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    Harto in some Latin American countries

    Harta Salsa

    Harto in some Latin American countries: Fed Up, Full, or A Whole Lot Note: The important point is that harto is not only used in estar harto (“to be fed up”). In this regional colloquial use, it means mucho, abundante, or “more than a normal amount.” The Diccionario de americanismos records this meaning in Mexico, […] More

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    Chorrocientos, Chorrocientos Mil: Spanish for “A Zillion”

    Crónica de los chorrocientos mil días del barrio de Tepito (1989)

    Chorrocientos, Chorrocientos Mil: Spanish for “A Zillion” A playful Mexican Spanish word for an enormous, completely made-up number. You are telling your friend about a terrible Monday. You had emails, messages, errands, work, traffic, and three people asking you the same question at once. You could say: Tenía muchísimas cosas que hacer. I had so […] More

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    Taquillero and Taquilla

    película taquillera

    “`html Taquillero and Taquilla: Fun Spanish Words for What Draw a Crowd Learn how to use taquillero, ser taquillero, and la taquilla in everyday Spanish. You know when a movie comes out and suddenly everyone has seen it? Or when an actor is so popular that people buy a ticket just because their name appears […] More

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    Igual e Igualito, and even igualititito

    igualitos

    Igual e Igualito   Why Mexican Spanish speakers say igualito (igualita, igualitos, and igualitas.) Someone shows you an old family photo and says: “Eras igualito a tu papá.” You may already know that igual means “same,” but why do people add -ito? In Mexico, people say igualito all the time when they see a strong […] More

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    “No se vale”: A Useful Spanish Expression for “That’s Not Fair!”

    no se vale

    “No se vale”: A Useful Spanish Expression for “That’s Not Fair!” How to use no se vale and similar expressions in sports, school, friendships, and everyday life. Spanish speakers often say ¡No se vale! when something seems unfair, dishonest, or against the rules. Children learn it early, but adults use it too. It can sound serious, […] More

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    How to Say “Excuse Me” in Spanish: More Than One Useful Phrase

    Con permiso, puedo pasar?

    How to Say “Excuse Me” in Spanish Con permiso, perdón, disculpe, lo siento, dispense and other ways to sound polite in Spanish. English uses excuse me for many different situations: getting someone’s attention, moving through a crowd, apologizing for a small accident, asking someone to repeat something, or politely interrupting. Spanish does not rely on […] More

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    10 more Spanish expressions that are not easy to figure out. Dedazo.

    el dedazo

    10 More Tricky Spanish Expressions Ten common but not‑so‑obvious expressions from Spanish. Expressions that are hard to guess from the words Expression English meaning Notes / region hacerle el feo a alguien to snub someone, to treat them coldly / badly Literally “to do the ugly to someone”. It means to give someone a cold […] More

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    Un montón, montones, montonero: How Spanish Uses “montón” in Everyday Speech

    un montón

    Montón, un montón, montonal, montones, montonero and echar montón in real Spanish. Basic meaning of montón Montón literally means “pile” or “heap”: a group of things placed one on top of the other, usually without much order. From there, Spanish has extended the meaning to “a large amount” of almost anything, especially in colloquial speech. […] More

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    Lending and Borrowing in Spanish

    Podadora de Césped

    Lending and Borrowing in Spanish Prestar and pedir prestado are the key pieces you need to say “lend” and “borrow” naturally in Spanish. Prestar and pedir prestado: basic picture Spanish uses the verb prestar and the expression pedir prestado to cover both “lend” and “borrow”. In English, we separate lend (giving something temporarily) and borrow […] More

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    World Cup Spanish: Fútbol Vocabulary for Fans

    Estadio Azteca

    The FIFA World Cup is a perfect excuse to learn Spanish soccer vocabulary. In English you see both “football” and “soccer”; in Spanish you hear fútbol, sometimes written “futbol” in Mexico, and a long list of words that commentators and fans use during the matches. This guide puts key World Cup terms in one table, […] More

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    Bolsa in Spanish: Bags, Pockets, the Stock Market, and More

    bolsas

      Spanish loves words that do many jobs. One of them is bolsa. In English, you usually need several different words – bag, purse, plastic bag, pocket, stock exchange – but in Spanish, bolsa covers a lot of that territory. It is a classic polysemic word: one form, many related meanings. In this post we […] More

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    Three Typical Spanish Jokes Explained in English

    gallego viendo su reflejo

      Some Spanish jokes are tricky for English speakers, not because the grammar is hard, but because they depend on a small cultural detail, a hidden assumption, or a little misunderstanding in the dialogue. Here are three short jokes, with translations and explanations in English so you can see what is going on. Spanish joke […] More

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