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Chopped Spanish — common spoken shortenings you’ll hear everywhere
Why Spanish speakers drop syllables (and how to understand the chopped forms) In casual Spanish people shorten words all the time. They move fast, they like rhythm, and they often drop syllables — especially para, está, estoy, espera, and nada. These shortened forms are normal in conversation but usually not written (except in messages and […] More
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in Spanish
Masculine Spanish Nouns Ending in “-a” (Including “-ista” Professions)
Many students begin learning Spanish with the general rule that nouns ending in “-a” are feminine.This rule is often true… but there are dozens of very common exceptions, especially words of Greek origin, and also profession nouns ending in -ista, which take masculine or feminine articles depending on the person, but the noun ending never […] More
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Beto, Pepe, Don Goyo, y más — Nicknames and the full names behind them (Updated from 2021)
A guide to common Spanish nicknames and diminutives so you don’t get confused Spanish speakers love nicknames. Many formal given names get shortened, changed, or turned into other forms that can be tricky for learners. Across the Spanish-speaking world, people use these nicknames in daily life — at home, at work, and on the street […] More
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10 Expressions You Don’t Learn in Textbooks
Spanish is rich, playful, and full of expressions that even advanced students find mysterious. Many of them don’t mean what the words literally say — and some don’t even make sense if you translate them word by word. Here are ten expressions that many people in Mexico use all the time, with their literal meanings […] More
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in Spanish
“Madre” in Mexican Spanish: Many Uses, Many Meanings
In Mexican Spanish, the word madre (mother) is not just a family term. It has multiplied into dozens of expressions—some friendly, some rude, some surprising. For any Spanish student, understanding the many ways Mexicans use madre will unlock jokes, conversations, even music lyrics that otherwise seem baffling. Because “madre” is so emotionally charged, Mexicans often […] More
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Halloween and “La Noche de Brujas” — Spooky Words in Spanish
Halloween, or La Noche de Brujas in Spanish, is not originally from Latin America, but it’s now celebrated in many Spanish-speaking countries. Children dress up (se disfrazan), go from door to door asking for candy, and people decorate their homes with pumpkins and skeletons. In this post, you’ll find a big list of Halloween-related words […] More
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10 Expressions That Are Hard to Guess
In this post, we explore ten popular expressions that are commonly heard in conversations, on TV, and in everyday life in Mexico. Some of them can be rude or informal, so they must be understood but not necessarily used carelessly. Spanish Expression Literal Translation Equivalent in English ningunear to “no-one” someone To belittle, ignore, treat […] More
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The Secret of Corn: Why Nixtamalization Saved Lives
Maíz or corn is central to Mexican history, culture, and daily food. But what many people do not know is that corn by itself does not give the human body much nutrition. If you eat plain corn — just boiled or ground without treatment — your body will absorb almost nothing. It will pass through […] More
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CAMIÓN y CAMIONETA
In the Romance-speaking world, camión simply means a heavy truck. But if you are in Mexico City, the phrase “Voy en el camión” doesn’t mean you are driving a freight vehicle. It could mean you’re on a bus. It’s one of those unique Mexican usages that confuse native Spanish speakers from Spain or Argentina, and […] More
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Mexican Telenovela Parody Practice
This is Conspiración de Pasión: (You might need to go to this YouTube video settings and slow the Playback Speed to 0.75 or even 0.50) YouTube Video Settings Playback Speed This is just a small segment of a much longer telenovela parody. The automatic video subtitles are not accurate. Español (Original) English […] More
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10 Expressions That Are Not Easy to Figure Out – Brincos Dieras
Here are ten colloquial expressions that you’ll hear on the street, in songs, and even in movies. Be careful — some of them are pejorative or rude, so it’s important to learn them for understanding, not for repeating in formal situations. Spanish Expression Literal Translation Meaning / English Equivalent Ser solo pantalla To be […] More
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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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