Getting through the Oficina de Extranjería: Giving your fingerprints for your TIE

💬 Describing words follow the noun, so it's "finger index right" in that order. Derecho matches dedo, which is masculine. With mano "hand" it becomes la mano derecha.

💬 Ponga is the polite instruction form of poner "to put". You'll hear it all through this appointment, alongside firme and apriete.

💬 Así means "like this". It's handy whenever you're showing someone what you're doing: ¿Así? on its own also works.

💬 El izquierdo stands for "the left finger". Spanish can drop the noun once it's clear and keep el plus the describing word. Same idea: el derecho "the right one".

🇪🇸 Vale is the everyday Spain "okay", heard constantly, even in official settings. Latin Americans understand it but would rarely say it themselves.

💬 Ya está means "that's it" or "done". As a question it asks whether you're finished. The answer simply repeats it: Sí, ya está.

💬 Firme is the polite instruction from firmar "to sign". The noun is la firma "the signature", so don't mix it up with the English "firm".

🇪🇸 Usually you sign on a small digital pad rather than on paper. Your signature gets printed on the card itself.

💬 Listo means "done" or "ready". Its meaning shifts with the verb in front: estar listo means "to be ready", but ser listo means "to be clever".

💬 In Spanish g before e or i is a throaty sound like the ch in Scottish "loch": (reh-koh-HAIR). The same sound shows up in gente "people".

💬 Puedo plus a basic verb is a reusable "can I..." pattern. For example: ¿Dónde puedo pagar? "Where can I pay?"

💬 Put unos in front of a number and it means "about", as in unos diez euros "about ten euros".

💬 Venga here is the polite "come". As a word on its own, Spaniards also use ¡Venga! to mean "come on!" or "okay then, bye!".

🇪🇸 Keep this slip safe. It's your proof that your card is being processed, and you'll need it plus your passport to collect the card, usually after booking another appointment.

💬 Tenga is the polite "you" form. With a friend it becomes Que tengas buen día.