Traveling to Costa Rica
Survival phrases, ordering at a soda, buses and directions, and the slang you will hear in your first hour. Add it to your phone before you fly: once it has been opened, it works with no signal, on the bus to Monteverde too.
Tico Talk Learn Costa Rican Spanish
Yours
Your notebook
My verbs
Say it out loud
Speaking quiz
Hear a sentence, say it, and get a score. Miss a sound and you’ll hear exactly what to fix; nail it and we celebrate.
Tip: anywhere in the app, press and hold a speaker icon or an underlined Spanish word to practice just that.
Sentences
Lines you’ll say every day: greetings, asking, ordering.
Your speaking progress shows up here after your first try: average score, words and sounds to work on. It’s saved with your notebook (and to your account when you’re signed in).
I’ll read each sentence, and say the word to fix if you miss one.
Your browser’s speech recognizer does the listening (Chrome and Edge send the audio to their speech service, Safari to Apple’s). This app never records or keeps your voice.
Practice with
Active recall
Quiz yourself
The answer is hidden. Type it, then see exactly where any mistake is.
Tenses
Question style
Type or paste any Spanish word or sentence and hear it pronounced. You can also select text anywhere on the page to hear it, or press and hold any speaker icon or underlined Spanish word to record yourself saying it and get a score.
Use this fixed set of sentences to X-ray a language fast. Each one exposes a different mechanic — verb conjugation, object pronouns, gender, and how auxiliary verbs behave. Read the right column to see what each sentence teaches.
The apple is red.
La manzana es roja.
Adjectives agree in gender (roja, not rojo). Nouns carry a gender + article. ser marks a permanent trait.
It is John's apple.
Es la manzana de Juan.
No genitive case and no apostrophe — possession is just de (“of”).
I give John the apple.
Le doy la manzana a Juan.
Indirect object le is doubled with a Juan. Verb ending -oy marks “I.”
We give him the apple.
Le damos la manzana.
The ending changes for person: damos = “we give.” Subject pronoun is optional.
He gives it to John.
Él se la da a Juan.
Two pronouns stack before the verb: se (to him) + la (it). le becomes se in front of la/lo.
She gives it to him.
Ella se la da a él.
Same clitic order regardless of subject. a él just clarifies who “se” is.
I must give it to him.
Debo dársela. / Se la debo dar.
Modal deber + infinitive. Pronouns either attach to the infinitive (dár-se-la) or move before the modal.
I want to give it to her.
Quiero dársela.
querer stem-changes e→ie (quiero). Clitics behave exactly like with must.
Then probe the tenses
I can't sleep.
No puedo dormir.
Negation: no before the verb. Modal poder + infinitive.
I have to go.
Tengo que ir.
Obligation via tener que + infinitive.
I'm going to read tomorrow.
Voy a leer mañana.
Near future: ir a + infinitive.
Did you go yesterday?
¿Fuiste ayer?
Past tense in one word. Questions open with ¿.
About Tico Talk
Learn the Spanish Costa Ricans actually speak
Textbook Spanish gets you through the airport. The rest of Costa Rica runs on pura vida, mae and diay, on usted with your best friend and vos with your neighbor. Tico Talk teaches that Spanish: every word and sentence has a Costa Rican voice, you can say any of it back and get a score, and what you learn stays in your own notebook.
Living in Costa Rica
Every verb with yo, vos and usted, phrasebooks for your work (construction, the finca, the clinic, the office and more), dichos to understand your neighbors, and speaking practice that tells you which sound to fix. Sign in for free to keep your notebook on every device.
Questions
What is Costa Rican Spanish?
It is the Spanish spoken in Costa Rica. The grammar is the same as anywhere else; what changes is the everyday feel: usted is used with almost everyone, friends often say vos instead of tú, words get a warm -tico ending (momentico, chiquitico), and there is a lot of local slang, like mae, tuanis, diay and pura vida.
What does pura vida mean?
Literally “pure life”. In practice it is hello, goodbye, thank you, you’re welcome, and “all good”, all in one. Ticos also use it to describe a relaxed, grateful way of living.
Do Costa Ricans use tú, vos or usted?
Mostly usted, even between friends, family and couples, so it never sounds cold. Among friends many people use vos (vos tenés, vos sabés). Tú is understood everywhere from TV and music, but it sounds a little foreign. Tico Talk teaches every verb with yo, vos, usted, nosotros and ustedes.
Do I need Spanish to travel in Costa Rica?
In hotels and tour areas many people speak English, but buses, sodas, pulperías, small towns and most of daily life happen in Spanish. A few dozen phrases and the local courtesy words (buenas, con gusto, pura vida) go a long way, and people really appreciate the effort.
Is Tico Talk free?
Yes. Everything works without an account. A free account keeps your notes, saved verbs and practice in sync across your phone and computer. Donations keep the project going.
Can I use it on my phone, and offline?
Yes. Tico Talk is a web app: open tico.talk in your phone’s browser and add it to your home screen (the Install app button on Android, or Share, then Add to Home Screen on iPhone). Once it has been opened with internet it works offline too, except the speaking scores and syncing.
How does the pronunciation score work?
Press and hold any Spanish word or sentence and say it. Your browser’s speech recognizer writes down what it heard, and Tico Talk compares it with the sentence sound by sound, gives a score from 0 to 100 and tells you exactly which sound to fix, like rolling the rr in perro. It works in Chrome, Edge and Safari.
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