How to Say ‘La Alacena Restaurant, good afternoon, how can I help you?’ in Spain Spanish
Restaurante La Alacena, buenas tardes, dígame.
rres-tow-RAHN-teh lah ah-lah-THEH-nah BWEH-nahs TAR-dehs DEE-gah-meh
[rres-tow-RAHN-teh lah ah-lah-THEH-nah BWEH-nahs TAR-dehs DEE-gah-meh]
💬 Usage Tip: dígame literally means "tell me", but on the phone it works as "hello, how can I help?"
🇪🇸 In Spain: This is the standard way Spanish businesses answer the phone. It sounds brisk to English ears, but it's perfectly polite.
Phrase Breakdown
Restaurante La Alacena,
rres-tow-RAHN-teh lah ah-lah-THEH-nah
La Alacena Restaurant,
The business name, said when answering the phone. Pause at the comma.
Restaurante La Alacena, ¿en qué puedo ayudarle?
La Alacena Restaurant, how can I help you?
Words in this phrase
Restaurante
[rres-tow-RAHN-teh]
restaurant
A place where meals are served to customers.
El restaurante abre a las ocho.
The restaurant opens at eight.
La
[lah]
the
A definite article used before a feminine singular noun.
«La» gente en esa empresa parece amable.
The people in that company seem kind.
Alacena
[ah-lah-THEH-nah]
pantry (restaurant name)
A cupboard for storing food; here used as a restaurant's name.
Guardo el arroz en la alacena.
I keep the rice in the pantry.
buenas tardes,
BWEH-nahs TAR-dehs
good afternoon,
Used from about 2 pm until dark. BUE-nas TAR-des.
Buenas tardes, ¿qué tal?
Good afternoon, how are you?
Words in this phrase
buenas
[BWEH-nahs]
good
Feminine plural of 'bueno', used in greetings like 'buenas tardes'.
Buenas noches, ¿tienen mesa libre?
Good evening, do you have a free table?
tardes
[TAR-dehs]
afternoon
Plural form used in the greeting 'buenas tardes'.
Trabajo por las tardes.
I work in the afternoons.
dígame.
DEE-gah-meh
how can I help? (lit. tell me)
The typical Spanish way to answer the phone. Stress the first syllable: DÍ-ga-me.
¿Sí? Dígame.
Yes? Go ahead.
Words in this phrase
dígame
[DEE-gah-meh]
how can I help? (lit. tell me)
Formal command of 'decir' plus 'me'; common way to answer the phone in Spain.
Sí, dígame, ¿qué necesita?
Yes, go ahead, what do you need?
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