How To Write Spanish Dialogue

How to Write Dialogues in Castilian for Maximum Clarity

Have yous e'er seen a Castilian dialogue and thought it looks a bit different from an English one?

If you oasis't seen one yet, let me testify you!

On my bookshelf, I accept 2 editions of One Hundred Years of Solitude (Cien años de soledad) by Gabriel García Márquez: one is in English and the other is a 2007 commemorative edition from the Purple Spanish Academy (Existent Academia Española).

Hither are ii lines of a dialogue betwixt José Aureliano Buendía and the gypsy:

Desconcertado, sabiendo que los niños esperaban una explicación inmediata, José Arcadio Buendía se atrevió a murmurar:
—Es el diamante más grande del mundo.
—No —corrigió el gitano—. Es hielo.

Disconcerted, knowing that the children were waiting for an immediate caption, José Arcadio Buendía ventured a murmur:
"It'southward the largest diamond in the world."
"No," the gypsy countered. "It'south ice."

Notice the glaring differences in punctuation?

Keep reading to learn why Spanish dialogues look different and how to write them in Spanish!

Angular Quotation Marks, Double Quotation Marks, or Long Dashes?

Every bit you can meet in the dialogue above, Spanish uses long dashes called rayas (—) every bit dialogue punctuation. Conversely, English uses double quotation marks.

Some Spanish writers use double quotation marks or angular quotation marks (« and »), just the Royal Castilian Academy (RAE) says information technology should be rayas.

In this article, I follow the official RAE recommendations by using rayas. Still, I also tell you what to watch for when using double or athwart quotation marks.

See also:

Spanish Alt Codes
The Spanish Keyboard: How to Type Anything in Spanish

How to Punctuate Dialogues in Spanish

To write dialogue in Spanish, yous need to practice a bit more than change the quotation marks into long dashes.

Here are a few more factors to accept into account!

i. Punctuation Goes Exterior Quotation Marks

Whereas in American English language, commas and periods go within the quotation marks, in Castilian, they always become outside.

No matter whether you use quotation marks (double or athwart) instead of long dashes, you must apply this dominion.

Spanish:

"No me gusta su gato", dijo Pedro.
«No me gusta su gato», dijo Pedro.

English:

"I don't like his true cat," Peter said.

Fun fact! Information technology's too the rule in British English language for punctuation to become exterior unmarried quotation marks.

2. Long Dashes Precede New Speakers

In Castilian dialogue, the long nuance precedes the intervention of each of the speakers, without having to mention their names.

—¿Cuándo te escribirás a un curso de español?
—No tengo ni thought.
—Apúrate, tienen una promoción en la escuela de la esquina.
—Gracias, voy a verlo esta tarde.

"When will you enroll in a Spanish course?"
"I have no thought."
"Hurry upward, they accept a promotion at the school around the corner."
"Thanks, I'm going to check information technology this afternoon."

Normally, in Castilian novels, what each character says appears on a new line, merely like in English.

No space goes between the long dash and the graphic symbol's words and the endmost of what the grapheme says ends with punctuation, not with another long dash.

three. Long Dashes Introduce the Narrator'due south Comments

Narrative texts also apply long dashes to introduce or frame the narrator'southward comments.

—Tengo hambre —dijo Pedro.
—Tengo hambre —dijo Pedro—. Voy a prepararme algo.

"I'g hungry," Peter said.
"I'm hungry," said Pedro. "I'm going to prepare something."

You use the long dash to introduce the grapheme's words at the beginning of the line. Afterwards, y'all apply it simply to innovate or frame what the narrator says, such equally:

—dijo Pedro—

It's non necessary to add the long dash again to introduce additional grapheme dialogue.

Now, we need to consider 2 situations when alluding to the narrator'due south comments. They may use "speaking verbs" to credit the spoken communication to the graphic symbol who said it or it may refer to something completely different (as you'll run into).

Punctuation With Speaking Verbs

When the narrator indicates that a character is speaking, they use so-chosen "speaking verbs," such equally: dijo (said) , respondió (answered), and preguntó (asked).

Some formatting standards to proceed in mind include:

Leaving a space between what the graphic symbol says and the long dash that introduces the narrator's comment.
Non leaving a infinite between the long dash and the narrator'southward comment

—Tengo hambre —dijo Pedro.
"I'thou hungry," said Pedro.

The narrator's comment begins in lowercase:

—dijo Pedro.

The punctuation mark corresponding to the grapheme's phrase is closed afterward the narrator's clarification, whether it's a comma, period or semicolon.

—Tengo hambre —dijo Pedro.
—Tengo hambre —dijo Pedro—. Voy a prepararme algo.
—Tengo hambre —dijo Pedro—, y tengo sed.
—Tengo hambre —dijo Pedro—; y tengo sed.

If the punctuation mark that y'all want to put after the narrator'southward entry is a colon, write information technology after the closing long dash:

—Ayer salí a correr —y añadió: Ahí conocí a alguien.
"I went out for a run yesterday," and added, "I met someone in that location."

If the punctuation marker that corresponds to the character's phrase is a question mark, exclamation mark, or ellipsis (…), they should always close before the narrator's intervention

—¿Tienes hambre? —preguntó María.
—¡No comas esto! —gritó Juan—. ¡Es veneno!

Discover how the narrator's intervention starts in lowercase even though there is a punctuation marker before that would require an upper-case letter letter of the alphabet.

Make sure you don't make the mistake of capitalizing the speaking verb:

—¿Tienes hambre? —Preguntó María. (wrong)

If the dialogue continues, information technology closes with a long dash after the narrator'southward intervention.

—Tengo hambre —dijo Pedro—. Voy a prepararme algo.

Mutual Speaking Verbs in Spanish Dialogue

Hither is a list of the nearly common speaking verbs in the third-person past tense:

English	Castilian
accepted	aceptó
advised	aconsejó
admitted	admitió
affirmed	afirmó
asked	preguntó
begged	rogó
commented	comentó
ended	concluyó
joked	bromeó
lied	mintió
promised	prometió
repeated	repitió
responded	respondió
said	dijo
shouted	gritó
suggested	sugirió
threatened	amenazó
whispered	susurró

Y'all can use these verbs to vary your narrator'southward comments in a Spanish dialogue, simply call up that the narrator'south comments should be transparent. Using overly sophisticated speaking verbs may trip upwards the reader.

Punctuation Without Speaking Verbs

When you introduce the narrator's comment that includes "non-speaking verbs," there are a few more than rules to call back:

The graphic symbol'south words must be closed with a period and the narrator's phrase must begin with a capital alphabetic character.

—No te preocupes. —Cerró la puerta y salió corriendo.
"Don't worry." He airtight the door and ran out.

If the grapheme's speech communication continues after the narrator'southward comment, write the catamenia that marks the finish of the narrator's comment after the closing long dash.

—No te preocupes. —Cerró la puerta y salió corriendo—. Volveré pronto.
"Don't worry." He airtight the door and ran out. "I'll come back shortly."

Punctuation for Thoughts

What do yous do when your character thinks rather than says the words aloud? Apply angular quotation marks instead of long dashes.

«Tengo hambre», pensó Pedro.
"I'one thousand hungry," Pedro thought.

—Puedes hacerlo —le dije y pensé «pero te costará mucho trabajo».
"Y'all can exercise it," I told him and thought, "only information technology volition cost you lots of work."

Exercise Your Castilian before Writing a Spanish Dialogue

Now you know how to write dialogue in Spanish between two friends or characters. Congratulate yourself on taking yet another stride towards fluency in Spanish!

While traveling to a Spanish-speaking country is plenty motivation for most Spanish learners, if writing is your thing, other possibilities await you.

Just imagine, 1 twenty-four hour period you lot could become a bilingual author!

Yeah, there are some bilingual writers who write books in their second or even third language. Sometimes they are able to publish books in all the languages they know. Isn't information technology amazing?

Our 1-on-1 classes at Homeschool Spanish Academy volition help you improve your language skills faster than if you lot were studying alone. To see if it works for you, sign up for a free class with one of our astonishing, Spanish-speaking teachers from Guatemala. Show them your Spanish dialogues and scripts to practice them with a professional!

Gear up to learn more Spanish grammar? Cheque these out!

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Freelance Writer at Homeschool Castilian University

I'grand a Spanish philologist, teacher, and freelance writer with a Master's degree in Humanities from Madrid. I speak Smoothen, Spanish, and English fluently, and want to get better in Portuguese and German language. A lover of literature, and Mexican spicy cuisine, I've lived in Poland, Spain, and United mexican states and I'thou currently living and didactics in Madeira, Portugal.