Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): Nos vemos en el aparcamiento del centro a mediodía. - See you in the downtown parking lot at noon.

Literally, nos vemos = we see each other. In everyday Spanish, the present often refers to a scheduled or near-future plan when there’s a time expression. So Nos vemos … a mediodía means we’ll see each other … at midday. You could also say Nos veremos, which is a bit more formal/emphatic but not necessary.

Can I use quedamos instead of nos vemos?

Yes. Quedamos en… is very common in Spain to arrange a meeting (let’s meet/we’re meeting). Nos vemos en… also works and feels slightly more like we’ll see each other there, sometimes used as a friendly sign-off plus details. Both are fine here: Quedamos/ Nos vemos en el aparcamiento….

Why is the pronoun nos needed? Can I drop it?

No. Without nos, vemos just means we see (something/someone). Nos makes it reciprocal: we see each other. Spanish needs that object pronoun to express reciprocity: nos vemos, se ven, etc.

Why not vemosnos? Where does the pronoun go?

Clitic pronouns go before a finite verb: nos vemos. They attach only to infinitives, gerunds, and affirmative imperatives: vamos a vernos, estamos viéndonos, veámonos (let’s see each other). Vemosnos is incorrect.

What exactly does del centro mean here?

Centro by itself most often means the city center/downtown in Spain. But in context it can also mean the center of something specific (e.g., a shopping mall = centro comercial, a sports center = centro deportivo). So el aparcamiento del centro could be the parking lot of the city center or the mall’s parking. Context usually clarifies.

How can I say it unambiguously?

For downtown: el aparcamiento del centro de la ciudad (or simply en el centro if understood).
For a mall: el aparcamiento del centro comercial.
For a sports center: el aparcamiento del centro deportivo.

Why use en and not a/al before the place?

En expresses location (in/at): en el aparcamiento. A/al expresses direction or destination with movement verbs: vamos al aparcamiento (we’re going to the parking lot). For meeting points, Spanish uses en: quedamos en…, nos vemos en….

Does aparcamiento mean a parking garage, a lot, or a single parking space?

Aparcamiento is a general term for a place/facility to park (a lot or a garage). A single marked space is una plaza de aparcamiento. You might also hear parking (loanword) in Spain for the facility.

Is aparcamiento the best word in Spain? What about estacionamiento?

In Spain, aparcamiento and the verb aparcar are the default. Estacionamiento/estacionar are understood but sound more Latin American or formal/traffic-code-like. Regional alternatives exist in the Americas (e.g., estacionamiento, parqueadero), but in Spain stick with aparcamiento.

Is a mediodía the same as al mediodía?

Both are correct and common. They usually mean around midday/noon. If you need exact clock time, say a las doce en punto or a las doce del mediodía. Without context, (a/al) mediodía is slightly approximate.

Does mediodía mean exactly 12:00, or can it mean the lunch period?

Literally it’s 12:00 noon. In Spain, everyday speech often stretches mediodía to the middle-of-the-day/lunchtime window (roughly 13:00–15:00), depending on context. If precision matters, give the hour: a las doce, a la una, etc.

What’s the difference between mediodía and medio día?

Mediodía (one word) = noon/midday.
Medio día (two words) = half a day. They are not interchangeable.

Can I change the word order?

Yes. Common variants:

A mediodía nos vemos en el aparcamiento del centro.
Nos vemos a mediodía en el aparcamiento del centro.
En el aparcamiento del centro nos vemos a mediodía. Spanish allows fronting time/place for emphasis; meaning stays the same.

Why is it el aparcamiento and not just aparcamiento? Could I use the indefinite article?

Spanish normally uses articles with singular countable nouns. El aparcamiento points to a specific, known parking area. If it’s any parking spot/facility, use un aparcamiento en el centro (a parking lot in the center).

What does del stand for?

Del is the contraction of de + el. Similarly, al is a + el. So del centro = of the center.

Any pronunciation tips for Spain?

Nos vemos: the final -s are lightly pronounced.
aparcamiento: stress on -mien- (a-par-ca-MIEN-to).
centro: in much of Spain, c before e is th-like in Latin America it’s s-like: sen-tro.
mediodía: stress on the last syllable: me-dio-DÍ-a; the written accent marks the stressed í.