I'm going to save you a month of Duolingo. Not because the app isn't good, it is, but because you don't need a month. You need 15 phrases and about 20 minutes of confidence.
Everything else you'll figure out on the ground or gesture through. What follows is the Colombian-specific version, not the generic Spain Spanish version. Colombian Spanish is clearer and softer than most regional Spanishes. You'll understand more than you expect.
The essentials
Buenas / Buenos días / Buenas tardes
bwenas / bwenos DEE-as / bwenas TAR-des
Hello / good morning / good afternoon. In Colombia, everyone just says "Buenas" as a catch-all greeting. Walk into a shop, say Buenas. Pass someone in a stairwell, Buenas. It's polite, universal, and unmistakably Colombian.
¿Me regala un… ?
meh reh-GAH-lah oon
Could you give me a… Literally "would you gift me a…" Colombians use "regalar" (to gift) instead of asking directly. Sounds weird, is completely normal. "¿Me regala un café?" = Can I get a coffee?
¿Cuánto cuesta? / ¿Cuánto vale?
KWAN-toh KWES-tah / KWAN-toh VAH-lay
How much does it cost? Use either. Know your numbers. Most prices will be given as "veinte mil" (20,000) or "treinta mil" (30,000), so learn mil (thousand) first.
La cuenta, por favor
lah KWEN-tah por fah-VOR
The check, please. In Colombian restaurants, the check doesn't come until you ask. You can also make the universal air-writing gesture. Both work.
¿Puede hablar más despacio?
PWEH-day ah-BLAR mas des-PAH-see-oh
Can you speak more slowly? The one you'll use most. Colombians tend to accommodate instantly and will repeat slowly and clearly.
No entiendo / entiendo un poquito
no en-tee-EN-doh / en-tee-EN-doh oon po-KEE-toh
I don't understand / I understand a little. "Un poquito" goes a long way as a signal that you're trying. People will slow down and help.
¿Dónde está… ?
DON-day es-TAH
Where is…? "¿Dónde está el baño?" (bathroom). "¿Dónde está el metro?" (metro). Use with a noun, point a lot, you'll get there.
Sí / no / tal vez
see / no / tal VEZ
Yes / no / maybe. You'd be surprised how many people forget "tal vez." It's your escape hatch.
Con tarjeta / en efectivo
kon tar-HEH-tah / en eh-fek-TEE-voh
By card / in cash. The two options you'll hear at every till. Answer in kind.
Gracias / Muchas gracias
GRAH-see-as / MOO-chas GRAH-see-as
Thank you / many thanks. Colombians are thankful people. Over-use gracias. You can't say it wrong. The response is "con gusto" (with pleasure) not "de nada" in most of the country.
The Paisa layer (Medellín region)
Parce / Parcero
PAR-say / par-SEH-roh
Friend / buddy / dude. Paisas call everyone parce, including strangers. "Hola parce" is totally acceptable. Used constantly. Cannot be used in Bogotá without sounding like you're trying.
¡Qué chévere!
keh CHEH-veh-reh
How cool! / That's great! Colombian "chévere" is the all-purpose positive reaction. Pronounce the "ch" like in "chair." Use it liberally.
Bacano / Bacana
bah-KAH-no / bah-KAH-nah
Cool / nice / awesome. Interchangeable with chévere. "El restaurante está muy bacano" = the restaurant is really cool. Medellín slang, used widely now.
¡Listo!
LEES-toh
Ready / done / okay / got it. The Colombian "sounds good." Used to close any arrangement. "Nos vemos a las 8?" "Listo." Meaning: confirmed, done, see you then.
¿Todo bien?
TOH-doh bee-EN
All good? / How's it going? The universal friendly opener between people who just ran into each other. Answer: "Todo bien, ¿y tú?" Done.
A few rules that help
Colombians use "usted" (formal you) more than most of Latin America, including with friends. Don't stress about tú vs usted. Use usted with older people, people you've just met, anyone you're paying, and you'll never offend anyone.
Numbers are the single most useful category to memorize. Cien (100), mil (1,000). Prices will be thirty thousand, forty thousand, eighty thousand. "Treinta mil, cuarenta mil, ochenta mil." Ten minutes of practice on the flight over saves you a lot of confusion.
The letter "s" sometimes disappears at the end of words in coastal Spanish (Cartagena, Santa Marta). "Gracias" becomes "grasia." Don't worry about it. Keep saying the s.
The single best thing about speaking even broken Spanish in Colombia: people light up. They don't care that your Spanish is bad. They care that you're trying. And you'll get access to things tourists who don't try never get.
What you won't need
Complex grammar. Conjugations beyond the present tense. Subjunctive. Conditional. None of it. If you can say "I want," "where is," "how much," and "thank you," you can function. Everything else is vocabulary you'll pick up as you need it.
Apps like Google Translate work offline if you download the Spanish pack before you leave. WhatsApp has built-in translation in some regions. You're never more than 10 seconds from help.
Included in your trip
Every trip I plan includes a Colombia-specific Spanish cheat sheet for the cities you're visiting, including the right words for the specific food you'll encounter (coastal vs Andean menus are different enough to matter). That's the level of detail that makes a trip feel planned.