📅 Let’s Get Together: Spanish Phrases for Making Plans with Friends


Making plans is a dynamic, essential skill in conversational fluency. It involves proposing an activity, agreeing on a time, confirming the location, and often negotiating details. When speaking Spanish, mastering the idioms and appropriate verb tenses for scheduling events is key to successful social interactions.

Whether you're organizing a casual dinner, suggesting a weekend trip, or simply confirming a meet-up, knowing the right Spanish phrases for making plans ensures you sound relaxed, engaging, and in control of the schedule.

This guide provides the core vocabulary and grammatical structures you need to propose, confirm, and negotiate plans like a native speaker, significantly boosting your linguistic proficiency and social confidence.

I. Proposing the Activity: Suggesting What to Do

The first step is always suggesting an activity. Spanish offers several excellent structures for proposing an idea.

1. Simple Suggestions (Querer and Poder)

These are straightforward and perfect for casual settings.

Spanish PhraseLiteral MeaningEnglish Equivalent & Context
¿Quieres + [Inf.]?Do you want to + [Inf.]?Do you want to...? The simplest way to ask what someone wants to do. (¿Quieres ir al cine?)
¿Podemos ir a...?Can we go to...?Can we go to...? Asks about possibility/availability. (¿Podemos ir a ese nuevo café?)
¿Qué te parece si + [Present]?What does it seem to you if...?How about if we...? A common, slightly softer way to introduce an idea. (¿Qué te parece si vamos mañana?)

2. Suggesting with Y si and Qué tal

These idiomatic phrases are used constantly by native speakers to offer alternative or immediate ideas.

  • ¿Y si vamos a...? (And if we go to...?)

    • How about going to...? Used to pivot to a specific activity or location.

  • ¿Qué tal si...? (What such if...?)

    • How about if...? Highly versatile for suggesting an idea. (¿Qué tal si cenamos en mi casa?)

  • Propongo que... (+ Subjunctive) (I propose that...)

    • I propose that we... More formal, suitable for group settings or more serious events. (Propongo que organicemos la fiesta.)

II. Setting the Time and Place: Asking About Availability

Once the activity is set, the next challenge is nailing down the details. Using specific temporal phrases is key to efficient planning.

3. Checking Availability (Estar and Tener)

Spanish PhraseLiteral MeaningEnglish Equivalent & Context
¿Estás libre (el sábado)?Are you free (on Saturday)?Are you free (on Saturday)? The most direct way to check time availability.
¿Tienes planes?Do you have plans?Do you have plans? A general question before proposing an activity.
¿A qué hora nos vemos?At what hour do we see each other?What time are we meeting? Used to nail down the precise time.
¿Dónde quedamos?Where do we remain/stay?Where should we meet up? Quedar is the essential verb for agreeing to meet.
¿Te viene bien...? (Spain) / ¿Te queda bien...? (LatAm)Does it come well to you? / Does it remain well for you?Does... work for you? / Is... convenient for you? Used to check if a specific time/place is suitable.

4. Negotiating and Confirming the Time

  • ¿Prefieres (el lunes o el martes)? (Do you prefer (Monday or Tuesday)?)

  • ¿O más tarde? (Or later?)

  • A ver, ¿qué día te va mejor? (Let's see, what day goes better for you?)

    • Context: Used when the other person is difficult to schedule, asking for their ideal time.

III. Confirmation and Follow-Up: Locking Down the Plan

Once all details are agreed upon, using clear confirmation phrases prevents miscommunication and ensures everyone is on the same page.

5. Confirming the Plan (Quedar and Ver)

  • ¡Sí, quedamos! (Yes, we meet!)

    • Yes, it's a plan! A quick, emphatic way to confirm the arrangement.

  • Entonces, nos vemos el [Día] a las [Hora]. (Then, we see each other on [Day] at [Time].)

    • So, we're meeting on [Day] at [Time]. Used to summarize and finalize the details.

  • ¡Perfecto, te aviso! (Perfect, I'll let you know!)

    • Perfect, I'll let you know! Used when confirming and promising a follow-up text or call.

  • Que no se te olvide. (That it not be forgotten.)

    • Don't forget! A lighthearted reminder. Requires the subjunctive (olvide).

6. Last-Minute Changes or Cancellations

  • ¿Seguimos en pie? (Are we still on our feet?)

    • Are we still on? Used to confirm the plan shortly beforehand.

  • Lo siento, tengo que cancelar. (I'm sorry, I have to cancel.)

  • ¿Podemos posponerlo? (Can we postpone it?)

🔑 Your Fluent Planning Toolkit

Mastering the verb quedar (to remain, to meet up, to agree) is essential for efficient social planning. Its versatility is key to conversational fluency:

  • ¿Quedamos mañana? (Shall we meet tomorrow?)

  • Quedamos en el parque. (We agreed on the park.)

  • Quedamos a las siete. (We agreed on seven o'clock.)

By integrating these phrases and structures, you’ll find that proposing, negotiating, and confirming plans in Spanish becomes seamless and natural, significantly enhancing your social interactions.

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