How should I ask someone to repeat something they've said?

Question

**How should I ask someone to repeat something they've said?**When I learned Spanish in school, I was taught to never say _"¿Qué?"_ when I needed someone to repeat something they just said. Rather I was taught to say _"¿Cómo?"_ Later, my wife taught me to say _"¿Mande?"_ as an even more polite question. But some people don't seem to understand what I'm getting at. Occasionally, they will try to clarify by saying *"¿Qué?"*, which I'd always understood as rude. (Maybe I just look like a rude American or maybe the question isn't as disrespectful as I had learned.)Am I safe in most situations (where I don't know the country of origin of the other speaker) in using _"¿Cómo?"_ ? (Trust me, this is a very common problem for me.)---**¿Cómo debería pedir a alguien que repita algo que ha dicho?**Cuando aprendí español en la escuela, me enseñaron a no decir nunca *"¿Qué?"* cuando necesitaba que alguien repitiese algo que acaba de decir. En su lugar me enseñaron a decir *"¿Cómo?"*. Más tarde, mi esposa me enseñó a decir _"¿Mande?"_ como una pregunta aún más cortés. Pero algunas personas parecen no entender lo que pretendo. De vez en cuando, tratan de aclararlo diciendo _"¿Qué?"_, lo cual yo siempre había entendido como grosero. (Tal vez sólo parezco un americano grosero, o tal vez la pregunta no es tan irrespetuosa como yo había aprendido.)¿Es adecuado en la mayoría de situaciones (cuando no conozco el país de origen del interlocutor) el uso de _"¿Cómo?"_? (Créeme, este es un problema muy habitual para mí.)

Answer 1

Most places, "como?" will come accross as an appropriate word to use. I know that most, if not all, Mexicans will understand "mande". I'm uncertain which other countries use this, however. "Otra vez" can also be used, similar to "come again?". If you don't mind sounding a little weird in order to get your point across, you could state "repite, por favor". But this last one should probably only be used as a last resort as it will definitely sound out of place in many conversations!