In 30 seconds: say ¿Quedamos a las ocho?, Vale, perfecto., and Llego en diez minutos. to set a plan, confirm it, and give your ETA.
Send these
These lines are tú, for a friend in Spain.
Plans
- ¿Quedamos a las ocho? — Shall we meet at eight?
- ¿Te viene bien? — Does that work for you?
- ¿Dónde quedamos? — Where shall we meet?
- ¿Tomamos algo? — Shall we have a drink?
Confirm
- Vale, perfecto. — OK, perfect.
- Sí, me viene bien. — Yes, that works for me.
Running late
- Llego tarde. — I’m running late.
- Estoy de camino. — I’m on my way.
- Llego en diez minutos. — I’ll be there in ten minutes.
- Perdona, se me ha hecho tarde. — Sorry, time got away from me.
React
- ¡Qué bien! — That’s great.
- ¡Qué guay! — How cool. (informal)
- ¡No me digas! — No way.
Sign off
- Hablamos. — Talk soon.
- Un beso. — A kiss (friend sign-off).
Pro tip: Say ¿Quedamos a las ocho?, Vale, perfecto., and Llego en diez minutos. aloud. Our drills make you type llego and estoy without the English.
The few forms that matter
With a boss or a landlord, ¿Le viene bien? (Does that work for you?) and Perdone (Sorry).
An ETA is the present: llego, not llegaré (I will arrive). Estoy (I am) is estar, not soy (ser). Spain says de camino (on the way). Much of Latin America says en camino.
In ¿Te viene bien?, the plan is the subject, so viene (it suits), not vienes (you come). Se me ha hecho tarde (time got away from me) is the present perfect, usual in Spain for a slip just now. Much of Latin America says se me hizo tarde (same meaning).
¿Quedamos? proposes a meetup. Me quedo means “I’m staying”. Outside Spain, paste ¿Nos vemos? (Shall we meet?) and ok or dale, not vale. Guay is informal Spain. Porfa (please) and bss (kisses) are informal. With anyone you do not know well, write por favor, and do not send kisses.
In Spain, un beso is a normal friend sign-off, not only a romantic one. In much of Latin America, un abrazo (a hug) is the wider close. Hablamos means “talk soon” as a Spain sign-off. As a reply to a plan, with no day or time, it can sound like you are putting the chat off.
Skip yo unless you are contrasting yourself with someone else. ¿Quedamos? and ¿Tomamos algo? are invitations, not reports. If you still pause, type the form in VerbPal. That is practicing verbs in context.
Pro tip: Not a friend? Say de acuerdo (all right), and skip guay.
Try it now:
Cover the English. Paste ¿Quedamos a las ocho?, Vale, perfecto., and Llego en diez minutos.
Then paste Estoy de camino.
Type the form you missed in VerbPal.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need the future tense to say I will be late in Spanish?
No. Say Llego tarde or Llego en diez minutos, both in the present, whether you have left yet or not. Llegaré means I will arrive, and in these texts it sounds stiff, so save the future for a later plan.
Can I send these WhatsApp lines to a boss?
No. They are tú, for a friend in Spain. With a boss or a landlord, use ¿Le viene bien? and Perdone, and skip vale, guay, and un beso.