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Automóviles
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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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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in Culture, Mexico, Translation, Video
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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Some telephone Spanish
How do we answer the telephone in several Spanish speaking countries? We use several different expressions to answer the phone, so when you travel or watch a foreign movie don’t be surprised. It’s not always as simple as hello. I think no other language has a particular way to answer the phone depending on the […] More
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Beto, Pepe y más.
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
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in Culture, Mexico, Translation, Vocabulary
Sample list of translated proper nouns in Spanish
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
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Decir, hablar, contar.
Decir, hablar, contar In English we have to say, to tell, to speak, and to talk. They are confusing to foreign students. The same happens in Spanish. Let me try to outline the differences: Decir: to say or to tell. If the sentence contains an indirect object pronoun, it usually means to tell. She tells […] More
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Actually.
Actually, remember this please English native speakers who are learning almost any other language, including Spanish, please watch out. Your word actual has a very different meaning in almost any other language. Spanish actual current, up-to-the-minute, happening at this time Portuguese atual current, up-to-the-minute, happening at this time French actuel current, up-to-the-minute, happening at this […] More
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in Culture, Grammar, Translation, Vocabulary
Phrases and expressions that mean yes and no in Spanish.
I always wanted to make a list of words that mean yes and no. Here is part of it. Here are some negative and affirmative phrases that you will definitely hear in Mexican telenovelas. AFFIRMATIVE sí yes absolutamente absolutely afirmativo yes, but over radio communications, walkie-talkie, law enforcement, etc. claro of course claro […] More
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Some newspaper Spanish vocabulary.
A few years ago, I had a Japanese student of mine who complained that in Spanish (and English) we always change the words over and over on an article to avoid repetition. He told me that for him, it seems very disorganized and that he thinks that when you chose one word, you should […] More
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La Kahlo
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
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An interesting video about the history of the X in Spanish.
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
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