The Top 15 Phrases You'll Need For Working Online in Spanish

What have we learnt during our COVID stay-at-home efforts? At Lingoda, we learnt that our Spanish students want new vocabulary to navigate virtual meetings. From study abroad students stuck in the dorm to CEOs virtually connecting with their international teams, everybody needs to brush up on Spanish tech phrases for Zoom meetings. Last week we

What have we learnt during our COVID stay-at-home efforts? At Lingoda, we learnt that our Spanish students want new vocabulary to navigate virtual meetings. From study abroad students stuck in the dorm to CEOs virtually connecting with their international teams, everybody needs to brush up on Spanish tech phrases for Zoom meetings. Last week we covered general Spanish work phrases. This week we get specific for the Zoom conferences on all of our horizons.  Do you have a solid tech-savvy vocabulary in Spanish? Here are 15 must-know Spanish tech phrases for virtual meetings.

Basic Spanish tech vocabulary for virtual meetings

These days most office interaction is online. As the second wave follows the first, COVID stay-at-home orders stretch on and we continue to work online. You need to prepare for web-based interactions and virtual video chat apps to become a normal part of your work life. Here are some technology words in Spanish to describe the tech environment. 

  • el teclado – keyboard
  • la pantalla – screen
  • la ventana/ventanilla – window or box (for example ventanilla de chat is a chat box)
  • la presentación – slideshow (such as MS PowerPoint)
  • el correo electrónico/email – e-mail
  • Spanish phrases to use during Zoom 

    Last week we ran a catch-all blog of 50 Spanish phrases related to job-hunting. We went over some useful phrases for interviews in Spanish. There is vocabulary that comes up in online Spanish classes if you learn Spanish online, but otherwise it’s rarely taught. What if your interview is a virtual video chat? You need to be familiar with this basic but rarely-taught video chat commentary. Here are Spanish phrases to use specifically during a Zoom interview.

  • ¿Me escucha/n? – Can you/you all hear me?
  • No funciona el sonido/audio. – The sound is not working.
  • Tengo problemas de señal.  – I have a problem with the (internet) signal.
  • Voy a reiniciar la sesión. – I will restart the session.
  • Espere/n un momento por favor. – Please (you/you all) wait a moment. 
  • English-Spanish cognates in the workplace

    A cognate is a word that is similar in two languages. This happens when both languages share the same origin for a word. For example hospital and hospital in Spanish are cognates. When it comes to technology, early industry terms originated in the Silicon Valley of California, United States. As a result, many languages borrow tech-related words directly or adapt words rooted in the original English terminology. Here are some English-Spanish cognates for Zoom meetings. Don’t forget to adjust your pronunciation! In the case of hospital remember to drop the h-sound and pronounce the vowels using a proper Spanish accent.

  • el micrófono – microphone 
  • la memoria portátil – portable memory (in reference to USB/flash drive)
  • la cámara – camera
  • el video – video
  • participantes – participants/attendees
  • Remember that like always, specific vocab may vary from country to country. For example: el computador in Chile, la computadora in Mexico, and el ordenador in Spain all mean “computer”. For at least two of those, it is easy for native English speakers to guess the translation hearing it for the first time. We do get a good break now and then. If you memorise these basic tech terms, Spanish phrases for Zoom, and English-Spanish cognates, you are going to be ready to handle a virtual meeting in Spanish.

    Ready to prep for your next Spanish language Zoom meeting? Sign up for a 7-day free trial with Lingoda’s native speaking Spanish teachers today. 

    Alison Maciejewski Cortez

    Alison Maciejewski Cortez is Chilean-American, born and raised in California. She studied abroad in Spain, has lived in multiple countries, and now calls Mexico home. She believes that learning how to order a beer in a new language reveals a lot about local culture. Alison speaks English, Spanish, and Thai fluently and studies Czech and Turkish. Her tech copywriting business takes her around the world and she is excited to share language tips as part of the Lingoda team. Follow her culinary and cultural experiences on X.

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