Learn Ten Easy Words and Names In Spanish From Place Names

Spanish is useful in Spain, South America, Mexico and in the USA where many places names in the south are Spanish and many signs in cities are in both Spanish and English to help communicate with Spanish speaking immigrants. I am going to look at the names Los Angeles, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Cerro Gordo and Buena Vista.


The flag of Spain.
Horizongal stripes of red and yellow, a Spanish sandwich of red and yellow, with a cymbol in the middle containing a crown.


The flag of Mexico.
Green, white and red, vertical stripes, with a symbol in the middle containing an eagle.

Spanish is the most popular language learned on Duolingo. It is also one of the easiest if you speak or know English.

A quick way to start learning Spanish is to pick place names you already know or can easily recognize and list their translations. Here are two examples.

Los Angeles
Los Angeles means the angels. Whilst you will not often need to use the words together except in the place name, los, meaning the (plural) is very handy. You could also use Los Angeles to describe people who have been generous or to thank them.

For example, two kind Spanish speaking people walk back the opposite direction to the way they were going when you asked the way to the train station, the bank, your hotel, the toilets.  You wave goodbye and bow slightly and point to them and address them as "Los Angeles".

San Francisco
San Francisco means Saint Francis. Other cities with names: San Antonio.

Santa Cruz means holy cross. Santa Cruz is a city in California.

Cerro Gordo
I read an online newspaper story about Cerro Gordo which means fat hill. The words taken separately, I checked in Google translate, taking each one separately, typing Cerro first, then Gordo below it, read hill fat.

So now we know two words and a grammar rule. Cerro is hill. Gordo is fat. The adjective comes after the noun in Spanish, the same as the French who say Moulin Rouge for red mill (windmill).  You can remember Moulin Rouge to remind yourself to put adjectives after the noun in French. Remember Cerro Gordo to remind yourself to put the adjective after the noun in Spanish.

I find it easier to remember Gordo is Fat than to remember cerro is hill. So let's start with gordo. I recognize gordo as fat from hearing a talk by a Spanish member of a Toastmasters Club in Harrow, England. At Christmas time she gave a speech in which she told us about how the Spaniards spend Christmas. One feature is the lottery. The one at Christmas time has a big prize and is known as the Gordo, El Gordo, the fat one (or big one). El is the.

So now we can remember that the adjective is second, after the noun, and that the word gordo means big or fat.

If you like to learn by sounds: Cerro is hill. Cerro Gordo rhymes. The last adjective is the same. Cerro Gordo.  (The letter c sounds like s. The cerro, hill, has a summit. We row past the hill.

If you like to learn visually: The initial letters C and G look similar. The letter r is in the middle of both words, the third letter. Cerro Gordo.

If you like to learn by repetition, we shall repeat it three times:
cerro - hill
cerro - hill
cerro - hill

Spanish - English
angeles - angels
cerro - hill
cruz - cross
gordo - fat (big)
lo - the (singular)
los - the (plural)
San - Saint
Santa - holy

English - Spanish
angels - angeles
cross - cruz
fat - gordo
hill - cerro
holy - santa
the - los
Saint - san

Names
Spanish - English
Francisco - Francis

What would you find at the top of a hill? Preseumably Buena Vista, good view in Spanish. Many places are called Buena Vista in countries including the USA.

Not to be confused with the Italian Buona Vista, a railway station (MRT-mass rapid transit) in Singapore. The Spanish word for good has an e, is buEna - yes.

Useful Websites For Travellers
MEXICO
https://www.visitmexico.com/en/
SPAIN
www.spain.info
https://www.spain.info/en/
https://info.info/newsroom/spotlight/spain-tourism-board
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Christmas_Lottery
LEARN SPANISH
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_language
To learn Spanish for free on the internet
duolingo.com


About the Author
Angela Lansbury, the author, is not related to the actress of the same name, nor another 13 people with the same name on LinkedIn.
Angela Lansbury, the author, is a speaker and a teacher of English and other languages to schools, colleges, Toastmasters International speakers clubs, and businesses.