Transportation - Transporte

Beginner Spanish · Transportation and getting around

Transportation in Spanish

Transportation vocabulary becomes much more useful when you can say how you travel, ask which bus or train to take, understand where to get off, and ask basic questions about tickets and travel time.

Your next small win: name common transportation, use ir en and ir a pie, ask which bus to take, and handle a simple public-transport conversation.

Start with common ways to travel

Core Transportation Vocabulary

Learn a compact set first, then put the words into phrases about how you get somewhere.

autobús
Bus
tren
Train
metro
Subway / metro
taxi
Taxi
bicicleta
Bicycle
avión
Airplane

Regional vocabulary: for “car,” you may hear coche or carro, depending on the region.

Name three types of transportation

Say “bus, train, and bicycle” in Spanish.

More transportation vocabulary
coche / carro
Car
motocicleta / moto
Motorcycle
aeropuerto
Airport
carretera
Road / highway
semáforo
Traffic light
gasolinera
Gas station

Say how you get somewhere

Ir En and Ir a Pie

Spanish commonly uses ir en with transportation. Walking uses the special expression ir a pie.

Voy al trabajo en autobús.
I go to work by bus.
Vamos al centro en metro.
We're going downtown by subway.
Voy al trabajo en bicicleta.
I go to work by bicycle.
Voy a la estación a pie.
I walk to the station.
Podemos ir a pie desde aquí.
We can walk from here.

Remember: say en autobús, en tren, en metro, and en bicicleta, but a pie for walking.

Say how you travel

Say that you go downtown by metro and walk to the station.

Navigate public transportation

Stations, Stops, and Buses

A few words and questions cover many basic public-transport situations.

estación
Station
parada de autobús
Bus stop
horario
Schedule
subir al autobús
To get on the bus
bajar del autobús
To get off the bus
esperar
To wait

Ask which bus to take

¿Qué autobús tengo que tomar para ir al centro?
Which bus do I need to take to go downtown?
Toma el número doce.
Take number twelve.
Baja en la tercera parada.
Get off at the third stop.

Taking the bus downtown

A
¿Qué autobús tengo que tomar para ir al centro?
Which bus do I need to take to go downtown?
B
Toma el número doce y baja en la tercera parada.
Take number twelve and get off at the third stop.

Ask for the right bus

Ask which bus you need to take downtown.

Handle a simple trip

Tickets, Departure, and Travel Time

These phrases help with a basic train, bus, or taxi trip.

boleto / billete
Ticket
salir
To leave / depart
llegar
To arrive

Ticket vocabulary varies: boleto is common in many parts of Latin America, while billete is commonly used for transportation tickets in Spain.

Necesito comprar un boleto de autobús.
I need to buy a bus ticket.
¿Dónde puedo comprar un billete de tren?
Where can I buy a train ticket?
¿A qué hora sale el tren?
What time does the train leave?
El tren sale a las ocho.
The train leaves at eight.

Ask about travel time

A
¿Cuánto se tarda en llegar al aeropuerto desde aquí?
How long does it take to get to the airport from here?
B
Unos treinta minutos si no hay mucho tráfico.
About thirty minutes if there isn't much traffic.

Useful chunk: ¿Cuánto se tarda en...? asks approximately how long something takes.

Ask about a train trip

Ask where you can buy a train ticket and what time the train leaves.

Your turn · 8 quick questions

Practice: Transportation

Choose the answer that best fits each situation. Focus on transportation, ir en, ir a pie, buses, stops, tickets, and travel time.

Audio uses your device's Spanish text-to-speech voice. Listen to each word or phrase, then practice explaining how you travel and asking basic public-transport questions.