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    Mexican Telenovela Parody Practice

    Conspiración de Pasión, Telenovela parody.

    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

    A clown named 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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    Híjole: the little Mexican exclamation that has many meanings

    Tequila Híjole bottle

    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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    Diminutives for Food in Mexican Spanish

    Chocolatito con pan

    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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    El Monte de Piedad

    Monte de Piedad, a logo in white and red depicting its centuries-old Mexico City headquarters.

    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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    10 Spanish Expressions That Are Not Easy to Figure Out. Ya me agarraron de su puerquito.

    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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    Some Words Derived from Animal Names

    Palomitas

      Spanish speakers love to stretch meanings, and animal names are a favorite starting point. Over time, many animal words have spawned new meanings, tools, nicknames, or even insults. They often confuse students because they don’t refer to the actual animal anymore. These are the most obvious examples, but I am sure there are many […] More

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    10 Spanish-language Expressions That Are Not Easy to Figure Out. Tres Doritos Después.

    Tres Doritos Después

    Everyday phrases that don’t translate directly Spanish is full of expressions that confuse students because the literal meaning does not match the actual usage. Some of them are playful, others are pejorative (so they are better learned than repeated), and a few are just Mexican. Here is a batch of ten more examples. Spanish expression […] More

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    Notario Público vs. Notary Public: A World of Difference

    Notario Público

    Notario Público When Spanish-speaking students first come across the term Notario Público, they are often tempted to translate it directly as Notary Public. After all, the words look the same, and in both cases we are talking about someone who signs and stamps legal documents. But the truth is that the role of a Notario […] More

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    El Burro

    El Burro

    In many Spanish-speaking countries, the word burro has many uses. It can mean donkey, it can mean a big burrito, or even a stubborn person. But in the school context, to ser burro / ser burra for female students, means something very specific: the least smart or the laziest student in the classroom. In other […] More

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    10 Expressions That Are Not Easy to Figure Out. El Torito.

    El Torito

    One of the most confusing but also most fun parts of learning Spanish is discovering expressions that don’t make sense when you try to translate them word for word. Mexican Spanish in particular has many colloquial sayings that students hear in daily on TV show conversations but that are not easy to figure out at […] More

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    Señorita Cometa: A vintage Japanese Show that can help you practice Spanish

    Señorita Cometa

    If you ask many people in Latin America about old TV shows, they might still remember Señorita Cometa (Kometto-san). This was a Japanese children’s series from the late 1960s that was later dubbed into Spanish and shown on television across several countries in the 1970s and 1980s. Even though it was originally Japanese, the Spanish […] More

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