Popular Business Vocabulary In Spanish (Beginner-Friendly Guide)

Business Spanish doesn’t require a suit, a briefcase, or the ability to say “synergy” with a straight face. What you do need is a solid toolkit of words and phrases that show you can greet clients, understand schedules, talk about work, and not panic when someone says reunión /re.uˈnjon/ and you momentarily forget whether it means “meeting” or “reunion with your long-lost cousin.” (Spoiler: it’s “meeting.”)

By the end of this guide, you’ll know the most useful business words and phrases for beginners and low-intermediate learners—clear Spanish you’ll actually use in emails, calls, and everyday office conversations.

Quick Primer

Business Spanish is almost the same as everyday Spanish—just more formal, more polite, and occasionally sprinkled with English loanwords that everyone pretends aren’t English loanwords.

Key concepts you’ll want to keep in mind:

Tú vs. Usted: Most professional situations lean formal with usted /usˈteð/ unless the relationship is friendly.
Ustedes: The plural “you” in Latin America (formal and informal).
Reunión: Always means “meeting,” not family reunion.
Oficina: Office (and no, officina with two f’s doesn’t exist—your spellchecker will cry).

Core Business Vocabulary

These are the words you’ll hear in meetings, emails, and office chats. Copy them, screenshot them, whisper them to yourself in an elevator—whatever helps.

People & Positions

Workplace Basics

Money & Finance Words

Meetings, Calls & Communication

Productivity & Workflow

Usage Notes & Common Mistakes

In many Latin American workplaces, usted is still the respectful default with clients, managers, and new contacts. Switch to tú only when they suggest it—or when someone sends you memes in the company WhatsApp group.

Be careful with reunión. It always means “meeting.” Meanwhile junta is common in Mexico for a work meeting, but rarely used that way in Spain.

The word oficina only means “office” as a place. The English sense of “office” meaning “a team or department” doesn’t translate directly. For that, use departamento /de.paɾ.taˈmen.to/.

Avoid saying asistir as “to help.” In business Spanish, asistir means “to attend.” If you want “to help,” use ayudar /a.ʝuˈðaɾ/.

Email & Polite Phrases You’ll Actually Use

These are widely accepted, polite, and not overly stiff. Spanish emails often sound warmer than English ones.

Common Business Verbs in Context

Here are a few high-frequency verbs used in real sentences.

Examples

Region Notes

Spain:
Business culture is relatively informal among colleagues; tú appears earlier. Coger /koˈxeɾ/ (“to take”) is normal and not a bad word—important if you work with Latin Americans who may laugh at it.

Mexico:
You’ll hear junta /ˈxun.ta/ for “meeting.” Emails are polite and often use usted for respect.

Argentina:
Expect vos /bos/ instead of tú in casual settings, though many professionals switch to tú or usted in cross-border communication. A common work greeting is ¿cómo andás? /ˈko.mo anˈdas/.

Caribbean (Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Cuba):
Fast speech, friendly tone; buenas can replace full greetings.

Mini Dialogues

Dialogue 1: Scheduling a Meeting

¿Podemos agendar una reunión mañana?
/poˈðe.mos a.xenˈdaɾ ˈu.na re.uˈnjon maˈɲa.na/
Can we schedule a meeting tomorrow?

Sí, a las diez funciona.
/si a las ˈdjez fun.sjoˈna/
Yes, ten o’clock works.

Perfecto, la confirmo por correo.
/peɾˈfek.to la kon.fiɾˈmo poɾ koˈre.o/
Perfect, I’ll confirm it by email.

Dialogue 2: Asking for an Update

Hola, ¿cómo va el proyecto?
/ˈo.la ˈko.mo ˈβa el pɾoˈʝek.to/
Hi, how’s the project going?

Estamos terminando los últimos detalles.
/esˈta.mos teɾ.miˈnan.do los ˈul.ti.mos deˈta.ʝes/
We’re finishing the last details.

Genial, gracias por avisar.
/xenˈjal ˈɡɾa.sjas poɾ a.biˈsaɾ/
Great, thanks for letting me know.

Dialogue 3: Email Follow-Up

Le escribo para confirmar el pago.
/le esˈkɾi.βo ˈpa.ɾa kon.fiɾˈmaɾ el ˈpa.ɣo/
I’m writing to confirm the payment.

Sí, se realizó esta mañana.
/si se re.a.liˈso es.ta maˈɲa.na/
Yes, it was completed this morning.

Perfecto, muchas gracias.
/peɾˈfek.to ˈmu.tʃas ˈɡɾa.sjas/
Perfect, thank you very much.

Quick Reference

Five-Minute Practice Plan

Read the main vocab table aloud once, focusing on stress placement in each IPA form.
Write three simple workplace sentences using reunión, proyecto, and revisar.
Record a 20-second voice note pretending to ask a coworker for a project update.
Shadow Dialogue 1 until you can say it without pausing.
Switch one verb in each dialogue to a different business verb (e.g., replace agendar with confirmar).
Write a fake email opener using Estimado… and Saludos cordiales.

Yak-Style Closing Spark

With these words in your brain pocket, you’re ready to schedule meetings, impress clients, and survive office small talk in Spanish. Soon you won’t just understand business conversations—you’ll run them. And possibly request a raise… in flawless Spanish.