Responding to a job offer – Negotiating salary in Spain Spanish

👀❓📖

¿Ha podido leer?

a poh-DEE-doh leh-EHR

Have you been able to read?

💬 ha podido is the polite "you" form, built from ha plus podido. Swap in another verb: ¿Ha podido venir? "Were you able to come?"

🇪🇸 Recruiters in Spain usually start with usted in a formal offer conversation. Match it until they switch to tú.

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🤝🎁

Nuestra oferta

NWEHS-trah oh-FEHR-tah

Our offer

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👀❓📖🤝🎁

¿Ha podido leer nuestra oferta?

a poh-DEE-doh leh-EHR NWEHS-trah oh-FEHR-tah

Have you been able to read our offer?

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🎁

La oferta

lah oh-FEHR-tah

The offer

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😍👍

Me gusta mucho

meh GOOS-tah MOO-choh

I really like it

💬 With gusta, the thing you like does the work, so the verb changes to match it. With several things it becomes me gustan mucho las condiciones "I really like the conditions".

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💼

El puesto

ehl PWEHS-toh

The position

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😍💼

Me gusta mucho el puesto.

meh GOOS-tah MOO-choh ehl PWEHS-toh

I really like the position.

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🎉😄

¡Qué bien!

keh byen

How great!

💬 ¡Qué ...! plus a describing word makes a quick exclamation. Try ¡Qué rápido! "How fast!"

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👉🤔

Entonces

en-TON-ses

In that case

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❓✅

¿Entonces acepta?

en-TON-ses ah-SEHP-tah

So do you accept?

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🤏

Casi.

KAH-see

Almost.

🇪🇸 A light, friendly way to say "not yet" when asked if you accept. It keeps the tone warm while opening the door to negotiate.

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🗣️❓

¿Podemos hablar?

po-de-mos ah-BLAR

Can we talk?

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💰

Sueldo

SWEHL-doh

Salary

🇪🇸 Salaries in Spain are usually quoted as a gross yearly figure, bruto anual "gross per year". They are often paid in 14 instalments, with two extra payments in summer and at Christmas, so check how the total is split.

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🗣️❓💰

¿Podemos hablar del sueldo?

po-de-mos ah-BLAR dehl SWEHL-doh

Can we talk about the salary?

💬 de + el always merge into del. Same pattern: hablar del horario "talk about the schedule".

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💰

El sueldo

ehl SWEHL-doh

The salary

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👍

Claro.

KLAH-roh

Of course.

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❓💵

¿Qué cantidad?

keh kahn-tee-DAHD

What amount?

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🧠💭

Tiene en mente

TYEH-neh ehn MEHN-teh

You have in mind

💬 tiene is the polite "you have", and it is the same word as "he/she has". Context tells you who is meant.

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❓💵🧠💭

¿Qué cantidad tiene en mente?

keh kahn-tee-DAHD TYEH-neh ehn MEHN-teh

What amount do you have in mind?

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🙋💵

Me gustaría ganar

meh goos-tah-REE-ah gah-NAHR

I'd like to earn

💬 ganar means both "to earn" and "to win". ganar un partido is "to win a match".

🇪🇸 me gustaría sounds softer than quiero "I want". It is the usual way to state a figure without sounding pushy.

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3️⃣2️⃣0️⃣0️⃣0️⃣💶

Treinta y dos mil euros

TRAYN-tah ee dos meel EH-oo-rohs

Thirty-two thousand euros

💬 mil never takes an -s and never has un in front: mil euros, dos mil euros.

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📅

Al año

ahl AH-nyoh

Per year

💬 a + el merge into al. Swap the time period for al mes "per month".

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3️⃣2️⃣0️⃣0️⃣0️⃣💶📅

Treinta y dos mil euros al año

TRAYN-tah ee dos meel EH-oo-rohs ahl AH-nyoh

Thirty-two thousand euros a year

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🤝2️⃣8️⃣0️⃣0️⃣0️⃣💶

Ofrecemos veintiocho mil.

oh-freh-SEH-mohs bayn-tee-OH-choh meel

We offer twenty-eight thousand.

💬 Numbers up to 29 are written as one word, like veintiocho. From 31 they split with y: treinta y dos.

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⬆️

Podemos llegar

po-de-mos yeh-GAHR

We can go up

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3️⃣0️⃣0️⃣0️⃣0️⃣💶

Treinta mil

TRAYN-tah meel

Thirty thousand

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⬆️3️⃣0️⃣0️⃣0️⃣0️⃣💶

Podemos llegar a treinta mil.

po-de-mos yeh-GAHR ah TRAYN-tah meel

We can go up to thirty thousand.

💬 llegar usually means "to arrive", but llegar a plus a figure means "to reach" that amount. It's handy for any limit: podemos llegar a cuatro días "we can go up to four days".

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👌

Vale.

BAH-leh

Okay.

🇪🇸 vale is the everyday Spanish "okay" and you'll hear it constantly. It marks you as used to Spain, and is far less common in Latin America.

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🏠💻

Con teletrabajo

kohn teh-leh-trah-BAH-hoh

With remote work

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2️⃣📅

Dos días a la semana

dos DEE-ahs ah lah seh-MAH-nah

Two days a week

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🏠💻2️⃣📅❓

¿Y con teletrabajo dos días a la semana?

ee kohn teh-leh-trah-BAH-hoh dos DEE-ahs ah lah seh-MAH-nah

And with remote work two days a week?

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🏠💻

El teletrabajo

ehl teh-leh-trah-BAH-hoh

Remote work

🇪🇸 Remote days are now a normal bargaining chip in Spanish offers. Asking for them when the salary can't rise further is seen as reasonable.

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✅

Sí

see

Yes

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🙆

Eso es posible

EH-soh ess poh-SEE-bleh

That's possible

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✅🙆

Sí, eso es posible.

see EH-soh ess poh-SEE-bleh

Yes, that's possible.

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✅🎁

Acepto la oferta

ah-SEHP-toh lah oh-FEHR-tah

I accept the offer

💬 In Spain the c before e in acepto is said like English th: (ak-THEP-toh).

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👉✅🎁

Entonces acepto la oferta.

en-TON-ses ah-SEHP-toh lah oh-FEHR-tah

Then I accept the offer.

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🙏😊

¡Muchas gracias!

MOO-chahs GRAH-syahs

Thank you very much!

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🤩

Estupendo.

eh-stoo-PEN-doh

Wonderful.

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📅

Hoy

oy

Today

💬 The h in Spanish is always silent, so hoy sounds like (oy).

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📄

El contrato

ehl kohn-TRAH-toh

The contract

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📤📄

Le envío el contrato

leh en-BEE-oh ehl kohn-TRAH-toh

I'll send you the contract

💬 Spanish often uses the plain present for something you'll do soon: envío "I send" works as "I'll send". Same trick: Mañana le llamo "I'll call you tomorrow".

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📧

Por correo

por koh-RREH-oh

By email

💬 correo covers both post and email, and in an office it almost always means email. If you need paper mail, say correo postal "post".

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📤📄📧📅

Hoy le envío el contrato por correo.

oy leh en-BEE-oh ehl kohn-TRAH-toh por koh-RREH-oh

I'll send you the contract by email today.

💬 le here means "to you" when you're addressing someone as usted. With someone you call tú, it becomes te: Hoy te envío el contrato.