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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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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