Construction Safety Spanish: Toolbox Talks, Signs and Safety Meeting Phrases (Free PDF)

Quick answer: The most important construction safety phrases in Spanish are ¡Cuidado! (Careful!), ¡Alto! (Stop!), ¡Aguas! (Heads up! in Mexico), Póngase el casco (Put on your hard hat), Use el arnés (Use your harness) and ¿Está bien? ¿Está herido? (Are you OK? Are you hurt?). Below you’ll find 80+ bilingual phrases for toolbox talks and safety meetings, PPE, the OSHA Focus Four hazards, safety signs, heat and emergencies, with a simple pronunciation guide and a free printable PDF handbook.

OSHA expects safety training to be given in a language and vocabulary workers understand. A 10-minute toolbox talk only works if the whole crew follows it. Use these phrases to run your talks, check understanding and react fast when something goes wrong. For full training, pair them with a bilingual trainer or our construction Spanish course.

Running a toolbox talk or safety meeting in Spanish

Spanish	Say it	English
Buenos días a todos. Vamos a empezar la charla de seguridad.	BWEH-nohs DEE-ahs ah TOH-dohs. BAH-mohs ah em-peh-SAR lah CHAR-lah deh seh-goo-ree-DAHD	Good morning, everyone. Let’s start the safety talk.
El tema de hoy es…	el TEH-mah deh oy es	Today’s topic is…
Esto es muy importante.	ES-toh es mwee eem-por-TAHN-teh	This is very important.
¿Tienen preguntas?	tee-EH-nen preh-GOON-tahs	Do you have any questions?
¿Entienden?	en-tee-EN-den	Do you understand?
Repita, por favor. ¿Qué tiene que hacer?	reh-PEE-tah, por fah-BOR. keh tee-EH-neh keh ah-SER	Please repeat. What do you need to do?
Firmen la hoja, por favor.	FEER-men lah OH-hah, por fah-BOR	Please sign the sheet.
Si ve un peligro, avíseme.	see beh oon peh-LEE-groh, ah-BEE-seh-meh	If you see a hazard, tell me.

Tip: “¿Entienden?” often gets a polite “sí” even when people didn’t follow. Ask someone to repeat the key step back to you instead.

Warnings and commands to know by heart

Spanish	Say it	English
¡Cuidado!	kwee-DAH-doh	Careful! Watch out!
¡Alto! / ¡Pare!	AHL-toh / PAH-reh	Stop!
¡Aguas!	AH-gwahs	Heads up! (common on Mexican crews)
¡Peligro!	peh-LEE-groh	Danger!
¡Salgan de aquí!	SAHL-gahn deh ah-KEE	Get out of here!
¡No toque eso!	noh TOH-keh EH-soh	Don’t touch that!
¡Abajo!	ah-BAH-hoh	Below! (something falling)
¡Despacio!	des-PAH-see-oh	Slow down!
Aléjese de la máquina.	ah-LEH-heh-seh deh lah MAH-kee-nah	Stay away from the machine.

PPE: personal protective equipment (equipo de protección personal)

Spanish	Say it	English
el casco	el KAHS-koh	hard hat
los lentes / gafas de seguridad	lohs LEN-tes / GAH-fahs deh seh-goo-ree-DAHD	safety glasses
los guantes	lohs GWAHN-tes	gloves
el chaleco reflectante	el chah-LEH-koh reh-flek-TAHN-teh	high-visibility vest
las botas con punta de acero	lahs BOH-tahs kohn POON-tah deh ah-SEH-roh	steel-toe boots
los tapones para los oídos	lohs tah-POH-nes PAH-rah lohs oh-EE-dohs	earplugs
el respirador / la mascarilla	el res-pee-rah-DOR / lah mahs-kah-REE-yah	respirator / dust mask
Póngase el casco.	POHN-gah-seh el KAHS-koh	Put on your hard hat.
Siempre use su equipo de protección.	see-EM-preh OO-seh soo eh-KEE-poh deh proh-tek-see-OHN	Always wear your PPE.

Focus Four hazard 1: falls (caídas)

Spanish	Say it	English
el arnés	el ar-NES	harness
la línea de vida	lah LEE-neh-ah deh BEE-dah	lifeline / lanyard
el punto de anclaje	el POON-toh deh ahn-KLAH-heh	anchor point
el andamio	el ahn-DAH-mee-oh	scaffold
la escalera	lah es-kah-LEH-rah	ladder
la barandilla	lah bah-rahn-DEE-yah	guardrail
Amárrese antes de subir.	ah-MAH-rreh-seh AHN-tes deh soo-BEER	Tie off before you go up.
Mantenga tres puntos de contacto.	mahn-TEN-gah tres POON-tohs deh kohn-TAHK-toh	Keep three points of contact.
Revise la escalera antes de usarla.	reh-BEE-seh lah es-kah-LEH-rah AHN-tes deh oo-SAR-lah	Inspect the ladder before you use it.
Tape los hoyos.	TAH-peh lohs OH-yohs	Cover the holes.

Focus Four hazards 2–4: struck-by, caught-in/between and electrocution

After falls, OSHA’s Focus Four are golpes por objetos (struck-by), quedar atrapado (caught-in or between) and electrocución (electrocution).

Spanish	Say it	English
la zanja	lah SAHN-hah	trench
No entre a la zanja sin protección.	noh EN-treh ah lah SAHN-hah seen proh-tek-see-OHN	Don’t enter the trench without protection.
el derrumbe	el deh-RROOM-beh	cave-in, collapse
el punto ciego	el POON-toh see-EH-goh	blind spot
Haga contacto visual con el operador.	AH-gah kohn-TAHK-toh bee-SWAHL kohn el oh-peh-rah-DOR	Make eye contact with the operator.
Los cables eléctricos	lohs KAH-bles eh-LEK-tree-kohs	electrical wires / power lines
Bloqueo y etiquetado	bloh-KEH-oh ee eh-tee-keh-TAH-doh	lockout/tagout
Está energizado. No lo toque.	es-TAH eh-ner-hee-SAH-doh. noh loh TOH-keh	It’s live. Don’t touch it.

For a full word list by trade, see our electrical terms in Spanish and Spanish for construction workers guides.

Bilingual construction safety signs

English sign	Spanish sign
DANGER	PELIGRO
CAUTION	PRECAUCIÓN
WARNING	ADVERTENCIA
Hard hat area	Área de uso obligatorio de casco
Safety glasses required	Uso obligatorio de lentes de seguridad
Hearing protection required	Uso obligatorio de protección auditiva
Overhead power lines	Cables eléctricos aéreos
High voltage – keep out	Alto voltaje – no pase
Fall hazard	Peligro de caída
Open trench	Zanja abierta
No eating, drinking or smoking	Prohibido comer, beber o fumar
Authorized personnel only	Solo personal autorizado
Emergency exit	Salida de emergencia
First aid	Primeros auxilios

Post the English and Spanish on the same sign so everyone learns both. Our free construction vocabulary posters are bilingual too.

Heat, water and breaks

Spanish	Say it	English
Tome agua cada quince minutos.	TOH-meh AH-gwah KAH-dah KEEN-seh mee-NOO-tohs	Drink water every 15 minutes.
Descanse en la sombra.	des-KAHN-seh en lah SOHM-brah	Rest in the shade.
¿Se siente mareado?	seh see-EN-teh mah-reh-AH-doh	Do you feel dizzy?
¿Tiene dolor de cabeza o calambres?	tee-EH-neh doh-LOR deh kah-BEH-sah oh kah-LAHM-bres	Do you have a headache or cramps?
Avíseme si alguien se siente mal.	ah-BEE-seh-meh see AHL-gee-en seh see-EN-teh mahl	Tell me if anyone feels sick.

Injuries and emergencies

Spanish	Say it	English
¿Está bien? ¿Está herido?	es-TAH bee-EN? es-TAH eh-REE-doh	Are you OK? Are you hurt?
¿Dónde le duele?	DOHN-deh leh DWEH-leh	Where does it hurt?
No se mueva.	noh seh MWEH-bah	Don’t move.
Llame al 911.	YAH-meh ahl nweh-beh oo-noh oo-noh	Call 911.
el botiquín de primeros auxilios	el boh-tee-KEEN deh pree-MEH-rohs owk-SEE-lee-ohs	first-aid kit
la salida de emergencia	lah sah-LEE-dah deh eh-mer-HEN-see-ah	emergency exit
el punto de reunión	el POON-toh deh reh-oo-nee-OHN	muster point
Reporte todos los accidentes.	reh-POR-teh TOH-dohs lohs ahk-see-DEN-tes	Report every accident.

10 toolbox talk topics (with Spanish titles)

1. Fall protection – Protección contra caídas
2. Ladder safety – Seguridad con escaleras
3. Scaffold safety – Seguridad en andamios
4. Trenching and excavation – Zanjas y excavaciones
5. Heat illness – Enfermedades por calor
6. Struck-by hazards – Peligros de golpes por objetos
7. Electrical safety – Seguridad eléctrica
8. Hand and power tools – Herramientas manuales y eléctricas
9. Silica dust – Polvo de sílice
10. Housekeeping – Orden y limpieza en la obra

Train your crew in safety Spanish

Phrase lists help, but crews stay safe when supervisors can actually hold a conversation. Our Spanish training for construction companies combines live group lessons with a self-study course your team uses on their phones, and we can turn your own toolbox talks and safety manual into custom lessons. For crew leads, see Spanish for supervisors and foremen, and grab our free construction vocabulary posters for the job trailer.