40+ Spanish Conversational Connectors To Improve Fluency

It’s not always easy to make a conversation flow naturally, particularly when speaking a language that you haven’t mastered.

So, what’s the best way to impress Spanish speakers and ensure your conversation flows smoothly?

Knowing your Spanish conversational connectors is one of the best ways to do this.

Although the list below is long, there are some Spanish conversational connectors that you’ll use more frequently than others.

What are Spanish conversational connectors?

Spanish conversational connectors are small words or short phrases that link sentences together and help Spanish speakers to engage in your conversations.

To help you understand what a Spanish conversational connector is, it helps to know that some examples of English conversational connectors are “and”, “but” and “although”.

A group of sentences that lack conversational connectors can sound disjointed or disconnected since they stop and start so frequently.

If you’ve found that your conversations sound a bit elementary, perhaps you need to use more Spanish conversational connectors.

With this in mind, let’s go ahead and start the list.

Spanish conversational connectors

Here are the conversational connectors you should keep in mind when expressing yourself in spoken or written Spanish.

Do you recognise any of these?

1. Y

This one-letter Spanish conversational connector is pronounced “ee” and means “and” in English.

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2. O

Another one-letter Spanish conversational connector is o. O means “or” and is pronounced as a short “o” sound, like the letter o in “otter”.

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3. Para

Use para when you want to say “for” in Spanish. There are particular situations when you should use para and when you should use por, so take a look at our article por vs para to get the gist.

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4. Por

It’s true that por means “for” just as para does. Use por when you want to say “because of” or “through” in Spanish.

5. Aún

Aún means “not yet” and can be used in similar examples to its English equivalent. Sometimes you might hear Spanish speakers adding a no to the word aún.

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6. Ni

The meaning of this short Spanish conversational connector is “nor”. It can be used to rule out something or two options when speaking.

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7. Todavía

Use the Spanish conversational connector todavía when you want to say “yet” in Spanish. It can also mean “still”.

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8. Así que

The Spanish conversational connector phrase así que means “so that”. You might also have heard de esta manera or de este modo used in similar situations.

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9. Pero

This is a common connector. Pero means “but” or “however”. Don’t confuse this one with perro which, with its double rr means “dog”.

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10. Para mí

When giving your opinion in Spanish, use the Spanish conversational connector para mí to express yourself. It means “for me” or “from my perspective”.

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11. Por eso

Por eso means “for that reason” or “because of this”. It can join two logically connected statements or arguments together in Spanish.

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12. Ya que

If you want to say “now that” in Spanish, use ya que. It can be used when one statement follows on from another statement and both are connected to each other.

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13. No creo que

Giving your opinion can be as simple as starting your sentence with no creo que. It means “I don’t think that”… So you might use it when you disagree with something. Use it with a Spanish subjunctive verb.

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14. Por lo visto

Por lo visto sort of means “as you can see”, or “apparently”. It is used to demonstrate what you’re trying to say by connecting your argument or point to an example.

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15. Por consiguiente

Use por consiguiente when you want to say “therefore”. If you need to draw a conclusion from a point you’ve made previously, por consiguiente is the phrase you’ll need.

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16. Que yo sepa

Que yo sepa is a Spanish conversational connector that means “as far as I am aware”. Use it to indicate that you’re going to share information or facts to the best of your knowledge.

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17. Aunque

Aunque means “despite”. It can also mean “even though” and can be used to contrast two separate points that present two sides of an argument.

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18. A pesar de

Just like aunque, a pesar de means “despite”.

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19. Sin embargo

The Spanish conversational connector sin embargo means “however” in English. Use it when you want to make a contrasting point or argument to the point you have made earlier.

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20. Además

Además is a Spanish conversational connector that means “in addition” or “what’s more”. If you want to make an additional point, use it to indicate that you’re about to join two ideas together.

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21. De todas formas

The Spanish conversational connector de todas formas means “anyway”. If you want to move on to a different point of view or consider something from a different perspective use this connector to indicate that you want to make a new point.

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22. En vez de

If you want to offer an alternative point of view or move from one point to another, use en vez de. It’s a Spanish conversational connector that means “instead of”.

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23. En concreto

If you want to specify or focus on one particular part of your conversation, use en concreto. This Spanish conversational connector means “specifically” and indicates that you’re going to talk about a particular point in more detail or use a particular example from what you’ve already been talking about.

24. Aparte de

Aparte de means “except for”. If you’re going to talk about something that is anomalous or doesn’t follow the train of thought that you were making previously, use aparte de.

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25. De todos modos

Use de todos modos when you want to say “anyway” or shift to another perspective. You might hear it in a debate or heated discussion when someone wants to talk about something they perceive as more important than what has already been said.

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26. Tal como

If you want to give an example of something, use tal como to indicate that you’re about to do so. Tal como is a Spanish conversational connector that means “such as” or “for example”.

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27. Tan pronto como

Use tan pronto como if you want to show that one event has immediately led onto another point and indicate that these two events might be linked to each other. Tan pronto como means “as soon as”.

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28. Mientras

If two events take place at the same time, or you’re making two points that are linked or happen simultaneously, use mientras. It means “while”.

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29. Mientras tanto

Don’t get mientras tanto confused with mientras. This Spanish conversational connector means “in the meantime”.

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30. En primer lugar

Use en primer lugar to open or start a list of points all related to the same argument or theme. It means “firstly” in English and can be followed by en segundo lugar… en tercer lugar.

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31. Hasta

If one event happens for a duration of time, up until another event, use hasta to show that the event continued up until it was interrupted.

Or if one event is triggered by something else, use hasta. Hasta means “until”.

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32. Hasta que

Hasta que also means “until”, but can also mean “before”. Note that hasta que is normally used with the subjunctive mood and is followed by a subjunctive verb.

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33. Por último

Use por último when you want to bring your argument or point to a close. Por último means “finally”, or “lastly” and you’ll hear it in political discussions.

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34. Pues

Pues means “well…” It’s a short word used in the same way you would pause for thought and contemplate what someone has said to you. Use this Spanish conversational connector to pause and think for a moment.

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35. Digo

If you want to clarify what you’re trying to say, use digo to say “I mean”, or “what I’m saying is”. Digo is also a verb that means “I say”.

36. Bueno

Bueno can mean “good”. But as a Spanish conversational connector, bueno means “well”. It’s used in a similar way to the word “so” or “okay” in speech, or to pause and think for a moment while you gather your thoughts and think of what you want to say next.

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37. Es que

Es que means “well, the thing is”. It’s a phrase you’ll hear when someone wants to use an excuse to get out of doing something, or to defend their point of view.

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38. Vamos a ver

You might hear a variation of this Spanish conversational connector, which is a ver. A ver means “let’s see” or “let’s think for a moment”. Use it when you’re trying to think about the arguments someone has made and want to consider them objectively.

39. En fin

Use en fin when you’re concluding an argument or finishing up your speech. It means “all in all” in English.

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40. Es decir

Emphasising a point, or reiterating it in other words, can be signalled with this Spanish conversational connector. Es decir means “in other words”, or “to put it another way”.

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41. O sea

Use o sea as you would use es decir. It means “in other words” as well.

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Connect your sentences together with Spanish conversational connectors

Now you’ve got all of these Spanish conversational connectors, you’ll find that your conversations with native Spanish speakers will flow more easily. You won’t be stopping and starting and each point will connect together more seamlessly.

Keep this list handy and try using the connectors to help you sound like a native and impress your Spanish colleagues and friends.

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Which Spanish conversational connectors have we missed?

Add them to the comments section just below!

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