What language is spoken in Puerto Rico?

Updated October 15, 2026. Language law comes from the text of Act No. 1 of 1993 published by Puerto Rico’s Office of Management and Budget, school rules from Act 195-2012, federal court rules from 48 U.S.C. § 864, home-language data from the US Census Bureau (QuickFacts, ACS 2020–2024), word origins from the Real Academia Española dictionary, and pronunciation notes from Wikipedia’s overview of Puerto Rican Spanish.

Spanish is the language of daily life in Puerto Rico, and both Spanish and English are official. Act No. 1 of January 28, 1993, makes the two languages interchangeable across the island government. At home, though, Spanish wins by a mile: the Census Bureau reports that 95.5% of residents age 5 and older speak a language other than English at home. As a visitor, you can get by in English in San Juan, at hotels, at the airport and with most tour operators. Once you head into the countryside, some Spanish goes a long way.

What are the official languages of Puerto Rico?

Two: Spanish and English. The Official Languages Act of Puerto Rico (Act No. 1 of 1993) says either one can be used in every department, agency and municipality, and in all three branches of the island government. In the law’s own words, it simply put back the situation that had existed for about a century before 1991.

The 1993 law also spelled out what it did not change: teaching in public schools stays in Spanish, with English taught as a second language, and the Commonwealth’s own courts keep working in Spanish, as the island’s Supreme Court settled in 1965. Federal matters are different. Cases in the island’s federal court, the US District Court for Puerto Rico, must be argued and filed in English, under 48 U.S.C. § 864.

How the law changed: 1898 to 1993

• 1898: a US Army general order made English the official language of the island government.
• February 21, 1902: a new act let the government use Spanish and English interchangeably.
• April 5, 1991: Act No. 4 made Spanish the only official language for government business.
• January 28, 1993: Act No. 1 repealed the 1991 law and made Spanish and English official again, on equal footing.

How much English is spoken in Puerto Rico?

It depends on where you are and who you’re talking to. Public schools teach English as a second language, a policy the 1993 law restated, and Act 195-2012, the island’s student bill of rights, goes further: it gives students a right to a bilingual education aimed at fluency in both official languages, and lets parents ask the Department of Education for instruction in English. Even so, Spanish is what nearly every household speaks, as the 95.5% Census figure shows.

For a trip, a simple rule works: expect English in tourist areas and big hotels, and expect Spanish everywhere else, from road signs and menus to small-town shops and government offices. A polite “buenos días” before you switch to English is always welcome.

What Puerto Rican Spanish sounds like

• Soft or missing “s”: at the end of a syllable the “s” often turns into a breathy “h” or disappears, so “los dos” can sound like “lo’ do’.”
• “R” that sounds like “l”: when it closes a syllable, “r” often shifts toward “l”: “Puerto Rico” becomes “Puelto Rico” and “perdón” becomes “peldón.”
• A throaty “rr”: in some rural speech the rolled “rr” moves to the back of the mouth, so “carro” can sound close to “cajo.”
• Spanglish: dropping English words or phrases into a Spanish sentence, which linguists call code-switching, is well documented among stateside Puerto Ricans.

Taíno words you already know

The Taíno, the island’s people at the time of Spanish contact, left their mark on Spanish. The Spanish dictionary traces hamaca (hammock), huracán (hurricane), canoa (canoe) and barbacoa (barbecue) to Taíno. Many town names are Taíno or Taíno-based too, including Arecibo, Bayamón, Caguas, Guaynabo, Jayuya, Luquillo, Mayagüez and Vieques.

Phrases that help

Practice more with our Spanish phrases tool.

Puerto Rican words you’ll hear

• Boricua: Puerto Rican, as a noun or adjective.
• Pana: friend or buddy. The dictionary lists this sense for Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Venezuela.
• Chévere: great, excellent. The dictionary records it in the Antilles and in much of Latin America.
• Guagua: a bus, the word used in the Antilles.
• Chavos: money (one “chavo” is a penny). More money words on our Puerto Rico currency guide.

Moving rather than visiting? Read moving to Puerto Rico, and for the island’s political status see is Puerto Rico part of the US?

Frequently asked questions

Originally published on PuertoRico.com (2023-01-04). Reviewed and updated October 2026: facts were checked against the sources above.