| Know someone who’d enjoy The Good to Excelente Newsletter? Forward this to them so they can subscribe here—and never miss a Wednesday edition packed with cultural intelligence insights and practical advice. |
We love nothing more than hearing about wins from readers who have used Construction Spanish on the job.
Here’s a recent email we received:
“Bradley, two phrases that have helped me ask and learn Spanish for years are:
¿Cómo se dice _____ en español?
How do you say _____ in Spanish?
and
¿Qué significa _____?
What does _____ mean?
When you engage your Spanish speakers with these two questions, they appreciate that you’re trying, and they want to help.”
Me encanta eso.
I love that.
If you’re trying to learn Spanish on the jobsite, the people you work with can be some of your best teachers. You just need to know how to ask.
¿Cómo se dice _____ en español?
How do you say _____ in Spanish?
¿Qué significa _____?
What does _____ mean?
Both phrases can become part of your routine—without feeling like you are turning every conversation into a Spanish lesson.
For example, let’s say you’re working with a crew and want to know the Spanish word for drill. Point to it and ask:
¿Cómo se dice “drill” en español?
How do you say “drill” in Spanish?
El taladro
(tah-LAH-droh)
Drill
Later, you hear someone say lentes and you don’t know what it means. Instead of letting the word fly by, ask:
¿Qué significa “lentes”?
What does “lentes” mean?
Lentes means safety glasses.
That’s a good one to know on a construction site.
Then, as you’re walking the jobsite, you see a ladder and decide to add another word to your vocabulary:
¿Cómo se dice “ladder” en español?
How do you say “ladder” in Spanish?
La escalera
(ay-skah-LAY-rah)
Ladder
By the end of the day, you’ve learned three useful words—and the people you work with helped you learn them.
More important, you learned them from the people you work with. There’s value in that exchange beyond adding a few words to your vocabulary.
When you ask someone to teach you a word in their language, you’re showing an interest in communicating with them. You’re also giving that person a chance to teach you something.
Sure, you may butcher the pronunciation the first time.
That’s fine.
Don’t take yourself too seriously.
Ask them to say it again.
Give it another shot.
Then look for a chance to use your new word.
Those small conversations add up.
If you’re learning Construction Spanish, take what you’re learning to the jobsite and put it to work. Ask questions when you don’t know a word and let the people around you help fill in the gaps.
You don’t need to memorize every Spanish word you might encounter.
Start with these two:
¿Cómo se dice _____ en español?
¿Qué significa _____?
With these two questions, you can learn new words, build trust, and become more helpful on the jobsite.
We love hearing from you, our readers.
Let us know what’s working for you—and what you’re struggling with!
Thanks for reading.
We’ll see you back here in two weeks.
If you lead people, this podcast is for you.
Subscribe to The Construction Leadership Podcast for practical leadership ideas that strengthen teams and organizations.
Subscribe here:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify
Copyright © 2026
Bradley Hartmann & Co.
All rights reserved.
Leave a comment