Basic Spanish is necessary for street signs in Puerto Rico
The different signs you need to know
Final word
Basic Spanish is necessary for street signs in Puerto Rico
Spanish is the primary language in Puerto Rico. Many people do speak English though. However, the street signs are all in Spanish. So, you will need some basic Spanish in order to be able to navigate around Puerto Rico while you are driving.
Thankfully, driving apps like Waze take a lot of the work out of having to read the signs on the highways in Puerto Rico. However, you cannot solely rely on that. Sometimes you might not have an internet or data connection and the app might not be working. On occasion you may not be able to access your phone while driving.
The point is that it is always good to be able to read and understand basic Spanish both on and off the road when you are in Puerto Rico.
The different signs you need to know
You can expect the same sorts of signs on the highways and streets of Puerto Rico as you would see in the United States. Signs that say “No Parking”, “Exit 25”, “Lanes merge” etc. The only difference will be that they are in Spanish rather than English.
With that in mind, it is easier to fundamentally understand basic words and phrases rather than each and every specific street sign. So, the following are common Spanish words and their English translations which will help you interpret the street signs of Puerto Rico with ease.
- autopista — highway / expressway
- calle — street
- carratera — road
- carril derecho — right lane
- carril izquierda — left lane
- cuidado — caution
- estacióne — parking
- este — east
- hacia — toward
- interseción — junction – can also frequently be see abbreviated as INT
- no estacióne — no parking – a large letter “E” with a slash through it also means “no parking”
- norte — north
- oeste — west
- pare — stop
- peaje — toll
- salida — exit
- solo — only
- sur — south
- transito — You will see this word accompanied by an arrow. This tells you whether traffic flow is one-way or both ways on a road.
ceda — yield
Final word
Understanding the streets signs in Puerto Rico is an absolute necessity if you are going to be driving while you are there. If you speak only English, you should really learn some basic Spanish so that you can read the signs on the streets and highways with ease. You will not always be able to use your phone on the fly for translation or directions.
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