What language is spoken in Mexico?

You hear Spanish everywhere in Mexico, from Tijuana to Cancún. Indigenous languages are spread far less evenly. Most of their speakers live in the south, in Oaxaca and Chiapas. The state of Yucatán has the highest share of Maya speakers. In the centre, Nahuatl is the largest Indigenous language, and in Michoacán people also speak Purépecha.

In the north, Spanish has its own lilt. Indigenous languages are spoken there too, such as Rarámuri (Tarahumara) in the Sierra of Chihuahua and Yaqui and Mayo in Sonora. The map groups Mexico's states into four regions. Tap a region to hear how it sounds.

Not by law, at least not at the federal level. A 2003 law on the linguistic rights of Indigenous peoples declares Spanish and the Indigenous languages "national languages" of equal validity. In practice, Spanish is still the language of government, schools and the media, and over 90 percent of people speak it.

The National Institute of Indigenous Languages (INALI) counts 68 language groups with many varieties. According to the 2020 census, around 7.4 million people aged three and over speak an Indigenous language, about 6 percent. The table shows the largest.

Nahuatl was the language of the Aztecs, and with around 1.7 million speakers it is still Mexico's largest Indigenous language. You probably use Nahuatl words without knowing it. They reached English through Mexican Spanish: avocado (Spanish "aguacate", from "ahuacatl"), chocolate, tomato and chili. Peanuts are "cacahuate" in Mexico, and the word "mezcal" also comes from Nahuatl.

Even the country's name does: México is a Nahuatl word.

On the Yucatán Peninsula around 800,000 people speak Maya, more precisely Yucatec Maya. Some words travellers know come from it: a "cenote" is a limestone sinkhole filled with water, and "cochinita pibil" contains "pib", the Maya word for the earth oven the pork is cooked in.

Oaxaca has the greatest linguistic diversity in Mexico, including Zapotec and Mixtec. The state is also known for the tlayuda and the Guelaguetza festival. In Chiapas many people speak Tseltal or Tsotsil.

If you learned Spanish from Spain, you will understand Mexicans well, but you will notice differences. There is no "vosotros": for "you" in the plural, Mexicans always say "ustedes". Z and C before E and I sound like an S, which is called seseo. A car is a "carro" rather than a "coche", and a mobile phone is a "celular" rather than a "móvil".

Typically Mexican are "¿Qué onda?" (what's up?), "chido" (cool) and "¡Órale!", which can express surprise, agreement or encouragement depending on the tone. "Ahorita" is famous: it means "right away", but it can just as well mean "sometime soon".

In Monterrey, Chihuahua or Tijuana, Spanish sounds different from Mexico City, with its own melody known as norteño. A good friend here is your "carnal", your buddy or brother. The food is all about meat: carne asada off the grill and machaca, dried beef.

Indigenous peoples with their own languages live in the north as well, such as the Rarámuri (Tarahumara) in the Sierra of Chihuahua and the Yaqui and Mayo in Sonora.

In the big tourist areas, mostly yes. English is common in Cancún, on the Riviera Maya and in Los Cabos, and along the US border. Elsewhere, at markets, on buses or in smaller towns, Spanish helps a lot. Even a few phrases make contact much easier.

Spanish, without question. It gets you around the whole country, from the north to Yucatán. The basics are the same everywhere, and you will pick up the Mexican words above quickly once you are there. You can learn Spanish for free on Langula, with audio for every word and sentence. For a holiday, a few greetings and polite phrases already go a long way.