How to Ask About Public Transport Near an Apartment in Spanish
Learn to ask 'Is there a metro station nearby?' in Latin American Spanish, understand distance words, and talk about buses and stops near a place to live.
By SofiaGetting around · Yapr Learn
When you rent or visit an apartment in a Spanish-speaking city, one of the first practical questions is whether public transport is close. In this lesson you will learn a simple question pattern using hay ('there is / there are'), the word cerca ('near'), and vocabulary for metro, bus, and stops. You will also learn how to ask and answer how far away something is, so you can judge whether an apartment's location really works for you.
By the end, you can…
- ask whether there is a metro station or bus stop near an apartment.
- ask and understand how far away a station or stop is.
- name common public transport in Latin American Spanish.
Listen once. Try it slowly. Then say it without looking.
Checking available voices…
¿Hay una estación de metro cerca?
Is there a metro station nearby?
¿ai u-na es-ta-SION de ME-tro SER-ka?
The basic question for this lesson. Hay works for one or many things and does not change form.
¿Hay una parada de autobús cerca del apartamento?
Is there a bus stop near the apartment?
¿ai u-na pa-RA-da de au-to-BUS SER-ka del a-par-ta-MEN-to?
Use parada for a bus stop. Cerca del means 'near the' with a masculine noun like apartamento.
¿Está lejos o cerca?
Is it far or near?
¿es-TA LE-hos o SER-ka?
A quick two-option question. The answer can be just 'Está cerca' or 'Está lejos.'
Está a diez minutos caminando.
It's a ten-minute walk.
es-TA a dies mi-NU-tos ka-mi-NAN-do
Use está a plus a time expression to say how far something is. Caminando means 'walking.'
¿Qué transporte público hay por aquí?
What public transport is there around here?
¿ke trans-POR-te PU-bli-ko ai por a-KI?
A general question to discover all the options: metro, bus, taxi, train.
Pronunciation guides are approximate. Slow playback keeps the original pitch.
Make it make sense
Useful pattern
The core pattern is ¿Hay + [transport] + cerca? Hay means 'there is' or 'there are' and stays the same for singular and plural: ¿Hay una estación de metro cerca? and ¿Hay estaciones de metro cerca? are both correct. To be more specific, add a place: ¿Hay una parada de autobús cerca del apartamento? or cerca de aquí ('near here'). To answer, say Sí, hay una... or No, no hay.
When to use it
Use these questions when you are viewing an apartment, arriving in a new neighborhood, or asking a landlord or neighbor. Cerca means 'near' and lejos means 'far.' For distance, use está a plus time: Está a cinco minutos. Add caminando for walking or en metro for by metro: Está a cinco minutos en metro. In much of Latin America, el metro is common, but some cities say el subte (Buenos Aires) or el tren ligero for light rail.
Listen to each line, then take one part and reply out loud.
Disculpe, ¿hay una estación de metro cerca del apartamento?
Excuse me, is there a metro station near the apartment?dis-KUL-pe, ¿ai u-na es-ta-SION de ME-tro SER-ka del a-par-ta-MEN-to?Sí, hay una estación a cinco minutos caminando.
Yes, there's a station five minutes away on foot.si, ai u-na es-ta-SION a SIN-ko mi-NU-tos ka-mi-NAN-do¿Y hay parada de autobús cerca?
And is there a bus stop nearby?¿i ai pa-RA-da de au-to-BUS SER-ka?Sí, está a dos cuadras, muy cerca.
Yes, it's two blocks away, very close.si, es-TA a dos KUA-dras, mui SER-kaA little context goes a long way
In Latin American cities, 'cuadras' (blocks) are often used for short distances instead of minutes: Está a tres cuadras. In Spain, people more often say 'está a cinco minutos andando' rather than caminando. Politeness matters: start with Disculpe or Perdón when asking a stranger, and use usted forms like ¿Me puede decir...? with older people or in formal situations.
One thing to watch for
¿Está una estación de metro cerca?
Try this instead: Use hay for existence, not está. Say ¿Hay una estación de metro cerca? Use está for location of a known thing: ¿Dónde está la estación? ('Where is the station?').
Your turn
Try answering out loud before checking a possible answer.
1How do you ask 'Is there a bus stop nearby?'
Show a sample answer
¿Hay una parada de autobús cerca?
Hay expresses existence, parada de autobús means bus stop, and cerca means nearby. You could also say cerca de aquí for 'near here.'
2Someone says 'Está a diez minutos caminando.' What does it mean?
Show a sample answer
It's a ten-minute walk.
Está a plus a time tells distance, and caminando means on foot. If they said en metro, it would mean ten minutes by metro.
3How would you answer 'no, there isn't' to ¿Hay una estación cerca?
Show a sample answer
No, no hay.
The negative answer repeats no before hay: No, no hay. You can add más context, such as No, no hay, pero hay una parada de autobús cerca.
Use ¿Hay ... cerca? to ask if transport exists nearby, and está a ... minutos or cuadras to understand how far it is.
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