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¡Con ganas!
Note: Gana in these examples is not the same as the verb ganar (to earn, to win, to gain) and its nouns ganancia, ganador, etc. When students first hear the word gana, they usually think it means desire or wish. But in reality, gana and its plural ganas appear in many different expressions, some very […] More
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Híjole: the little Mexican exclamation that has many meanings
If you’ve listened to Mexican Spanish for a while, you’ve probably heard a short, breathy sound that comes out on surprise, irritation, admiration or mild defeat. That little word is híjole (sometimes written hijole, sometimes híjoles), and it’s one of those automatic expressions that people use without thinking. The Real Academia defines híjole as a […] More
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in Culture, Mexico, Spanish, Vocabulary
Diminutives for Food in Mexican Spanish
If you spend time in Mexico, you will hear diminutives everywhere — and food is one of the favorite places to find them. Un cafecito, unos huevitos, tómate tu lechita, un pastelito, unas tortillitas calientitas… these little endings do a lot of work. They sometimes mean size, but often they mean something else: friendliness, politeness, […] More
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in Spanish
10 Expressions That Are Not Easy to Figure Out. Desmadre
The Spanish you hear on TV in the US is full of expressions that sound confusing for students because their literal meaning has little to do with the real intention. Sometimes these are very colorful, sometimes strong, sometimes playful. They are used every day, and even though they look difficult, once you know them, they […] More
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Generic Names of Animals in Spanish
In Spanish, nouns have a gender: masculine or feminine. For students, it can be strange when animals are sometimes “he” or “she” by default. For example, in English we say the spider, and it can be male or female, but in Spanish it is always la araña (feminine). On the other hand, el pez, el […] More
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in Spanish
OVNI
OVNI looks strange at first sight, but it’s one of those acronyms that became a normal everyday word. In Spanish, OVNI stands for Objeto Volador No Identificado — literally Unidentified Flying Object (UFO in English). What’s interesting is that Spanish isn’t the only language to use OVNI. French, Italian, Portuguese, and Catalán all built the […] More
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in Spanish
Names of Some Jobs — Remake 2.0
This is an updated and expanded version of an older spanishNY.com post. If you’re learning Spanish, it helps to know both the formal profession names (doctor, abogado) and the local, informal words you’ll hear on the street, in markets, or at small businesses. Below is a large table with many job names, some of […] More
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in Spanish
10 Expressions That Are Not so Easy to Figure Out. Barril sin Fondo
Spanish is full of phrases that don’t make sense if you just translate them word by word. Some are playful, some sarcastic, and some show everyday culture. Here is another batch of ten expressions with their real meaning in context. Spanish Expression Literal Translation Real Meaning Ahí muere (MX) There it dies “Let’s leave it […] More
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El Monte de Piedad
When Spanish learners hear the expression llevar algo al Monte de Piedad, it can sound poetic, even mysterious. Literally, it means “to take something to the Mount of Mercy,” but in everyday Spanish it simply refers to pawning an item. This expression has deep roots, going all the way back to Renaissance Italy and the […] More
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in Spanish
White and Black, Blanco y Negro
Back in 2006, spanishNY.com published a small post about an interesting language phenomenon: Spanish and English often use the same pair of words — but in reverse order. Now, almost 20 years later, here’s a remake. Some of these pairs are so common we barely notice them anymore. Others are fun little surprises. Either way, […] More
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10 Spanish Expressions That Are Not Easy to Figure Out. Ya me agarraron de su puerquito.
Here is another batch of ten colloquial Spanish language expressions, their literal meaning, and their closest equivalent in English. Some are humorous, others are very informal, and a few can sound rude or pejorative — so learn them, but use them carefully or just recognize them when you hear them. Spanish Expression Literal Translation Natural […] More
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in Culture, Grammar, Spanish, Translation
The Many Faces of “Pues”: One Tiny Word, So Many Meanings
If you have ever studied Spanish and thought you were starting to understand it, a little word like pues probably appeared and ruined your confidence. Dictionaries will tell you that pues means “since,” or “because,” or “then,” or “so,” and they are not wrong — but they are not fully right either. The truth is […] More
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