Home/Caribbean Costa Rica/Chapter 1
Slow (0.65x)
👋
Chapter 1

Greetings & Everyday Basics

Costa Ricans (Ticos) are warm and friendly. Greetings matter — walk past someone without saying 'buenas' and you'll stand out as a tourist immediately. In Limon and Cocles, you'll also hear Creole English and Patois, but Spanish is essential everywhere.

📚 Vocabulary

Hola/OH-lah/
Hello
Buenas/BWEH-nahs/slang
Good (shorthand for any time of day greeting)
💡 Ticos use 'buenas' instead of saying buenos días/tardes/noches — it works anytime.
Buenos días/BWEH-nohs DEE-ahs/
Good morning
Buenas tardes/BWEH-nahs TAR-dehs/
Good afternoon
Buenas noches/BWEH-nahs NOH-chehs/
Good evening/night
¿Cómo está usted?/KOH-moh ehs-TAH oo-STED/
How are you? (formal)
¿Cómo estás?/KOH-moh ehs-TAHS/
How are you? (informal)
¿Pura vida?/POO-rah VEE-dah/slang
How's it going? / All good? (Costa Rican)
💡 Pura vida is THE phrase of Costa Rica. It means pure life, but is used as hello, goodbye, you're welcome, no worries, life is good — basically everything.
Pura vida/POO-rah VEE-dah/slang
Life is good / No worries / You're welcome
💡 Used as a response too — someone asks how you are, you say 'pura vida!'
Bien, gracias/BEEYEN, GRAH-see-ahs/
Good, thank you
Más o menos/MAHS oh MEH-nohs/
More or less / So-so
¿Cómo se llama usted?/KOH-moh seh YAH-mah oo-STED/
What is your name? (formal)
¿Cómo te llamas?/KOH-moh teh YAH-mahs/
What is your name? (informal)
Me llamo.../meh YAH-moh/
My name is...
Mucho gusto/MOO-choh GOO-stoh/
Nice to meet you
Igualmente/ee-gwal-MEN-teh/
Likewise / Same to you
Por favor/por fah-VOR/
Please
Gracias/GRAH-see-ahs/
Thank you
De nada/deh NAH-dah/
You're welcome
Con mucho gusto/kon MOO-choh GOO-stoh/slang
With pleasure (CR version of you're welcome)
💡 In Costa Rica, people say 'con mucho gusto' instead of 'de nada'. It sounds friendlier.
Perdón / Disculpe/pair-DON / dees-KOOL-peh/
Excuse me / Sorry
Adiós/ah-dee-OHS/
Goodbye
Hasta luego/AHS-tah LWEH-goh/
See you later
Chao/CHOW/slang
Bye (casual)
💡 From Italian via pop culture, 'chao' is extremely common casual goodbye in Costa Rica.

📐 Grammar Notes

Tú vs. Usted (You informal vs. formal)

Spanish has two ways to say 'you'. 'Tú' is informal (friends, kids, peers). 'Usted' is formal (strangers, elders, authority). Costa Ricans use 'usted' more than most Spanish-speaking countries — even with friends sometimes! When in doubt, use usted.

¿Cómo estás tú?
How are you? (to a friend)
¿Cómo está usted?
How are you? (to a stranger/elder)

Verb: Ser vs. Estar (To be)

Spanish has two verbs for 'to be'. SER is for permanent things (identity, origin, profession). ESTAR is for temporary states (how you feel, where you are). For greetings, use ESTAR.

Yo soy americano.
I am American. (permanent identity — SER)
Yo estoy bien.
I am fine. (temporary state — ESTAR)
¿Cómo estás?
How are you? (ESTAR — how do you feel right now?)

🗣️ Key Phrases

No hablo español bien.
I don't speak Spanish well.
Say this early — locals will slow down for you.
¿Habla usted inglés?
Do you speak English?
Hablo un poco de español.
I speak a little Spanish.
¿Puede repetir, por favor?
Can you repeat, please?
Más despacio, por favor.
More slowly, please.
No entiendo.
I don't understand.
¿Qué significa...?
What does ... mean?

💬 Sample Dialogue

Y
You
Buenas. ¿Cómo está usted?
Hey there. How are you?
L
Local
Pura vida, mae. ¿Y usted?
All good, man. And you?
Y
You
Bien, gracias. Me llamo Alex.
Good, thank you. My name is Alex.
L
Local
Mucho gusto, Alex. Bienvenido a Cocles.
Nice to meet you, Alex. Welcome to Cocles.
Y
You
Gracias. Hablo un poco de español.
Thank you. I speak a little Spanish.
L
Local
No hay problema. Pura vida.
No problem. All good.
🎯

Ready to practice?

You've just arrived in Cocles and meet a local named Carlos at the entrance of the beach. Practice greeting him, introducing yourself, and explaining that you're still learning Spanish.

Start Conversation Practice →