consalsa.app
Back to situations

getting around

directions Spanish when Google Maps betrays you

The map says one thing, the street says another, and a stranger can fix your day if you ask cleanly.

Use This First

  • Memorize ¿por dónde queda?, ¿sigo derecho?, ¿está cerca?, and me perdí.
  • Use disculpe before asking strangers for directions.
  • Por aquí está bien also works for taxis and ride-app drop-offs.

Queda is the verb nobody teaches you

Textbooks give you ¿dónde está? and it works. But listen to how people in Mexico City actually ask and you will hear queda constantly: ¿por dónde queda el metro?, ¿queda lejos? Quedar is doing a job that estar cannot quite do. It asks roughly where something sits in relation to here, which is what you actually want to know when you are lost.

The answers come back in a shape worth expecting. Derecho means straight ahead, not right - that is derecha, and the two are one letter apart in the one moment you cannot afford to confuse them. Distance usually arrives as blocks, dos cuadras, or as time, como diez minutos caminando. Rarely as metres.

Opening with disculpe rather than perdón is the small thing that makes the exchange go well. Perdón is for apologising; disculpe is for interrupting a stranger. And admitting it plainly with me perdí un poco tends to get you a better answer than pretending you nearly have it, because people will walk you to the corner rather than gesture.

People crossing a street in central Mexico City
Photo by Kaden Taylor on Unsplash
A narrow Mexico City sidewalk lined with shops
Photo by Jimmy Woo on Unsplash

Memorize these first

ask a stranger

  • Disculpe, ¿por dónde queda el metro? Excuse me, where is the metro? asking directions safe
  • ¿Está cerca? Is it close? distance check safe
  • ¿Sigo derecho? Do I keep going straight? route check safe
  • Me perdí un poco. I got a little lost. soft confession safe

understand the answer

  • A la derecha. To the right. direction safe
  • A la izquierda. To the left. direction safe
  • Cruza la calle. Cross the street. direction safe
  • Por aquí está bien. Here is fine. drop-off safe

One-screen cheat sheet

🧭
directions cheat sheet Screenshot this before you go.
Spanish English Use case Safety
Disculpe, ¿por dónde queda el metro? Excuse me, where is the metro? asking directions safe
¿Está cerca? Is it close? distance check safe
¿Sigo derecho? Do I keep going straight? route check safe
Me perdí un poco. I got a little lost. soft confession safe
A la derecha. To the right. direction safe
A la izquierda. To the left. direction safe
Cruza la calle. Cross the street. direction safe
Por aquí está bien. Here is fine. drop-off safe

the gringo trap

Do not say this by default

don't say this

Do not ask ¿dónde es? when you mean where is it located.

say this

Use ¿dónde está? or ¿por dónde queda?

Queda is one of the most useful location verbs in Mexican street directions.

safe / local / spicy

Pick your register

safe

Disculpe, ¿dónde está el metro?

local

Disculpe, ¿por dónde queda el metro?

spicy

Ando perdido, ¿sí voy bien para el metro?

The spicy version is friendly and human, but a little more vulnerable.

How it sounds

lost near the metro

Disculpe, ¿por dónde queda el metro? Excuse me, where is the metro?
Siga derecho y a la izquierda. Go straight and to the left.
¿Está cerca? Is it close?
Sí, como a dos cuadras. Yes, about two blocks away.

checking the route

¿Sigo derecho para Reforma? Do I keep going straight for Reforma?
Sí, va bien. Yes, you are going the right way.
Gracias. Thanks.
De nada. No problem.

Practice cards

three fast taps before you try it outside.

You want to ask where the metro is.

You need the safest version for directions. What do you pick first?

Which move avoids the gringo trap?

Words you'll hear

sale - two friends at a cafe table agreeing on something with a thumbs up
¿mande? - a young man stopping on the sidewalk to take a call, hand in pocket
¡aguas! - a woman throwing an arm across a friend to stop her walking into a wet floor
ahorita - a man on the sofa with the remote waving off the chore list his wife is pointing at
¡aguanta! - a woman running after a departing microbus with her arm out
al tiro - a delivery rider outside a shop pulling his helmet on while checking his phone
aventón - a woman leaning into a car window before getting in for a lift
broder - two friends high-fiving over a skateboard on a Condesa corner
cabrón - two friends shoving each other around laughing outside an Oxxo
cálmate - a woman with her head in her hands at a table while a friend puts a hand on her arm
cámara - a young man giving a thumbs up to a driver through a car window
¡chale! - a young man on the sidewalk with a hand on his head watching a car pull away

Deep dives

Getting around Mexican Spanish for Directions When Google Maps Betrays You
Learn practical Mexican Spanish for asking directions: por dónde, derecho, hasta, esquina, enfrente, cruzando, queda, and landmarks. Jun 1, 2026
Everyday phrases Por Aquí Está Bien: Mexican Spanish for Taxis and Ride Drop-Offs
Learn Mexican Spanish for taxi and Uber drop-offs: por aquí está bien, en la esquina, tantito antes, del otro lado, and me bajo aquí. May 30, 2026
Living in CDMX How to Ask for Help in Mexico Without Sounding Like a Police Report
Learn warm, practical Mexican Spanish for asking strangers for help: oye, disculpa, me ayudas, me orientas, de casualidad, and more. Jun 1, 2026

FAQ

How do you ask for directions in Mexican Spanish?

Disculpe, ¿por dónde queda...? Disculpe opens the interruption politely and queda is the verb locals reach for. ¿Dónde está...? also works and sounds slightly more textbook.

What is the difference between derecho and derecha?

Derecho means straight ahead. Derecha means right. They are one letter apart and confusing them is the most common direction mistake learners make.

How are distances described in Mexico City?

Usually in blocks - dos cuadras - or in walking minutes. Addresses often come with cross streets attached, because that is how people locate things in conversation.

Related situations

Keep the same vocabulary moving through nearby CDMX moments.

Metro / MetrobúsTransit Spanish is short, physical, and polite enough: permiso, baja, sube, transbordo, and aguas.Uber / DiDiMost ride-app Spanish is not fancy. It is estoy afuera, por aquí está bien, and explaining which impossible corner you are on.ChapultepecChapultepec Spanish is directions, family crowds, snack vendors, museum lines, and one nice way to ask where the exit is.XochimilcoXochimilco Spanish is bargaining-adjacent, group logistics, boat names, speakers, snacks, and knowing what is included.