How to ask someone to repeat in Spanish: four useful requests
“¿Puede repetirlo, por favor?” means “Can you repeat that, please?” Use it when you missed what someone said. If you need slower speech, an explanation or confirmation of a detail, make that request explicit.
Choose the request that matches the problem
Before choosing a phrase, identify the missing piece. Did a noise cover the words? Did you hear them but lose track of the pace? Is one word unfamiliar? Or do you have an interpretation that needs checking?
- Hear it again: “¿Puede repetirlo, por favor?” — “Can you repeat that, please?”
- Slow down: “¿Puede hablar más despacio, por favor?” — “Can you speak more slowly, please?”
- Explain a word: “¿Qué significa «agotadas»?” — “What does «agotadas» mean?”
- Check a detail: “¿A las seis?” — “At six?”
1. You missed the words: ask for repetition
A door closes just as someone gives you the room number. You need the information again; you have no reason yet to ask for a new explanation.
Receptionist: “La clase es en la sala doce.” — “The class is in room twelve.”
You: “Perdón, ¿puede repetirlo, por favor?” — “Sorry, can you repeat that, please?”
Receptionist: “En la sala doce.” — “In room twelve.”
Repetir asks for something to be said again. It does not specifically ask for a slower pace. If you caught most of the sentence, narrow the request: “¿Puede repetir el número, por favor?” — “Can you repeat the number, please?”
2. You cannot follow the pace: ask for slower speech
Someone explains where to meet, but the words arrive too quickly for you to follow. Specify the change you need.
You: “¿Puede hablar más despacio, por favor?” — “Can you speak more slowly, please?”
Speaker: “Sí. La entrada está al lado del café.” — “Yes. The entrance is next to the café.”
The full sentence is written normally here; imagine the reply delivered more slowly. Despacio concerns speed, so this request does not mean “speak louder”. To request both repetition and a slower pace, combine them: “¿Puede repetirlo más despacio, por favor?”
3. You heard the word: ask what it means
At a ticket counter, you hear every word clearly. The unfamiliar word is agotadas. Hearing the same word again will not supply its meaning.
Staff member: “Las entradas están agotadas.” — “The tickets are sold out.”
You: “¿Qué significa «agotadas»?” — “What does «agotadas» mean?”
Staff member: “Que no quedan entradas.” — “That there are no tickets left.”
Replace agotadas with the actual word you want explained. You can add aquí, “here”, if you need its meaning in this particular sentence: “¿Qué significa esa palabra aquí?” — “What does that word mean here?”
4. You think you understood: check the detail
You think the activity starts at six. Repeat that detail as a question and leave room for a correction.
Speaker: “La actividad empieza a las seis.” — “The activity starts at six.”
You: “¿A las seis?” — “At six?”
Speaker: “Sí, a las seis.” — “Yes, at six.”
If the answer is “No, a las siete” — “No, at seven” — update your understanding. A confirmation question tests your interpretation; it does not turn a guess into a fact. For a written name or address, another useful request is “¿Puede escribirlo, por favor?” — “Can you write it down, please?”
Puede or puedes?
Puede is the verb form used with usted; puedes goes with tú. Usted commonly marks formal or more distant address. With someone you address as tú, say “¿Puedes repetirlo, por favor?” or “¿Puedes hablar más despacio, por favor?”
These examples address one person. Local habits and relationships affect the choice of address; this short guide does not cover every regional form. Adding por favor means “please”, but does not change a tú verb into an usted form.
Choose the request for this situation
Read the situation, choose the phrase that specifically asks for the missing meaning, then check the answer notes below.
Answers and explanations
- ¿Puede hablar más despacio, por favor?: This asks for slower speech. In this situation you heard the words clearly; the missing information is the meaning of agotadas.
- ¿Qué significa «agotadas»?: Yes. This names the unfamiliar word and asks for its meaning. In this example the tickets are sold out.
- ¿Puede repetir el número, por favor?: This asks to hear a number again. The sentence contains no number, and your question concerns a word’s meaning.
Practise one exchange aloud
Cover the English translations. Choose a situation above, say your request, then read the other person’s reply. Check whether that reply gives you the information you were missing. These are original practice dialogues, not recordings of real conversations.
Next, change one detail: room twelve to room eight, or six o’clock to seven. Practise the follow-up as well as the request. If repetition still leaves a word unclear, switch to asking what that word means. The aim of this exercise is to make your next question specific; it is not a listening or pronunciation test.