Small talk with coworkers: Complaining about the weather or commute

💬 iba is literally "it was going". Spaniards use it to describe how a moving vehicle was during the ride: el tren iba vacío "the train was empty".

💬 coche is the word for car in Spain. In most of Latin America people say carro or auto instead.

💬 atasco is the everyday Spanish word for being stuck in traffic. In Latin America you're more likely to hear trancón or tráfico.

💬 Use de to link an amount of time to what filled it. For example: media hora de cola "half an hour of queue".

💬 con + weather is a quick way to say "when it's like this". For example: con calor "when it's hot" or con nieve "when it snows".

💬 Literally "all the world", but it takes a singular verb, like English "everyone": todo el mundo coge, not cogen.

💬 coger is the normal word for take or catch in Spain. In parts of Latin America it's vulgar, so people there say tomar instead.

💬 The h is silent, and the double rr is rolled: (oh-RREE-bleh).

🇪🇸 Coworkers in Spain almost always use tú with each other, even with older colleagues. Offering to bring back a coffee is a normal, friendly gesture.

💬 sigue + an -ndo word means "keeps doing". For example: sigue nevando "it keeps snowing" or sigo esperando "I'm still waiting".

💬 Spanish often uses the present tense for the future when a time word like mañana makes it clear. For example: mañana trabajo "I'm working tomorrow".

🇪🇸 This is casual Spain slang, fine for groaning with colleagues about rain or meetings. It's a bit too informal for a client or a senior boss.

💬 a + an action word works as a quick "time to...". For example: ¡a comer! "time to eat!" or a dormir "off to bed".

💬 luego here means "later", not "then". The present-tense hablamos works for the future here, just as it often does in casual Spanish.

🇪🇸 venga "come on" is how Spaniards signal a chat is wrapping up. It sounds friendly, not pushy, and you'll hear it constantly at work.