How to Ask for an Audio Guide in Spanish (and Understand the Rental)
Learn to ask 'Do you have an audio guide in Spanish?', understand rental prices and deposits, and get the device at museums and sites across Latin America.
By SofiaGetting around · Yapr Learn
When you visit a museum or archaeological site in Latin America, an audio guide is often the easiest way to understand what you are seeing. The key question is short and useful: ¿Tienen audio guía en español? In this lesson you will learn that question, how to ask about the price and deposit, and how to understand the answers you get. This is different from joining a guided tour with a live person. Here you are asking for a device you carry yourself, so the vocabulary centers on renting, returning and languages.
By the end, you can…
- ask whether an audio guide is available in Spanish.
- understand and answer questions about rental price, deposit and return time.
Listen once. Try it slowly. Then say it without looking.
Checking available voices…
¿Tienen audio guía en español?
Do you have an audio guide in Spanish?
TYEH-nehn OW-dyoh GEE-ah ehn es-pah-NYOL
The most direct way to ask at a ticket desk or information counter. Tienen is the 'you all' form, standard in Latin America.
¿Cuánto cuesta la renta del audio guía?
How much does renting the audio guide cost?
KWAHN-toh KWEHS-tah lah REHN-tah del OW-dyoh GEE-ah
Use this to ask the price. Renta means 'rental' in most of Latin America; in Spain you will more often hear alquiler.
¿Necesito dejar un depósito?
Do I need to leave a deposit?
neh-seh-SEE-toh deh-HAR oon deh-POH-see-toh
Many places hold a deposit or an ID card until you return the device. Depósito is widely understood.
¿Hasta qué hora tengo que devolverlo?
By what time do I have to return it?
AHS-tah keh OH-rah TEHN-goh keh deh-bol-VEHR-loh
Devolverlo means 'to return it.' The pronoun -lo attaches to the infinitive and refers to the device.
¿Está incluido en la entrada?
Is it included in the admission ticket?
es-TAH een-kloo-EE-doh ehn lah ehn-TRAH-dah
Ask this before paying. Some museums include the audio guide in the ticket price; others charge separately.
Pronunciation guides are approximate. Slow playback keeps the original pitch.
Make it make sense
Useful pattern
To ask if something is available, use ¿Tienen...? plus the item: ¿Tienen audio guía en inglés? (Do you have an audio guide in English?) To ask the price, use ¿Cuánto cuesta...? plus a singular noun: ¿Cuánto cuesta la renta? To ask about a requirement, use ¿Necesito...? plus an infinitive: ¿Necesito dejar un depósito? These three frames cover most ticket-desk conversations.
When to use it
Use ¿Tienen audio guía en español? when you want the commentary in Spanish, perhaps to practice the language. If you need English instead, say en inglés. Use ¿Cuánto cuesta...? for the price and ¿Necesito dejar un depósito? when the staff asks for a card or cash. If you are not sure whether the guide is included, ask ¿Está incluido en la entrada? before you pay.
Listen to each line, then take one part and reply out loud.
Buenos días, ¿tienen audio guía en español?
Good morning, do you have an audio guide in Spanish?BWEH-nohs DEE-ahs, TYEH-nehn OW-dyoh GEE-ah ehn es-pah-NYOLSí, tenemos en español y en inglés. Cuesta cincuenta pesos.
Yes, we have it in Spanish and in English. It costs fifty pesos.see, teh-NEH-mohs ehn es-pah-NYOL ee ehn een-GLEHS. KWEHS-tah seen-KWEHN-tah PEH-sohs¿Necesito dejar un depósito?
Do I need to leave a deposit?neh-seh-SEE-toh deh-HAR oon deh-POH-see-tohSí, deje su identificación. Devuélvalo antes de las cinco.
Yes, leave your ID. Return it before five.see, DEH-heh soo ee-dehn-tee-fee-kah-SYOHN. deh-BWEHL-vah-loh AHN-tehs deh lahs SEEN-kohA little context goes a long way
In much of Latin America, renta is the normal word for a rental; in Spain, alquiler is more common, so you may hear both. At smaller sites, staff may keep a passport or ID card instead of a cash deposit, so carry identification. Politeness matters: opening with buenos días or buenas tardes before your question is expected and makes the exchange smoother.
One thing to watch for
Using ¿Tienes audio guía? with a staff member you do not know.
Try this instead: Tienes is the informal 'you' form, used with friends. With staff, use the polite form: ¿Tiene audio guía? (one person) or ¿Tienen audio guía? (more than one person). At a ticket desk, ¿Tienen audio guía en español? is the safest choice.
Your turn
Try answering out loud before checking a possible answer.
1How do you ask a ticket clerk whether they have an audio guide in Spanish?
Show a sample answer
¿Tienen audio guía en español?
This uses the plural/polite Tienen and names the language with en español. ¿Tiene audio guía en español? is also correct when speaking to one person.
2You want to know the rental price. What do you ask?
Show a sample answer
¿Cuánto cuesta la renta del audio guía?
Cuánto cuesta asks the price, and la renta names the rental. In Spain you could say el alquiler instead of la renta.
3The clerk says 'Deje su identificación.' What does that mean, and what should you do?
Show a sample answer
It means 'Leave your ID.' You hand over your identification card, which will be returned when you bring back the device.
Deje is a polite command form meaning 'leave.' Some places ask for ID instead of a cash deposit; both practices are common.
Memorize ¿Tienen audio guía en español? and ¿Cuánto cuesta la renta? so you can get the device, understand the price, and know what to leave as a deposit or ID.
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