Spanish Words For Today

Countries where Spanish is an official language. Map from Wikipedia.

Spanish is a useful language to learn. It is widely spoken as a first language in several South American countries. It is spoken as a second language in much of the USA. In Europe it is spoken in Spain and Spanish speaking islands. Portuguese and Italian are similar to Spanish.

I am brushing up - beginning again - my knowledge of Italian. I was learning Italian on Duolingo a year ago. This year I am learning Spanish. So I am doing Italian for Spanish speakers, which enables me to learn Spanish at the same time as learning Italian. The instructions are in Spanish, mostly only one to three words, often similar to English words. Because they are repeated even the unfamiliar words gradually get drilled into my mind. You could do the same with any two languages from the most common ones learned by speakers of your second language. 

I note down new words in my A5 notebook (book size). I create columns quickly by folding each page in half vertically, making two sections, then again to make four creases. To write more neatly without overlapping columns to crush in long words and phrases, I draw a line vertically with a pen or pencil, using a ruler or anything else straight nearby on the desk. 

I head the columns Spanish-English. An alternative would be to use the right hand half of the page for English-Spanish. Or to use the right hand page for English-Spanish.

Spanish - English Easy Words

adios - goodbye . The English is from God be with you. Adios comes from to God. a - dios, to the deity

buen - good (like French bon as in bon voyage, good journey)

buenos noches - good evening / good night

continuar - (to) continue

errores - errors

excepto - except

medala - medal

Perfecto/a (adjective matching masculine or feminine noun) - perfect

perfil - profile (both words have the letters p r f i l in that order. The e in the Spanish jumps to the end of the English word.

veloz -/velocity/speed/time

voz - voice

What is the difference between a medal and a medallion?  The shorter word is for the smaller object. A medal is attached to a ribbon and worn as an award for an achievement in a military battle or a sports contest. A medallion is larger, a souvenir of an important occasion and displayed on a stand on a shelf, and given or kept in a box lined with colourful contrasting shiny satin, if made of silver or gold bought as an investment. 

English - Spanish

(to) continue - continuar

except - excepto

good - buen

profile - perfil

velocity/ speed / time taken - veloz (starts with the same four letters)

voice - voz (starts with the same two letters and ce and z sound similar)

Wikivoyage phrasebook explains  pronunciation and origins of words, and similar sets if words

Spanish - English (The first pronunciation is from Spain, where the language originated, the second is from Latin America.)

círculo (THEER-koo-loh/SEER-koo-loh) → circle

circulo (theer-KOO-loh/seer-KOO-loh) → I circulate

circuló (theer-koo-LOH/seer-koo-LOH) → he/she/it circulated

estás (ehs-TAHS) → you are

estas (EHS-tahs) → these

origen (oh-REE-hehn) → origin

orígenes (oh-REE-hehn-ehs) → origins

ciudad (thee-yoo-DAHD/see-yoo-DAHD) → city

ciudades (thee-you-DAH-dehs/see-yoo-DAH-dehs) → cities

A Spanish restaurant with a Spanish guitarist in Manila, the Philippines was called Circulo.

I have listed them in reverse and underlined the syllable you emphasize

English - Spanish

circle - circulo 

I circulate - circulo emphasis on the middle syllable, the same as the English

he/she/it circulates - circuló

city - ciudad (thee-yoo-DAHD/see-yoo-DAHD)

Accents show words which are pronounced the same but have different meanings: Eight words, sixteen meanings.

él (he) el (the)

té (tea) te (you [object])

tú (you [subject]) tu (your)

mí (me) mi (my)

dé (give [present subjunctive]) de (of/from)

sí (yes) si (if)

sé (I know) se (one [pronoun])

más (more/plus) mas (but)

Useful Websites For Learning Languages

duolingo.com

Spanish Phrasebook in Wikivoyage and Wikitravel

Italian phrasebook in Wikivoyage and Wikitravel

translate google

https://translate.google.co.uk/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Spanish_words_borrowed_from_Italian

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_words_of_Spanish_origin

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Spanish words - easy new words and reminders

 

 Duolingo teaches Spanish as spoken in South America, but the Spanish of Mexico and Spain is very similar.

Let's look at some easy to recognize and remember words. I am learning on Duolingo. I have paid to get the version without advertising. I am learning for an hour or so every day, so it's worthwhile to be comfortable.

Spanish - English words

Those in bold are new today. Those words not in bold are reminders from yesterday.

A

actor - actor (male). actriz - actress. actores - actors. agosto - August. ayer - yesterday (ye in both words)

B

barco - boat (embark on a boat). blanco - white (like a blank piece of paper).

C 

conflicto - conflict. copas - cups or glasses

D

datos - not dates but facts, data . Fecha - date.

 dias - days. diente - tooth (like the English word dentist, or dental floss, or dental work). dificil - difficult. drama - drama. durante - during.

E

 (la) escena - (the) scene. escuela - school. estadio - stadium.  excepto - except. Estados Unidos - United States.

F 

febrero - February. fecha - date. final - final.  fotos - photos. fresco - fresh.

frio - cold (like freezing)

G

 grupo - group

H

 helicoptero - helicopter. historia - history. hobby - hobby. hola - hello. horas - hours/time.

I

 idea - idea. invitadas - guests. invited people. idioma - language.

J 

jirafa - giraffe. julio - July. junio - June.

K 

(for borrowed words from other languages)

Karaoke - karaoke

kilo - kilo

kiwi - kiwi

L

 lago - lake. libro - book (think of library book)

M

mangos - mangoes. (The Spanish for mangoes drops the e, like the plural of the in Los Angeles.) mayo - May. maestro - teacher. minutos - minutes. mojadas - wet (think of moist). Motor - engine. (Motor car is carro.)

N

necessito - I need (think of it is necessary). noviembre - november. nuevos - new (plural adjective, of is masculine plural like los angeles)

O

 opera - opera. Note the accent in the Spanish.

P

pantalones - pants (US. UK trousers.) por - for. programa - program.

Q

quieto - still or calm

R

romper - to break (like rupture)

S

silencio - silence.

 sucias - dirty (like stained)

T 

taxi - taxi. teatro - theatre. tranvia - tram (UK) /streetcar (USA). tren - train. el tren - the train. los trenes - the trains. turista - tourist

U 

util - useful (like wartime WW2 utility furniture)

V 

viago (accent on the o, emphasized) voyage or travel 

W

 (for words borrowed from other languages)

web

whisky

X

 (For words borrowed from other languages) 

xilofono, accent on the first letter o to show the syllable to emphasize)

Y

 ya - already yo - I

Z

zona - zone. zoo - zoo. zapatos - shoes.

I was looking for the Spanish spelling of the Spanish word for tramway, when I was directed to the film A Streetcar Named Desire in Wikipedia in Spanish. I was pleased to find a large number of words which are almost the same in both languages. 

Try reading the article and write down the words which you recognize. You could write the words you don't know on another page. To start your daily repetition of words, begin with the easy ones, to gain confidence and feel encouraged.

You can switch between the English and the Spanish. At the top of the page is a little notice which says the number of languages. 46 Languages.

 Click on that and a list of languages appears. Click on espagnol (with the sign over the n) to get Spanish, then back to English. You can also translate into simple English, but when you go back into the Spanish, you are back in the long version, not simple Spanish.

Useful Websites on Spanish Letters and pronunciation

https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Un_tranv%C3%ADa_llamado_Deseo_(pel%C3%ADcula_de_1951

https://blog.duolingo.com/spanish-alphabet-pronunciation

https://quillbot.com/blog/word-finder/spanish-words-that-start-with-g/

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Spanish words - how to remember them

 Duolingo teaches Spanish as spoken in South America, but the Spanish of Mexico and Spain is very similar.

Let's look at some easy to recognize and remember words. I am learning on Duolingo. I have paid to get the version without advertising. I am learning for an hour or so every day, so it's worthwhile to be comfortable.

Spanish - English words

A

adios - goodbye.  archivo - file (in folders or archives). atletas - athletes.

B

barco - boat (embark on a boat)

C 

capital - capital. carro - car (remember to add o, not a but o, oh no, not my car). confortable - comfortable (change the m to n in Spanish)

Casada - married (a couple living in a casa or house together, casada con, married to/with)

D

 dias - days. diente - tooth (like the English word dentist, or dental floss, or dental work). dificil - difficult. durante - during.

E

 escuela - school. estadio - stadium.  excepto - except

F 

fotos - photos. fresco - fresh

frio - cold (like freezing)

G

 grupo - group

H

 helicoptero - helicopter. historia - history. hobby - hobby. hola - hello. horas - hours/time

I

 idea - idea invitadas - guests. invited people

J 

jirafa - giraffe. junio - June.

K 

(for borrowed words from other languages)

Karaoke - karaoke

kilo - kilo

kiwi - kiwi

L

 lago - lake. libro - book (think of library book)

M

 maestro - teacher. minutos - minutes. mojadas - wet (think of moist)

N

necessito - I need (think of it is necessary)

O

 opera - opera

P

 pasaporte - passport. pescado - fish (like pisces, the fish star sign in the zodiac). Plumas - feathers/plumes.

Q

quieto - still or calm

R

radio - radio.

rapido - fast.

reserva - reservation

rio - river.

roca - rock.

S

 sol - sun, like Costa del Sol, sunny south coast of Spain, soleado - sunny. |See the words beginning with e.)

T 

taxi - taxi. turista - tourist

U 

util - useful (like wartime WW2 utility furniture)

V 

vacio/vacias - empty (adjective similar to vacant, matching masculine or feminine and plural endings of nouns) . ventana - window (like the English words vent, ventilate)

visitar - to visit

W

 (for words borrowed from other languages)

web

whisky

X

 (For words borrowed from other languages) 

xilofono, accent on the first letter o to show the syllable to emphasize)

Y

 ya - already yo - I

Z

zona - zone. zoo - zoo.

Useful Websites on Spanish Letters and pronunciation

https://blog.duolingo.com/spanish-alphabet-pronunciation

https://quillbot.com/blog/word-finder/spanish-words-that-start-with-g/

Please follow me and share links to my most useful posts.

Learning Spanish from Household Products - 20 words for you to recognize

 I looked at a tube of metal polish and learned some new words in Spanish.

Spanish - English

aplicar - apply

bronce - bronze

como - such as

crema - cream

cristal - crystal

de - of

del - of the

esta - this

excelente - excellent

excepto - except

fibrar de cristal

frotar - rub

instructionnes - instructions

las (feminine)/los - the (plural as in the US place name Los Angeles which means the angels)

metal - metal

Miracle - miracle

no - do not/don't

para - for

protege - protects

seco - dry

todo - all

un - a/an

y - and

English - Spanish

all - todo (plural todos)

a/an - un

and - y

apply - aplicar

cream - crema

crystal - cristal

dry - seco

excellent - excelente

except - excepto

for - para

instructions - instructionnes

of - de

of the - del 

metal - metal

Miracle - miracle

protects - protege

rub - frotar

such as - como

the - el, los, las (feminine plural)

this - esta

Useful Websites

duolingo.com

facebook polyglots group to ask questions and discuss

https://www.facebook.com/groups/polygotcommunity/

memrise.com

translate google

WORDS WRITTEN THE SAME IN BOTH LANGUAGES (Pronunciation and meaning could be different)

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English%E2%80%93Spanish_interlingual_homographs

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/-ing#-ing_words_in_other_languages

Angela Lansbury is VP PR of Braddell Heights Advanced club and Tampines Changkat Advanced club.

https://www.toastmasters.org/Find-a-Club/00009689-braddell-heights-advanced-club

https://www.facebook.com/tampineschangkatadvTMC/