What is the best way to memorize words in spanish?
What is the best way to memorize words in spanish?
9 Answers
Dear Cruzdeltoro ,
When I have found a good answer I shall write a small, bestselling book and you can buy it!
In the meantime, there is nothing for it but to listen, read, look at flashcards or whatever grabs you...
To encourage you, themore words you have, the more seem to attach themselves to the others in your mind and suddenly you can talk!
íAdelante!
Bienvenido al foro.
This may not be the best way for you to memorize words in Spanish, but it works for me most of the time.
If I have a problem memorizing a word, I write and say the word several times. I also type a couple of sentences using the word so I understand it's meaning. That's why I like receiving the Spanishdict Word of the Day email.
I hope you get lots of responses because I'm willing to try anything to retain what I learn.
well you can go to youtube and watch music videos in spanish with lyrics, if you do not know some word you can search its meaning and later you can write 5 sentences using that word.
Imagine that the words are just new words in your own language. If you are learning what a 'langosta' is then go to google images. Look at a few images of the langosta. It's not "called a langosta in Spanish" that creature that you see IS a langosta, period. That works great for nouns.
Mark your home objects with sticky notes.
You can also bunch words together that you confuse, then use a mnemonic to remember one, and the other will be remembered by default. I would confuse correr with cerrar. I knew however that one was 'to close' and one was 'to run'. I then came up with "Cerrar close the door" (A mispronunciation of Sarah) then I had both permanently memorized.
Detrás de - Delante de I couldn't remember which was front and which was behind, but I knew one was in front and one was behind. I then thought about (excuse this) Detrás(s) de (it's the body part behind you), and then the other was learned by default.
Spanish is an extremely phonetic language, meaning you can spell what you can pronounce far more than not. So studying the alphabet is one of the most important things. You remember to pronounce and spell it correctly, and you are 50% to memorizing it (since won't be something you also have to worry much about/and it makes it harder to mix up words in your mind)
Seeing how the words are used after learning them, and looking for a cognate is also a great idea. Their is a sentence matcher tool on www.123teachme.com Sentence Matcher
Learning your conjugations + learning the basic words first = great idea for memory. A. You learn that one verb (comer/vivir/hablar) has many forms, but the same stem and the same root meaning. B. There are not terrible many words used in normal speech, so just memorize 10 basic words (vivir/hablar/comer/llamar/escribir/decir/hacer/ver/escuchar/oír) then add another common word or two every day (saber/amar) etc
Don't think of words in English to Spanish. Learn them from a Latin perspective, then trace it to English.
Learn families: The tener family is a group of words meaning -tain Obtener/to obtain - Entretener/to entertain - Sostenter/Retener/Contener (Sustain/Retain/Contain). They all have English cognates and the suffix -tain.
Utilize sites such as www.quizlet.com to work on you memory, with FUN memory games.
Read and write Spanish with sites like www.livemocha.com and get native and also expert feedback/corrections. Try to use words you learned in this sites chat.
Study every day, even if it's only for 30 minutes. Keep the knowledge in function. Also remember that it's a language not rocket science.
And VERY importantly. Learn phrases. Learn Spanish in groups of words more than just bit by bit.
I'd suggest trying a Spaced Repetition Program. It's especially useful if you have a newer type of phone (Android, iPhone or similar), and you can review your vocabulary on the go, whenever you feel like it.
Good luck!
One excellent memory tool is Mnemonics. 
This is a flash word for taking foreign or difficult to remember information and coding it or putting it in a way that is much easier to understand.
Sometimes it might be a rhyme:
How you feel and where you are, That is when you use estar.
Other times it might be breaking the word into syllables, looking for some connection to an English word and then adding a mind picture - often, the more ridiculous the better.
The best mnemonic pictures get the whole mind involved.
1) Use your imagination and visualize a situation:
a) Use happy or funny images (your brain often refuses to recall yukky or nasty ones)
b) Use vivid images by adding smell, taste, movements, feelings, humour, exaggeration, space and bright colours.
2) Use association
a) Associate words together with the use of rhyme.
b) Associate actions with symbols (pointing fingers, road signs, dollars signs etc).
c) Associate images with actions - crash the elements together or merge them in some way.
3) Use different locations for different topics
a) Eg - make up pictures based in a certain town or school or office, at the zoo etc for a whole set of mnemonics and change the location for the next set.
you should use hand-book or you can prepare some words on which one you want to learn the small paper, and when you go anywhere, you are able to look at them.
I don't know how other people do it, but for me, I like to think of a word i would like to know and find the meaning. Then I use that word in a few different sentences, like if the word was "Strawberry" or "La Fresa" then I would just ask my mom in a few different ways for a strawberry.
I hope this can help you.
-Faith
