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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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    Carrazo 2.0: Spanish words that end with -azo

    Carrazo by Bardhal

    Almost 20 years ago we posted about -azo / -aza on SpanishNY. This is the updated version. In Spanish, this ending can mean bigger/awesome, or it can mean a hit/blow with something. There isn’t a perfect one-word match in English, so the best way is to learn it by examples. “Bigger / awesome” uses Spanish […] More

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    Decoding Governor Newsom’s Tweet: “Vete a la Chingada” Explained

    Gov Newsom

    Students of Spanish often encounter phrases that carry a much deeper meaning than their literal translation, and Governor Newsom’s recent tweet, “Vete a la Chingada,” is a good example. While it is a highly offensive expression in many contexts, its use in this particular political situation takes on a nuanced, “playful trolling” tone, which is […] More

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    María Inés, a famous telenovela character

    Mirada de Mujer

    A Little Background on Mirada de Mujer Mirada de Mujer is one of those Mexican telenovelas that really changed the way people looked at the genre. It aired from 1997 to 1998 on TV Azteca and was produced by Argos Televisión. With Angélica Aragón in the role of María Inés, it became an unforgettable story. […] More

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    I am Frankelda – A New Animated Movie from Mexico with Big Names Behind It

    I am Frankelda

    So there’s this new animated movie from Mexico called I Am Frankelda (in Spanish, Frankelda y el Príncipe de los Sustos). I had to write about it because it looks pretty amazing, and it’s getting attention from some serious names in Mexican cinema — like Guillermo del Toro and some of his filmmaker friends. Frankelda […] More

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    What Is a “Mercería”? And Why We Don’t See Many of Them in the U.S.

    Mercería Florecita, Oaxaca, Mexico.

    If you’ve ever lived in Mexico or visited often, you’ve probably seen a mercería. It’s one of those small neighborhood stores where people go to buy thread, buttons, elastic, zippers, and all sorts of sewing and craft supplies. Some are tiny — like the size of a hallway — and others, like Mercería del Refugio […] More

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    Chespirito Returns to Free TV in Mexico

    Chespirito, the series. All the actors and actresses playing the new Chespirito TV show characters.

      If you’ve ever spent time in Latin America, chances are you’ve heard of El Chavo del 8 or El Chapulín Colorado. These are more than just TV characters — they’re cultural icons, especially in Mexico and Brazil. Now, the man behind them, Chespirito, is back in the spotlight thanks to a new TV series […] More

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    Why Do Some People in Mexico Say “¿Mande?” Instead of “¿Qué?”

    Mande

    If you’ve spent any time in Mexico, you might’ve noticed something different when people don’t hear what you said. Instead of answering ¿Qué? (“What?”), many people say: “¿Mande?” It literally means “Order me?” or “Command me?” — which sounds kind of intense, right? But in Mexico, it’s just a polite way to say, “I didn’t […] More

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