What phrase should I use to explain that I am a beginner?
Other than simply saying 'No comprendo', what would I say that I am a beginner and can only speak and understand a limited / small vocabulary?
4 Answers
Here are some that I used when speaking to patients when I first started learning. They always seemed to understand and be gentle with my un-accostomed ears when I said one of these:
"Estoy aprendiendo." - I am learning; usually in response to "¿Habla español?"
"Muy poco"/"Un poquito" - Again, in response to "¿Habla español?"
"Soy principiante." I'm a begginer.
"¿Puede escribirlo, por favor?" - Can you write it down, please? Helpful if you really can't understand.
You could say "mi español es malo", but I never really liked to use something like this, because it discourages the asker from continuing to speak with you. I like to say "estoy aprendiendo" most often, because it denoted effort and that I was going to try my best to understand. I also felt like people generally reacted positively to this, as it makes you appear intrested and willing to be helpful.
Soy novato. Ya no tengo muchas palabras en Español.
neófito, principiante...
No hablo mucho español, soy un principiante.
How about, "Mi espanol es muy malo?" (My Spanish is very bad.)
Or, "Estoy aprendiendo espanol ahora?" (I am learning Spanish now.)
