar
- Dear Mr/Ms. – Estimado Sr./Sra.
- Best Regards – Saludos cordiales
- Sincerely – Atentamente
- Cordially – Cordialmente
- “I look forward to hearing back from you” – Espero su pronta respuesta
- “Thank you in advance” – Gracias de antemano
- “See attached” – Ver adjunto
- “Let me know if you have any questions/comments/concerns” – Por favor indicar si tiene alguna pregunta/comentario/duda
- “I can be reach at…” – Me puede coctactar vía…
- “As per our conversation/agreement” – De acuerdo a nuestra conversación/ lo acordado
- “I am writing to request…” – Le escribo para solicitar…
- “I wanted to cofirm that…” – Quería confirmar que…
And in case you want to be extra sure, I can always help you revise your business e-mails and texts.
