Reviewed by Bolivians
The Bolivia situations are reviewed by a Bolivian language expert. The Mi español lessons have been reviewed by a Bolivian teacher.
For people moving to, studying in or travelling through Bolivia, from zero to B1
Learn Spanish. Live it in Bolivia.
Short lessons to speak from day one, then the real situations of life there: housing, papers, family, the market. City by city.
- No card needed
- 12 lessons without an account
- Reviewed by Bolivians
Lesson 11 of 3
Spanish greets by the time of day: día is day, tarde is afternoon, noche is night. It is nine in the morning and you walk into a small shop. Which greeting fits the hour?
Hint: Nine in the morning still belongs to the día.
- lessons of about 8 min, from zero to B1
- 80
- chapters of real situations
- 379
- field notes on life in Bolivia
- 2,019
- cities: Santa Cruz, La Paz, Cochabamba, and Sucre
- 4
Andrea, Alquiler Equipetrolen línea
Translation: Hello, good afternoon.
Translation: Hi! Good afternoon. How can I help you?
Translation: I saw the listing for the Equipetrol apartment and I'm interested.
Translation: Great. Just tell me what you'd like to know.
Translation: Is it still available?
Translation: Yes, it's still available. You can move in from July 15.
Tap a message to see its translation
A real chapter
Write a clear first WhatsApp message to a landlord in Santa Cruz.
This is chapter 2 of “Rent an Apartment in Santa Cruz”. You write every answer yourself, and each one is corrected.
Andrea's “Decime nomás” is pure Bolivia: nomás softens the phrase to a friendly “go ahead, just ask”. You will hear nomás attached to everything, pase nomás, dele nomás.
One of the 2,019 notes you unlock by answering right.
- This chapter is free with an account.
- The first situation of every goal stays free: chapter 1 without an account, chapter 2 with a free account.
How it works
From your first “hola” to your first lease.
Each lesson leads to a real situation. You learn, you practise on real messages, then you live it on the ground.
Step 1 · Learn
Mi español
The Spanish of Bolivia, explained in your language.
- 80 lessons of about 8 minutes
- 10 minutes of review a day, at most
- All the lessons free with an account
Step 2 · Practise
Real situations
A listing, a WhatsApp thread, a counter: you answer as you would there.
- 55 situations, 379 chapters
- Every answer corrected
- Key chapters in a La Paz, Cochabamba, and Sucre version
Step 3 · Live
Mi Bolivia
What nobody tells you before you arrive, kept in your own guide.
- 2,019 field notes
- A departure plan, week by week
- Notes of their own for each city
Your city
Santa Cruz is not La Paz.
Altitude, vos or tú, getting around, the market: what changes day to day depending on the city you arrive in. Key chapters exist in a La Paz, Cochabamba, and Sucre version.
Santa Cruz
≈ 416 m
Santa Cruz de la Sierra lies in the eastern lowlands, at about 416 m above sea level (Encyclopaedia Britannica figure): no altitude sickness here.
Vos is common (querés, decime). Writing to a landlord with usted and getting a reply in vos is normal; at the market, people keep usted with vendors.
Local words
- anillo one of the city's rings; 'tercer anillo'
- radial avenue running out from the centre across the rings
- curichi wetland, a Santa Cruz word
The course’s default city
See the cityCochabamba
≈ 2,570 m
Cochabamba sits at about 2,570 m in a valley: high, but much lower than La Paz.
Many caseras and neighbours use vos (querés, llevá); respectful usted with an older landlord ('don Hugo'). 'Nomás' softens almost everything: 'aquí nomás'.
Local words
- aquí nomás 'right here', to get off the trufi
- permiso to get through a tight space (trufi, market aisle)
- trufi / micro shared car or minivan on a fixed route / larger bus
7 chapters in a Cochabamba version
See the citySucre
≈ 2,790 m
Sucre sits at about 2,790 m in a valley: high, but much lower than La Paz.
Warm usted, 'pues' and diminutives (cafecito, ratito, despacito); plain tú between classmates. No Santa Cruz-style voseo here.
Local words
- caserita your regular vendor, said with affection
- ratito / cafecito everyday diminutives
- pues the soft particle of Sucre speech
7 chapters in a Sucre version
See the cityLa Paz
≈ 3,650 m
Central La Paz sits at about 3,650 m in a deep valley (the city spans roughly 3,250 to 4,100 m). El Alto and the airport, on the Altiplano above, are over 4,000 m.
Friendly tú softened by 'pues' and 'nomás', no voseo. Usted with an older landlady ('doña...'); at the market the casera often uses tú, and answering with usted is still normal.
Local words
- anticrético a large sum paid instead of rent, to be returned at the end
- calefón water heater, here gas-fired
- gas domiciliario piped gas, with a monthly bill
7 chapters in a La Paz version
See the cityYour goal
What brings you to Bolivia?
A goal is a series of situations, in the order you will live them, and each situation is a few short chapters with their field notes. Every goal starts free.
Relocate to Bolivia
“I’m moving my life to Bolivia.”Start free: Rent an Apartment in Santa CruzSee the pathOwn Property in Bolivia
“I want to own property here.”Start free: Define your property planSee the pathRelationships & Family Life in Bolivia
“My partner is Bolivian, and I want to hold my own with their family, in Spanish.”Start free: Meet the Family and In-LawsSee the pathTravel & Explore Bolivia
“I want to explore Bolivia on my own.”Start free: Plan a Trip in BoliviaStarts with a weekend from Santa Cruz to Samaipata.See the pathWork & Do Business in Bolivia
“I want to work and do business in Bolivia.”Start free: Explain Your Work or Business SituationSee the pathStudy in Bolivia
“I’m coming to study, at a university or a Spanish school.”Start free: Join a Spanish SchoolSet in Sucre.See the path
Some situations, like “At the pharmacy”, belong to more than one goal, so the goal totals overlap.
Why trust us
Made for Bolivia, not for everywhere.
A generic app teaches you the Spanish of Madrid or Mexico City. Here, every sentence was written for Bolivia and reviewed by Bolivians.
The Spanish Bolivians actually use
Vos with the landlord on WhatsApp, usted at the Migración counter. Every line was reviewed by a Bolivian language expert.
¿Querés coordinar una visita?
Real documents, real prices
You read an actual Santa Cruz listing, a residency requirements sheet, a WhatsApp thread, then write what you would really send.
Bs 2.800 mensual. Expensas incluidas.
No catch
No commitment: the monthly pass cancels anytime, the lifetime pass is paid once. Secure payment by Paddle, 14 days to change your mind on your first payment. Your data can be exported or deleted from your account at any time.
Pricing
Clear, no surprises.
The lessons are free. Every goal in Bolivia starts free; to go all the way, a pass, monthly or once for life.
Without an account
Free
To try it, right now
- Lessons 1 to 6 and the first 2 of every level, plus the placement test
- Chapter 1 of the first situation of every goal
Free account
Free
Your progress, on all your devices
- All of Mi español: the 80 lessons, the daily review, your words and your mistakes, plus Los Verbos (verbs in every tense), El Gimnasio (grammar practice) and El Barrio (everyday scenes in Bolivia)
- Chapter 2 of the first situation of every goal
To live there
Bolivia Pass
US$9.99 a month
or US$129 once, for life
- Everything in the free account
- Every situation of the 6 goals: 55 situations today, and every one added later
- Extra question sets (A fondo) on every chapter that has them
- No commitment
- 14 days to change your mind on your first payment
- Secure payment by Paddle
Is it free?
The lessons are free. Every goal in Bolivia starts free; to go all the way, a pass, monthly or once for life. Mi español lessons 1 to 6 and the first 2 of every level open without an account, and all 80 lessons, the daily review, your words, your mistakes, Los Verbos (verbs in every tense), El Gimnasio (grammar practice) and El Barrio (everyday scenes in Bolivia) are free with a free account. In Bolivia, the first situation of every goal starts free: chapter 1 without an account, chapter 2 with a free account. From chapter 3, a pass opens the rest, monthly with no commitment or once for life. 14 days to change your mind on your first payment.
What level do I need?
From complete beginner (A0) to comfortable (B1). You pick a level and every chapter adapts to it.
Which Spanish will I learn?
Bolivian Spanish, the Santa Cruz kind by default: vos with the landlord on WhatsApp, usted at the Migración counter, the way people actually write and speak there. Key chapters also exist in a La Paz, Cochabamba and Sucre version, with each city’s register: tú in La Paz and Sucre, vos again in Cochabamba.
Your first lesson is waiting
Start without an account. Keep everything with a free account.
7 minutes for your first words in Spanish. No card needed.
Start lesson 1 · 7 minutes · no account