How to Say ‘Excuse me, do you have a minute?’ in Mexican Spanish
Disculpa, ¿tienes un minuto?
dees-KOOL-pah TYEH-nehs oon mee-NOO-toh
[dees-KOOL-pah TYEH-nehs oon mee-NOO-toh]
🇲🇽 In Mexico: Opening with a softener like this before asking for help is expected in Mexico. Jumping straight to the question can come across as abrupt.
Phrase Breakdown
Disculpa,
dees-KOOL-pah
Excuse me,
The informal 'excuse me', used to get attention. Stress 'dis-CUL-pa'.
Disculpa, ¿dónde está el baño?
Excuse me, where is the bathroom?
Words in this phrase
Disculpa
[dees-KOOL-pah]
excuse me
Informal way to get someone's attention or apologize, from 'disculpar'.
Disculpa, ¿está libre este lugar?
Excuse me, is this seat free?
¿tienes un minuto?
TYEH-nehs oon mee-NOO-toh
do you have a minute?
Your voice rises at the end because it's a question.
¿Tienes un minuto ahorita?
Do you have a minute right now?
Words in this phrase
tienes
[TYEH-nehs]
do you have
Informal 'you' form of the verb tener (to have).
¿Tienes primos?
Do you have cousins?
un
[oon]
a
Part of un poco, a set phrase meaning a little.
Con gusto te cuento Un poco de nuestra historia.
Gladly, I’ll tell you a little about our history.
minuto
[mee-NOO-toh]
minute
A unit of time equal to sixty seconds; masculine noun.
Espera un minuto, por favor.
Wait a minute, please.
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