LaDragonaria / A native English speaker who is dedicated to helping people learn Spanish language, grammar, and culture. Send in your asks and I will help you understand Spanish: beginner, intermediate, or advanced. Welcome to a blog of Spanish language shenanigans, where I'll teach you How to Spanish! [Started in May 2013]
Learned a new word/expression today which I did not realize would be such a surprise given what it is but -
So I was trying to figure out the context of an expression involving la peineta which is a word related to el peine "comb"... now I thought la peineta was also "comb" or a specific kind of comb like the ornamental ones... and to be fair, it does mean "comb"
But the expression that I actually was looking at was hacer la peineta for Spain... which is "to give someone the finger" or "to flip someone off"
I know the general expressions are pretty literal in default Spanish - and I know some of the Latin American versions; like I know sacar el dedo, mostrar el dedo, I also know that some countries call it una pistola which would normally mean "gun" which is a whole other bit of confusion
Surprisingly, this is the first time I've come across this one
.......Moral of the story, always look it up if it uses hacer or dar. Sometimes you're "making a comb", sometimes you're "flipping someone off"
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Sometimes character names from Marvel in Spanish just fully take me out - I don't know if this is just Spain or if Latin America translates it differently, but Dr. Doom's name in Spanish instead of Victor von Doom is Victor von Muerte. Or "Doctor Muerte"... Doctor Death
...
It's exactly the same level of edgelord but I got used to Doom in English
So now "Victor von Death" is throwing me off so badly
But also I don't think any other word would have the same impact in Spanish - la muerte is so to the point and can be "doom". Nothing else sounds right
Do you have any tips for knowing when to use entonces vs así?
This is going to depend on context
The two have different meanings in regular Spanish, but as filler words they can translate to the same thing
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In your general everyday Spanish, the two are different.
así in general means "in that way" or "like that"
No me hables así. = Don't talk to me like that.
No podemos continuar así. = We can't continue like this.
Así se hace. = That's how it's done.
In some contexts, así can be "so" - primarily as así que but there are other contexts where it can be "so"
Así que... = So... / In that case...
Llegamos temprano así que esperamos. = We got there early so we'll wait. / We arrived early so we are waiting.
Just to note that it's not "so" in comparisons or expressions of equality/inequality - that would usually be tan or muy [as in no es tan difícil "it's not so hard"]
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entonces in its usual meaning is "then" in terms of sequence [meaning "this happened, then this other thing happened]. It's often used for discussing the passage of time
Llego al hotel y entonces voy a la playa. = I get to the hotel and then I go to the beach. / I'm going to arrive at the hotel and then I'm going to the beach.
Empieza a correr y entonces se cae. = He/She begins to run and then falls down.
It can also be "consequence" - like "this happened and then because of it, this other thing happened"; so it can be the sequence of events, or sometimes consequences of actions
Si decides hacerlo, entonces no puedo ayudarte. = If you decide to do it, then I can't help you.
You may also see entonces as "then" like desde entonces is "since then" as in "since that point"
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Where they're interchangeable is largely as entonces and así que as what you'd call "filler words" [muletillas in Spanish; lit. "little crutches"]
These are non-literal expressions used to fill up space; often they're used like "um" or "uh"... words that don't specifically have meaning so much as connecting thoughts and filling silence
These following words are very common in Spanish for this and usually come across as "so" or "anyways" or "in any case" or "well"
así que
pues
entonces
bueno
bien / muy bien
o sea
a ver
este / esto
ya
These can all sort of read like "so" or "anyways" in filler word context though they do literally mean different things
-pues is often "since", "well then" or "in that case", or "consequently"
-bueno/a is normally "good" but as a filler word is "well"
-bien is actually "well" like "to do something well", but it's also the filler word sometimes muy bien "very well"
-o sea is often "in other words" or "rather" - it's literally "or it should be" or "or it may be" as a subjunctive of ser
-a ver is almost always "let's see", or literally "to seeing"
-este and esto are used interchangeably; it's literally "this" and "this one" so they're used universally in Spanish outside of just filler words
-ya is also very common; it means "already" or sometimes "yet"; as a filler word it may come at the end of a sentence like adding a period like "and that's that"... sometimes people use ya as "yeah"; you will also see ya que which is "that being the case"
...
Some filler words are regional, like Spain will say vale which is "okay" or "alright" or "very well"; Argentina likes to use che
Some filler words also come at the end of sentences like little word particles to add emphasis the way ya can be used
You may see tal cual [which is like "so there" or kind of like "that's what I'm saying"], some say ¿sabes? "you know?" or "right?" or ¿viste? "can you believe it?" though it literally is "did you see?"
Chile is really famous for using ya po or po which is related to pues and por supuesto "of course"
.........
So it's just going to depend on the context
Filler words all kind of come out translated in the same general meaning since their literal meanings aren't usually what you need for a filler word. The actual translation will depend on context and vibes
But entonces and así can both come out as "so" or "then" or "in that case" as filler words
Can you recommend some good tv shows to improve my Spanish?
Hmm well I’d say spanishskulduggery would be the one to ask for this. I don’t watch much TV. And when I do, it’s usually some documentary about Colombian drug smugglers. Followers, what do you suggest?
So my personal favorite is El ministerio del tiempo which is good especially if you like Spanish history
Isabel is good but it’s historical in places - not hard to understand but it’s a historical drama
I also like Acapulco… there’s Elite or Club de Cuervos or Money Heist if you like high drama
If you want more of a soap opera there’s Gran Hotel which has a version for Spain and a version for Mexico
There’s Betty la Fea
…
And if you have Netflix, any Netflix original has a Spanish dub (sometimes two depending on region) and Spanish subtitles
That applies to anime, TV shows, and movies
I personally enjoyed watching the Camp Cretaceous series in English and then also in Spanish. But it does appear in any Netflix original. I think other streaming services also have options for dubs/subs so it’s always a good idea to look
I would add: Cien años de Soledad, they did an absolutely fantastic job with a novel that is notoriously hard to film. On Netflix, with a new season coming soon.
And, if you can find it, Los Espookys! Some really hilarious bits, totally fun show. Fred Armisen, Julio Torres, Anna Fabrega among the wonderful cast.
I also wanted to share for people who are intermediate-advanced language learners - I don't know if it's the same for Xbox, but Nintendo Switch and Playstation have options to change your console's language settings
Doing so for the Switch almost always changes the language of the games
Though there are some games like Pokemon that will give you language options right up front; same with some Playstation games you will often have the option to change the language settings somewhere (usually in options)
This can be done for Spanish, but also for multiple other languages. And in the case of Spanish (and I think sometimes Portuguese) you'll have the option to change it between European and Latin American [For Portuguese it would be European vs Brazilian]
...
Again, this is really more for people who need a sustained challenge and already know the important basics of a language, but that's my preferred way of practicing my reading
Although some games do actually have dubs as well - though in the case of Spanish often times it's European Spanish which isn't a bad thing [and sometimes the settings are old-fashioned so it makes it feel more historical] but it is something to be aware of
...
This can also be really fun just if you like translation and you're good at the language you can see how some people do certain choices like jokes or idiomatic expressions, or the names of enemies etc
You also get to sometimes see little mistakes here and there which I love because it makes me feel a little less imposter syndrome-y
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Can you recommend some good tv shows to improve my Spanish?
Hmm well I’d say spanishskulduggery would be the one to ask for this. I don’t watch much TV. And when I do, it’s usually some documentary about Colombian drug smugglers. Followers, what do you suggest?
So my personal favorite is El ministerio del tiempo which is good especially if you like Spanish history
Isabel is good but it's historical in places - not hard to understand but it's a historical drama
I also like Acapulco... there's Elite or Club de Cuervos or Money Heist if you like high drama
If you want more of a soap opera there's Gran Hotel which has a version for Spain and a version for Mexico
There's Betty la Fea
...
And if you have Netflix, any Netflix original has a Spanish dub (sometimes two depending on region) and Spanish subtitles
That applies to anime, TV shows, and movies
I personally enjoyed watching the Camp Cretaceous series in English and then also in Spanish. But it does appear in any Netflix original. I think other streaming services also have options for dubs/subs so it's always a good idea to look
Hi , I'm a Spanish teacher and was looking for some resources .
Do you have any suggestions?
Thankyou.
Going to depend on what level of Spanish you're looking for but my go-to resource for everyone who needs the bare bones grammar of any level is www.studyspanish.com/grammar
Spanish Grammar Online: Contents (Enrique Yepes, Bowdoin) is very similar but sometimes has more particular topics
If it's more advanced things and you need specific information:
Hispanoteca
Fundeu
I also recommend Forvo for Spanish pronunciation to hear the differences between Spanish-speaking countries like hearing what LL sounds like in Argentina vs Spain vs Mexico is great
www.wordreference.com is the GOAT especially the forums
And for assorted translation needs I check out ContextoReverso for more everyday Spanish, and Linguee for more formal Spanish
Biblioteca Digital Ciudad Seva – Ciudad Seva - Luis López Nieves is what I sometimes use for reading practice; specifically cuentos which is "short stories" - some are older or public domain, but they are shorter than the actual novels and plays which you could read but it depends on how much time you have
My other favorite resources are wiktionary for etymology purposes, and wikipedia in Spanish for extra reading practice that is more practical and everyday - and some topics have more information in Spanish if they're related to Spanish-speaking countries
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Tiene el español un equivalente para "time flying/time flies" ?
Yes, it's very literal to English - el tiempo vuela which is "time flies"
That expression itself usually is attributed to Latin - tempus fugit which is literally "time flees/escapes"
For reasons I do not know, Spanish uses volar "to fly"... but the word most associated with fugit here would be huir "to flee" which is directly related to that Latin word
[although in Spanish la huida "escape" can also be "flight" as in escape - like "fight or flight" is lucha o huida... not el vuelo "flight" as in actually taking flight]
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There's also a handful of ways to make it sound more idiomatic like - cómo vuela el tiempo "wow see how time flies" which is literally "how flies the time"
There's also a slightly more nostalgic or melancholy way to phrase it: se nos pasa el tiempo
That is "time is passing us by" - se pasa el tiempo is "time is passing by", and the nos indicates "to us"
You could say se me pasa el tiempo "time is passing me by" too
It's how comfortable you feel with using se + indirect objects which is somewhat advanced and can require a lot of explanation to get the grammar/meaning of it if you're not familiar with it
The idea of se nos pasa el tiempo feels as if "time is passing us by" in the sense that it is happening and we can't control it, so it indicates an extreme sense of passivity on the "us" part
While a simple el tiempo vuela / vuela el tiempo can be a more "wow" or happy surprise kind of "it's been so long, time flies" sort of feeling
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In short: el tiempo vuela is the standard, totally fine
If you were bitter or regretful or having an existential crisis, se nos pasa el tiempo would be a good option if that's th emood
I feel like I'm missing some context for this meme https://www.tumblr.com/latinotiktok/818359284226211840 why is it funny that Uruguay didnt change? Are you able to explain? ily
I think it's just the joke of "oh and there's Uruguay, it's also there"
Although from a Spanglish perspective it is also close to "u r gay"
Hey there! How do you say “is it me or does (blah blah blah)” in Spanish? Is there a way to construct that phrase? I pick up what I can of colloquial Spanish (these days mostly Latin American) from talking to people on here, but things like this idk if they’d use the English grammar or what. Ty
The general way that you say "is it me" or "is it just me" is:
¿Soy yo o...? = Is it me or...?
¿Es cosa mía o...? = Is it (only happening to) me or...?
es cosa mía is literally "is it my thing" but it's asking like "hey does anyone else notice that?"
Another way you can say it is the use of imaginarse
It's going to depend on how comfortable you feel using a reflexive verb; imaginarse is "to imagine"
[side note: imaginar is "to imagine" usually in the literal sense of to imagine something or to picture something in your mind; imaginarse is "to imagine" with a bit more of an emotional oomph it's also "to imagine" but can be used as "to figure" or "to suspect" or "to be of the opinion" - as a command imagínate when used with informal situations is acting someone to "picture something" like "put yourself in this position"........... essentially imaginarse comes out more often when you're putting yourself in the position of hypothetical situations and imagining scenarios and feelings; while imaginar is a less involved version of playing pretend]
You would be saying - ¿me lo estoy imaginando o...? or ¿me lo imagino o...? which both mean "is it just me?" or "am I imagining it or...?"
This can also be said sarcastically like "am I hallucinating or...?"
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Similar to "se está rifando una hostia y tienes todas las papeletas" I've also heard "están volando hostias y tienes cara de aeropuerto" which roughly translates to slaps are flying and your face looks like an airport. You just have to get creative really, there are infinite variations of these you can make up.
