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You did not catch what someone said. Which polite Spanish phrase asks what they said?

Perdón, ¿cómo dice usted? means 'Excuse me, what did you say?'

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  1. Perdón, ¿cuánto cuesta?
  2. Perdón, ¿dónde está?
  3. Perdón, ¿cómo dice usted? ✔

Why: Perdón gets attention politely and ¿cómo dice? asks for a repeat. It is more polite than just saying ¿Qué? The other two ask the price or a location.

Huh, didn't know that: In Mexico, ¿Mande? is a polite way to say 'Yes? What can I do for you?'

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My Spanish is so bad that even the echo says ¿cómo dice?
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References

Answer: Perdón, ¿cómo dice usted?. Perdón gets attention politely and ¿cómo dice? asks for a repeat. It is more polite than just saying ¿Qué? The other two ask the price or a location.

  1. FSI Spanish Basic Course, Volume 1 Student Text (US government, public domain) fsi-language-courses-media.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/languages/Spanish/Basic/Volume%201/Fsi-SpanishBasicCourse-Volume1-StudentText.pdf
    Excuse me, what did you say? Perdón. ¿Cómo dice usted?
    Checked 2026-10-10.
  2. Wiktionary: mande (secondary check) en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mande
    (Mexico, Philippines, polite, colloquial) Used as a polite invitation for a person to state what they need, want, etc.
    Checked 2026-10-10.

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