Basic directions: Asking for directions

💬 The opposite is está lejos "it's far". Both use está, since they describe where something is.

💬 todo normally means "all", but in todo recto it just stresses "straight". Don't confuse it with derecho/derecha, which you'll also hear for "right".

💬 Siga is the polite command form of seguir "to continue". You'll hear these polite commands throughout directions: gire, cruce "cross", tome "take".

💬 por here means moving along or through a place. Compare en esta calle "on this street", which just says where something is.

💬 In Spain luego usually means "then, next" in a sequence. Hasta luego means "see you later".

💬 Left is a la izquierda: gire a la izquierda. Keep derecha "right" separate from recto "straight".

💬 Semáforo ends in -o but means one light. A road with several lights has los semáforos.

💬 en covers both "at" and "in". Swap in other landmarks: en la esquina "at the corner", en la plaza "in the square".

💬 Distance uses está a plus the amount: está a dos kilómetros "it's two kilometres away". unos here means "about", not "some".

💬 andando comes from andar "to walk", used this way mostly in Spain. Latin Americans tend to say caminando or a pie instead.

🇪🇸 Vale is everywhere in Spain, often repeated as vale, vale. It marks you as Spain-trained, and Latin Americans rarely use it.

💬 le makes this the polite version for a stranger. To a friend, say ¡Que te vaya bien!

🇪🇸 A warm, slightly old-fashioned send-off, often from the person who helped you. Replying igualmente "likewise" is a natural answer.