Here’s what you said:

Austin Cooper writes: “I have two schools that I recommend. The first is Cristina Serra in Denia, Alicante, Spain. I spent two weeks here and stayed with a host family and I had a great time. Denia is a really cool place to visit and has a nice small town feel. The people are super friendly and the Spanish is very easy to understand.

The second place is CEICA in Arequipa, Peru.  I spent one week there also with a host family. The culture is fascinating and the food is excellent.”

Terry Hull is keen on Instituto Chac Mool in Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico. “Spent two weeks. Outdoor classes in a nice environment, great family host!”

Tricia, another Voices en Español reader, has also attended Instituto Chac Mool (twice!) and took her family with her. She writes:

A reader writing under the pen name”Hola Holanda” made an intriguing suggestion:  “Probably this one would be more suitable for advanced Spanish speakers ready to take their Spanish to a next level: Casa Lamm – Centro de Cultura in Mexico City.”

Martha Kowalak-Perez recommends Instituto Hispanico de Murcia in Murcia, Spain. She’s studied there twice. “Class sizes were small, Classes were challenging to my intermediate skills, teachers were very skilled, and the city is beautiful!”

T.J. DeGroat writes that he had “very positive experiences” at InHispania in Madrid and International House in Mexico City (Condesa neighborhood). “The Madrid school, not surprisingly, attracted more students, mostly twentysomethings. Teachers at both were good…At International House I was there for 5 weeks and felt really comfortable. I only ever had one other student in my “group” class, so it wound up being a great deal – super personalized instruction for the group-class price.”

Anna Preziosi suggests AIFS – American Institute for Foreign Studies. “For college students that is very good. I did my junior year in Salamanca and then – and even now – the program is very good.”

Loren McWethy highly recommends the Habla Ya! language academy in Boquete, Panama. “They have really nice facilities, inexpensive prices, and very professional materials. I found that the teachers were good at identifying weaknesses and finding materials that could specifically address these weak areas. I’ve been to a number of language schools and this place was by far the best. I did a week of classes focused on Medical Spanish but had I known it was so good, I would have stayed longer. The school also has a lots of activities, community…and the town of Boquete is really chill and fun.”

Louise Choquette is a study abroad veteran.  She writes, “I have attended 6 different Spanish-language schools in Latin America and I can unconditionally recommend the Proyecto Linguistico Quetzeltenango located in Xela, Guatemala.

I can recommend them because they have very experienced teachers on staff, who actually have teachers’s qualifications. They are also dedicated at making the rest of the world aware of the political and social conditions and the inequities of this world. They reinvest their profits to make their communities a better place (programs for children, electricity, schools, etc.). They supplement their program with meaningful activities such as presentations by people who experienced the war, local artisans and visits to community-based initiatives.

They also have a new option offering distance learning through Skype. I am currently taking such lessons and find them very helpful.”

Have any more recommendations of Spanish language academies? Post them in the comments below. Gracias de nuevo to all of you who have contributed already. The information is very helpful!

How many times have you heard or read a Spanish expression and then consulted a dictionary for its meaning and turned up empty? Maybe you found a definition right away. But perhaps there have been a few occasions where it took a little bit of digging to find the definition.

There is an easy way to uncover the meanings of Spanish expressions and you can do it by using a monolingual (Spanish-only) dictionary. Here’s how:

Always look up the meaning of an expression by checking the dictionary entry for the first noun mentioned in the expression. The reason? A Spanish verb is more likely than a Spanish noun to be used in multiple expressions. For example, the verbs dar, estar, ir, tener, are used in plenty of Spanish phrases and expressions. An excellent Spanish dictionary will list expressions that contain those verbs, but if there are numerous expressions, most dictionaries usually only list the most commonly-used ones. That’s why you’re better off looking for the definition of a Spanish expression by first checking the entry for the main noun mentioned.

Spanish expressions (frases hechas) are combinations of words whose meaning adds up to something very different from their individual parts.

Take, for example, an expression like “ir al grano.” The verb ir means “to go” while the noun grano can be a seed, a grain of sand or a pimple on somebody’s face. But when ir is added to grano (ir al grano) the meaning changes from a literal translation to a figurative one.

When I checked the dictionary under “IR” there was no definition for the expression. But when I checked “GRANO”, there was the expression with its meaning. Ir al grano means “to get to the point.”

So, to recap, here’s a step-by-step process you can use to find the definition of a Spanish expression.

Step 1: First, look up the primary NOUN

Step 2: If there is no noun, look up the VERB.

Step 3: If there is no verb, look up the ADJECTIVE.

Step 4:  If there is no adjective, look up the PRONOUN.

Most of the time, you won’t have to go down that entire scale. You will usually find your definition by first looking up the noun or the verb. Usually the first two steps (checking the noun or the verb listed in the expression) is enough.

By the way, I strongly believe that once you reach an intermediate-level of Spanish, you should start using a Spanish-only dictionary. Why? A monolingual dictionary usually gives a more comprehensive definition. A good monolingual dictionary will also give you examples as well as multiple definitions. The average bilingual dictionary, because it contains two different languages, generally does not have the space, if it is in book form, to offer the same level of detail.

Of course, there are some electronic or digital bilingual dictionaries which are excellent, but another advantage to using a monolingual dictionary is that it forces you to think in Spanish. That means less translating in your head, which is a good thing.

Previous entry: “How to use a Spanish-English Dictionary”

Tell us a little about Lenguajero. What prompted you to create the site?

Lenguajero is a website that connects Spanish and English speakers for online language practice and cultural exchange. Natalie Gordon, (my fiancée and business partner) and I provide our members with three effective learning tools: Online Conversation Exchanges using a voice, video and text chat app., a Writing Club to practice writing in the language they are learning (native speakers leave feedback on submissions), and a Smart Flashcard program to help them memorize and retain new vocabulary.

While Natalie and I were living in Medellin, Colombia our Spanish really started to take off, and we started feeling comfortable speaking the language. It was around this point in time that Natalie pointed that, despite the thousands of language learning websites out there, few of them were focusing specifically on connecting Spanish and English learners with one another for conversation exchanges.

Given how much spending time everyday interacting with native speakers had helped in our own learning process, we thought that there was real potential for this type of site. We had our laptops with us, and just decided to start building something.

Currently there are several different social networking language learning sites such as Busuu, Live Mocha and iTalki. How is Lenguajero different from those other sites?

As I mentioned above, it was the observation that none of these learning communities were focusing on just Spanish and English learners prompted us to start working on Lenguajero. We had both tried Busuu and Live Mocha before we left the U.S., but we always felt like the wide open “any language you want” approach made the community more of a social site than a learning tool.

Our focus on just Spanish and English means that every user has something in common with every other user.  This makes it easy for users to connect with one another and help each other out.

How and where did you learn Spanish?

I’m originally from Washington state in the U.S. and Natalie is from Canada. Neither one of us are native Spanish speakers.  In fact, it wasn’t until about two years ago that I really developed an interest in learning Spanish.  I was traveling through Central America, and not being able to have normal conversations with people I would meet was pretty frustrating.  It gave me the motivation I needed to buckle down and start learning.

I took a few Spanish lessons in Central America, and studied on my own when I got back to the U.S.  Then, Natalie and I decided to move to Latin America and immerse ourselves in the language.

We took classes for six months while living in Cuba and Colombia.  We also spent a lot of time reading, watching movies, studying flashcards, spending time chatting with friends and acquaintances, and in general just living day-to-day life in a Spanish-speaking country.

What were some of the difficulties you faced when learning Spanish?

Getting past the initial “This is really hard, and I’ll never understand the Subjunctive” phase.  I remember that for the first couple of months, no matter how much progress I was making, I always felt like I would never be able to speak clearly. Once I just relaxed, and accepted that it was going to take time, I started feeling a lot more comfortable and started to notice big improvements.

What’s the size of your language learning community and when is it most active?

Lenguajero has roughly 5000 members, and it is a pretty even mix between English and Spanish speakers. The site is most active during the week, especially on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. I always wonder why mid-week is more popular than the weekends. Anyone have any ideas?

What is the profile of your native Spanish-speaking members?

About 50-60% of our Spanish-speaking members are in their 20s, and are either university students or young professionals. There is a high number of engineers, software developers, doctors and lawyers because it is really important in these fields to learn English.

With that said, the other 40-50% is a complete mixed bag (this goes for both English and Spanish speakers).  Our community is really diverse.  Almost anyone who is learning Spanish or English can come on and find people with similar interests to talk to. We have a 79-year-old Venezuelan and a 78-year-old American who are very active in the community.

Any new features or tools under development that Lenguajero fans can look forward to seeing later this year?

Yes! We just launched Lenguajero – Classroom which helps teachers integrate Lenguajero into their course curriculum, by allowing them to monitor what their students are doing on the site.  The feature is in beta testing right now, and we currently have about 25 classes signed up to try it out.  We will be working closely with the teachers of these classes to improve and expand the tool over the next six months.

We also are planning on adding a few more community features to the site to make it easier for members to interact and share with one another.

We are always looking for ideas on how we can improve the site, and offer things that other sites do not.  If anyone has any suggestions we would love to hear them.  You can reach us through our contact us page.

Follow Lenguajero on Twitter @Lenguajero

see more Funny Graphs

This is a guest post by polyglot blogger Ramses Oudt. Although he speaks multiple languages, he has a passion for Spanish and writes about learning Spanish through immersion at Spanish Only.

If you didn’t listen to a lot of Spanish before starting to speak the language, it’s likely you have an accent. It might be a slight accent, but an accent nonetheless. Even if you’ve listened to hundreds of hours of native Spanish speakers on TV, in movies, in your neighborhood, etc. it’s possible to have an accent. Some people don’t mind, but many do.

Luckily not all is lost. I am a native Dutch speaker and Spanish is my third language. I used to have a terrible accent when speaking Spanish but it has improved tremendously in the last year or so to the point where now most native Spanish speakers don’t even notice it.

How did I polish my Spanish accent? I had to put in a lot of work to get a better accent. And no, it wasn’t something that just clicked, I really had to work hard to get better. But it was definitely worth it because now my Spanish is at a level where I can relax a bit.

Here are 5 steps I made to improve my accent. I believe they can help anyone who has the same goal of speaking more fluent Spanish.

Step 1: Find your weak spots
You can say, “Yeah, I have a foreign accent“, but if you don’t know which part of your speech is bogged down with your gringo accent, you’re going nowhere. So analyze your speech. Record yourself reading the letters of the Spanish alphabet out loud and then choose a short text, like three paragraphs or less, and read that out loud as well.

Once you have this recording of your voice, ask one or two native Spanish speakers, whose accent you like, for feedback. This step is very important. Don’t ask: “How do I sound?” because often they’ll just say you sound great. Ask them to critique specific sounds like the vowels, the letters t and r, etc.

Also, you may find that many native Spanish speakers won’t be able to fully articulate what exactly you’re doing wrong. They know that it doesn’t sound native but they can’t necessarily guide you on how to correct it.

If that’s the case, get a recording of them using the correct sounds plus reading a basic text and use that as your baseline of pronunciation. Then you should imitate, imitate and imitate some more, and keep asking for feedback to see if you’re getting closer.

Step 2: Open your mouth
A common problem for English (and Dutch) speakers is that we don’t open our mouths enough. It’s almost possible to insert something between your lips and not have it fall out and still speak English, that’s how closed we keep our mouths. So open wide in the beginning. When you pratice, pretend like you are speaking to a person who is hard of hearing so that you pronounce words in an exaggeratedly slow manner.

Step 3: Stick to the vowel sounds
The rolled R can be a pain in the butt, but mispronouncing vowels can also contribute to you not sounding Spanish. Spanish only has five vowel sounds, so stick to them. I know English has many more sounds, but Spanish doesn’t. Even diphthongs in Spanish are just combinations of those vowel sounds, so they don’t create new sounds. Focus on learning the five vowel sounds by heart (a, e, i, o, u, el burro sabe más que tú).

Step 4: Practise
Now you know where your pronunciation weak points are and more or less know how to sound, you can start practising. First listen to the correct sound repeatedly to get the precise idea on how to sound. Next copy the sound and produce it yourself. For some sounds (like the trilled r) you may need additional training and guidance, but don’t give up. Keep at it.

Step 5: Use the correct intonation
Intonation is essentially the melody of speech. It’s the way a language rises and falls when spoken and for many of us learning Spanish, it’s the reason why we’re so drawn to the Spanish language. Spanish intonation differs from region to region (just like in English), so it can be quite difficult adopting one that is right for you.

My advice is to pick up intonation little by little. Often this comes naturally if you listen to a lot of Spanish, but sometimes you need to concentrate on one aspect of a region’s intonation. Find a Spanish-speaking region’s accent that you like and have that be your guide.

Enjoyed this post? Follow Ramses on Twitter @spanishonly or visit his blog Spanish Only.

Photo: Gringo by Pragmagrapher

The Real Academia Española has finally published the definitive manual of Spanish grammar – “Nueva gramática de la lengua española: El español de todo el mundo”

This volume examines, for the first time under one roof, so to speak, the similarites and differences that exist between the varieties of the Spanish language as it is spoken in Spain and Latin America. The series of books, more than a decade in the making, are a massive collaboration between the 22 Academias de la Lengua Española. As a result special attention will be paid, for the first time by the RAE, to specific terms and usages of the Spanish language in the Americas.

If you’re a die-hard lover of Spanish and linguistics, you may be tempted to buy these books now. I’d caution you to wait and see because there are other versions of the books coming out next year.

The initial two-volume set is HUGE (almost 4,000 pages) and the price tag is 120 euros.  A third volume will be released in the coming months. After browsing through the first two volumes it was clear to me that this initial set of books is a scholarly work suited to language/linguistics professors and other academics. It’s not geared to people learning Spanish.

The good news is that the RAE is releasing its nueva gramática in three distinct versions.

The first, the only one currently available, is the complete, unabridged version. The target market for this would be university libraries or Spanish professors and doctoral language students.

Called simply Manual, Version 2.0 of la nueva gramática will be a 750-page tome. It will contain more concise descriptions and succinct explanations than Version 1.0, according to the RAE. It will be published in March 2010.

Target market:  Spanish professors and students of Spanish at the university level.

Version 3.0 is entitled “Gramática básica.” This book won’t be released until a year from now, at the end of 2010. It will be a 250-page paperback designed for the general public.

Target market: Spanish teachers at the primary and secondary school level, as well as non-university-level students of Spanish.

If you’d like to get a taste of what Version 1.0, (the unabridged version pictured below), is like, click here for a PDF that contains a sample of the text, as well as other details about the book series.

Do you think most of the phrases you share with us are common to Latin American countries or primarily to Spain? Would it be safe to say that all your material is known in Spain and a portion is also used in Latin America?

Excellent question and I’m glad you’ve raised the issue. Generally I try to stick to common words or phrases that are used universally, are widely known or will be easily understood by native Spanish speakers everywhere. But because I live in Spain and I have been exposed to more Castilian Spanish than Latin American Spanish, you can assume that the phrases you find on this blog would most definitely be used in Spain. Occasionally I may throw in a phrase or two of slang, but if I do I will clearly state that. However, I generally tend to stay away from blogging about slang phrases. Here’s why:

A). It’s highly regional in nature. Some popular slang expressions in el Distrito Federal in Mexico may draw blank stares if used on the streets of Madrid.

B). It is frequently dependent on age, gender or social class. By that I mean it’s a way of speaking between people who belong to the same group. If the person using a particular vernacular doesn’t belong to the group, he (or she) can actually be setting himself (herself) up for embarrassment.

A middle-aged American businessman going around Spain saying “me mola un huevo” (which loosely translated in English means “It’s freaking awesome!”) may think he’s fitting in with the locals. However such an expression coming out of a 50-year-old’s mouth may unintentionally generate snickers of derision instead of nods of admiration, even though the phrase is being used correctly. The reason? The speaker is not a 15-year-old Spanish teenager.

Consider the reaction you have in English when you hear a middle-aged suburbanite using slang that is specific to young girls or rappers. It sounds odd.

I’ve fallen into this trap myself. I once thought it would be OK for me to go around using the terms “macho” or “tronco” when referring to guys until a Spanish friend told me to stop. I thought it was OK to use these words because I had heard people (usually men) using those words to refer to other men. To my Spanish friend it sounded weird for a woman, especially a non-Spanish woman, to use those terms.

Anyway, getting back to your original question, yes, the bulk of the idiomatic expressions you find on this blog are phrases definitely used in Spain. Many of them are also used or, at the very least, understood in Latin America.

However, reader beware.

If you see a particular phrase that you’d like to use in Mexico or Argentina or Puerto Rico, etc., but you’re not sure it will fly, visit the Spanish-English forum at Word Reference.com to get an accurate reality check from native speakers living in those countries. Also, if you have a language intercambio (a conversation exchange with a native Spanish speaker), talking about idiomatic expressions is a fun way to learn more about their culture and clear up these kinds of doubts.

In the future, whenever possible, I will try to make distinctions and provide some alternative phrases used in different countries, especially if I know that the phrase used in Spain might be misunderstood or draw a blank in Latin America. For example, I did this recently on my Twitter page where I gave two different phrases (one used in Mexico, the other in Spain) to refer to wearing out the dance floor.

However, I can’t make any firm promises about how often I will be able to do this since there may be variations of an expression within a region (Cuban vs. Dominican Spanish, for example) not to mention within a country (Mexico City vs. Mexico). I’d rather provide you guys with streamlined content that has been curated in some way, (i.e. edited and boiled down to the essentials), instead of flooding the zone and swamping you with an encyclopedic entry.

Got a question? Drop me a line via the Contact page or leave your question in the comments section. ¡Gracias!

(By the way, notice how the English phrase “black & white” gets reversed in Spanish to “blanco y negro.” For example: black and white movies = películas en blanco y negro)

Here are some common Spanish expressions using blanco or negro.

ESTAR SIN BLANCA: To be broke, to have no money.

DAR EN EL BLANCO: To hit the mark, to hit the target.

EN BLANCO: Blank, as in, “La página estaba en blanco.” “The page was blank.”

Which leads to…. ESTAR EN BLANCO (to draw a blank, to have no idea) which is essentially the same as QUEDARSE EN BLANCO (to have one’s mind go blank).

PASAR LA NOCHE EN BLANCO: to suffer a sleepless night, to be unable to fall asleep

ESTAR NEGRO: To be very angry or to be extremely tanned, depending on the context.

VERLO TODO MUY NEGRO: To be pessimistic about something

PASARLAS NEGRAS: To have a hard time. Andrés las pasó negras cuando perdió su trabajo.

TENER LA NEGRA/TRAER LA NEGRA: To be unlucky, to bring bad luck. (Ese tio me trae la negra. That dude brings me bad luck.)

OK, the first time I heard this expression I was like ¿Qué qué? because my American mind jumped to the erroneous conclusion that it had something to do with race and implying that black people brought bad luck or something. Fortunately, I was mistaken. Turns out “la negra” refers to playing cards or fortune telling cards. The card containing the Ace of Spades historically was considered a bad omen.

Enjoyed this post? Check out Color Coded, Part 1: Verde. Also, get more insights into Spanish verb phrases at Twitter.com/ReVerbSpanish.

This podcast is an introduction to my latest web project: ReVerb Spanish. If I do it right, it is going to help you review, relearn and remember the different meanings and conjugations of Spanish verbs. This podcast contains 3 separate ReVerb Spanish episodes in one sitting. It includes the general introduction, a segment about Conocer vs. Saber and then an audio verb drill of the verb SER.

Also, as a bonus, I’ve thrown in a micro relato by Julio Cortázar. Below is the text of that story. What more could you ask for? Enjoy!

Haga como si estuviera en casa: Un micro-relato de Julio Cortázar

Una esperanza se hizo una casa y le puso una baldosa que decía: “Bienvenidos los que llegan a este hogar”. Un fama se hizo una casa y no le puso mayormente baldosas. Un cronopio se hizo una casa y siguiendo la costumbre puso en el porche diversas baldosas que compró o hizo fabricar. Las baldosas estaban colocadas de manera que se las pudiera leer en orden. La primera decía: “Bienvenidos los que llegan a este hogar”. La segunda decía: “La casa es chica, pero el corazón es grande”. La tercera decía: “La presencia del huésped es suave como el césped”. La cuarta decía: “Somos pobres de verdad, pero no de voluntad”. La quinta decía: “Este cartel anula todos los anteriores. Rajá, perro”.

Hay un poco de contaminación en San Francisco, pero en comparición con Los Angeles, hay poca. (San Francisco has some pollution but compared to Los Angeles, there’s little [pollution].)

Tengo un poco de dinero, si quieres te puedo prestar. (I have a little money. If you want, I can lend you some.)

Lo siento, pero tengo poco dinero, así que no te puedo prestar. (I’m sorry but I have very little money, so I can’t lend you any.)

The examples mentioned above have to do with poco/un poco plus nouns. When poco and un poco are paired with adjectives, their meanings diverge once again.

If you want to describe something as “un-” or “not” in Spanish, “poco” is your word.

Poco + adjectivo = Un (or Not) + adjective

poco agradable: unpleasant

poco amigable: unfriendly

poco atractivo: unattractive, not attractive

poco saludable: unhealthy, not healthy

poco inteligente: unintelligent, not intelligent

However un poco + adjective gets translated as “kind of”  or “somewhat” in English.

El menú del día de ese restaurante es un poco caro. Cuesta 15 euros. The menu of the day at that restaurant is somewhat expensive. It costs 15 euros.

La tienda está un poco lejos de aquí. No se puede llegar fácilmente a pie. (The store is kind of far from here.  It’s not within easy walking distance.)

Javier Bardem es un poco feo en la película “No es país para viejos”. ( Javier Bardem is kind of ugly in the movie “No Country for Old Men,”.)

We’re almost a quarter of the way through the year and for many people their New Year’s Resolutions for 2009 are already a distant (and unfulfilled) memory. But if you made a resolution connected to improving your Spanish in 2009 that you’ve since let slide, I’d like to challenge you right now to reconsider it. Perhaps the Spanish class you planned on taking got canceled or the schedule was changed. Maybe you got distracted by other stuff going on in your life or perhaps you’ve just been overwhelmed and preoccupied with more important matters. OK, no problem. Hey, it happens to the best of us. But now that you’re reading this reminder, what can you do, starting today to get back on track?

Consider the following analogy between chopping wood and advancing your Spanish:

When an ax is sharp, the pieces of wood go flying. But if the ax is dull, forget it. Talk about frustration. So, what is it that keeps an ax (or a knife) sharp? Contact with another a hard, abrasive substance. It takes iron to sharpen iron. And while that contact may produce a shower of sparks, the final result is a sharp, useful tool.

So how does this relate to advancing your Spanish? You need to have continuous and frequent contact with the Spanish language and find ways to maintain that contact. And sometimes those ways may make you feel uncomfortable because they’re hard, they require patience and persistence or you’re just not used to using them.

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you already know where I’m headed. Yeah, I know, I’m so predictable, right? But I feel like one can never stress this enough: Get an intercambio. If you’ve tried one in the past and it didn’t work out or it was a total disaster, try again. The benefits of having a language exchange partner totally outweigh some of the hassles you may have come across in arranging them.  (By the way, if you are partial to finding a conversation partner in Spain, believe it or not, it may now actually be easier to find intercambios since many people have either a). been laid off or b). think they might be laid off and as a result feel an increased pressure to improve their English. At least that’s what I’m seeing here in Madrid. Check out Loquo.com for intercambio leads in Spain.)

Don’t know what an intercambio is or how to do one? Read this.

Some places to find intercambios? Language Exchanges.org and SharedTalk.com, although there are a ton of other intercambio web sites out there. Just put “language exchange” or “language intercambio” into Google and see what comes up.

Here are some other ways to sharpen your Spanish:

Subscribe to the RSS feed of a blog like Spanish-Only to get Spanish learning tips and vocabulary delivered to your inbox daily.

Set up your web cam or use your camera phone and record yourself reading short Spanish texts out loud. It will be for your eyes only, so don’t stress out over your accent, the bags under your eyes or your receding hairline.   If you’re feeling really adventurous, take your camcorder outside and shoot mini videos of your neighborhood or town and do the voiceover in Spanish. Again, for your eyes only, if you wish. Need some inspiration? Take a tour of Graham A. Stephen’s engaging Expediente Ñ video blog.

Hop on the social media bandwagon and start making friends with native Spanish speakers and other Spanish language enthusiasts on sites like Tuenti, Facebook, StumbleUpon or Twitter. If you’re feeling really brave and want to swim with the sharks, join a Spanish-only forum like Spaniards.es, start leaving comments and see how fast they correct you!

Look for a volunteer opportunity. Perhaps there is a church in your area where you can help Spanish-speaking immigrants or a charity that needs someone who can speak a little Spanish to help them with community outreach.

Still a little gunshy about doing a one-on-one intercambio? Look for a Spanish conversation group online or at MeetUp.com. If there isn’t one in your local area, start networking and create one. Find a local Spanish instructor and ask him or her if they have anything going on. If not, ask them if they would be willing to appear as a kind of host or moderator at a local restaurant or coffeehouse if you helped to get the word out. The point is to do something that a). you are genuinuely interested in doing and b). won’t be a chore for you to keep it up.

If you’ve got any other suggestions or ideas, please share them below. But whatever you do, keep those Spanish skills sharp!

Photo by Photo Euphoria, used under license from iStockPhoto.com

Well, it turns out that Spanish is filled with phrasal verbs as well. It’s just not as noticeable to native Spanish speakers because, hey, it’s their language!

One of the most useful base verbs in Spanish is the verb dar which literally means “to give.” But when paired with the Spanish noun “vuelta,” dar becomes a phrasal verb powerhouse.

1. darse vuelta (to turn over) El bebé se da vuelta en la cuna. (If a car or a boat: to flip over or to capsize) El coche se dio vuelta en la carretera durante el accidente.
2. darse la vuelta (to turn around) El perro se da la vuelta cuando escucha su nombre.
3. dar media vuelta (to turn halfway around) La modelo da media vuelta en la pasarela.
4. dar una vuelta (to take a walk, to take a ride (in a car) Vamos a dar una vuelta.
5. dar vueltas (to toss and turn) Carmen daba vueltas en la cama.
6. dar vuelta en redondo (to make a U-turn, to make a complete 360º turn) Taxista, tiene que dar vuelta en redondo al próximo semáforo.
7. dar vueltas en redondo (to go around in circles) ¡Basta ya! ¡Esta discusión da vueltas en redondo!
8. darle vuelta a (to turn something over) Miguel le da vuelta al crepe (“pancake” en inglés) para que no se queme.

No hay que darle vueltas. (There’s no use talking about it. There’s no use discussing it.)

Photo by GXDoyle

Here is what you need to know:

Medio can be an adjective or adverb when referring to quantity. When it is used as an adjective, it agrees with the noun that it is describing. Use “medio” when referring to a single object or something that can be perceived as a unit.

medio kilo (half kilo)   una hora y media (an hour and a half)  medio bocadillo (half a sandwich)

When medio is used as an adverb it means “kind of” or “rather.”

Juan está medio loco. (Juan is half crazy. Juan is kind of crazy. Juan is not all there.)

Paco está medio dormido. (Paco is half-way asleep.  Paco is kind of asleep.)

Mitad is always a noun.  Use mitad when referring to a single object OR various objects that make up a whole.

For example, medio and mitad are both correct in the following statements:

He leído medio libro. He leído la mitad del libro. (I’ve read half the book.)

However, if you are referring to the quantity of pages, i.e. parts of a whole, then the only option is: “He leído la mitad de las páginas.” (It is incorrect to say “He leído medias páginas.”)

Photo: “Dinner” by apg

You wouldn’t think that there would be that many ways to profess your ignorance, but guess what? There are! Here’s a list of phrases to tell another person that you don’t know something. I’ve broken them into three categories: Neutral, Empathetic and Testy.

Neutral: This category is good for all occasions, formal and informal. The conventional “no lo sé” heads the list for this category. Other neutral phrases include:

Lo siento, pero es que no sé nada. (Sorry, but the thing is I know nothing about it.)

Lo lamento, pero no estoy informado. (I regret to say that I’m uninformed, I don’t have that info.)

Siento decirte que no lo sé. (I’m sorry to tell you that I don’t know.)

Empathetic: Want to show a little solidarity? Use these phrases when you want to show that you’re in the same boat as the other person who is asking you the question. They don’t know and neither do you!

Tengo que admitir que no sé nada acerca de…. (I have to admit that I know nothing about….)

No tengo ni idea. (I haven’t got a clue.)

¡Ojalá lo supiera! or ¡Qué más quisiera yo que saberlo! (I wish I knew!)

¡Ojalá pudiera ayudarte! (I wish I could help you!)

Testy: Use these phrases when you want to make it clear how little you know or if you’re annoyed by the question (or perhaps the questioner). But use sparingly. Some of these phrases would fall in the category of “coarse language,”  while others will give the impression that you’re extremely annoyed or pissed off.

No tengo ni la más remota idea. (I haven’t got the faintest idea.)

¡Ni puta idea! or ¡No tengo ni puñetera idea! (No fucking idea.)

¡Ni me lo preguntes! (Don’t ask me!)

¿No has encontrado a nadie mejor para preguntárselo? (Couldn’t you find anyone better to ask?)

¿Y cómo quieres que yo lo sepa? (How do you expect me to know?)

Photos by Oscar Alonso

Here’s a suggestion: Use speech synthesizer software to check the sounds of Spanish words and sentences. Just type in the line of text you wish to have read, select a voice from the menu of voices and click “play.”  You’ll then hear a synthesized voice reading your text. While the voices don’t sound 100% natural, they’re pretty darn close. In fact, these kinds of synthesized voices have gotten remarkably better in recent years and are sounding less robotic.

AT&T Labs only has two “Latin American” Spanish voices available — one male, one female. Copy and paste the Spanish text that you wish to have read aloud by “Rosa” or “Alberto.” The AT&T site is for demonstration purposes only and there is a 300-character maximum. Also, there is a limit on daily submissions made by the same Internet Provider address, although AT&T doesn’t specify what that number is.

Loquendo also has an interactive demo where you can put in short blocks of text. The good thing about Loquendo is that it has a wide range of male and female voices from Argentina, Chile, Mexico and Spain and the quality of the synthesized voices is surprisingly good.

SodelsCot has voices from Spain and its software can be downloaded for a 7-day trial. After that, you have to pay for it. There’s a standard version available for 32 euros.

To be sure, the companies that make this speech synthesizer technology are targeting corporations which need to generate audio recordings for their call centers, products or voicemail systems, not individuals. So there will be a limit to how much text you can put in the demostration models of the software that are available to use at no cost. But if you need a tool you can quickly access to double check the pronunciation of Spanish words or phrases, the interactive demo of these services, particularly the Loquendo product, are worth a look.

Don’t believe me? Check out these delightful gems that Google Translate conjured up when I put in the following random English sentences. All of Google’s Spanish translations are duds and are copy and pasted exactly as they appeared in my web browser. I didn’t change a single thing.

Sentences 1 and 2: “I like to fish in the ocean. I fish in the ocean.”  Google says: Me gusta el pescado en el oceáno. Yo pescado en el oceáno.

Sentence 3: “I wish I were rich.” Google wrote: Deseo que eran ricos. [The use of the verb desear sounds odd in this context. I would've gone with an ojalá phrase instead of using desear. But even overlooking the use of desear, the mistake in this translation is HUGE. The Spanish sentence requires the use of the imperfect subjunctive in the subordinate clause and the verb ser should be conjugated in the first-person singular, not the third-person plural.]

Sentence 4: “He didn’t go and neither did I.” Google translation: No ir y tampoco I. This is not real Spanish. This is Tarzan Spanish. [Cue sounds of bongo drums beating and chimpanzees screeching.]

Sentence 5: “The Jets fired their coach hours after the team was eliminated from the playoffs.” Google says: Los Jets disparó su entrenador horas después de que el equipo fue eliminado de los playoffs. (In English the Jets coach gets fired from his job while in the Spanish translation he gets taken out and shot by his team! )

If you are a heavy user of automated translation tools you may be unknowingly hardwiring incorrect vocab and grammar structures into your memory.  That will slow your progress and make it harder for you, down the road, to advance your Spanish since you will be forced to unlearn aspects of the language that you thought you already knew. Not a good situation to be in,  especially if you’ve been studying Spanish for a few years.

Don’t kid yourself into thinking that automated translation will help your Spanish. If you’re in a pinch, yeah, I guess you can use automated online tools to get a general idea, more or less, of what the sentence means, but always check and verify with a better source. Visit the human powered Spanish-English forum over at WordReference.com whenever you need to verify the accuracy of your translations.

So long, so long and thanks for all the fish! or, in the words of Google, Tanto tiempo, tanto tiempo y gracias por todos los peces!

Photo: “Modern Technology” by Josh Blake, used under license from iStockPhoto.com

Choosing my top ten Spanish language-learning resources was no easy task since there are so many out there and more keep popping up every day seemingly. After some thought and research this is what I came up with—in no particular order of preference.

1. Breaking Out of Beginner’s Spanish by Joseph J. Keenan – Written by a native English speaker who learned Spanish, this book offers numerous tips and explanations about the language that you just won’t find elsewhere. I have read this book several times and I always find something new.
2. Destinos is an instructional series of Spanish videos produced by Annenberg Media.  They introduce you to different cultures in the Spanish-speaking world, and teach speaking, listening and comprehension skills all the while telling a good story.  Yes, it’s dated, but I still think it’s worth watching for those who are starting to learn the language and those who need a review. (Free)
3. Phonetics: The sounds of English and Spanish – I have found this site to be very helpful, because it explains how to pronounce the various Spanish sounds in detail. For instance, for each vowel and consonant, you’ll find an animated diagram, step-by-step descriptions and a video of the sound being used in context. This site is mainly for students of foreign languages, but I think it’s also good for those who are teaching the language either at home or as refresher for those who are classroom teachers.
4. Online television programs – If you have high-speed Internet access, then you have access to Spanish-language television.  Here are a few of my favorite sites: http://delicious.com/Karen427/Spanish+online_tv I just try to enjoy the shows without worrying too much about understanding every single word. (Free)
5. Spanish Proficiency Exercises from the University of Texas at Austin is a comprehensive collection of brief video clips from native speakers describing everyday situations.  The clips are available at different levels from beginner to superior with transcripts in English and Spanish for many of them which I find very helpful. (Free)
6. ShowTime Spanish is an upper-level podcast from the Radio Lingua Network—the same folks who also do the very popular Coffee Break Spanish podcast. I really enjoy listening to this podcast because of the variety of topics offered weekly accompanied by easy-to-understand grammatical explanations. (Free podcasts, membership fee for extras.)
7. Spanish NewsBites – Here you’ll find timely articles about news and culture with audio (listen online or download mp3 files), links and glossaries as well as transcripts with the new vocabulary and more. I think it’s so important to learn about the culture as well as the language and with this site you can do both. (Free)
8. SpanishPod, a part of Praxis Language Ltd., offers audio and video podcasts at five different skill levels. To me, the presenters seem like old friends stopping by for a conversation. I have found myself laughing at some of their dialogues and really enjoying myself. They also have a knack for explaining difficult grammar. Interestingly enough, I have learned things here that I did not during my four years of college Spanish classes. (Membership fee)
9. The Spanish-English Wordreference forum is one of my main sources for finding answers to vocabulary and grammar questions. If after searching I don’t find my answer, then I just ask. So far, I have received the help I needed in a timely manner from native Spanish speakers. (Free)
10. Board games in Spanish – If you’ve never done this, you should try it. Playing board games in Spanish is a stealth way to practice vocabulary and have fun at the same time, especially if you’ve got young children learning Spanish. I recommend ¿Advina Quién? and Cranium’s Cadoo in Spanish. You can find these board games at Walmart, Target or Amazon.

Those are my top ten, but truly there are so many other resources out there such as the online magazine TECLA and the BBC’s Spanish Learning site, among many others.

Now it’s your turn. Which Spanish language learning resources have you discovered in the past year that you enjoy using?

Can you guess the true meanings of the following Spanish euphemisms? (Answers below.)

a). casa de reposo

b). dar a luz

c). defunción

d). disminuido psíquico

e). disminuido físico

f). empleada del hogar, empleado de finca urbana

g). estar en estado

h). estar ebrio

i). mujer pública, mujer de la vida

j). invidente

k). pasar a mejor vida

l). residencia de la tercera edad

ANSWERS

a). “Una casa de reposo” is a psychiatric hospital (manicomio).

b). Dar a luz means to give birth (parir).

c). Defunción is a fancy way of saying death (muerte) in Spanish.

d). Disminuido psíquico is one euphemistic way of referring to someone who is mentally retarded (retrasado mental, subnormal, tonto).

e). Dismunuido físico is a softer way of saying invalid (inválido) or cripple (tullido).

f). Empleada del hogar= housekeeper (asistenta) or maid (criada). Empleado de finca urbana = janitor, doorman or building superintendent (portero)

g). Estar en estado = to be expecting, i.e. to be pregnant (estar embarazada)

h). Estar ebrio = to be drunk (estar borracho)

i). Mujer pública, mujer de la vida = prostituta. But ¡ojo! un hombre público is an upstanding guy who is known and respected for his contribution to his community. See comments below for another perspective.

j). Invidente = ciego

k). Pasar a mejor vida = morir

l). Residencia de la tercera edad is an old folk’s home (asilo de ancianos) in Spanish.

Have any good euphemisms in Spanish? Share them with us in the comments section!

Bablingua offers three categories of products: Videos, Icebreakers and Vocabulary Cards. The video category includes activities teachers can use with students to build background knowledge before students watch the video. There are also Spanish subtitles available in the videos. Post video activities to evaluate students and what they learned are also provided.

The Icebreakers are exactly like what their name suggests: Very short videos (1 to 8 minutes in length) on a variety of topics. They are designed to accommodate different learning levels, from Beginner to Advanced.

The Vocabulary Flashcards can be used to learn new words or can be used in individual or group games.

What I like about the products is that they offer a fresh, youthful vibe. The videos are filmed outdoors and the content is delivered by españoles a de pie (regular everyday Spaniards) in a kind of “man on the street”-style of TV news reporting. This is excellent because it trains your ear to hearing the voices of different real-life native Spanish speakers who individually may have their own particular way of speaking. By that I mean, some people, regardless of the language, mumble when they speak while others may sound like they slur their words, etc.

The presentation of everything is professional and well done and the Bablingua web site is easy to navigate. While you can preview the Icebreaker videos, the bulk of the Bablingua content, such as the teacher activity guides, audio exercises, PDFs and vocabulary cards, is for sale only. Prices range from as little as $1 for an Icebreaker video on telling the time in Spanish, to as much as $45 for the DVD-Teacher’s Book package about shopping in El Rastro, Madrid’s famous outdoor flea market. [P.S. They don't have an affiliate program, so no worries....any money you spend with them goes directly to them and not to me. I'm getting no commission for this. I just like what I've seen of their product and figured some of my readers might want to hear about it too. ]

Bablingua: Spanish language teaching videos

A big reason why this misconception exists is because of the widespread use of the personal pronoun vosotros in Spain.

In Spanish there are four personal pronouns that all mean “you.” They are:

TÚ: informal, singular; USTED: formal, singular; VOSOTROS: informal, plural; and USTEDES: formal, plural.

In Spain, all four of these pronouns are used. Outside of Spain, only tú, usted and ustedes are used.

There are many Spanish-language teachers in the U.S. who don’t teach the vosotros form to their students because it’s not used in the Americas. There are also many students who decide on their own not to bother with vosotros because they figure they’ll never use it. But I think they’re making a mistake. Why? Because we live in a small world where you never know where you’ll eventually travel or whom you’ll eventually meet.

When I first came to Spain I had no clue about vosotros.  I knew it existed but it wasn’t a part of my knowledge base since none of my instructors in the U.S. had made a point of emphasizing it. That meant that I landed in Spain at a distinct disadvantage. Since I didn’t know how to conjugate verbs with the vosotros ending, I frequently reverted to using the formal ustedes form, which seemed kind of odd in an informal conversation in Spain.

So if you live outside of Spain, should you learn the vosotros form of verbs? Yes.  At a bare minimum, you should learn how to conjugate basic verbs with the vosotros ending so that you can at least recognize them when you hear or read them. It will make your Spanish more complete, even if it is a pronoun that you may not end up using frequently. Consider it a small gift to yourself that you’ll appreciate one day. 

1.  acordar: to decide, to agree                             acordarse de: to remember

2.  aprovechar: to seize an opportunity, to put something to good use
aprovecharse de: to take advantage of a person or a situation, to trick someone

3.  burlar: to evade, to trick                                   burlarse de: to make fun of, to mock

4.  comer: to eat                                                   comerse:  to eat up

5.  despedir: to fire                                              despedirse de: to say good-bye to

6.  dorimir: to sleep                                             dormirse: to fall asleep

7.  negar: to deny                                                negarse a: to refuse to

8.  ofrecer: to offer something to someone
ofrecerse a: to offer to do something

9.   quedar: to result in, to fit, to agree                 quedarse: to remain

10. sentir: to be sorry                                           sentirse: to feel

Enchanted Learning has a stack of activities, coloring book printouts and worksheets for young children learning Spanish. Some of the materials are available for free but to gain access to the complete online library of detailed actitives and worksheets you have to buy an annual membership. It only costs $20 but it’s worth every penny, especially if you’re a teacher who likes to have an assortment of worksheets and activities on file for when you have a substitute teaching your class or you want to review concepts and vocabulary you’ve previously taught. I’ve used this site in the past (the English worksheets for my Spanish students), and several of the activities and ideas I got from it were a big hit with my first and second-grade students.

My second web site recommendation is more appropriate for Spanish teachers at the high school or university level. Canal Encuentro is an online TV channel created by Argentina’s Ministry of Education. Although it is a site that is clearly targeted at native Spanish speakers, it has such a wealth of information on numerous topics, from art to science, that it could give you some ideas to supplement your lesson planning, particularly if you teach motivated students with an advanced level of Spanish. Canal Encuentro also has some children’s science programming but it may be at too high a level, in terms of vocabulary and speaking speed, for kids learning Spanish.

In addition to its video programming, what also distinguishes Canal Encuentro is its “Espacio Docente“, a space where teachers can find pre-written lists of questions and suggested activities to immerse students in the subjects. Some of the topics currently featured include nuclear energy, the life of flying insects, the art of Salvador Dali and Surrealism.

Overall, the site is extremely comprehensive and it’s free. There’s no fee to access any of the materials on the site.  Argentina’s taxpayers’ pesos at work! 

What I’m specifically referring to are the two Spanish conjunctions, sino and pero, which are the equivalent of the English conjunction “but.” (Actually, there happen to be more Spanish words that are the equivalent of “but”. However, for simplicity’s sake, this entry is going to focus only on two of them.)

The tendency for English speakers is to use pero in all situations whenever they want to link divergent ideas, but that isn’t always right.  In Spanish there are times where you also need the word sino to be grammatically correct.

How to know when to use one and not the other? Here’s your cheat sheet:

PERO

Use pero to join two contrasting ideas. This is the same way that “but” is used in English.

For example:
Me gusta este reloj, pero es muy caro. (I like this watch but it is very expensive.)

Estoy de acuerdo contigo pero lo hago a mi manera. (I agree with you but I’m doing it my way.)

SINO

This conjunction also links contrasting ideas. The difference is that sino corrects or negates a piece of information that has come before it. In English, this would be translated as “but, rather” or “rather.” For example:

Roommate 1: Tu jefe te llamó ayer. (Your boss called you yesterday.)

Roommate 2: ¿Estás seguro? Porque lo he visto esta mañana y no me dijo nada. (Are you sure? Because I saw him this morning and he didn’t say anything to me.)

Roommate 1: Ay, perdón. No fue tu jefe actual, sino tu antiguo jefe. (Oh, sorry. It wasn’t your current boss but your old one.)

If followed by a complete sentence, use sino que.

Julia y Leo no llegaron tarde, sino que fueron los primeros en llegar. (Julia and Leo didn’t arrive later, rather they were the first to arrive.)

So, to sum up: Both sino and pero are used as conjunctions to link contrasting ideas. The difference is that sino corrects or negates the information that has come before it, while pero does not. Sino is only used in negative sentences, while pero is in affirmative sentences.

But there are, of course, exceptions with pero. Consider the entire context of a sentence before inserting sino in negative sentences. For example:

Pedro todavía no se ha comprado un coche, pero quiere hacerlo. (Pedro hasn’t bought himself a car but he wants to.)

Pedro no se ha comprado un coche, sino una furgoneta. (Pedro hasn’t bought himself a car, but a van.)

When you’re speaking Spanish,  “sino” may not roll off the tongue because it’s so comfortable just using “pero.” But with a bit of attention and some consistent self-correction, incorporating this conjunction into your speech will eventually become second nature.

So what does any of this have to do with you? Even if you have no plans to say disparaging things about your country’s national holidays into a live microphone some day, there may still come a time that you commit a metedura de pata (a verbal blunder) in Spanish and could use a few phrases to bail you out.

I’ve written about the topic of apologizing in Spanish before in “Sorry, Excuse Me, Forgive Me,” but here are some new phrases to add to the mix.

Quiero despejar lo que acabo de decir… (I want to clear up what I just said.)

Lo que quería decir era….. (What I meant to say was….)

He hablado demasiado, perdóname…. (I’ve said too much, forgive me.)

Lo dije sin darme cuenta.…(I didn’t mean to say it.)

De verdad, no lo hice a posta….(Honest, I didn’t do it on purpose.)

Me gustaría que olvidaras lo que acabo de decir… (I’d like you to forget what I just said.)

Por favor, no me lo tomes en cuenta… (A direct translation from Spanish doesn’t sound natural in English, so an equivalent phrase in English would be “Please, can you just forget about it?” )

Take note of the following list of identical word pairs. Their meanings change depending on whether they have an accent mark or not. (Consider this a follow-up to a previous post I wrote last week about por qué, porque and porqué.)

WITHOUT A WRITTEN ACCENT                         WITH A WRITTEN ACCENT

aun (even)                                                            aún (still, yet)

carne (meat)                                                        carné (identification card)

de (of)                                                                 dé (imperative of verb “dar”)

el (the)                                                                 él (he)

mas (but)                                                             más (more, most, plus)

mi (my)                                                                mí (me)

o (“or” between words)                                         ó (“or” between numbers)

papa (potato); El Papa (the Pope)                         papá (dad); papás (parents)

que (that)                                                             qué (what?)

se (himself, herself, themselves)                          sé (I know; be!)

si (if)                                                                    sí (yes)

solo (alone)                                                          sólo (only)

te (you, to/for you)                                               té (tea)

P.S. My blog layout is too narrow so there isn’t enough space to write a full explanation in the column format. Note that dé can be the imperative or the subjunctive of the verb dar; sé can either mean “I know” or it can be the imperative of the verb ser. Regarding o and ó, they both mean “or”. However, if you are talking about things, no accent mark is necessary; if referring to numbers, you would use ó with the accent mark. For example: Necesito un lápiz o una bolí. Juan tiene 2 ó 3 hijos. [I heard from bilingual blogger gastephen that this accent mark is necessary to avoid confusion with the zero. Read his comment below.)

Do you know of any others? List them below in the comments section!

Here’s your cheat sheet to keeping this threesome straight in your mind:

por qué: Two words, with an accent; is the question word “why?” in Spanish.

porque: One word, no accent; means “because” in Spanish.

porqué: One word, with an accent; is a noun that means “reason” or “cause” in Spanish. It can be singular or plural.

For example:

Isabel: ¿Por qué estás tan triste? (Why are you so sad?)

Juan: Porque mi perro ha muerto. (Because my dog has died.)

Isabel: Lo siento mucho. Me preguntaba el porqué de tu tristeza. (I’m very sorry. I was wondering about the reason for your sadness.)

OK, well in Spanish there are at least four different words you can use to mean “time.” In English, we have the word “time” that we use interchangeably in different situations. In Spanish, you’ve got to be more precise.

Referring to a specific time of day?  Use “HORA.”

• What time is it? ¿Qué hora es?

(Sorry, couldn’t resist. Just a little inside joke for regular readers of this blog.   jeje.)

Referring to a short amount of time or expressing “a while”?  Use “RATO.”

• Vi una rata que estaba corriendo por aqui hace un rato. I saw a rat running around here a while ago.

Want to talk about a period of time, duration, or the concept of time in an abstract sense?  Go with “TIEMPO.”

• Tardó mucho tiempo en terminar la novela. He took a long time to finish the novel.

And when referring to an occurrence or an instance that generally can be quantified, the word “VEZ” is all you need.

• Vi esta película dos veces. I saw this movie twice (two times).

Now I’ve got to skedaddle (“escabullirme”). See you next time!

To ask about the meaning of a word or phrase you could say…

¿Qué quiere decir…? (What does — mean?)

¿Puedo usar … para decir … ? (Can I use — to say — ?)

¿De qué otra manera se puede decir….? (What’s another way to say —?)

¿Qué tal si en lugar de decir …. digo …? (What if, instead of saying — I said —?)

¿Cuál es el verbo que se refiere a la acción de ….? (What’s the verb that refers to the action of —?)

To ask how to express something, you could say….

¿Qué se dice cuando….? (What does one say when—?)

¿Qué tengo que decir cuando ….? (What should I say when—?)

¿Es muy informal decir…? (Is it very informal to say—?)

¿Cuál es la forma más correcta de decir….? (What’s the most polite way of saying—?)

Si alguien me dice …. ¿cómo tengo que contestarle? (If somebody says — to me, how should I respond?)

¿Hay en español una frase hecha que equivalga a ….? (Is there a Spanish expression equivalent to—?)

Try these out with your language intercambios or the next time you feel like stretching your Spanish a bit in a conversation with a native Spanish speaker. What’s so great about several of these questions is that they will spark answers that require elaboration and add another dimension to the conversation you’re having.  So take some of these phrases for a spin and give the tired ¿Cómo se dice? a much-earned break.

Spanish is a unique language known for its variations, not only in pronunciation but also in its lexicon and grammar. So much so that at times it can get rather complicated for a native Spanish speaker who travels to another Spanish-speaking country to speak the way he normally would en casa. In case you hadn’t already guessed, I’m talking about the group of taboo words and phrases that are typical to each region.

A Uruguayan arriving in Lima, Peru, for example, should take care when using the word pincho, which is simply a point or a needle in his homeland. But in Peru, a pincho is a vulgar term used to refer to a penis, while in Spain, “un pincho” refers to a (food) portion size! However, when a Peruvian says “me llega al pincho” he’s not referring to a man’s member nor the size of his food portions, but instead he’s saying doesn’t care, that it doesn’t matter, or what would conventionally be expressed in standard Spanish as “no me importa.” Other colloquial expressions used in Spanish to convey the same idea are are me importa un pito, me importa un bledo, me importa un pepino.

But by far the most notorious example of this kind of falso amigo is the verb coger, which in Spain is commonly used to mean “tomar” but in Argentina, Uruguay and Mexico, the same verb means to fuck, or what genteel people would say is to fornicate. Imagine how funny it sounds to a Uruguayan to hear a Cuban say “vamos a coger botella,” which in Cuba means to hitchhike. (By the way, the standard way to say  “to hitchhike” in Spanish is “hacer dedo.”) And when Spaniards “coger el tren“, Spanish speakers from other countries “tomar el tren.” Another verb used as substitute of coger is agarrar, when referring to the idea of grabbing or holding on to an object.

Perhaps one of the most jarring words for a Latinoamericano to hear upon landing in Spain is the word pija, the feminine of pijo. In Spain this word is used everywhere and it is a term used to describe a snobby, stuck-up female who wears the latest fashions, lives in the best neighborhoods and generally thinks the world revolves around her. But in South America, una pija is like using the English insult “a prick,” a term you definitely wouldn’t use in polite conversation. To make matters worse, in many places in South America, the phrase “es una pija” is synonymous for “She/it is shit” or “no vale nada.”

There are a ton of differences in the Spanish spoken in Spain and in Latin America. After all, all of Latin America at one time or another was a former colony of Spain. But during my time living in Spain, I had an opportunity to use various insults and swear words that we used to use in my family 20 years ago. They were expressions that had the same significance in Spain as they did in Uruguay, which is where I’m from. For example, the euphemism “me cago en diez” instead of “me cago en Díos.” This expression, which one uses when angry, was used by my parents’ generation during the 1970s and ’80s, but today in Spain, this expression is alive and well and widely used.

As you can see, this subject is pretty complicated. So if you’re planning on traveling to Spain or headed to Latin America, be sure to get your tacos and palabrotas straight! 

Click here for the Spanish version of this article.

Comic “When Name Calling Isn’t Swearing,” used with permission

I like this software because it’s interactive and having this type of specialized business vocabulary in one place is a definite plus, particularly since many English terms used in business (such as “on-the-job training” and “additional paid in capital”) are phrases, not individual words you can look up in a standard dictionary. So from that standpoint, software like this could be a real timesaver for English-speaking business types who don’t have time to spare flipping through a dictionary or chasing down the correct translation of phrases in an online Spanish-English language forum. Also the software, because the vocabulary is so specific to different situations, is appropriate for beginners to advanced students of Spanish. Transparent Language, the maker of the software, has a pretty generous return policy for the paid version of the software which surprised me. If you can’t recall 100% of what you’ve learned, they say you can request a full refund.

You can get the free version by clicking on this little flashing graphic:

Or the deluxe ($69.95) version by clicking on the picture of this box:

Here are some real-life examples found in a Spanish text:

Los tres caminantes llevaban sendos paraguas para protegerse de los ladrillos que caían, pero los paraguas se rompieron. (The three hikers were each carrying an umbrella to protect themselves from the bricks that were falling, but the umbrellas got torn.)

Vinieron 200 carniceros con sendos cuchillos. (Two-hundred knife-wielding butchers came. Two-hundred butchers came, each one with a knife.)

What’s the difference between “cada” and “sendos“? Cada can be used both as an adjective (Cada niño tiene su libro) and as a pronoun (Dame uno de cada), where as sendos is an adjective used to describe plural nouns. Consider “sendos” a synonym for “cada uno.” However, if there are only two nouns in the phrase being described, you can translate “sendos” to mean “both.” (Barack Obama se presentó a los europeos con sendas aparencias en Berlin y Paris. Barack Obama introduced himself to Europeans with appearances in both Berlin and Paris.)

Spanish doesn’t have anywhere near the same number of phrasal verbs as English but “dar de alta” and “dar de baja” are as good examples as any.

Dar de alta has at least three different meanings. The first meaning is to sign-up or register for a service. For example, you would dar de alta with the phone company, an insurance company or a health club.

Dar de alta and dar el alta mean to be released or discharged from a hospital. (El médico le dio el alta al paciente. The doctor discharged the patient from the hospital.)

In the context of computers and business, dar de alta may refer to activating a client’s account or uploading/adding information to a computer database.

————————————–

Dar de baja also has multiple meanings, depending on context.

If you are referring to a service or membership, dar de baja means to cancel or unsubscribe. (“Ayer les pedí que me dieran de baja porque no quiero seguir pagando.” Yesterday I asked them to cancel my membership because I didn’t want to continue paying.)

If you are referring to military personnel, dar de baja means to discharge from the military.

If you are talking about a person, dar de baja and dar la baja refers to medical leave. Estar de baja is also another option. (“El médico me dio la baja porque me hice daño en el cuello. Estoy de baja por seis meses.” The doctor approved my medical leave because I injured my neck. I’m on sick leave for six months.)

Special thanks to blogger Erik R. for suggesting this topic.

Photo of doctor and patient from iStockPhoto.com

A couple of summers ago in Toledo, Spain I was ripped off by a bus driver. I gave him money that more than covered my fare and when I got my change back, I realized immediately it was wrong. I told him that he made a mistake, but he said that I was the one who was mistaken. He told me to move away but I refused as the exchange between us grew more heated. I held my ground but he refused to give me back my change. In retrospect it was stupid but I was really pissed that someone would be so blatant about ripping off a customer.

When I got off the bus, another passenger who got off at the same stop, started telling me what a jerk the bus driver was and that he, the passenger, had seen how much money I had given the bus driver and knew that the driver had cheated me. Thanks for nothing, was all I could think. It would’ve been nice to have had backup in the moment when it would’ve made a difference. Anyway, this fellow bus passenger told me that what I needed to do was get an Hoja de Reclamación. I had heard about them before but had never actually seen one.

What’s an Hoja de Reclamación? Well, in Spain, it’s a way of officially complaining about service you’ve received. In my case, it turned out to be more trouble than it was worth tracking down the form on a weekend and then filling it out, but at least it’s an option.

In any case, below are a few all-purpose phrases to use if you’re ever on the receiving end of poor customer service in a Spanish-speaking country. Of course, you can use these phrases in any context, not just when registering a complaint, but it seemed to me that some of these phrases could be just the thing you need to better express yourself when you’re fed up and annoyed and wish to complain strongly but politely. Guest blogger Clarisa, over on the Spanish side of this blog, has also written an entry today with more general phrases, (different from the ones listed below), that you can use to reclamar in Spanish. Who knows? You might just need to use a few of them someday.

Quiero quejarme. (I’d like to complain.)

Quiero darle las quejas de… (I’d like to complain about…)

Este (….) no me deja… (This [blank] won’t let me [blank].)

He de decirle que (…) está en un estado lamentable. (I have to tell you that [....] is in sorry condition.)

No es cosa de risa. (It’s no laughing matter.)

(…..) como quien no quiere la cosa. (….as if it weren’t worth bothering about.)

No puedo aguantar por más tiempo…. (I can’t stand [blank] any longer.).

¿Ve usted por donde voy? (Do you follow what I’m saying?)

Perdóneme, pero ¿está usted completamente seguro? (Sorry, but are you absolutely sure about that?)

Me consta que…. (I know for a fact that…)

Me empeño en que usted lo haga. (I insist that you do it.)

Visit the Spanish side of this blog for more phrases. Do you have any Spanish phrases of your own that have work like a charm when you need to vent or complain about customer service? What are they? Leave them below and let’s educate one another!

• They are short sounds
• They are “pure” sounds
• They start and end differently from English vowels.

Visit Martin’s blog, Spanish Pronunciation 101, for a detailed description of the correct pronunciation of Spanish vowels.

Vowel A : In Spanish, the “a” is similar in sound to the “a” in the English word “start.”

ala, casa, mala, masa, lana, sala, sana

Qué bonita es la casa blanca.

Vowel E:

leche, cheque, sesenta, elefante

En enero, tenemos mucha nieve.

Vowel I: The Spanish “i” sounds like the “ee” sound in the English word “fleece”

mi, si, ni, fin, Lima, policía, bicicleta

Fui al cine con mis amigos.

Vowel O:

no, oso, ocho, chocó, coco, mono, solo

Los ojos oscuros son bonitos.

Vowel U: Spanish “u” equivalent to the “oo” sound in the English words, “too” and “goose.”

uno, humo, tubo, nunca, futuro, multa

Hubo un culo en el tubo. (A little bathroom humor here. )

Extra credit: A trabalenguas (tongue twister) in Spanish: A, E, I, O, U: El burro sabe más que tú.

Previous podcasts in this series are:

Intro to Spanish pronunciation

English Consonant sounds that don’t exist in Spanish

Spanish Consonants

BYKI has two versions, BYKI Lite and BYKI Deluxe. The “lite” version is the free one. I downloaded BYKI Lite for Spanish and played around with it for a little bit. They’re not kidding when they call it “lite” because it truly is bare bones. There are only 17 vocabulary categories available covering basic verbs, food, animals and dining out, among other topics. That said, there is enough to work with in their free version to get a good feel for how the software works and to see it in action.

Here are the pros and cons of BYKI:

PROS

• Software interface is simple, easy to read and navigate (at least for Mac, which is what I use).
• There are 5 different learning modes that gradually take you up the ladder to incorporating the new words and phrases into your vocabulary.
• There is audio of a native speaker pronouncing every word or phrase.
• The $49.95 price for the Deluxe version seems reasonable, based on what it offers. You get access to more than 75 different vocabulary categories and you can create and customize your own personal lists of words.
• Additionally, the Deluxe software has a way for you to record your own voice and then graphically compare it to native pronunciation and supposedly help you to isolate and correct problem areas. I didn’t try out this version of the software so I can’t give you any impressions on how well that part of it works, but that capability sounds like a great idea.
• There are 64 different languages to choose from, so if you’d like to dabble in a little Albanian or Urdu, this software seems like just the ticket.

CONS

• The software, at least the “lite” version is ideal for raw beginners. If you are at an advanced beginner or intermediate level, you’re not going to get much out of this. But since it is free, you lose nothing by trying it out.
• The flashcards don’t point out the importance of gender in Spanish and don’t alert the user to the distinction between male and female made in Spanish. For example, the speaker for the Spanish BYKI is male. When he says statements like “Estoy cansado” or “Estoy contento” none of the flashcards point out that if the speaker were female, that the endings would be “cansada” and “contenta.” Not pointing this out to users of the software is a big mistake, particularly since the primary market for this product are English speakers and this type of gender-related change to adjectives does not exist in English.

Final verdict? Worth a look, particularly if you’re new to a language and need to practice basic vocabulary.

Free Version: Free BYKI™ Lite download by Transparent Language

Click on the photo below for the deluxe (paid) version:

Do you know when the morning ends and afternoon begins in Spain? It may not be what you think.

In the U.S. and U.K., morning is over at 12 p.m. From 12 p.m. to 5 p.m./6 p.m. is typically considered afternoon, with some adjustments during the winter when sunset can happen as early as 4:30 p.m. Generally between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. is evening. Anytime after 8, especially if it’s dark outside, is considered night time.

In Spain, it is common to consider morning (mañana) any hour up to lunchtime, which is typically between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m.

After lunch, the afternoon officially begins. Say “buenas tardes” anywhere between 3 p.m. up to about 9 p.m. or perhaps even later, especially in the summer months when sunset happens around 10 p.m. Also, tarde is the equivalent of both “afternoon” and “evening” in Spanish.

Interestingly enough, night (noche) gets the smallest window of hours on the Spanish clock. “Buenas noches” is typically up until midnight. After that, from around 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. the period is called “madrugada” and you’ll sometimes hear people say “tengo que madrugar,” meaning that they have to wake up early the following morning.

These tricksters are false cognates or cognados equívocos in Spanish. That’s their technical name. Informally they’re called “false friends” or falsos amigos. The reason is because they have spellings similar to English words (or, in some cases spellings that are exactly the same) but they have totally different meanings. A prime example is embarazada (which means pregnant) and embarassed. There are a ton of these false friends, too many to fit comfortably in a single blog post, that’s why I’ve put together a list of 101 of them.

If you’d like to get this free list, all you have to do is sign up for my e-newsletter. The sign-up box is on the right-hand side of this page.

If you’re already on my email list and would like to receive this eight-page easy reference guide to Spanish-English falsos amigos, just leave a comment below or drop me a line via the contact page and I’ll send it to you.

P.S. Just a quick technical note: To get the 101 Falsos Amigos guide, you MUST respond to the automated email that you will receive asking you to verify your sign-up. The service that I’m using to email this guide requires confirmation that whatever I’m emailing has been requested by the recipient and is not spam. If you do not respond to that automated email, you will not receive the link allowing you to download the 101 Falsos Amigos PDF.

Please check your junk mail folder if you don’t see this confirmation email after subscribing to the e-newsletter.

Sorry to be such a stickler about this but it’s the only way to ensure that you are getting stuff that you really want to receive.

Thanks!

Eleena

Here’s a list of phrases and expressions you can use when a simple “gracias” or “muchas/muchísimas gracias” doesn’t feel like enough.

Note: In some cases the English translations I’ve posted here are not literal word-for-word translations but rather an English equivalent to expressing the same sentiment as the Spanish statement.
[Gracias,] eres muy amable/eres muy generoso (You are very kind. You are very generous.)

Gracias de todo corazón (Thank you from the bottom of my heart.)

Gracias y me quedo corto (Thank you, words fail me.)

Te lo agradezco/Se lo agradezco (I appreciate it.)

No sé cómo agradecerte (agradecerle) lo que has (ha) hecho por mí
(I don’t know how to thank you for what you have done for me.)

Le/te estoy inmensamente agradecido (I’m eternally grateful.)

Que Dios te /le bendiga (God bless you.)

No sabes cuánto te debo (You don’t know how much I owe you.)

Espero que algún día podré corresponderte (corresponderle) [I hope I'll be able to return the favor one day.]

No viviré bastante para poder pagarte (pagarle) todo lo que has (ha) hecho por mí. (I’ll never be able to repay you for all that you’ve done for me.)

And when you’re writing an email or a letter where you’re asking for something or making a request in an online forum, a couple of standard ways of expressing thanks are Gracias de antemano or te lo agradezco de antemano. They both mean “Thanks in advance.”

Use ir when you simply mean “to go.” Voy al mercado. (I’m going to the market.)

Use irse when you mean to leave, but in the sense of “to go away.” Me voy a Barcelona mañana. (I’m leaving for Barcelona tomorrow. I’m headed to Barcelona tomorrow.)

It’s for this reason why you’ll hear native Spanish speakers say “me voy” not “voy” when they’re leaving a place.

Helping Laura do Yoga

Photo by Laura Rainbow Dragon

For all you yoga buffs out there, here’s a primer on the Spanish phrases used to describe the Sun Salutation yoga series. This falls under the category of Spanish vocabulary you didn’t know you needed until you need it.

I know that when I started learning Spanish, I primarily focused on the 4 basics: food, family, work and fun. It wasn’t until I was forced outside this safe zone and ventured into areas like health-care, banking/personal finance and sports, that I realized how limited my Spanish vocabulary was and, in many ways, still is. I’m sure more than a few of you reading this can relate to what I’m saying.

Perhaps English-language yoga sessions in Spanish-speaking countries wouldn’t be as popular as they are if more English-speakers felt comfortable using and understanding the Spanish phrases used in yoga. In any case, here you go. The first phrase is the original name for the pose, followed by the Spanish and English equivalents in parenthesis.

1. Tadasana (Postura de la Montaña/Mountain pose or Prayer pose)

2. Urdhva Hastasana (Saludo hacia Arriba/Raised Arms pose)

3. Uttanasana (Flexión de Pie hacia delante/Standing Forward Bend)

4. Ardha Uttansana (Media Inclinación de Pie hacia Delante/Lift upper torse half-way up)

5. Ashwa Sanchalanasana (Gran Paso hacia Detrás/Equestrian pose/Horse pose)

6. Adho Mukha Svanasana (El Perro con la Cara Hacia Abajo/Downward Facing Dog)

7. Postura de la Tabla (Plank pose)

8. Chaturanga Dandasana (Postura de Bastón de los Cuatro Miembros/Salute with the 8 Arms Posture pose)

9. Urdhva Mukha Svanasana (El Perro Hacia Arriba/Upward-Facing Dog or Cobra pose)

10. Adho Mukha Svansana (El Perro con la Cara Hacia Abajo/Downward-Facing Dog)

Then finish up the cycle by working your way backwards, starting from Step 5 (Step 4, Step 3, Step 2,) and finish your salutation back at Step. 1 Ahhhhhhh.

To view an animated version of this complete salutation in sequence with instructions in English, click here.

“Sorry” comic.

Drawn by Pete Toms

Continuing a post I made last week about apologizing in Spanish, here is the second part — accepting apologies. This entry will be much shorter than the first one.

There are formal and informal ways of accepting an apology in Spanish.

Formal and a bit aloof

Perdonado
Disculpado
Estás perdonando.
Acepto las disculpas, pero que no se repita.
Bien, pero que no vuelvas a hacerlo.
Bien, de acuerdo, pero no lo hagas mas.

Informal and more “amigable”

I tend to prefer the tone of these more because they seek to reassure the other person, the one who has apologized.

Está bien
Nada, nada
No es nada
No pasa / pasó nada
No hay de qué
No tiene por qué disculparse. No tienes por qué disculparte.
No se hable ya más de ello. (Say no more about it.)
De acuerdo, haremos tabla rasa. (OK, let’s wipe the slate clean.)
Corramos un tupido velo, ¿de acuerdo? (Let bygones be bygones.) ¡Pelillos a la mar! (Let’s bury the hatchet!)

And when you want to minimize the impact of the offense or make sure that the person who is apologizing doesn’t get all depressed about what happened, you can say:

No tiene la menor / ninguna importancia.
No lo tomes en serio.
No ha sido culpa tuya.
No te preocupes.

Tranquilo, eso le occure a cualquiera. (Take it easy, that could’ve happened to anyone.)
Ya ni me acordaba, de verdad. (I’d forgotten about it already, really)
No consta que no lo hiciste a propósito. (I know, I’m aware that you didn’t do it on purpose.)

Olvídalo.

One last thing I forgot to mention in the previous entry about “lo siento,” it’s very common and considered very courteous to use it as a means to give a polite negative answer to a question or a request. In this way it is very similar to the way we use it in English. For example:

Juan: ¿Podrías llevarme a casa?
Maria: Lo siento. Es que no tengo coche.

Tourist: ¿Puede indicarme dónde está la estación de tren?
Random man on the street: Lo siento, señora, no soy de aquí.

Boss: Jaime es un buen ingeniero.
Secretary: Lo siento, pero ni tiene el título.

But there is more to la disculpa (i.e. apologizing) than lo siento in Spanish. While we learn that “lo siento” is Spanish for “Sorry” or “I’m sorry”, it isn’t always used exactly the same way as its English equivalent. In fact, there are times in which saying “lo siento” can seem rather excessive.

After the jump are some phrases I’ve used to kick my lo siento habit. I’m still in recovery but having a wider arsenal of phrases helps. Consider this a quick and dirty basic guide to navigating the shoals of remorse in Spanish.

Photo: I’m sorry by Jodi C, used with permission

When it comes to la disculpa, there are basically two categories: the small, everyday occurences in which you’re asking someone to excuse your behavior and then the big, life-changing ones where what you’re really doing is asking for forgiveness or trying to empathize.

Category I: Excuse me

Use the following terms when you want to excuse yourself or your behavior for simple, basic everyday type stuff. For example, accidentally bumping into somebody, dropping something, interrupting somebody. Basically you did something by accident or made a small mistake or caused a minor incident, etc. There’s been a small, momentary transgression of some sort between you and another person and you need to find a way to reestablish the equilibrium. You can use any of the following terms or phrases to do that:

Perdón
Disculpa [informal tú] or Disculpe [formal usted]
Ha sido sin querer (It was an accident)

Pretty easy, huh? Of course there are plenty of other expressions, but these are all you need to get you out of most everyday jams. I’m not saying you can’t use “lo siento” in everyday contexts. Just use it sparingly because it isn’t always necessary.

Category II: I’m sorry

The second category of apologizing is for the heavy stuff. Death, divorce, break-ups, firings, layoffs, huge disappointments, natural and unnatural disasters and other acts of God and men. Basically, you want to empathize and show the emotion or depth of your feelings. You want to express to the other person that you’re feeling their pain. It’s in situations like these that you can bring out the “lo siento,” which literally means “I feel it.”

Here are some variations on that phrase:

Lo siento mucho, lo siento muchísimo
¡Cuánto lo siento!
Lo lamento
No sabes cuánto lo siento/ lo lamento

Crank up the phrases (lo siento or lo lamento) even more by tacking on some additional information.

For example, Lamento lo ocurrido. Siento lo ocurrido. (I regret what happened. I’m sorry about what happened.)

Lo siento, ….
…..no lo he hecho a propósito/adrede/aposta (I didn’t do it on purpose)

….no quería hacerlo (I didn’t mean to do it.)

…..no sé qué decir (I don’t know what to say)

…..no volverá a repetirse (It won’t happen again)

…..no pretendía ofenderte (I wasn’t trying to offend you)

….estoy realmente avergonzado(avergonzada) (I’m so embarassed)

This entry has gotten very long, so ¡disculpadme! Ha sido sin querer. I’ll be back another day with an entry about accepting apologies. ¡Hasta luego!

In any case, that’s not what today’s entry is about exactly. This Spanish grammar tip focuses on two specific uses of por vs. para when paired with the verb estar. Estar por and estar para both generally mean “to be about to” but with different nuances. It may seem rather narrow but actually the phrases that you can build using estar por or estar para are very common and extremely useful.

Estar por

Use the preposition por with estar when you want to indicate one’s intention of doing something. This intention isn’t always clearly defined. It’s a more of a feeling or an emotional response in support of taking action. In English, the equivalent phrase would be “to feel like (doing something)” or, more formally, “to be in favor of.”

For example, imagine a situation where you’re angry or annoyed. Your downstairs neighbors are blasting their music. You say to your girlfriend, “Estoy por bajar al piso de abajo y decirles que quiten la música.” (“I’m about to go down to the apartment downstairs and tell them to turn off the music.” )

Here’s another scenario: You have a blind date and have spent 30 minutes in a cafe waiting for your date to arrive. As the minutes pass, you’re pretty sure you’ve been stood up and are seriously considering leaving but unsure whether you should try to text message the person or leave a note with the waitress. As you’re mulling this over, your blind date arrives. Later on, you tell a friend that “Estaba por abandonar el sitio cuando llegó.” (“I was about to leave the place when he arrived.” But with the meaning that I was thinking of leaving, not that I was actually leaving.)

Estar para

This construction is used to indicate that an action is on the verge of happening. Estar para is another way of saying estar a punto de.

Using the same blind date example from above, if you were to say “Estaba a punto de salir, cuando llegó” or “Estaba para salir….” you are saying that you were literally on your way out the door when your date arrived.

Other examples:

Está para llover. (It’s about to rain.)

El concierto está para empezar. (The concert is about to start.)

El autobús está para salir. (The bus is about to leave.)

Some of the English consonants sounds we address are the following:

Sound “z” in zoo, cheese, exit

This is buzzing sound, like the sound of a bee. Does not exist in Spanish.

Sound “v” in vase, cover

This English “v” sound does not exist in Spanish. Just pronounce the “v” like a “b” when speaking Spanish and you’ll be perfect.

Sound “th” in think, anthem

This sound only exists in Castilian Spanish. The “th” of anthem is the same “th” sound used for the Spanish “z” in Spain. Zapato is pronounced “tha-pa-to”. But this in only in Spain. Outside of Spain, this “th” sound is not used.

Sound “h” in heat, ahead

The “h” is silent, i.e. mute, in Spanish. Avoid pronouncing the “h” at all times whenever you say words like hombre, hambre, hora, etc. Just pretend the “h” isn’t there whenever you say a Spanish word that contains it.

Sound r in horse, carry

The English “r” sound is very different from the Spanish “r.” Martín and I briefly mention the letter “r” in this podcast but we’re going to devote an entire episode to this bad boy of the Spanish alphabet, particularly his naughty twin, the double rr, who delights in throwing a wrench in English speakers’ Spanish pronunciation.

This episode is a little technical, but never fear, Martín has written a detailed explanation on his blog about the various terms (voiced and voiceless fricatives) he mentions in this podcast. He also gives us more examples of additional English consonants sounds (g, j, l,) that we didn’t have time to cover in this podcast.

The next episode in this series will focus on Spanish consonant sounds. Please leave feedback and suggestions in the comments section or send me a private message through the blog’s contact page. Thanks!

Tu amigo: ¿Dónde estás? ¿No vienes a cenar esta noche?
Tú: Claro que sí. Ya voy.

Now the same conversation in English:

Where are you? Aren’t you coming to dinner tonight?

Of course, I’m coming. (I’m on my way.)

Notice anything in particular about the two versions? In the Spanish version, two different verbs are used (venir/ir), while in English both you and your friend use the same verb “to come.” Turns out that in Spanish grammar there is a pretty rigid rule on when you can use venir (to come) and ir (to go) in the context of comings and goings. Here it is:

IR : to go to another place (there)

VENIR : come to where the speaker is (here)

Tú: Voy a tu oficina mañana. (I’m coming/going to your office tomorrow.)

Tu amigo: Ven a mi oficina a las 9 de la mañana. (Come to my office at 9 a.m.)

Photo: “Talk to God phone booth” by just_callmekitty. Used with permission.

Sorry, I dialed the wrong number

Disculpe. Marqué el número equivocado.

Me equivoqué de número.

Me he equivocado al marcar.

He debido de equivocarme al marcar. (I must’ve dialed the wrong number.)

Sorry, you dialed the wrong number

Lo siento, se ha equivocado de número.

Tiene el número equivocado.

Technical difficulties

Disculpe, se le/la oye muy mal (Sorry, can’t hear you very well)

Disculpe, apenas le/la oigo (Sorry, I can hardly hear you)

Hay muchas interferencias (There’s a lot of static noise)

Hay mucho ruido en el fondo (There’s a lot of noise in the background)

Se había cortado (The call got dropped)

To ask the other person to call back

¿Podría volver a marcar la llamada? (Can you try making the call again?)

¿Podría decirme qué número ha marcardo? (Can you tell me what number you dialed?

To ask the other person to slow down or to repeat

¿Le importaría repetirme de nuevo….? (Would you mind repeating again…?)

¿Sería tan amable de deletrearme….? (Would you be so kind as to spell for me…?)

¿Podría hablar un poco más alto? (Could you speak up?)

¿Podría hablar más despacio, por favor? (Could you speak slower, please?)

Obviously, you can use the first part of these phrases “le importaría…, sería tan amable…, podría…,” interchangeably. They are all polite ways of conveying the same idea.

To say you don’t understand or to clear up doubts

No estoy seguro/a de haber comprendido… (I’m not sure I understood…)

Tengo dudas sobre lo que ha dicho sobre… (I’m not sure I followed what you’ve said about…)

Se lo repito; corríjame si es necesario (I’m going to repeat it to you. Correct me, if necessary.)

Si lo he comprendido bien, …. (If I’ve understood correctly….)

To say that you’ve understood perfectly

Sí, he entendido perfectamente

De acuerdo

Efectivamente.…(Basically….)

However there are nouns that are, for lack of a better term, linguistic hermaphrodites. That means they have both a feminine and a masculine side. In other words, they are switch hitters who use both the feminine articles la, las, una, unas as well as the masculine articles el, los, un, unos. But the meaning of these words change depending on their gender.

Here is a list of words that go both ways:

el capital = the money
la capital = the capital city

el cólera = cholera (the disease)
la cólera = anger

el coma = coma
la coma = comma

el cometa = comet
la cometa = kite

el corriente = the current month
la corriente = the (electric) current

el corte = cut
la corte = court of law

el cura = priest
la cura = cure

el defensa = defense (in a sport)
la defensa = defense (like in a legal proceeding)

el editorial = editorial
la editorial = publisher

el escucha = listening device (an electronic “bug”)
la escucha = eavesdropping (the listening or monitoring of someone/something)

el frente = military front
la frente = forehead

el guardía = the (male) guard
la guardía = guard unit (or a female guard)

el guía = the (male) guide
la guía = guidebook (or a female guide)

el orden = order (opposite of disorder)
la orden = a command or a religious order

el pendiente = earring
la pendiente = slope

el pez = fish
la pez = tar

el policía = policeman
la policía = police force (or a policewoman)

el radio = radius/spoke
la radio = radio

el vocal = member of a board
la vocal = vowel

Can you think of any others? Add them in the comments section!

To ask if someone is available:

¿Está libre en estos momentos?

¿Sería posible hablar ahora con él/con ella?

¿Podría atenderme ahora?

To say you don’t know where the other person is:

No está localizado/a en estos momentos.

En este instante no le/lo/la localizo.

To say the person isn’t there:

No está aquí en estos momentos.

Ha salido a una reunión / entrevista, a comer, etc.

Está de viaje y no volverá hasta (la semana que viene, el 5 de marzo, etc.)

To say the other person is busy:

No puede atenderle/atenderla en estos momentos.

Está muy ocupado/a y siente no poder atenderle/la

Está reunido/a.

En estos momentos tiene la línea ocupada.

Está atendiendo a un(una) cliente(clienta) y no podemos interrumpirle/la.

To ask if the caller wants to leave a message or talk to somebody else:

¿Quiere dejar algún recado/mensaje?

¿Desea que le/la pase con alguna otra persona?

¿Quiere que le diga que ha llamado?

¿Quiere que le/la llame?

To say that you want to leave a message or speak to someone else:

¿Puedo dejarle un mensaje?

¿Puede decirle que le/lo/la he llamado?

¿Podría pasarme con su secretaria o alguien de su departamento?

To say you will call back or to ask about the return of the other person:

Vuelvo a llamar luego.

¿Sobre qué fecha regresará?

¿A qué hora regresará?

——————————————-

In the next installment, I’ll give you phrases related to handling wrong numbers, technical phone difficulties and polite ways to ask the person on the other end to repeat what they are saying.

Photo by Just Skizo. Used with permission.

OK, I’ll admit it. I suck at talking on the phone in Spanish. To me, it can be nervewracking, especially when calling a business establishment. I’m always afraid they’re going to cut me off or put me on hold before I’ve said what I want to say.

The first time I had to look for a room to rent in Madrid a few years ago, I had a Spanish friend make the phone calls arranging the appointments because I was so nervous. But once there was a landlord, whose apartment I was going to see, who called me to reschedule the appointment. Although I understood what he was saying, my response wasn’t as fluid as it should’ve been and the landlord, in the typical blunt manner of the Spanish, said to me, “Where are you from? How come you don’t speak Spanish as well as your friend?” Ouch.

After encounters like that, I realized I needed to come up with a script. It’s odd, but talking on the telephone isn’t part of the basic curriculum of learning Spanish. Most teachers teach us how to order food in a restaurant, find a bathroom, buy a train ticket, or, my favorite, locate the nearest biblioteca, but seldom do they teach us the vocab related to talking on the phone. Many of us have to pick up this type of vocab on the fly, through trial and error or through eavesdropping on native speakers and copying their key opening and closing phrases.

So, today is the first installment in a series of occasional entries about using Spanish on the phone. Thanks to Andrew who emailed me a suggestion on this topic.

Today’s first installment is just going to cover the basics.

The Opening: Identification and greetings

In Spain people say any one of the following when answering the phone:

¿Dígame?

¿Diga?

¿Sí?

But Spaniards never, ever say “¿Hola?” when answering the phone. Never.

In Latin America, it varies, depending on the country. Bueno, sí, aló or hola are some of the terms used.

Expressing who you want to talk to:

Quería hablar con…

¿Podría ponerme con…?

¿Podría pasarme con…?

Necesito hablar con….

To ask who is calling:

¿De parte de quién?

¿Quiere indicarme su nombre, por favor?

¿A quién debo anuniciar?

Telling someone to hold or to stay on the line:

Espere un momento, por favor

Sí, un momento, por favor

No se retire, por favor

Permanezca a la escucha, por favor

Basic words and phrases to express the reason for the call

para…

sobre…

a fin de…

a propósito de…

con motivo de…

con vistas a…

para tratar…

referente a…

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The second installment in this series will address phrases related to asking for someone and saying that someone isn’t available.

Photo: “On the phone” by Heidi. Used with permission.

Here’s a quick tip: Use the Spanish pronoun “lo” + an adjective and, voíla, you are expressing the same “thing” but in a more efficient manner.

For example:

Juan ha encontrado trabajo. Lo bueno es que ahora puede comprarse un coche nuevo. Lo malo es que tiene que madrugar todos los días para llegar a tiempo. (John has found a job. The good thing is that now he can buy himself a new car. The bad thing is that he has to get up early every day to arrive on time.)

Lo maravilloso de Sevilla es sus barrios. Lo pesado es que a veces cuesta encontrar un taxi. (The wonderful thing about Seville is its neighborhoods. The annoying thing is that at times it is hard to find a taxi.)

Qué asks for an identification or a definition.

¿Qué es esto? What is this?
¿Qué es un cóctel Molotov? What’s a Molotov cocktail?

Qué followed by a noun asks “which one?”

¿Qué vestido te gusta más? Which dress do you like best?
¿Qué manzana vas a comer? Which apple are you going to eat?

Cuál followed by a form of the verb ser asks “what” (which one of all the possibilities).

¿Cuál es tu nombre? What is your name?

If someone were to ask “¿Qué es un nombre?” They are asking for a literal definition of what a name is. The answer: A name is a way of identifying a person.

¿Cuál es la fecha? What is today’s date?

If someone were to ask ¿Qué es la fecha? they would be asking literally for a definition of the word “date”.
“¿Cuál es tu número de teléfono?“ I will respond, maybe , by giving you a phone number. What’s your phone number? (Answer: 555-1234)

“¿Qué es un número de teléfono? Answer: A phone number is a series of digits that connects to a communication device and enables one person in one location to speak to another person in another location.

Cuál + de + a plural noun asks “which” of two or more alternatives.

¿Cuál de los libros prefieres? Which book do you prefer?

But when somebody uses a word that you’re not expecting, it can be distracting. Such was the case recently when I started spelling my name and I said “D como David” and the woman on the other end got confused. She thought I was saying my last name was “David.”

Turns out that Spanish has its own particular guide to spelling out names and other words over the telephone. So before you go around saying “E como elefante,” check out the list below. (P.S. This list will be most useful for Spain since many of the words are cities in that country. If you are in another Spanish-speaking country, use names of cities, provinces or states that are well-known where you are. You can use common first names (José, María, etc.) as well.)

Time to learn our telephone ABCs in Spanish…

A Antonio

B Barcelona

C Carmen

D Domingo

E España

F Francia

G Gerado

H Historia

I Inés

J José

K Kilo

L Lorenzo

M Madrid

N Navarra

Ñ Ñoño

O Oviedo

P Paris

Q Queso

R Roma

S Sevilla

T Toledo

U Úrsula

V Valencia

W Washington

X Xilofón

Y Yegua

Z Zaragoza

While some of these are well-known, others may be less so to a person studying Spanish. Here’s a list of a few:

(The abbreviated name is listed first and the full name is in parenthesis.)

Ali (Alicia)

Conchi, Concha (Concepción)

Charo (Rosario)

Chema, Chemita, Josemi, Josema (José María)

Fede (Federico)

Fonsi, Fonso (Alfonso)

Gabi (Gabriel, Gabriela)

Geles (Ángeles)

Gelo (Ángel)

Guille (Guillermo)

Javi (Javier)

Juani (Juan, Juana)

Juanma (Juan Manuel)

Kike, Quique (Enrique)

Leni (Elena)

Maribel (María Isabel)

Maje (María Jésus)

Maite (María Teresa)

Manu (Manuel)

Merce, Merche (Mercedes)

Monse (Montserrat)

Mundo (Raimundo)

Nacho (Ignacio)

Nando (Fernando)

Paco (Francisco)

Pepa, Pepi, Pepita (Josefina)

Pepe (José)

Pili, Pilu (Pilar)

Rafa (Rafael)

Toya, Viki (Victoria)

Here’s what Wikilengua is:

• A style guide that can help you write and speak correctly in Spanish.

In every language there are certain norms that must be followed in writing the language. This Wiki aspires to become a style guide for journalists, teachers, linguists or any other people who need this type of guidance to improve the nuts and bolts of their writing (and speaking) in Spanish.

For example: Is it correct to say “a menos de que“? Or is it “a menos que”? What about “a menos de”? [See answer below.]

Is the city of the 2008 Olympic Games in China called Beijing or Pekín in Spanish? (Pekín is the correct answer.)

What Wikilengua is not:

• It’s not a dictionary nor an online verb conjugator.
• It’s not a Spanish language forum or online chat where people can post questions and others can respond with an answer.
• It’s not a blog, where people are going to post their daily musings or observations about the language.

That said, I’m still excited about the launch of this new online tool. It’s another way in which Spanish is extending its reach on the Internet. Yay!!

[*Answer: This is an example of "dequeísmo," i.e. an excessive or incorrect use of the preposition "de." "A menos que" and "a menos de" are correct. "A menos de que" is incorrect."]

Everyone who takes a beginner’s Spanish course learns this verb and how it works. But what about all the other Spanish verbs that operate exactly the same way? There are quite a few. You may already know several of these verbs but were you aware that they operated like gustar?

Here’s a list of verbs like gustar:

Photo: “Mint chocolate cupcake bear” by Amigurumi, CC license.

agradar (to like)caer bien (to make a good impression)

caer mal (to make a bad impression)

convenir (to suit, to be suitable)

costar trabajo (to be difficult)

dar asco (to disgust)

disgustar (to upset)

doler (to hurt)

encantar (to love, to adore)

enfadar (to get angry)

extrañar (to surprise)

faltar (to lack, to be missing)

fascinar (to fascinate)

hacer falta (to need)

importar (to matter)

impresionar (to impress)

interesar (to interest)

molestar (to bother

parecer (to seem, to appear)

preocupar (to worry)

quedar (to have left)

sobrar (to have in excess)

sorprender (to surprise)

Rule to remember: What would be considered the subject in English turns into the indirect object (me, te, le, nos, os, les) in Spanish. Therefore, the verb in Spanish must agree with the subject of the sentence, not the indirect object.

For example:

John is fascinated by cars. A Juan, le fascinan los coches.

He likes Spaniards. Le caen bien los españoles.

The verbs fascinar and caer are conjugated in the plural because they are connected to the subject of the sentence, which are “coches” and “españoles.”

So in this installment of “Get it Right! Spanish tips,” I’m going to give you a quick primer on when to use the definite and indefinite articles in Spanish and when to leave them aside. Sharpen your pencils, get a blank sheet of paper and start taking notes.

Photo by Code Poet and used under Creative Commons license.

Just to be clear about what we’re talking about here, the definite articles are el, la, los, las and the indefinite articles are un, una, unos, unas.

With the verb tener, you don’t need the article when you are referring to an object, a service or a relationship that a person has.

Juan tiene coche. (Juan has a car.) ¿Tienes novia? (Do you have a girlfriend?) ¿Tienes hora? (Do you have the time? Do you know what time it is?) Tengo cita con el dentista a las 12. (I have an appointment with the dentist at noon.)

In some cases, Spanish uses the articles where English doesn’t and vice versa. That’s why it can be so confusing to remember which is which.

Rule of thumb: When you are referring to a general concept, an idea of all things that belong to a specific category, then you need the article.

Example: El pescado es un alimento muy sano. Fish is a very healthy food. (The sentence is referring to fish in general, not a particular type of fish.)

La música clásica es muy elegante. Classical music is very elegant. (Referring to classical music in general.)

But those articles get dropped the second you start talking about only one part of something, or one thing that represents a broader idea. Stay with me here. I know this is getting a little bit dense.

For example: Esto es vida [This is the life.] In Spanish, this statement refers to a particular situation in life.

Así es la vida. (That’s life.) In Spanish, this response is a statement about life in general.

[Thanks to reader Molly for helping me rewrite this passage. See reader comments below for more details.]

See the difference? Post a comment if any of this is unclear. Anyway, that’s it for now. I’ll continue this look at Spanish articles another day. Trust me, this first part is the hardest part. The other aspects of Spanish articles are much easier to grasp but I didn’t want to bog down this post with too much info at one time. ¡Hasta pronto!

The first time I met Lydia, my landlady, I wasn’t sure how to address her because she is a stately, “mature” lady who looks like she is accustomed to people calling her Doña Lydia. Within seconds of meeting, I blurted out, “¿La puedo tutear?” Her face broke out into a wide grin, as though I had just paid her the biggest compliment. She responded with a laugh and said she’d love that because it would make her feel younger.

The general rule of thumb with usted is that it is used in formal situations or with people who are older than you. But it depends on the country. For example, I’ve heard a young Colombian woman address her teenage brother using the verb forms of usted. Same thing in Spanish-language talk shows or telenovelas.

In Spain, it seems, that usted is really reserved for special occasions and situations. On the street, on the job, on the television, usted is a pronoun reserved for authority figures, senior citizens and business situations. For example, at the bank or at a clothing store, the employee will address you with the verb form of usted. But in social situations, usted seems to fall by the wayside, even if you’re dealing with people who are merely acquaintances or people who are older than you. Using tú is a way to shorten the social distance between two speakers and seem more friendly.

This topic segues nicely into today’s Spanish-language blog entry. It’s another installment from Analia Rossi about el voseo in Argentina and how the pronoun usted is losing ground to vos in her country.

You can use any of the following. They all mean the same thing: “How long…”

¿Desde cuándo….? ¿Desde cuándo nadamos? (How long have we been swimming? OR Since when have we been swimming?)

¿Cuánto tiempo hace que practicas yoga? (How long have you been doing yoga?)

¿Cuánto tiempo…?

¿Desde hace cuánto tiempo…?

¿Hace cuánto que…?

And the response? Use any of the following:

Llevar + time period + gerund

Llevamos medio día nadando. (We’ve been swimming half the day.) ¡Ojo! Note that with this construction, you don’t have to use “haber” in the sentence.

Hace + time period: Hace un año que practico el yoga (I‘ve been doing yoga for a year.)

Desde hace + time period: Practico el yoga desde hace un año. (I’ve been doing yoga since a year ago.)

Desde + the year OR a concrete moment in the past: Estoy practicando el yoga desde que tenía 15 años. Desde 2002, estoy practicando el yoga. (I’ve been doing yoga since I was 15 years old. Since 2002, I’ve been practicing yoga.)

Photo taken in Menorca, Spain, by VisualPanic and used under Creative Commons License.

PODER: Use when you refer to capability or ability

Francisco no puede nadar. Francisco can’t (is unable to) swim.

SABER: Use when you want to convey “to know how to…”

Francisco no sabe nadar. Francisco can’t (doesn’t know how to) swim.

When they are put in the past tense, poder and saber change in meaning from their present tense forms. Poder in the simple past tense means succeeded. Saber in the simple past tense means found out.

Examples:

Tras muchos años de trabajo, Julia pudo publicar su novela. (After many years of work, Julia succeeded in publishing her novel.)

Supe ayer que mi mejor amiga iba a casarse. (I found out yesterday that my best friend was getting married.)

Chido means cool and it is a word with an interesting history behind it.

An approximate translation of naco is tacky, redneck or low class. What one calls naco in Mexico is cutre or hortero in Spain and barreta and grasa in Argentina. But there is a Mexican clothing company called NaCo that has taken the word and redefined it.

Naco is originally a derogative term used by upper and middle class Mexicans to describe things and people they felt were way beneath them in terms of hipness, taste and economic status. It’s usually employed as a synonym for “poor & ignorant”, but Naco-ness knows no economic or educational boundaries.

Naco is more a state of mind. It’s more a self assured disregard for what others think is cool without being arrogant or closeminded. Naco-ness is about being your own person regardless of if you’re ever in the right or not. Ultimately, Naco-ness is about being yourself…

You can find the complete interview with Zuleika here.

¿Dejar + algo? expresses the idea of borrowing something from another person. ¿Me dejas tu coche para ir al supermercado? (Can I borrow your car so I can go to the supermarket?)

¿Dar + algo? Use this one to ask for things that can’t be returned or things that you don’t plan to return, because it would be just too plain nasty to do so. For example, when you ask somebody for a tissue or a piece of gum. You wouldn’t expect to give back a piece of gum after chewing it, now would you? Another example: ¿Me das un vaso de agua, por favor? (Can you give me a glass of water, please?)

¿Poner + algo? This one you use in a bar or a restaurant when ordering a drink or some food. It’s very Spanish, as in used in Spain. ¿Me pone un café con leche, por favor? (Can you give me a coffee with milk, please?)

I used to chuckle whenever I heard a man refer to his wife as “mi mujer” (“my woman”). To me, it sounded kind of brutish and Tarzan-like.

I did a little research and discovered that the word “mujer” isn’t universally used to mean “wife” in Spanish. In some parts of Argentina, for example, the term “mi mujer” means a lover, not a wife, according to Alfredo I. Álvarez, author of the book “Hablar en español.” And in Mexico, mi mujer is considered rather informal and esposa is considered a more courteous way of referring to one’s wife. But in Spain, I’ve never heard anyone in conversation refer to their wife as their “esposa.”

So, which term should you use? Well, if you’re in Spain, mujer is fine. Outside of Spain, if you say esposa you will never be misunderstood, although you may sound a little formal depending on the context. But when speaking a foreign language better to seem too formal and stuffy-sounding than too informal and, possibly, crass.

And what about the husbands? Are they maridos or esposos? Well, both terms are universally used, so there’s no debate there.

Movie poster from Galeria Cubarte.

The first entry in this series is the word “ya.” It only has two letters but it is a powerhouse of a word in Spanish. For many English speakers it can seem confusing when to use ya because it is a word whose meaning can change depending on the tone of voice with which it is said and whether the verb attached to it is in the past, present or future tense.
Here’s a general rule of thumb:

ya + present tense = ahora, ahora mismo (In other words, “now,” or an emphatic “right now!” depending on tone of voice and context.)

ya voy = I’m coming!!
Tenemos que irnos ya = We have to leave right now.

ya + past tense = already (when making a statements), yet (when asking a question)

Ya he leido ese libro = I’ve already read that book.
¿Ya has comido? = Have you eaten yet? Have you already eaten?

ya + future tense = later, soon

Ya te lo contaré = I’ll tell you about it later
Ya nos veremos = We’ll see each other later. We’ll see each other soon.

=====================
There are other forms of ya, such as…..

ya que which means “since” or “because”
Ya que te niegas a darme el dinero, tengo que pedir un préstamo. (Since you refuse to give me the money, I have to take out a loan.)

ya está which means “done” or “finished”
Cariño, no olvides de enviar el cheque esta tarde. (Honey, don’t forget to mail the check this afternoon.)
Ya está. Ya lo mandé. (Done. I sent it already.)

ya no which means “no longer, not anymore.”
Ya no voy al gimnasio porque no tengo tiempo. I no longer go to the gym because I don’t have time. Which is true! Too busy trying to get the initial podcasts finished.