You’re in a Spanish restaurant or bar when a server asks you, ¿En qué puedo servirte?
How should you respond? What are they asking?
Well, ¿En qué puedo servirte? means “how can I help you?”, but as is often the case when learning a new language, there’s much more that you need to know.
How to Say “How Can I Help You” in Spanish
As noted above, ¿En qué puedo servirte? means “how can I help you” in Spanish. But this is a formal singular form, which means it’s best reserved for business clients, teachers, and bosses, and it only works if you are addressing a single person.
The following expressions can also be used in this context:
- ¿En qué puedo servirle?
- ¿En qué le puedo ayudar?
- ¿Cómo puedo ayudarle?
- ¿En qué puedo ayudarle?
If you’re addressing someone that you know, you can use one of the following phrases. Both of these are singular (they address one person) and informal:
- ¿Cómo puedo ayudarte?
- ¿En qué te puedo ayudar?
If you want to address multiple people, such as when you’re working behind a hotel desk and a group approaches, you just need to make a few tweaks:
- ¿En qué les puedo ayudar?
- ¿En qué puedo servirles?
- ¿Cómo puedo ayudarles?
These phrases should cover you for most scenarios, but there are other phrases that you can use as well:
What’s the Easiest Way to Say, “How Can I Help?”
Many Spanish words and phrases can be shortened, as with English. We can do this with “how can I help you” by asking ¿puedo ayudarte?. Literally, it means something like, “I can help?”, which doesn’t really work in English. But the free translation is more like, “can I help?”
As with all Spanish phrases, this one is easy to pronounce:
pweh – doh ah – yoo – dahr – teh
Or, if we use the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA):
pwe-ðoa-ʝu-ðaɾ-te
What About “May I Help You”?
There is no distinction between “may I help you” and “can I help you” in Spanish. The translation for both of these terms is the same. You can say ser posible, which is like “be possible”, but it’s not common and you’re better off sticking with the equivalent of “can”.
In English, “may” sounds a little more formal and so it might be the preferred option in formal situations. In Spanish, you just need to use one of the informal expressions outlined above.
Example Phrases
To help you learn Spanish words like ayudar and atender, here are some examples of how you might see the question in use during actual everyday Spanish conversations:
- My name is Paul, how can I help you? = Mi nombre es Paul, ¿cómo puedo ayudarle?
- So, how can I help you? = Entonces, ¿en qué puedo ayudarle?
- You have reached Hotel Blue. How can we help you? = Ha llegado al Hotel Azul. como podemos ayudarte?
- How can I help you today, sir? = ¿Cómo puedo ayudarlo hoy, señor?
- If you want to know how I can help you, please call me today. = Si quieres saber cómo puedo ayudarte, por favor llámame hoy.
- Why can’t your father help you? = ¿Por qué tu padre no puede ayudarte?
- How can I help you if you won’t help yourself? = ¿Cómo puedo ayudarte si no te ayudas a ti mismo?
- How can I help you to learn the Spanish alphabet? = ¿Cómo puedo ayudarte a aprender el alfabeto español?
- How do you expect me to help you with that? = ¿Cómo esperas que te ayude con eso?
- Can’t you ask Maria to help you instead? = ¿No puedes pedirle a María que te ayude?
- Can you help me to learn longer Spanish phrases? = ¿Pueden ayudarme a aprender frases en español más largas?
Related Words
As in English, there are several ways that you can say words like “help” in Spanish. These basic Spanish words are easy to remember and we have included a pronunciation guide to help you out:
| Spanish Word | English Translation | Pronunciation |
| Ser Cómplice De | Abet | Ser cóm-pli-ce de |
| Ayudar | Aid/Assist | A-yu-dar |
| Beneficiar | Benefit | Be-ne-fi-ciar |
| Estimular | Boost | Es-ti-mu-lar |
| Contribuir a | Contribute to | Con-tri-bu-ir a |
| Facilitar | Ease | Fa-ci-li-tar |
| Facilitar | Facilitate | Fa-ci-li-tar |
| Echar una mano | Lend a helping hand | E-cahr u-na ma-no |
| Atender | Serve | A-ten-der |
| Defenderse | Stick up for | De-fen-der-se |
Summary: Using “Cómo Puedo Ayudarte” and Other Common Spanish Phrases
The phrase “how can I help you” is typically not one that early language learners cover, as you’re more likely to hear it than to actually use it. But if you’re going to be hearing it, you need to know how to recognize it.
So, the next time you walk into a Spanish hotel or a Mexican supermarket, now you know how to recognize this question and respond to it.
There are other key phrases and questions to learn, all of which can help you to get a grip on this language.
So, if a bartender asks you how much of a particular drink you need, learn how to ask for just a little or a little more. If they respond with a barrage of Spanish words that you don’t recognize and you immediately find yourself wishing you’d just spoken English (we’ve all been there), this phrase will help.
As always, you will find many other helpful hints here on 88Weeks, so check out our guides and reviews to see what’s available.
Etymology Check (Ayudar)
The Spanish word for “help” has a very interesting origin.
Ayudar comes from the Latin adiutare, which also means “to help”. The word is formed from ad and iuvenis.
- Ad means “toward”, as in the English word “advent”, which comes from the Latin word for “arrival” and literally means “to come”.
- Iuvenis means “young” or “youthful”, and lent itself to the English word “juvenile”, which is used to reference young people. Its roots are in a Proto-Indo-European word that meant “strength” and “youth”.
In this sense, the word is rooted in the belief that the young should help the old and the strong should help the weak. It sounds direct and specific to the modern ear, but when you think about it, when you help someone you’re just providing them with something they don’t have, whether it’s a skill, strength, knowledge, or just another hand/mouth/mind.