Variants in Spanish Food Vocabulary

Jun 30 | 0 comments | language

You know when you are traveling abroad, feeling all confident after taking all those lessons and studying all those flashcards, and you walk into a little cafe or restaurant, ask for some peach juice, and the waiter just stares at you? You know you formed your question correctly, you studied so hard and even consulted the phrase book before asking! Well, did you ask for “zumo de melocotón” or “jugo de durazno”? It makes all the difference.

Depending on where you are, Spanish food vocabulary can be completely different from what you may have learned. And while this may be frustrating at times, it is also one of the greatest things about Spanish and it’s ability to adapt and evolve with the people who are speaking it. I mean, think about all the different ways English-speakers have come up with to say bathroom: toilet, water closet, loo, restroom, etc. So I say take this chance to learn a few extra words that all mean the exact same thing! That way when you are traveling in Argentina, you won’t get that disappointed look from that cute waiter or waitress. Take a look at a few more examples I found below and study hard!

Popcorn: palomitas (Mexico, Spain), cabritas (Chile), crispeta (Colombia), pochoclo (Argentina, Uruguay), cotufas (Venezuela), rositas (Cuba), popororo (Guatemala)

Catfish: siluro (Spain), bagre (Latin America)

Tortilla: tortilla (Mexico and central America), omelete-like egg dish (Spain)

Strawberry: frutilla (Argentina), fresa (Spain, Latin America, South America)

Avocado: palta (Bolivia, Peru, Southern Cone*), aguacate (Spain, Latin America, Northern South America)

Sweetcorn: maíz (understood everywhere), tierno, elote (Mexico), choclo (South America), jojoto (Venezuela)

Bean: poroto (Argentina), alubia, judía (Southern Cone*), frijol (Spain), caraota (Venezuela)

Pepper: pimiento (Spain), ají (Argentina, Uruguay, Peru), pimentón (South America), chile (Mexico)Variants in Spanish Food Vocabulary

How to Say “Thank You” in Spanish

Jun 02 | 0 comments | language

When I am traveling, I find that many of the people I meet are so wonderful and open to helping out a traveler who just wants to learn a little more about their culture, country, or town. I also find that I am saying “gracias” about a hundred times a day! So in an effort to expand my daily vocabulary, which is always a good idea anyway, I sought out some new and maybe even poetic ways to give thanks for all the little, and big, things total strangers do for me when I need it the most.

I find that saying Te agradezco la ayuda/la información/etc. is a great way to communicate a deep thankfulness and appreciation for whatever the person just gave you. A couple other similar phrases are Estoy agradecido por…(or of course Estoy agradecida if you are a woman) and Siento agradecido/a por…They all mean about the same thing, being thankful and appreciative of whatever the person has given you.

Another of my favorite ways to be thankful is to relate to the person just how much they have helped me. Me ha ayudado mucho/muchísimo (You have helped me so much) or Me ayudará la información, etc. (This information will really help me.) It’s always a good idea to let the person know that not only do you appreciate what they he or she has given you but that you will be using it in the future. You just have to remember your future tense, right?

Last of all, if I find I have exhausted these other thank yous and I am really looking to impress, I might try something a little more formal. Te doy gracias por… is always a winner. It may be a little old fashioned and formal, but you know some people are really into all the pomp and circumstance.

So, there is a thank you for each and every situation, and I can promise that a well thought out thank you can take a long way when you happen to be a long way from home. So try a few of these newfangled terms of appreciation, you’ll thank me!

Why Don’t I Understand Spoken Spanish?

Apr 28 | 3 comments | language

Your heart rate increases, the room seems smaller and stuffier, maybe you start to sweat a little too because it is time for the listening portion of the exam or you are alone with only Spanish-speakers for the very first time. You have studied so hard and you know all kinds of great vocabulary from all those flash-cards. You can talk about your family members and where you want to travel on vacation. You even know how to use the subjunctive correctly to describe your doubt and dreams.

So how is it that when you hear someone speaking Spanish to you at a normal speed, it all sounds like one word? The answer is elision, the omission of sounds when individual words are combined into phrases and sentences, and you do it all the time in English as well. When asking someone “How are you doing?”, you don’t usually pronounce each word separately with pauses between each word, right? Instead it sounds more like “howeryodoin?” This is a very common practice for informal, regular speech in almost any language. It just seems more apparent in Spanish because you have learned each word individually instead of in phrases and regular context like your native language. While you learned “¿Có-mo es-tah us-ted?” is the correct way to ask someone how he or she is doing, the more common pronunciation is more like “¿Cómwestáusté?”. And it can get even more complicated when you have to differentiate between “helado” and “el lado” or “ha alquilado” and “alquilado,” but this is where context really comes to the rescue.

Now for a few solutions to the problem that plagues almost all students of a new language. I have always found watching movies and television shows with the Spanish subtitles on to be extremely helpful. This way, you can hear what the speakers are saying and at the same time connect it to the individual words you are more familiar with through reading. Also, if you are using DVR or watching a DVD you can pause, rewind, and play as many times as you like, you can listen to tricky phrases over and over until you are more familiar with them. I also suggest listening to newscasts since the newscasters are usually professionally trained public speakers and will enunciate a little more clearly for a more dramatic effect. Listening to your favorite Spanish songs while reading the lyrics may be a little more fun, but I have always found it to be a little difficult since pronunciation is really not a priority when rhyming and following the beat are involved.

In conclusion, listening is just plain hard at first. But just like learning how to conjugate a verb in a new tense is hard for the first few (hundred) times, it gets easier with practice. Focus on getting the general idea of the conversation and not so much translating each individual word and the rest will come in time. Until then, “¡Háslwégo!”

1,000 Words Is All You Need for Spanish

Jan 27 | 0 comments | language

One of the most common questions I get from people learning a new language is this: “How many words do I need to know to be able to have a conversation?” The answer is different for everyone, and it definitely depends on what kind of things you want to talk about. If you are learning Spanish as part of your job and do business with Spanish speakers, then your minimum vocabulary will be a lot different than someone who is learning Spanish so they can surf off the coast of Peru or someone who wants to study classical Spanish poetry in Madrid.

How many does a person actually use?

The average person has a vocabulary of about 10,000 words, but it is possible that a person can understand many more words than he or she actually uses. This number is the same no matter what language the person speaks. However, the number of words that he or she actually uses on a day to day basis is much lower. Think of your total vocabulary number (including all those words you learned to take the SAT or the GRE) versus the words you use to chat with your friends or talk about your weekend. Pretty different, right?

Research shows that in an average day, we use about 1,000 different words. Day to day, the words we use do not vary too much either, meaning we tend to stick with about a basic daily vocabulary of around 1,000 words. Some research has even shown that young teens only have a daily vocabulary count of 240 words! And some experts say that 50% of all spoken language consists of the 100 most common words in that language.

So how many do I actually need?

So take your pick! You can probably get around a Spanish-speaking country if you know the 100 most common words, but the closer your daily vocabulary is to 1,000 or above the better. So get started! You know where the vocabulary lists are!

How to say ‘I love you' in Spanish

Jun 05 | 1 comments | language

Love is complicated. Some say that it is a cultural phenomenon while others say it is based on individual chemical makeup while yet others say it is God-sent, divine. Confusion adds to complication when love ventures into other languages–especially Spanish. Love in Spanish need not be so complicated, amigo! Master the different ways to say ‘I love you’ and you will be well equipped to say it to anyone, anywhere…in Spanish.

The Battle Between Te Quiero and Te Amo

Te quiero - Te quiero is simple. It literally translates to ‘I want you’ but is translated to ‘I love you.’ It can be used towards your family, friends, and spouse/girlfriend/boyfriend. This is the safest way to say ‘I love you’ to anyone you want to express your love towards.

Te amo - Te amo means ‘I love you’ as well but it cannot be used when in reference to your family and friends. This term is rarely used in general but when it is, it is reserved for your lover/true love. You might see ‘Te amo‘ in classic Spanish literature and poems too.

Other Love-ly Phrases

Te extraño - I miss you
Me gustas - A romantic kind of like that implies desires, wants, sexuality and lust
Te quiero para me or Quiero que seas mio-a - I want you
un par de tortolitos - a pair of lovebirds
enamorarse de alguien - to fall in love with someone
estar enamorado(a) de alguien - to be in love with someone
el amor de mi vida - the love of my life
fue un flechazo - it was love at first sight
amante - a lover