español for Gringos
Know your Spanish verbs.
What's the difference between lagrimar, lamentar y lastimar?
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lagrimar = to cry
lamentar = to regret
lastimar = to injure
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What's the difference?
What's the difference between alce, arce y arcoíris?
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Un alce is a moose or an elk. (AHL-say)
Arce means maple as in maple leaf.
arcoíris = rainbow
All three words are masculine nouns.
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Know your Spanish verbs.
What's the difference between tratar, trotar y tragar?
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tratar means to treat as in to treat cancer.
trotar = to jog (humans) or to trot (animals)
tragar = to swallow or gulp down
un trago = a drink, as in 'a drink of whisky'
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What's the difference?
What's the difference between turco, terco y truco?
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turco is an adjective meaning Turkish.
terco is an adjective meaning stubborn.
un truco is a noun meaning 'a trick'.
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Know your Spanish verbs.
What's the difference between agarrarse y acurrucarse?
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agarrarse = to hold or to grab
acurrucarse = to cuddle or curl up
Agarrame por la mano.
Grab (or hold) my hand.
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Know your nouns.
What's the difference between raza, raíz y razón?
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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.
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Overheard at the farmacia.
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.
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Getting flirty.
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.
Search at YouTube.com....
stop saying hola guapa spring Spanish
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@cccmedia
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
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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
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False friends.
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.
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What's the difference?
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)
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2
@cccmedia
Good posts.
Me esposa me engano.
As an example...
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"Me esposa me engano." (sic)
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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
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"... 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
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Was Bill attempting to communicate in the past tense?
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
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Know your Spanish nouns.
What's the difference between masquerilla, maravilla y mantequilla?
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masquerilla = mask, for instance a protective mask worn
during The Situation
maravilla = a marvel; also, goldenrod, a curative plant
mantequilla = butter
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Know your nouns.
What's the difference between solicitud,
solicitante y soledad?
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la solicitud = the request
el/la solicitante = the applicant or candidate
soledad = solitude; loneliness (feminine noun)
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Se fue.
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.
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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.
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What's the difference?
What's the difference between the verbs
aterrizar y aterrorizar?
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aterrizar = to land or touch down
(such as a plane or a ball)
aterrorizar = to terrorize
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Know your Spanish verbs.
What's the difference between
ordenar, ordeñar y ordenarse?
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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
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1Know your nouns.
What's the difference between gancho y gaucho?
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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.
Muchos gauchos aún cabalgan caballos,
pero la mayoría del personal de haciendas
conduce camionetas en esta época.
Many cowboys still ride horses,
but most ranch hands drive trucks these days.
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What's the difference?
What's the difference between acero,
acera y aceite?
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acero = steel (also can refer to a sword)
acera = sidewalk or pavement
aceite = oil
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1Learn a noun and a verb.
What's the difference between esquiría y escurrir?
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esquiría means 'shard'.
Tras el choque, notamos esquirías de vidrio
por todas partes.
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:
Por favor, que escurren la sobra de salsa
y empaquen las comidas que se quedan
para llevar.
Please, have them drain the excess
sauce and pack the remaining foods
for take-out.
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1Can you pronounce this Spanish verb?
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!
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Ten words and phrases (with translations)
that we appreciate using or hearing in
América del Sur.
10. mantequilla butter
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)
Tenga buen día.
-- Igualmente.
1. con gusto with pleasure
Hazme el favor de seguir esa camioneta.
(Do me a favor and follow that truck.)
Taxista: Vale.Con gusto.
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Know your nouns.
What's the difference between
persona, personaje y personero?
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la persona = the person
el personaje = the celebrity, VIP or
well-known person
el personero/la personera =
the official
(as in administration official)
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What's the difference?
What's the difference between
patilla, pastilla y pasa?
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patilla = sideburn
pastilla =. pill or tablet
pasa = raisin
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Know your Spanish nouns.
What's the difference between
reseña, revista y resentido?
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reseña = review as in a movie review
or a lodgings review
revista = magazine or journal
resentido/resentida. =
resentful or bitter person
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Know more nouns.
What's the difference between
cola, cólera y acólito?
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cola can mean the soft drink or
can be a line or queue
cólera is cholera (disease)
acólito = altar boy or acolyte
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Another word for line or queue
is 'fila'.
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Little words.
What's the difference between
más, mes y misa?
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más = more
el mes = the month
la misa = the religious mass
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What's the difference?
vuelo = flight, as in arrival of a flight
What's the difference between
hielo, pelo y vuelo?
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hielo = ice
pelo = hair
vuelo = flight, as in arrival of a flight
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Three common verbs.
What's the difference between
comer, coser y coger?
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.
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Listening to the talk at a
blackjack table in Colombia...
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.)
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Top Ten.
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
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El y la?
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
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Feminine words that can be
introduced with 'el' or 'un'...
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
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Know your Spanish verbs.
What's the difference between
perseguir, conseguir y seguir?
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perseguir = to pursue (someone)
conseguir = to get (something)
seguir = to follow
From seguir:
Siga!
Go ahead!
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Some words Expats should know
when ordering food delivery.
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?
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