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
This is how we call different groups of animals in Spanish: Spanish English Notes bandada (f) flock (birds), skein (group of geese) flock of birds, group of geese (gansos) cardumen (m) school fish (peces) colonia colony pingüinos enjambre (m) swarm bees (abejas), some other flying insects escuela (f) school fish (peces) jauría (f) pack dogs […] More
Who in New York City doesn’t know what SI VES ALGO, DI ALGO means? It’s all over the place SI VES ALGO, DI ALGO is the familiar (tú) translation for IF YOU SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING. When we just switched from tokens to Metrocards in the mid-1990s, we had these […] More
Several years ago, I put together a table about Spanish automobile-related vocabulary to show how it’s very different in Mexico and Spain. My theory was that cars came to the Spanish-speaking world simultaneously to Mexico via the United States, and Spain via France, and somehow there was not enough time to assimilate the new vocabulary […] More
The English Channel’s name in Spanish El Canal de la Mancha, literarily translates as The Channel of the Stain. This is historically an unfortunate translation mistake from its French name Canal de la Manche, which in French means Channel of the Sleeve, yes, as in a shirt. Probably the channel’s shape resembled a sleeve to the […] More
Here are some examples of diminutives for common Spanish names for men and women. Most of these names are used in Mexico but they may be a little different in other countries. Ale, Alex » Alejandro (Alexander) Beto » Alberto, Roberto Bety » Beatriz Carmela, Carmelita » Carmen Coco » Socorro (women’s) Concha » […] More
This Charlie Chaplin movie, The Pilgrim, was made nearly a century ago, in 1923. It was not really made in Mexico, but more north in a California movie studio. In this scene, Charlie Chaplin is deported to Mexico. Charlie Chaplin really traveled in Mexico. He married 16 year-old Lita Gray, who had […] More
This is a sample list of proper nouns in Spanish. Very often, I speak using proper nouns that I take for granted, but some of my students just can’t figure out what they mean, even during a conversation and in context. Some proper nouns are easy to identify, like Jorge Washington but I’m listing them […] More
Which really are the best cities in the world? Our readers voted for their favourite urban destinations – ranking them for architecture, their buzzing food scenes and smart places to stay. How many have you been to? And – do you agree with the list? https://t.co/Yrks4vCvaZ — Condé Nast Traveller (@cntraveller) March […] More
The use of “La” only for famous ladies. It’s a pop culture thing to refer to famous ladies using the definite article plus her last name to convey something like “the one and only.” For example: La Monroe The one and only Miss Monroe. It’s like if there were no other famous woman with […] More
Lola Pons Rodríguez explains a brief history of the letter X, she mentions that it has had several sounds that have changed every few centuries, and she also explains that the letter H was not mute in some regions. It was pronounced in a similar manner to English or German. This video is in […] More
This is one of the most memorable moments in Mexican telenovela history. Extremely dramatic, overacted, politically incorrect, internet meme material. This segment has subtitles for your amusement. Excuse some of the subtitles. Obviously, if they were exact translations, this telenovela would’ve never been shown on TV. ¡Maldita lisiada! Itatí Cantoral cuenta su […] More
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