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    El último Grito. 10 expressions that are not so easy to figure out (4)

    El Último Grito

      Here are 10 common random idioms you may have trouble with if you hear them for the first time: Expression Approximate literal translation (what you might think you actually heard) Explanation pasado mañana past tomorrow, past morning the day after tomorrow, passing tomorrow el último grito the last scream? The last shout? the last […] More

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    La Ley del Hielo. 10 expressions that are not so easy to figure out (7)

    La Ley del Hielo

    Here are 10 common random idioms you may have trouble with if you hear them for the first time: Expression Approximate literal translation (what you might think you actually heard) Explanation tengo endendido I’ve got understood it’s my understanding seres queridos loved beings, wanted beings loved ones yo que tú I that you? if I […] More

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    Automóviles

    Mercedes Benz

      Automobile vocabulary in Spanish. Talking about cars with people from another Spanish speaking countries is sometimes a big headache. The reason is that the vocabulary for this subject changes a bit from country to country for almost every element. In México, auto part names are often Spanglish words. Here are some examples: Mexico Spain […] More

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    Norte, sur, este, oeste

    It might surprise you that the current Spanish names for the 4 cardinal points come from English via French. North ⇒ norte (N) South ⇒ sur (S) East ⇒ este (E) West ⇒ oeste (O or W) All of them are masculine nouns. If Spanish cardinal point names are technically Spanglish, how did Spanish explorers […] More

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    The Largest Spanish-Speaking Town in the World.

    Mexico City aerial view

      Mexico City, the largest Spanish-speaking town in the world.   This is a day landing in Mexico City apparently from a flight arriving from Frankfurt. Let me try to explain to you what you are seeing here. First, this window shows the inner part of the city, towards the Zócalo, which you can’t see […] More

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    The Spanish H vs. F in other Romance Languages

      There are dozens of examples of words in Spanish that are spelled with a (silent) H, for which you can find at least one cognate in another language that is spelled with F. Most languages followed the original Latin spelling. I don’t like this, haha, why do we have to be different to the […] More

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    Preposition “para” in a Coca Cola TV commercial.

    Coca Cola logo.

        Para ti, para mí, para ella, para él, para todos, para nadie…¡para vos! I hope this commercial in Spanish from Argentina made for Coca Cola Femsa, helps you understand one of the uses of the preposition para.   Similar commercial with subtitles. (also Argentine accent).     Cola in Spanish means cola, ass, […] More

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    Desconocer

    A big question mark to illustrate the Spanish verb desconocer.

      Every Spanish language student knows that there are two verbs that mean to know, saber and conocer. This is true in other Romance languages as well. What many students don’t know is that we have a verb with the opposite meaning: desconocer. The main meaning of desconocer is to not know, but it could […] More

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    Amores Perros. Lucha de Gigantes.

      I saw the film Amores Perros together with one of my students. Below is one of the main soundtrack songs. Its name is Lucha de Gigantes, by the Spanish band Nacha Pop. The actual movie scene is too strong to embed on this website. It’s not for kids and it’s not for many people. […] More

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    Astro Rey. 10 expressions that are not so easy to figure out (9)

      Here are 10 common random idioms you may have trouble with if you hear them for the first time:   Expression Approximate literal translation (what you might think you actually heard) Explanation el astro rey the king star the Sun. ( nickname). el primer trimestre the first trimester first quarter. Used extensively in financial […] More

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