Texting & dating apps: Sending a first message on a dating app

💬 The yo is optional, because soy already means "I am". Including it here adds a slight "as for me" emphasis.

💬 anda literally means "walk", but on its own it's a surprise reaction. It's very typical of Spain.

💬 Language names are lowercase in Spanish: español, inglés, francés.

💬 Pues at the start works like English "well" and softens what follows. You'll hear it constantly in Spain.

💬 To say what you're doing right now, use estar plus a verb ending in -ando or -iendo. Two more examples: estoy trabajando "I'm working", estoy comiendo "I'm eating".

💬 The accent matters here: tú means "you", while tu without it means "your".

💬 A question can be the same words as a statement. Only the question marks in writing, or rising intonation in speech, change vives en Madrid into a question.

💬 Here por qué doesn't mean "why". por means "around", so this is "around which area?".

🇪🇸 In Madrid, people place themselves by neighbourhood (barrio "neighbourhood"), such as Malasaña or Lavapiés. Asking about someone's area is a natural next step after finding out you're both in the city.

💬 Like encantar, apetecer works backwards: the activity is what "appeals" to te. You can add any activity after it: ¿Te apetece ir al cine? "Do you fancy going to the cinema?".

💬 Spanish uses tomar "take" for food and drink: tomar algo "have a drink".

🇪🇸 A coffee or una caña "a small beer" is the standard low-pressure first date in Spain. Proposing it after a few messages is completely normal.

🇪🇸 vale is Spain's all-purpose "OK" and you'll hear it everywhere. It marks you as Spain-based, since Latin Americans say está bien or ok.

💬 Days take el instead of "on": el lunes "on Monday". With los, los sábados means "on Saturdays".

🇪🇸 In Spain, la tarde stretches until about 8 or 9 pm, so it covers what English speakers would call early evening.

💬 ir bien means "to suit" or "to work for". Change te to fit the person: ¿os va bien? asks a group, using the vosotros form that's only used in Spain.

💬 Times use las because horas "hours" is understood. The exception is one o'clock: a la una.

💬 hasta plus any day or time makes a goodbye: ¡Hasta mañana! "See you tomorrow!", ¡Hasta luego! "See you later!".

🇪🇸 Signing off with un beso is everyday and friendly in Spain, even between friends, so it isn't especially romantic. Besos is common too.