español for Gringos

What's the difference between raza, raíz y razón?

raza = race (category of people);  the human race is 'la raza humana'.

raíz = root.  Pronounced rah-EESE.  Plural is 'raíces'.

razón = reason, as in one's reason for living.

All three nouns in this post are feminine nouns.

Vendedor (salesperson):  En qué puede ayudarle?

How can I assist you?

Busco la medicina lorazepam?

I am looking for the medication lorazepam.

Vendedor:  Para esa medicina, requiere una receta especial.

For that med, it's required to have a special prescription.

No tengo tal receta.  Regresaré durante la semana que viene.

I don't have such a prescription.  I'll come back next week.

Vendedor:  Algo más?

Anything else?

Sí, quisiera una botellita de gotas para despejar la nariz.  Prefiero

    la clase suave, por ejemplo para niños.

Yes, I'd like a small bottle of drops to clear the nose.   I prefer

    the gentle type, for instance for kids.

Vendedor:  Tenemos este producto.

We have that product.

Spring Spanish has put out many videos, including one that introduces Gringos to phrases useful in flirting.

According to the video presented by Paulísima, the phrase Hola, guapa (hello, beautiful) or Hola, guapo (hello, handsome) is passé.

More useful these days is "Me gusta mucho tu estilo" (I really like your style).  That's just one of many examples.

Please count me in to any Spanish learning. I have a 2-year visa for Ecuador. I live in Atlanta part of the time. My primary goal is to improve my Spanish but realize I need to be immersed in the language before that's going to happen

Dear Susan,

Welcome to Expat.com and the Ecuador forum.

The MeetUp site lists Spanish-speaking groups in and around Atlanta.

The site's page(s) for this are easily Googled.

cccmedia

Expat.com experts team

The verb decepcionar means 'to disappoint'.  Also, decepcionarse means 'to be disappointed'.

Another verb, defraudar, can mean either 'to disappoint' or 'to cheat'.

The verb engañar (a) is a common word for 'to deceive'.

--

Wordreference.com was consulted for this post.

What's the difference between casi, caso y queso?

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casi is an adverb meaning 'almost'.

caso is a verb meaning 'case' as in a legal case.

queso is a noun meaning 'cheese'. (KEH-soh)

Good posts.

Me esposa me engano.

As an example...

"Me esposa me engano." (sic)

---

Dear Bill on the Hill,

Welcome to the Ecuador forums/Spanish-language-teaching threads of Expat.com...

Glad you appreciate the previous posts.

---

Bill has been complimentary, so my purpose in this post is not to put him down, but to attempt to teach.

---

Which brings us back to Me exposa me engano.

The apparent meaning Bill is after is "My wife cheats on me."  However, there appear to be a few classic errors in the sentence that a Spanish-learner might make.  (How would you translate this five-word English sentence into Spanish?)

---

There is a Spanish word me (pronounced 'may');  however, in this case, the correct word is mi (pronounced 'mee'), translated into English as 'my'...

  mi esposa        my wife

mi perro           my dog

mi coche          my car

---

"... me engano."

Here bill uses the Spanish pronoun 'me' correctly.  There are two problems with 'engano'. 

This verb form, from engañar, to cheat or deceive, is not easy to type on every device .. as it requires a Spanish-language keyboard or 'inside baseball' knowledge how to produce the ñ on a non-Spanish keyboard. 

The other problem is that Bill was using a first-person form of the verb whereas the correct form attributing the action to his wife is the third-person engaña.

Put it all together .. and we translate as follows.

English:  My wife cheats on me.

Spanish:  Mi esposa me engaña.

---

Final thought...

Thank you, Bill, for indulging me for this lesson.

  -- cccmedia

One of our most astute members PM'd me today.  He points out that Bill may have been attempting to say in Spanish "My wife cheated on me" when he wrote "...me engano."  The past tense of 'engañar' (third person) is engañó, with the accent mark.

Good catch, Parce!

cccmedia

What's the difference between masquerilla, maravilla y mantequilla?

masquerilla =  mask, for instance a protective mask worn

                    during The Situation

maravilla = a marvel;  also, goldenrod, a curative plant

mantequilla = butter

What's the difference between solicitud,

la solicitud             =   the request

el/la solicitante     =   the applicant or candidate

soledad             =   solitude;  loneliness  (feminine noun)

I asked someone, "Dónde está Ella?"  Where is she?

"Se fue," I was told.

Meaning:  she left, she split.

Of three common ways to say someone left --

using the correct forms of salir, irse y marcharse --

the verb irse is the most irregular.

I leave.               Me voy.

I'm leaving.       Me estoy yendo.

I left.                  Me fui.

José left.            Jose se fue.

We left.             Nos fuimos.

---

Spanish learners may want to use

salir while still mastering the language

even though salir  is also irregular.

I go (out).              Salgo.

He/she goes.       Sale.

They want

    to leave.    Ellos quieren irse.

What's the difference between the verbs

aterrizar   =      to land or touch down

                            (such as a plane or a ball)

aterrorizar   =  to terrorize

What's the difference between

ordenar = to order (as in a store

          or restaurant) or to arrange

           (put in order)

ordeñar = to milk (as in milk a cow)

ordenarse =  to be ordained

Like "draw" and "pull."

What's the difference between gancho y gaucho?

gancho   =   hook

gaucho   =   cowboy

The term 'gaucho' is commonly used for cowboy in

Argentina and its neighbor, Uruguay.  The word

'vaquero' is used for cowboy in many other

Latin countries and for cowboy in the U.S.

Many cowboys still ride horses,

but most ranch hands drive trucks these days.

What's the difference between acero,

acero  =  steel (also can refer to a sword)

acera  =   sidewalk or pavement

aceite  =   oil

What's the difference between esquiría y escurrir?

esquiría means 'shard'.

After the crash, we noted shards of glass

all over.

escurrir is a verb meaning 'to drain'.

Spoken to a restaurant waiter at the

end of the meal:

Please, have them drain the excess

sauce and pack the remaining foods

for take-out.

The word is:   vale

The pronunciation here in Latin America is:

    BAH-lay

(If you're in Madrid, Spain, the V might

be pronounced differently.)

'Vale' is from the root-form verb 'valer',

which means 'to be worth' or 'to be equal.

You may have learned that when you

agree on something, you can say

'de acuerdo' or 'estoy de acuerdo'

('acuerdo' means agreement).

However, in Latin America, that would

often be considered too formal

a way to speak.

Instead, a common way to agree

is to say:  Vale!

Wordreference.com translates

the interjection 'Vale!' as

fine, right, good, O.K.

The USA-origiinated term O.K.

is widely used in Latin America,

also meaning fine, right, good.

Cliente en taxi:

Quisiera ir al Capitolo.

(I want to go to the Capitol building.)

Taxista:  Vale!

9.  acabo de (verbo)                 I just (did something)

8.  vaquera                                cowgirl

7.  desafortunadamente        unfortunately

6.  vale!                                      good, fine, O.K.

5.  sin duda                               without doubt

4.  zarpar                                   to set sail

3.  (yo) quisiera                         I would like

2.  igualmente                          same (to you)

1.  con gusto                              with pleasure

(Do me a favor and follow that truck.)

Taxista:  Vale.Con gusto.

What's the difference between

la persona       =      the person

el personaje    =      the celebrity, VIP or

                                       well-known person

the official

                                  (as in administration official)

What's the difference between

patilla             =   sideburn

pastilla           =.   pill or tablet

pasa                =   raisin

What's the difference between

reseña  =          review as in a movie review

                                or a lodgings review

revista  =          magazine or journal

resentful or bitter person

What's the difference between

cola can mean the soft drink or

             can be a line or queue

cólera is cholera (disease)

acólito   =   altar boy or acolyte

  ---

Another word for line or queue

is 'fila'.

What's the difference between

más       =   more

el mes   =   the month

la misa  =   the religious mass

What's the difference between

What's the difference between

comer     =    to eat

coser       =    to sew

coger       =    to take, catch or grab

'coger' also has a sexual meaning ..

and that is beyond the scope of

this post.

Dealer:  "Dos o doce."

(Player has a soft 12, also countable

as 2.)

Player:  "Tampoco."  (Neither.)

(Player scratches for another card,

which turns out to be a 3.)

Dealer:  "Cinco o quince."

(Player now has a soft 15, also

countable as 5.)

Player:  "Tampoco."

(Player scratches for another hit,

which card is a 6 giving him

a soft 21 with three cards.

He signals that he stands

on 21.)

Usually it's a 'giveaway' that a noun is

feminine in Spanish if it ends with an 'a'.

But not always.

Here is a top-ten list of words that

are masculine although they end

in 'a'.  Some of the words are of

Greek origin, which may explain some

of the discrepancy.

el sofá                            the sofa or couch

el mapa                         the map

el planeta                     the planet

el sistema                     the system

el clima                         the climate or weather

el esquema                  the diagram or outline

el idioma                      the language

el drama                       the drama or play

el tema                          the theme or topic

el poema                      the poem

According to word reference.com, there are

some words in Spanish that can be either

masculine or feminine...

el sartén, la sartén           the frying pan

la radio, el radio               the radio

When a feminine Spanish noun begins

with an 'a' and the first syllable is stressed,

'el' or 'un' (meaning 'the' or 'a' in

English) can be used in front of the

Spanish word....

el agua (nf)     the water

un área (nf)    the area

What's the difference between

perseguir    =   to pursue (someone)

conseguir   =   to get (something)

seguir          =   to follow

From seguir:

     Go ahead!

English words on left, translation at right.

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to deliver                     entregar

to the home                a domicilio

pay in cash                  pagar en efectivo

pay by card                  pagar por tarjeta

no utensils                   no cubierto

when will it                   cuándo llegará?

arrive?

What's the difference between

volar         =   to fly

votar         =    to vote

vocalizar   =  to enunciate,

                           articulate .. or to

                           warm up the voice