Spanish · Cafetería / bar
You specify the coffee and the milk: what to say in Spanish
You specify the coffee and milk.
💡
How it's done. Milk: leche entera (whole), desnatada (skimmed), sin lactosa, de avena (oat), de soja (soya); descafeinado is decaf.Prepared by the Movko team, November 2026. This is language help, not legal or medical advice: check the rules with the office itself.
Cheat sheet for your visit
The first phrase is open: tap ▶ to listen, or “Show” to show it to the other person. The rest of the dialogue is in the course in the app.
1
YOU START
Un café con leche sin lactosa, por favor.
Oon kuh-FEH kohn LEH-cheh seen luhk-TOH-suh, por fuh-BOR.
A coffee with lactose-free milk, please.
THEY SAY
¿Descafeinado o normal?Des-kuh-fay-NAH-doh oh nor-MAHL?
Decaf or normal?
They might also say:
¿Lo quiere descafeinado?
Loh KYEH-reh des-kuh-fay-NAH-doh?
Do you want it decaf?
2
YOU REPLY
Normal, y con poca leche.
Nor-MAHL, ee kohn POH-kuh LEH-cheh.
Normal, and with little milk.
THEY SAY
Un cortado, entonces.Oon kor-TAH-doh, ayn-TOHN-ses.
A cortado, then.
3
YOU FINISH
Sí, perfecto. Gracias.
See, pehr-FEK-toh. GRAH-syuhs.
Yes, perfect. Thanks.
THEY SAY
De nada. Enseguida se lo preparo.Deh NAH-duh. Ayn-seh-GEE-duh seh loh preh-PAH-roh.
You're welcome. I'll make it right away.
The course is in the app
This dialogue is part of the course “Spanish for life in Spain”: 416 situations with audio, a pronunciation guide and spaced review.
On the website the first dialogue, the 112 category, the rescue phrases and the “Basics” are fully open.
Words worth knowing
café
kuh-FEH
noun
coffee
leche
LEH-cheh
noun
milk
lactosa
luhk-TOH-suh
noun
lactose
favor
fuh-BOR
noun
favour
normal
nor-MAHL
adjective
normal, regular
poca
POH-kuh
adjective
little (feminine)
17 more words, with explanations, base forms and tap-a-word help, are in the app.
If you did not understand
¿Puede repetirlo, por favor?
Poo-EH-deh reh-peh-TEER-loh, por fuh-BOR?
Can you repeat that, please?
¿Puede hablar más despacio, por favor?
Poo-EH-deh uh-BLAHR mahs des-PAH-syoh, por fuh-BOR?
Can you speak more slowly, please?
¿Qué significa esto?
Keh seeg-nee-FEE-kuh ES-toh?
What does this mean?
Similar situations
Found a mistake? Write to us and we will fix it. This is language help, not medical or legal advice.Report