ser = to be (description/permanent things/identification)
el ser = a being
un ser viviente = a living being
los seres queridos = "loved ones" [lit. "dear beings" or "cherished beings"]
cundir = to spread
[the more common words are difundir or propagar but this verb is special - by far the most common use of this is cundir el pánico which is "for panic to spread" - you're almost always going to see this as que no cunda el pánico "don't panic" which is "don't spread panic" in a subjunctive sense........ you will also see the humorous que no panda el cúnico which is from a sketch show but it caught on; the joke is the guy is panicking so much that he mixes up the words, so sarcastically you can say que no panda el cúnico like "alright nobody panic!"]
la contabilidad = accounting, bookkeeping/financial records
el/la contable = accountant
[almost always used in finances; related directly to contar "to count" or la cuenta "account"]
el hueco = (empty) slot, an opening / a gap / elevator shaft / a hollow
hueco/a = hollow
el hocico = snout (of an animal; or a sarcastic/mean way of saying la nariz "nose" for a person)
el codo = elbow
[also another word for the end piece of bread in some countries - there are a handful of these words]
codo a codo = "shoulder to shoulder", "side by side"
[lit. "elbow to elbow"]
el codazo = a nudge (with the elbow), a strike with the elbow, "an elbow (blow)"
sonar = to sound, to make a sound / to ring (phones) / to seem, to sound like
sonar(le) = "to ring a bell"
[me suena for example can be "it's familiar to me" or "it rings a bell"]
difundir = to spread, "to spread the word"
difundir(se) = (for gas) to diffuse
untar = to spread (food) / to slather / to smear (something onto something)
[untar is the word used for food - this is the word for spreading butter, jam, jelly, cream cheese, etc onto something, and it usually gets used with something food-related...... or oil, grease, mud or something slick]
según = according to
[used like según mi amigo "according to my friend" or según mi abuela "according to my grandmother", or según el libro "according to the book" - very handy to know]
la manzana = apple [or in some contexts means "city block"]
el manzano = apple tree
el manzanar = apple orchard
invertir = to invest / to invert, to reverse, to turn upside down / inside out
la inversión = investment / inversion, reversal
el vaquero, la vaquera = cowboy, cowgirl / cowherder
los vaqueros = "jeans" [in Spain; because cowboy pants were denim]
el juzgado = courtroom, tribunal
[from juzgar " to judge" - you might know this word from cowboy lingo, it's "hoosegow" which is a transliteration of juzgado from people in the southwest of the US near the Mexican border; it meant something like "jail" or "police station" - same general idea of a place where the Law is]
encarcelar = to jail, to incarcerat
el hechizo (mágico) = (magic) spell
el hechicero, la hechicera = sorcerer
el brujo, la bruja = "warlock" [male], "witch" [female]
[brujo/a is also the term for "warlock" in DND settings while mago/a is "wizard" and hechicero/a is "sorcerer" - fitting because brujos/brujas were said to make pacts with the devil]
el sortilegio = magic, spells/spellcraft [a fancier term for hechizo]
el bosque = woods / forest
la selva = forest / jungle
[la selva is also used for la jungla "jungle", but in general you can usually use el bosque or la selva for a regular forest interchangeably... but la selva gets used for terms like la Selva Amazónica "Amazon Rainforest"]
el/la atleta = athlete
[always atleta with the A]
(la) prisa = hurry, haste, rush
dar prisa = to hurry, to rush
con prisa = "hastily", rushing
a toda prisa = "as fast as (someone) can", "with all haste"
el conejo = rabbit, bunny
la liebre = hare (large rabbit)
la cobaya / el conejillo de Indias = guinea pig
[used exactly like English; both the animal and "test subject" meaning... la cobaya is the shorter one so it is sometimes preferred, el conejillo de Indias means "the little rabbit from the Indies"; you'll also see el cuy in some countries - it's from Quechua so you can assume South America, primarily Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador etc.]
el vendaval = strong wind, gale
la borrasca = squall / wind and rainstorm
el ladrón, la ladrona = thief, burglar
el caco = thief, burglar
[the standard word is ladrón or ladrona - el caco is a reference to Greek mythology, Cacus stole cattle from Hercules in Hercules's labors, so now calling someone a caco is calling them a thief]
cuanto antes = as soon as possible
lo antes posible = as soon as possible
mordaz = sharp-tongued, cutting, biting, scathing
[lit - from morder "to bite", said of remarks or criticisms etc]
borroso/a = blurry / smudged (writing) / fuzzy (memory)
[or un recuerdo borroso is "a hazy memory / vague recollection (of something)" - it's the same idea, of vague or indistinct, but English says "fuzzy" for memories - the general word for "fuzzy" like texture is peludo/a or velloso/a which are related to fur/fuzz]
la estrella = star
la estrella fugaz = shooting star
la ira = wrath, rage, anger
el cambio = a change
a cambio (de) = in exchange for, in return for
el rayo = bolt of lightning
los escombros = debris, wreckage
[often used in plural, but el escombro does exist]
el estrago, los estragos = "chaos", "havoc", devastation
causar / hacer estragos = to wreak havoc, to ravage, to run amok
[usually hacer estragos but causar is fine too]
el daltonismo = color blindness
daltónico/a = colorblind
el imperio = empire
el imperio otomano = Ottoman Empire
el imperio Inca / el imperio incaíco = Inca Empire
el imperio español = Spanish Empire
el Sacro Imperio Romano = Holy Roman Empire
la somnambulancia = sleepwalking
somnoliento/a = drowsy
[somnoliento/a can be "sleepy" but it usually implies a sleep-inducing effect, so you normally see somnoliento used in the context of medicine or alcohol, things that "cause drowsiness" so it's not the same as being cansado/a "tired"]
el somnífero = sleeping pill, a sleep inducing drug
[somnífero/a as an adjective means "sleep-inducing" or "soporific", from somn- related to "sleep" and "dreams", and the suffix is like "causing" or "carrying"]
fuerte = strong / loud (music)
["loud" is the one that will throw you off - más fuerte can be "stronger" or "louder", so la música fuerte means "loud music"]
la carnicería = butcher's shop / carnage
[just like the root of "carnage", carnicero/a or "butcher" comes from la carne "meat" - a carnicería is a place where "meat is sold", but also means "carnage" or "bloodshed"]
matricular(se) = to sign up, to enroll, to register (school, vehicles, etc.)
la beca = scholarship, grant
el pelo = hair [all hair]
el cabello = hair [specifically for the head]
el moco = snot, booger
no ser moco de pavo = "nothing to sneeze at", "no mean feat"
[more common in Spain as far as I know, here el moco de pavo refers to a turkey "wattle" or "snood" - that red part of the turkey, in Spanish they call it moco which is "snot" so it makes more sense in Spanish imo]
mocoso/a = snotty
el mocoso, la mocosa = "brat" [something you'd call a little kid, "brat" or "snot-nosed brat" etc.]
la ola = wave [water-related or something with more physical motion]
la ola de calor = heatwave
el oleaje = surf, a swell, the motion of waves
la onda = wave [radiation, soundwaves, "vibes" etc. - think el microondas which is "the microwave"]
la hormiga = ant
el hormiguero = anthill
el hormigueo = "pins and needles", "tingling sensation"
[el hormigueo is sometimes understood as "prickly sensation" but it's like what we'd call "pins and needles" - as you can see by this list, it's related to la hormiga "ant"; the best way to explain it is that this feeling is likened to having ants crawling on you]
sencillo/a = simple, easy
la canícula = midsummer heat, the hottest days of summer
[lit. canícula refers to the star Canis Major or the star Sirius - the "dog star", and this is related to "canine"... the star is the most visible during the hottest months in Europe, so la canícula came to mean "the hottest days when the star Sirius appears" - it does mean "the dog days of summer" in English for the same reason; some countries use la canícula as "drought" related to heat or a dry season]
la estación = season (of the year) / station (as in a train station or police station etc.)
la temporada = time period / season / "season (for a TV show)"
la estación de lluvias = rainy season
la temporada de lluvias = rainy season
tragar = to swallow / "to eat fast", "to inhale food"
tragón, tragona = "big eater", "glutton"
el enjambre = swarm (of insects)
a sabiendas = "knowing full well", "knowingly"
a escondidas = "secretly", "in secret"
escuchar a escondidas = "to eavesdrop"
[lit. "to listen secretly" or "to listen in secretly"]
fallecer(se) = to pass away [a more polite way to say morir "to die"]
nonato/a = unborn
[sometimes also the term used for someone born by Cesarean/C-section]
muerto/a = dead
estar muerto/a = to be dead
vivo/a = alive
estar vivo/a = to be alive
(el) muerto viviente, (los) muertos vivientes = (the) undead
ejemplar = exemplary
el ejemplar = a prototype, the original
el ejemplar = copy of a book
el bigote = mustache / whiskers (like on a cat)
la calabaza = pumpkin
el calabacín = zucchini, courgette / squash, gourd
[lit. "little pumpkin", so any kind of gourd is calabacín ... other regional variations include la calabacita which is another diminutive, and in some countries the word is el zapallo or el zapallito... same words, "pumpkin" and "gourd" - just that zapallo comes from Quechua, so it's more commonly used in South America than anywhere else]
el calabozo = "cells", holding cells / dungeon
[a place where prisoners are kept and guarded - the other word for a "dungeon" usually in the fantasy sense is la mazmorra... basically, el calabozo is a place you'd find in a police station, and la mazmorra is now what you'd use for fantasy, castles, or dungeons in video games]
el lunar = birthmark
(tela) a lunares = polkadot, spotted [lit. "(fabric) with dots"... related to luna "moon" as you'd expect, but a lunares is a typical pattern or design to see for clothes and accessories]
la tierra = dirt, earth, soil
la Tierra = Earth (the planet)
al revés = upside down
[lit. "to the reverse", but used literally and euphemistically the way English uses "upside down"... meaning you could literally turn something upside down, or it could mean "everything's crazy now" or "topsy turvy"]
el hoyuelo = dimple
[diminutive of el hoyo "hole"]
la coraza = breastplate, cuirass / "shielding"
el acorazado = dreadnought [warship]
acorazado/a = covered in armor
la cámara acorazada = vault [lit. "armored chamber/vault" - this is something like a bank vault, but it can also be "safe" like caja fuerte, though to me cámara implies a larger room or "vault" rather than caja fuerte which means "strong box"]
el/la cambiaformas = shapeshifter [lit. "changes-form"]
el grano = a grain (of something) / pimple
(ir) al grano = "(to get) to the point", "to cut to the chase"
el barro / el fango / el lodo = mud
[all three words are okay to use - they can also mean "slime" or "sludge", the idea is something that is basically dirt and water, or a goopy mixture of something]
don nadie / doña nadie = "a nobody", no one of importance
[literally "Sir/Mr. Nobody" and "Lady/Mrs. Nobody" - don/doña used to be a more polite term of address for someone of noble blood; today it's like "sir" or "ma'am" when you have in front of someone's name.... but for the purposes of this don/doña nadie is a sarcastic way of calling someone a nobody or saying they're completely unremarkable, or to say someone is unknown]
