Basic directions: Asking for directions

💬 After decir, the question word dónde keeps its accent. The word order stays the same as in the plain question, so you can attach any place to the end.

💬 derecho means "straight ahead," not "right." "Right" is a la derecha, and mixing up the two is a classic mistake when following directions.

💬 Here por means "along" or "through" a place. Another example: por el parque "through the park."

💬 Siga is the polite command form of seguir "to continue." Polite commands to a stranger often end in -a or -e like this, as in dé and tome.

💬 segunda ends in -a because it matches esquina. With a masculine word it changes: el segundo semáforo "the second traffic light."

💬 dé vuelta literally means "give a turn." It's the usual way to say "turn" in Mexico, and it's worth recognizing because gire and doble are more common in other countries.

💬 The z in izquierda sounds like an English s, not th: (ees-KYER-dah).

💬 Swap in the other direction: Dé vuelta a la derecha "Turn right."

🇲🇽 Mexicans tend to give directions by counting corners or blocks (cuadras "blocks") rather than by street names.

💬 The opposite is cerca "close": ¿Está cerca? "Is it close?"

💬 Here como means "about" or "roughly," not "like" or "how." Distances are given with a: a dos cuadras "two blocks away."

💬 The ending -ando works like English "-ing." Swap the verb to describe a different way of getting there: manejando "driving."

🇲🇽 Take estimates like "five minutes" loosely. People sometimes guess generously rather than admit they aren't sure, so it's worth confirming with a second person along the way.

🇲🇽 Adding señora or joven to your thanks sounds warmer and more polite. It's very natural in Mexico.

💬 Word for word this is "may it go well for you", using le, the polite "you". With friends it becomes que te vaya bien.