En la estación saludé a una chica muy maja que me explicó cómo recargar el abono de cercanías.

Spanish often leaves out subject pronouns because the verb ending already tells you who the subject is.

• saludé = I greeted / I said hello
• explicó = she explained / he explained

So in this sentence:

• saludé already means I greeted
• me explicó already means she explained to me

Adding yo or ella would usually only be for emphasis or contrast.

Because saludar normally takes the preposition a before a person.

This is partly the normal pattern of the verb, and it also overlaps with the personal a, which is used before a specific human direct object.

So:

• saludé a una chica = I greeted a girl
• vi a una chica = I saw a girl

Even though una chica is the direct object, Spanish still uses a because it refers to a person.

Maja is a very common word in Spain meaning something like:

• nice
• pleasant
• kind
• friendly

So una chica muy maja means a very nice/friendly girl.

A few useful points:

• majo = masculine
• maja = feminine
• muy = very

So the adjective agrees with chica, which is feminine:

• un chico muy majo
• una chica muy maja

This word is especially common in Spain. In Latin America, people may use other words more often, such as simpática.

Muy is the adverb meaning very, and it is used before adjectives:

• muy maja
• muy simpática
• muy amable

Mucho/mucha usually means much/many/a lot of, not very.

So:

• muy maja = very nice
• mucha gente = many people
• mucha paciencia = a lot of patience

You could say muy simpática too, but muy maja sounds especially natural in Spain.

Here que means who/that and introduces a relative clause.

It connects una chica muy maja with extra information about her:

• una chica muy maja = a very nice girl
• que me explicó... = who explained to me...

So the structure is:

• the girl + who/that + did something

Examples:

• La mujer que trabaja aquí... = The woman who works here...
• El chico que conocí ayer... = The boy that/who I met yesterday...

In Spanish, que is used very often where English uses who or that.

Me means to me here.

• explicó = explained
• me explicó = explained to me

Spanish often uses an indirect object pronoun where English uses to + person.

So:

• me explicó = she explained to me
• te explicó = she explained to you
• le explicó = she explained to him/her

You could also say the full version for clarity:

• me explicó a mí

But in normal speech, me explicó is enough.

Because here cómo is part of an indirect question: how to recharge / how to top up.

Spanish uses an accent on interrogative words when they introduce a question, even an embedded one.

So:

• cómo = how
• qué = what
• cuándo = when
• dónde = where

In this sentence:

• me explicó cómo recargar... = she explained to me how to recharge...

Compare:

• No sé cómo funciona. = I don't know how it works.
• La manera como funciona is different and more formal/literary in some contexts.

So the accent marks it as the question word how.

Because Spanish often uses cómo + infinitive when the subject is general or understood.

So:

• cómo recargar el abono = how to top up the pass

This is very similar to English:

• how to recharge
• how to do it

If you wanted a full clause, you could say something like:

• me explicó cómo podía recargar el abono
• me explicó cómo se recarga el abono

But cómo + infinitive is shorter and very natural.

In Spain, abono often means a travel pass or season ticket, depending on context.

Cercanías refers to the commuter rail network in and around cities.

So el abono de cercanías means something like:

• the commuter rail pass
• the suburban train pass
• the Cercanías pass

A few useful notes:

• abono can also mean subscription in other contexts.
• In transport, it often means a pass you can recharge or renew.
• Cercanías is strongly associated with Spain.

In Spain, Cercanías is the established name of the commuter train service, and it is normally used in the plural.

So:

• tren de cercanías = commuter train
• abono de cercanías = commuter rail pass

It is not really functioning as an ordinary plural you need to analyze word by word every time; it is basically the name of that transport system.

This is why the phrase sounds natural as a set expression.

Because en expresses location: in/at the station.

• En la estación = at the station
• A la estación = to the station

So in this sentence, the speaker is saying where the action happened.

Compare:

• En la estación saludé a una chica... = At the station, I greeted a girl...
• Fui a la estación. = I went to the station.

They are in the preterite because the sentence describes completed actions in the past.

• saludé = I greeted / I said hello
• explicó = she explained

These are seen as single, finished events:

1. I greeted her.
2. She explained something to me.

If the sentence were describing background, repeated action, or an ongoing situation, the imperfect might be used instead. But here the actions are presented as completed events, so the preterite fits naturally.

The main verbs are:

• saludé ← from saludar
• explicó ← from explicar
• recargar ← infinitive

More specifically:

• saludé = first person singular preterite
  yo saludé = I greeted
• explicó = third person singular preterite
  ella explicó = she explained
• recargar = to recharge / to top up

This is useful because in Spanish the endings carry a lot of information.

Yes, depending on context.

Literal possibilities include:

• a very nice girl
• a really friendly girl
• a lovely girl

The exact English choice depends on tone. Maja is warm and colloquial, so nice or friendly is often the safest translation, but lovely can work if the tone is a bit more expressive.

The sentence begins with En la estación to set the scene first: At the station...

This is very natural in Spanish. You can often move time and place expressions to the front for emphasis or flow.

So these are both possible:

• En la estación saludé a una chica muy maja...
• Saludé a una chica muy maja en la estación...

The first version sounds slightly more like the speaker is introducing the setting before telling what happened.

Yes. Saludar can mean:

• to greet
• to say hello to
• sometimes to acknowledge politely

So saludé a una chica could be:

• I greeted a girl
• I said hello to a girl

In everyday English, said hello to often sounds the most natural, but greeted is a very accurate match.