The post office and parcels in Spanish: sending, tracking and collecting in Mexico, Spain, Colombia and Argentina
A parcel is a small errand with a lot of vocabulary attached. You need a verb for sending, a word for the receipt, a word for the tracking number, and the sentence you say to get a box handed over to you at a counter. Below: the post offices and couriers people use in each country, what to say at the window, the customs form, collecting a parcel with your ID, deliveries at home, and returning something you bought online. People in Mexico, Spain, Colombia and Argentina say a good deal of it differently.
Where people actually send things
Every country has a national post office, and in most of them the parcel you care about goes by private courier instead.
| Mexico | Spain | Colombia | Argentina | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The national post | Correos de México | Correos | 4-72, the state postal operator | Correo Argentino |
| What people say | el correo | Correos or la oficina de Correos | el correo or the courier by name | el correo |
| Couriers in daily use | Estafeta, DHL, FedEx | SEUR, MRW, Correos Express, GLS | Servientrega, Interrapidísimo, Coordinadora | OCA, Andreani |
| The generic word for a courier firm | la paquetería | la empresa de mensajería | la transportadora | el correo privado |
In Spain, Correos does most of the ordinary parcel traffic and everyone has an opinion about it. In Colombia and Mexico the private companies carry the bulk of it, and locals will name the company rather than say “post”. If a Colombian asks ¿por cuál transportadora lo mando?, they are asking which courier to send it with.
The counter, line by line
| You want to say | Spanish | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| I want to send a parcel to… | Quiero enviar un paquete a… | Works everywhere. Mandar is the everyday alternative to enviar |
| I want to send a letter | Quiero enviar una carta. | |
| To Spain, to Mexico | A España, a México. | |
| How long does it take? | ¿Cuánto tarda? | Spain and Mexico. Colombia and Argentina also say ¿cuánto demora? |
| How much does it cost? | ¿Cuánto cuesta? or ¿Cuánto sale? (Argentina) | |
| What is the cheapest option? | ¿Cuál es la opción más barata? | |
| Registered | certificado | A letter with a signature on delivery |
| Express | urgente (Spain), express or exprés | |
| Standard | ordinario | The slow, cheap class |
| Sender | el remitente | The word on the form and on the box |
| Addressee | el destinatario | |
| Postcode | el código postal | el CP written short. Argentina’s postcodes start with a letter |
| Fragile | frágil | Say it and point. Es frágil, por favor. |
| Insured, declared value | el valor declarado | |
| Stamps | sellos (Spain), estampillas (Mexico, Colombia, Argentina), timbres (Mexico) | |
| An envelope | un sobre | |
| A padded envelope | un sobre acolchado | |
| A box | una caja | |
| Do you sell boxes? | ¿Venden cajas? | |
| Can I pack it here? | ¿Puedo empacarlo aquí? (Mexico, Colombia), ¿Puedo embalarlo aquí? (Spain, Argentina) | |
| Postbox | el buzón | Everywhere |
Two verbs to keep straight. Enviar and mandar both mean to send and nobody will blink at either. Despachar is what the counter clerk does with it, and in Argentina you will hear despachar un paquete for handing one in.
The word for a parcel
| Mexico | Spain | Colombia | Argentina |
|---|---|---|---|
| un paquete | un paquete | un paquete or una encomienda | un paquete or una encomienda |
| un envío for the shipment as a whole | un envío | un envío | un envío |
Encomienda is worth knowing. In Colombia and Argentina it is a parcel sent between towns, often by bus company rather than post, and it is completely normal to put a box on a long-distance coach and have someone collect it at the terminal the same day. In Spain the word is not used that way at all.
Customs, for anything crossing a border
For anything leaving the country there is a small green form, in Spanish la declaración de aduana. On it you write what is inside and what it is worth. An under-declared value is a common reason for a box to sit in a warehouse for weeks.
| You want to say | Spanish | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Customs | la aduana | |
| Customs form | la declaración de aduana | |
| What is inside? | ¿Qué contiene? or ¿Cuál es el contenido? | The clerk will ask this |
| Contents | el contenido | |
| A gift | un regalo | Write regalo on the form if it is one |
| Documents | documentos | |
| Personal effects | efectos personales | Standard wording on the form |
| Samples, no commercial value | muestras sin valor comercial | |
| Value | el valor | |
| Weight | el peso | |
| Duty, tax | el arancel, los impuestos | |
| Who pays the duty? | ¿Quién paga los impuestos? | |
| It is stuck in customs | Está retenido en la aduana. | The sentence you will need one day |
In Mexico, Colombia and Argentina, an inbound parcel above a value threshold gets held and taxed, and the thresholds change, so ask the courier rather than trust a forum. To get an answer, ask ¿Cuánto tendría que pagar de impuestos por esto?
Tracking
| You want to say | Mexico | Spain | Colombia | Argentina |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tracking number | el número de guía or el número de rastreo | el número de seguimiento | el número de guía | el número de seguimiento |
| To track | rastrear | hacer el seguimiento | rastrear | hacer el seguimiento |
| Where is my parcel? | ¿Dónde está mi paquete? | ¿Dónde está mi paquete? | ¿Dónde está mi envío? | ¿Dónde está mi paquete? |
| The receipt | el comprobante or el ticket | el resguardo | el comprobante | el comprobante |
La guía in Mexico and Colombia is both the waybill stuck to the box and the number printed on it. Keep it. Without the guía number nobody on a phone line can help you.
What you will see on the tracking page: en tránsito (in transit), en reparto (out for delivery, Spain), en ruta or en reparto (Latin America), entregado (delivered), en aduana (in customs), devuelto al remitente (returned to sender), intento de entrega fallido (failed delivery attempt).
Collecting a parcel
When nobody was home, a card gets left. To collect the parcel you need the card and your ID.
| You want to say | Spanish | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| I have come to collect a parcel | Vengo a recoger un paquete. (Mexico, Spain, Colombia), Vengo a retirar un paquete. (Argentina) | Argentina uses retirar for collecting anything |
| The delivery card | el aviso or el aviso de llegada | The slip in your letterbox |
| The notification | la notificación | The text message or email |
| It is under this name | Está a nombre de… | |
| Here is my ID | Aquí está mi identificación. | See the ID table below |
| Here is the tracking number | Este es el número de guía. | Mexico, Colombia. Spain and Argentina: el número de seguimiento |
| Can someone else collect it? | ¿Puede recogerlo otra persona? | Usually yes with a written authorisation |
| An authorisation | una autorización | |
| Until when can I collect it? | ¿Hasta cuándo lo puedo recoger? | Offices hold parcels for a set number of days, then return them |
| I lost the card | Perdí el aviso. | The tracking number is usually enough |
What counts as ID:
| Mexico | Spain | Colombia | Argentina |
|---|---|---|---|
| la credencial or el INE, the voter card everyone uses as ID; a passport works | el DNI, or el NIE for foreigners; a passport works | la cédula; la cédula de extranjería for foreigners | el DNI; a passport works |
The clerk’s line is the same everywhere in shape: ¿Me muestra una identificación? in Mexico and Colombia, ¿Me deja el DNI? in Spain, ¿Me das el DNI? in Argentina.
Deliveries at home
| You want to say | Spanish | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| The delivery person | el repartidor, la repartidora | el mensajero for a courier |
| The delivery note | el albarán (Spain), la guía or la remisión (Mexico), la guía (Colombia), el remito (Argentina) | The paper you sign |
| Sign here | Firme aquí. | What you will be told |
| Can you leave it with the neighbour? | ¿Puede dejarlo con el vecino? | |
| Can you leave it with the concierge? | ¿Puede dejarlo en la portería? | |
| The concierge, porter | el portero, el conserje (Spain), el portero (Mexico, Argentina), el portero or el celador (Colombia) | |
| Reception | la recepción or la portería | |
| Leave it at the door | Déjelo en la puerta. | |
| Nobody was home | No había nadie. | The tracking line reads domicilio cerrado |
| Ring the buzzer | Toque el timbre. | |
| Which flat? | ¿Qué piso? (Spain, Argentina), ¿Qué departamento? (Mexico, Argentina), ¿Qué apartamento? (Colombia) | |
| Cash on delivery | contra entrega (Colombia), contrarreembolso (Spain), pago contra entrega (Mexico) |
Two country notes worth having. In Colombia, contra entrega is everywhere: a large share of online orders are paid in cash to the courier at the door, and the person on the phone will ask ¿pago contra entrega o en línea? In Argentina and much of urban Colombia, the building’s portería takes everything, and the reasonable first place to look for a missing parcel is downstairs, not with the courier.
In Spain, parcels increasingly go to a shop or a locker rather than your door. The words are el punto de recogida, the collection point, and la taquilla or el buzón inteligente for a locker. In Mexico, the equivalent is a punto de entrega in a corner shop.
Returning an online order
| You want to say | Spanish | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| I want to return this | Quiero devolver esto. | |
| A return | una devolución | |
| A refund | un reembolso | Argentina also says el reintegro |
| It arrived damaged | Llegó dañado. or Llegó roto. | |
| It is the wrong size | No es la talla. (Mexico, Spain, Colombia), No es el talle. (Argentina) | For shoes, no es el número |
| They sent me the wrong thing | Me enviaron el artículo equivocado. | |
| The return label | la etiqueta de devolución | |
| How long do I have to return it? | ¿Cuánto tiempo tengo para devolverlo? | |
| Do I pay the return postage? | ¿El envío de vuelta lo pago yo? | |
| I want an exchange | Quiero un cambio. | |
| The order number | el número de pedido (Spain, Mexico, Colombia), el número de orden (Argentina, Mexico) | |
| The invoice | la factura | Keep it. Returns usually need it |
What you will hear
¿Qué contiene el paquete? What is in the parcel. Answer plainly: ropa, clothes, libros, books, documentos, un regalo.
¿Lo quiere certificado? Do you want it registered. In Argentina, ¿certificado o simple?
¿Con seguimiento? With tracking. Usually yes, and in most classes it is included.
Tiene que llenar esta forma. You have to fill in this form. In Spain it is rellenar este impreso; in Mexico and Colombia llenar este formato; in Argentina completar este formulario.
Póngale el remitente atrás. Put the sender’s address on the back.
Pase por la ventanilla tres. Go to window three. La ventanilla is the counter window, and el turno is your queue number, taken from el dispensador de turnos.
Le llega en tres a cinco días hábiles. It gets there in three to five working days. Días hábiles is the phrase to listen for: weekends and the country’s many public holidays do not count.
No hay sistema. The system is down. Said flatly in Mexico and Colombia, and it means come back later.
Ten sentences you can say tomorrow
- Buenos días, quiero enviar un paquete a Estados Unidos. Good morning, I want to send a parcel to the United States.
- ¿Cuánto tarda y cuánto cuesta? How long does it take and how much does it cost?
- Certificado, por favor. Es frágil. Registered, please. It is fragile.
- ¿Me da un sobre acolchado? Can I have a padded envelope?
- El remitente soy yo. Este es el código postal. I am the sender. This is the postcode.
- Vengo a retirar un paquete, está a nombre de Ana Ruiz. I have come to collect a parcel, it is under the name Ana Ruiz. (Argentina)
- Traigo el aviso y mi identificación. I have the card and my ID. (Mexico)
- ¿Me pasa el número de guía, por favor? Can you give me the tracking number, please? (Mexico, Colombia)
- ¿Puede dejarlo en la portería? Can you leave it at the concierge desk?
- Quiero devolver este pedido, llegó dañado. I want to return this order, it arrived damaged.
Questions people ask
Is it “paquete” or “encomienda”? Paquete everywhere. Encomienda in Colombia and Argentina for a parcel sent between cities, often by bus company. People in Spain do not use it.
How do I say “tracking number”? Número de seguimiento in Spain and Argentina, número de guía in Mexico and Colombia. Número de rastreo is understood across Latin America.
What is “el aviso”? The card the courier leaves when you were out. Take it and your ID to the office named on it, or use the number on it online.
Do I need my passport to collect a parcel? At the counter they expect a national ID: the INE in Mexico, the DNI in Spain and Argentina, the cédula in Colombia. A passport is accepted as a foreigner’s equivalent.
How do I say “out for delivery”? En reparto in Spain, en reparto or en ruta in Latin America. Entregado means it has been delivered, whether or not you have it.
What is “contra entrega”? Cash on delivery, standard in Colombia and common in Mexico. You pay the courier at the door.
Is “correo” the post office or the email? Both, and you tell which from the context. El correo electrónico is email, shortened to el correo in conversation and to el mail in Argentina. For the building, in Spain it is la oficina de Correos.
What does “días hábiles” mean? Working days. Every delivery promise is made in them, and in both Spain and Latin America there are long strings of public holidays, which can mean a week more.
Practise these words
enviar, mandar, paquete, sobre, carta, remitente, destinatario, recoger, retirar, entregar, devolver, aduana, frágil. Vozelu is a free website for practising Spanish, and it has each of these. You see a sentence with one word missing, you type the word, and a native voice reads the sentence back. Practise the words on this page.