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Generic Names of Animals in Spanish
Admin updated
In Spanish, nouns have a gender: masculine or feminine. For students, it can be strange when animals are sometimes “he” or “she” by default. For example, in English we say the spider, and it can be male or female, but in Spanish it is always la araña (feminine). On the other hand, el pez, el […] More
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in Spanish
OVNI
OVNI looks strange at first sight, but it’s one of those acronyms that became a normal everyday word. In Spanish, OVNI stands for Objeto Volador No Identificado — literally Unidentified Flying Object (UFO in English). What’s interesting is that Spanish isn’t the only language to use OVNI. French, Italian, Portuguese, and Catalán all built the […] More
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in Spanish
Names of Some Jobs — Remake 2.0
This is an updated and expanded version of an older spanishNY.com post. If you’re learning Spanish, it helps to know both the formal profession names (doctor, abogado) and the local, informal words you’ll hear on the street, in markets, or at small businesses. Below is a large table with many job names, some of […] More
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in Culture, Grammar, Spanish, Translation
The Many Faces of “Pues”: One Tiny Word, So Many Meanings
If you have ever studied Spanish and thought you were starting to understand it, a little word like pues probably appeared and ruined your confidence. Dictionaries will tell you that pues means “since,” or “because,” or “then,” or “so,” and they are not wrong — but they are not fully right either. The truth is […] More
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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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in Culture, Funny, Spanish, Vocabulary
Fulano, Mengano and Zutano: The Mysterious and Funny Names of Nobody
If you study Spanish long enough, sooner or later you will hear the words Fulano, Mengano and Zutano. These names don’t really belong to anybody, but they are used to talk about a person without saying the real name, or when the name is not important. For example, someone can say “Fulano me dijo que…” […] More
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in Culture, Vocabulary
New York City Bodegas
Bodegas in New York City A bodega in New York City is a small convenience store usually found on street corners. The word “bodega” comes from Spanish and means “storeroom” or “wine cellar.” The people who work in or own a bodega are called bodegueros. History Started by Hispanic Immigrants: Bodegas were started by immigrants, […] More
