En resumen (the short version)
- You already talk to yourself in English. Switching some of that to Spanish gives you speaking practice every day, for free.
- Start with the little phrases Spanish speakers really mutter, like a ver, madre mía and ¿y ahora qué?
- Give yourself pep talks as tú, make small decisions out loud, and record a one-minute voice note at the end of the day.
¡Aventurero!
Quick confession time. Not mine, yours 😄
You already talk to yourself. "Where are my glasses?" "Right, what's next?" "Oh no, not again." Everybody does it, in their head or under their breath.
So here's my idea: do some of it in Spanish. Talking to yourself in Spanish is speaking practice with no partner, no timetable and nobody waiting for your answer. In this post I'll show you what to actually say, because "just talk to yourself" isn't much help when your mind goes blank.
Why it works
I always say speaking is HOW you learn Spanish. The problem is that most people don't speak nearly enough, because something gets in the way:
- ❌ There's nobody to talk to today
- ❌ You're worried about making mistakes in front of someone
- ❌ You go blank when someone's waiting for an answer
Talking to yourself gets rid of all three. Nobody's waiting, nobody's judging, and you can stop and start again as many times as you like.
Your mouth also gets used to making Spanish sounds, and you notice straight away which words you're missing. Those are the words you actually need, because your own day asked for them.
Steal what Spanish speakers mutter
The easiest place to start is the little things people say to themselves without thinking. Spanish speakers have their own set, and they're very different from the English ones:
| Spanish | English | When |
|---|---|---|
| A ver… | Let's see… | Starting anything |
| ¿Dónde están mis gafas? | Where are my glasses? | Looking for something |
| Madre mía, qué tarde es. | Oh my goodness, look how late it is. | Running late |
| Uf, qué pereza. | Ugh, I can't be bothered. | Before a boring job |
| Vale, ¿y ahora qué? | OK, now what? | Finishing one job |
| ¡Otra vez! | Not again! | Dropping or forgetting something |
| Bueno, vamos allá. | Right, here we go. | Starting something hard |
Qué pereza deserves a special mention. Pereza means laziness, and ¡qué pereza! is how people in Spain say they really don't feel like doing something. You'll use it more than you'd like to 🙈
A ver (let's see) and haber (to have, there to be) sound exactly the same, because the h is silent and b and v make the same sound. Even native speakers mix them up in writing. When you mean "let's see", it's always two words: a ver.
Give yourself a pep talk as tú
Here's something you might not expect. Lots of Spanish speakers talk to themselves as tú, like they're talking to a friend. ¿Pero qué haces? (What are you doing?!) when they do something silly, or Venga, que tú puedes (Come on, you can do it) before something hard.
And it's great practice, because it's full of tú commands:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| ¡Venga, que tú puedes! | Come on, you can do it! |
| Tranquilo, que hay tiempo. | Relax, there's time. |
| Concéntrate. | Concentrate. |
| No te olvides del paraguas. | Don't forget the umbrella. |
| ¿Pero qué haces? | What are you doing?! |
Teacher bit 🤓 Look at concéntrate and no te olvides. With a positive command, te goes on the end of the verb: concéntrate, tranquilízate. With a negative one, it moves to the front and the verb changes form: no te olvides, no te preocupes. Say these to yourself every day and that rule sorts itself out.
If you're a woman, it's tranquila instead of tranquilo. Same for any adjective you use about yourself.
Make small decisions out loud
You make dozens of small decisions every day. Should I go now or later? Pasta or rice? Make some of them out loud in Spanish.
Here's one about the shopping:
A ver… ¿hago la compra hoy o mañana? Si voy hoy, mañana no tengo que salir con la lluvia. Pero estoy cansadísima… Bueno, mejor hoy. Venga, decidido.
(Let's see… do I do the shopping today or tomorrow? If I go today, I don't have to go out in the rain tomorrow. But I'm shattered… Well, today's better. OK, decided.)
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| ¿Qué hago? | What shall I do? |
| Si… , … | If… , … |
| Pero… | But… |
| Mejor… | It's better to… / I'd better… |
| Lo dejo para mañana. | I'll leave it till tomorrow. |
| Venga, decidido. | OK, decided. |
This is real thinking, not a script, so the Spanish comes from what you actually want to say. And si + present tense (si voy hoy…) is one of the most useful structures in Spanish.
Talk back to your screen
When you watch or listen to something in Spanish, answer it. Out loud.
The presenter asks a question? Answer it. A character makes a terrible decision? Tell them: ¡No lo hagas! (Don't do it!). The weather forecast says sun all week? Ya, claro… (Yeah, right…).
A few reactions to keep handy: ¡Qué va! (No way!), Totalmente de acuerdo (Totally agree), ¡No me lo creo! (I don't believe it!). For more, see Spanish exclamations you'll hear everywhere in Spain.
Talking back keeps you listening properly. You can't answer a question you didn't follow, so you stop letting the Spanish wash over you and start catching what's actually said.
A one-minute voice note
At the end of the day, record a one-minute voice note telling yourself about your day. Start with Hoy he… and keep going: Hoy he trabajado desde casa, he ido al súper y he hablado con mi madre. Don't stop to fix mistakes. Once a week, listen back to the first one. You'll hear the difference 🎧
In Spain, people use the pretérito perfecto (he trabajado, he ido) for things that happened today, so a daily voice note is perfect practice for it.
If you feel silly talking to yourself in the street, put your earphones in. Everyone will think you're on the phone. Nadie se entera (nobody will know) 😉
Start today
Pick three phrases to mutter
Choose three from the "Things Spanish speakers say to themselves" table, like a ver, qué pereza and ¿y ahora qué?, and use them every time the moment comes up today.
Give yourself one pep talk
Before something you're not looking forward to, say ¡Venga, que tú puedes! out loud. Then try one negative command, like No te olvides de…
Record tonight's voice note
One minute, starting with Hoy he…. Save it, and listen back next week.
If you keep catching yourself going through English first, read how to stop thinking in English when you speak Spanish. And for more ways to practise alone, there's how to practise speaking Spanish without a partner.
Recap ✨
- You already talk to yourself, so do some of it in Spanish. It's daily speaking practice with no pressure.
- Start with the phrases Spanish speakers mutter: a ver, madre mía, qué pereza, ¿y ahora qué?
- Give yourself pep talks as tú: ¡Venga, que tú puedes!, No te olvides de…
- Make small decisions out loud with si, pero and mejor.
- Talk back to Spanish TV, and record a one-minute voice note starting with Hoy he…
Talking to yourself gets your mouth ready. Talking to real people is the next step, and that's what the Aventureros Club is for: aventureros from all over the world speaking Spanish together, and nobody minds if you still say a ver every few sentences 🎉
Now tell me 👀 What do you say to yourself most in English, and how would you say it in Spanish? Cuéntame in the comments!
Lucía ✨
Lucía · Linguist, translator, Spanish teacher and author of the Visual Spanish Grammar Book.
Come and learn Spanish with me and other aventureros like yourself at skool.com/learnspanish 🎉