Travelling through Panama becomes a lot easier with even a small amount of Spanish. English is widely understood in some tourist areas, particularly in Panama City, Bocas del Toro and places that receive large numbers of international visitors, but once outside the main tourist circuit, Spanish quickly becomes much more useful. Even knowing a few basic expressions can turn a purely transactional interaction into a much friendlier one.
Panamanian Spanish is generally quite easy for visitors to understand, although locals have their own vocabulary, slang and expressions. A few words you'll hear repeatedly may initially sound strange, but after a few days they start becoming part of the background noise of travelling through the country.
The first words to learn
Hola means hello and works almost everywhere. Buenos días means good morning, buenas tardes means good afternoon and buenas noches means good evening or good night. A simple greeting is particularly appreciated when entering a small shop, restaurant or local business.
Por favor means please and gracias means thank you. De nada means you're welcome, while perdón or disculpe can be used for excuse me or sorry. Disculpe is slightly more polite and is particularly useful when getting someone's attention.
One of the most useful expressions in Panama is ¿Cuánto cuesta?, meaning "How much does it cost?" If something is too expensive, Está muy caro means "It's very expensive." If something is cheap, Está barato means "It's cheap."
Getting around Panama
Transportation is where Spanish becomes particularly useful.
¿Dónde está…? means "Where is…?" and can be followed by almost anything. ¿Dónde está la parada de bus? means "Where is the bus stop?" ¿Dónde está la terminal? means "Where is the terminal?"
When taking a taxi or Uber, ¿Cuánto cuesta? is useful for checking the price. Llévame a… means "Take me to…" and Voy a… means "I'm going to…"
For buses, learn the words bus, parada, terminal, salida and llegada. Salida means departure or exit, while llegada means arrival.
If travelling around the country, ¿Este bus va a Boquete? means "Does this bus go to Boquete?" and ¿Dónde tengo que bajarme? means "Where do I have to get off?"
That last phrase can be particularly useful when taking unfamiliar local transportation.
At restaurants
Food is one of the best reasons to practice Spanish.
Quisiera… means "I would like…" and is a polite way of ordering. For example, Quisiera un café, por favor means "I'd like a coffee, please."
¿Qué recomienda? means "What do you recommend?" and can be an excellent way of discovering local dishes.
La cuenta, por favor means "The bill, please."
If something isn't understood, No entiendo means "I don't understand." ¿Puede repetir? means "Can you repeat that?" and Más despacio, por favor means "More slowly, please."
A very useful phrase for travellers is ¿Tiene algo vegetariano? meaning "Do you have anything vegetarian?" For vegans, ¿Tiene algo vegano? means "Do you have anything vegan?"
If there is an allergy or ingredient that must be avoided, ¿Tiene…? can be followed by the ingredient. For example, ¿Tiene maní? means "Does it contain peanuts?"
At hotels and hostels
Backpackers will quickly become familiar with words such as habitación for room, cama for bed, baño for bathroom, llave for key and reserva for reservation.
Tengo una reserva means "I have a reservation."
¿A qué hora es el check-in? means "What time is check-in?" and ¿A qué hora es el check-out? asks about check-out.
¿Hay Wi-Fi? means "Is there Wi-Fi?" while ¿Cuál es la contraseña? means "What is the password?"
If travelling with luggage, equipaje means luggage and mochila means backpack. ¿Puedo dejar mi mochila aquí? means "Can I leave my backpack here?"
Panama's famous slang
This is where Panamanian Spanish becomes much more fun.
One of the most recognizable Panamanian words is pana. It can mean a friend or buddy, somewhat like "bro" or "mate." You'll hear it frequently in informal conversation.
¿Qué xopá? is a famous Panamanian greeting. It is essentially an informal "What's up?" or "How's it going?" It comes from playing with the phrase "¿Qué pasó?" and has become strongly associated with Panamanian identity.
Another useful word is fren, borrowed from the English word "friend." A fren is a friend or buddy, and it is particularly common in informal Panamanian speech.
Buco means "a lot" or "many." For example, Hay buco gente means "There are lots of people."
Chiva can refer to a small bus or minibus in some contexts, although terminology can vary by region.
Chevere means cool, great or nice and is used throughout much of Latin America, including Panama.
Ta' cool or está cool is also commonly understood, reflecting the strong influence of English on Panamanian vocabulary.
Money and shopping
Panama uses the U.S. dollar alongside the balboa, and prices are normally expressed in dollars. Knowing the Spanish numbers is therefore extremely useful.
Uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco are one through five. Diez is ten, veinte is twenty, treinta is thirty, cincuenta is fifty and cien is one hundred.
¿Tiene cambio? means "Do you have change?"
¿Aceptan tarjeta? means "Do you accept cards?"
¿Solo efectivo? means "Cash only?"
If something is broken or doesn't work, No funciona means "It doesn't work."
Words that can prevent confusion
A few everyday words are especially useful because they don't always resemble their English equivalents.
Ahorita can mean "right now," "in a little while" or sometimes something considerably less precise depending on the context. Don't assume that ahorita necessarily means something will happen within the next 30 seconds.
Ahora means now, while luego means later.
Aquí means here and allá means over there.
Cerca means near and lejos means far.
Izquierda is left and derecha is right.
Arriba means up and abajo means down.
These words become incredibly useful when asking for directions.
If something goes wrong
Hopefully these phrases will never be necessary, but they're worth knowing.
Necesito ayuda means "I need help."
Estoy perdido means "I'm lost" for a male speaker, while estoy perdida is used by a female speaker.
Llame a la policía means "Call the police."
Necesito un médico means "I need a doctor."
¿Dónde está el hospital? means "Where is the hospital?"
And if a phone, wallet or passport disappears:
Me robaron el teléfono means "My phone was stolen."
Perdí mi pasaporte means "I lost my passport."
The most useful phrase of all
Perhaps the most important sentence to memorize is:
"No hablo mucho español, pero estoy aprendiendo."
It means:
"I don't speak much Spanish, but I'm learning."
That one sentence changes the interaction immediately. Most people can see that someone is genuinely trying to communicate rather than simply expecting everyone to speak English.
Another excellent phrase is:
"¿Puede hablar más despacio, por favor?"
"Can you speak more slowly, please?"
There's no shame in using it. Even travellers who have studied Spanish for years can struggle when a Panamanian starts speaking quickly and throws local slang into the conversation.
🇵🇦 The Panama starter pack
For someone arriving in Panama tomorrow, these are probably the 15 phrases worth memorizing first:
Hola — Hello
Buenos días — Good morning
¿Qué xopá? — What's up?
Por favor — Please
Gracias — Thank you
¿Cuánto cuesta? — How much does it cost?
¿Dónde está…? — Where is…?
¿A qué hora? — At what time?
¿Este bus va a…? — Does this bus go to…?
¿Dónde tengo que bajarme? — Where do I get off?
Quisiera… — I would like…
La cuenta, por favor — The bill, please
No entiendo — I don't understand
Más despacio, por favor — More slowly, please
Está chévere — It's cool/great
The great thing about travelling in Panama is that perfect Spanish isn't necessary. A traveller who knows 20 or 30 useful words, smiles, says por favor and gracias, and makes an honest attempt to communicate will generally get much further than someone who knows no Spanish but expects everyone else to accommodate them.
And after a few weeks of buses, hostels, restaurants, markets and conversations with locals, the vocabulary starts expanding naturally. Eventually "¿Qué xopá, fren?" won't sound like a strange phrase from another language anymore. It will simply sound like Panama.