México, Méjico y Mexicas

If you don't know, there are two ways to spell México, with the second way being Méjico.

While I was aware of the difference in spelling, I had no idea why there were 2 spellings, and never really put much thought into it. But thanks to my maestra and Google, the mystery has been unraveled.

The word México is deeply intertwined with the history of the Mexican people, taken from the language of the Nahua Aztec tribe, also known as the Mexicas, who spoke Nahuatl.

In short, the word México comes from the language of the Mexicas (Aztecs), Nahuatl. So now that I've given you a very abbreviated history of the word "México", then where does "Méjico" come from?

Méjico is the spelling given to us by modern day Spanish, although the Real Academia de la Lengua Española does recognize both spellings.

So then the question becomes, which one do I use, or does it even matter?

Mexicans will use México because of the historical and cultural ties, but in Spain the standard is Méjico. Which one you use is up to you. If the Spanish of Spain is going to be your forte, then perhaps going with "Méjico" is your best option.

My explanation here barely scratches the surface of what can be a touchy subject for some people. If you want to know more, here are a few links that might be of interest:

WordReference - México vs Méjico

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Name_of_Mexico

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexica

I hope you enjoyed this brief history lesson.

¡Hasta luego!

Tienes una cara

Literally, this translates to "you have a face". Well, doesn't everybody?

But of course, if you've studied Spanish long enough, you know that you can't translate everything literally. So with that in mind, what does this mean?

Well, the expression "Tienes una cara" is used when someone has a look on their face as if something might be wrong, maybe they have something on their mind, they just don't look like they normally do.

This brings us to a very similar expression "por qué esa cara?" - "Why the long face?" might be a good translation. You use it when you see someone is clearly bothered by something. You might also follow up this question with another one..."qué tienes?" - What's wrong?

But let's get back to our discussion of caras.

It turns out there are many different types of caras.

Tienes cara de enojo/enojada/enfadado.
You look angry.

Tienes cara de sueño.
You look sleepy.

¿Por qué tienes esa cara de niño con juegete nuevo?
Why do you look like a kid with a new toy?

¿Por qué tienes esa cara de felicidad?
Why do you look so happy?

Tienes cara de sorpresa.
You look surprised.

There are many, many more types of faces in Spanish, and this is just short list to help you get started talking about them.

¡Hasta la proxima!

Luego luego

I actually heard this expression a long time ago, didn't really pay attention to it, and honestly forgot all about it, until now.

And like most words and phrases in Spanish, it can have different meanings. The first meaning is "right there". Let's take a look at some examples.

Cuando entras la puerta, está luego luego.
When you walk in the door, it's right there.

El catálogo de pasteles está luego luego a la entrada, lo vas a ver.
The cake catalog is right there at the entrance, you'll see it.


It also carries the meaning of "right away"

Disculpe, me gustaría un vaso de agua.
Claro, se lo traigo luego luego.

Excuse me, I'd like a glass of water.
Of course, I'll bring it right away.

Another way to say "right away" is "en seguida", which is something all Spanish speakers will understand. Luego luego is something that you'll most likely only hear with Mexicans, or might carry a different meaning altogether.

There's a great thread in WordReference that talks about this phrase, and also points out that it means something a little in Spain. There's also some more great examples. Here's the link:

http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=361440

Well, that's it for luego luego. But have no fear, I'm going to get started on my next entry luego luego.

Fijate bien

Fijate...

It's a word I had seen many times, and comes from fijarse, but I never could quite get a handle on what it meant. That's partly due to the fact that "fijate" has many definitions.

Today we'll look at a few commonly used definitions of "fijate", the first of which is to take a look at something.

Fijate si dejé mis llaves en el coche.
Look and see if I left my keys in the car.

Fijate si esta lloviendo allá afuera.
Look and see if it's raining outside.

¿Te puedes fijar si dejé mi cel en tu carro?
Can you look and see if I left my cell (phone) in your car?

It can also mean to be careful.

Fijate (ten cuidado) con quien te metes.
Be careful who you get involved with.

Fijate (ten cuidado) que no te vayas a caer porque el piso está mojado.
Be careful not to fall because the floor is wet.

It can also mean to pay attention:

Fijate bien
Look carefully or pay attention

Fíjate en lo que haces
Pay attention to what you're doing.


These are by no means the only uses of fijarse, but certainly are very common. If you've never noticed fijarse before, if you "fijate bien", you'll probably start to notice it everywhere.

¡Hasta la proxima!

El Día de los Muertos - Calaveras, Pedir Calaverita

Halloween has come and gone, and so has El Día de los Muertos.

I'm not going to attempt to explain this celebration to you, but instead point you to several great sites that explain the tradition quite well.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_of_the_Dead

http://www.azcentral.com/ent/dead/articles/dead-history.html

Also, here are some great photos that will really give you some insight into how the holiday is celebrated in México .

http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=Dia+de+Muertos+mexico

So what am I going to talk about, you ask? Read on...

While we know the tradition of Halloween is celebrated in México, I realized I had no idea how to talk about the actual act of trick or treating. The phrase is pedir calaverita.

Some examples...

Tus hijos van a pedir calavarita?
Are your kids going to go trick or treating?

Fuiste a pedir calavarita con tus hijos?
Did you go trick or treating with your kids?

I made another post last year about Halloween in México, Dulce or Traversura, which you may want to read about. There's also a great post in WordReference that discusses Halloween, you can read it here. It's a mix of English and Spanish, so you can get in some great reading practice as well.

Another thing I learned about is calaveras. The word calavera actually has several meanings - skull, and colloquially also means skeleton. The official word for skeleton is esqueleto.

And since we're on the subject of calaveras, I will point out that as a part of El Día de los Muertos, they sell calaveras de dulce - candy skulls. Here's a few photos:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lucynieto/4066189487/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gatopicaro/3024836333/in/photostream/

The chocolate ones really look delicious, if you ask me.

I said calaveras has multiple meanings. Well, here's another one: a funny or sarcastic phrase or poem about the dead (muertos) .

Here are a few examples:

Yo decia que ese medico no era de fiar.
I knew this doctor wasn't trustworthy.

El marido sobre el tumbo de su mujer: Aqui yace mi mujer, fria...como siempre.
The husband wrote on his wife's tumb: Here lies my wife, cold, like always.

Here's a link to a photo that will give these calaveritas a little more life:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/23023280@N05/2995845235/sizes/l/in/photostream/

I was actually in Mexico one year for El Día de los Muertos, but I was pretty much ignorant to the celebration and missed an opportunity for a great cultural experience. Oh well, maybe next year.

I hope you've enjoyed this, as personally I love learning about the culture of México as much as I do the Spanish language.

¡Hasta Luego!

¿Me explico? vs ¿Me entiendes?

Today I'm going to ir al grano, or as we say in English, get to the point.

¿Me entiendes?

A really simple Spanish sentence, that means notthing more than "Do you understand (me)? So what's the big deal you ask?

Well, in Spanish this seemingly innocent phrase potentially carries a very negative connotation. As one person put it...

Es como llamarte bruta en tu cara, (Its like calling you ignorant to your face)

Ouch! I know I've used this in the past, and I certainly had no intention of conveying that message!

So then what should we say?

That's where ¿Me explico? comes in. It translates to "Am I explaining myself?", which is considered more polite, or at least by some.

Needless to say, as I was trying to process all of this, I decided I needed a little more expertise, and decided to ask my maestra about this.

Here's what she told me....

Definitivamente te recomiendo que digas "Me explico?" estoy de acuerdo!

"Comprende?" es lo peor que puedes decir! Ademas muchos gringos lo usan de manera racista y para hacerte sentir como un idiota e idiota.

Here's the translation, in case you need it:

I definitely recommend that you say "Me explico?".

"Comprende" is the worst thing you can say. A lot of gringos use this as a racist way of making you feel like an idiot.

Although I never use comprende, I certainly had no idea it might carry a negative connotation. Incredibly this is something textbooks leave out.

So, how did I hear about this? From another very useful blog (Voices en Español), and here's the link:

http://spanish-podcast.com/2009/10/19/the-most-annoying-expression-in-spanish-is/

I also found several other interesting links:

This article is in Spanish, and discusses this topic as well as other annoying phrases
http://www.bbc.co.uk/mundo/participe/2009/10/091012_1053_expresiones.shtml

Another discussion (in English) of this topic
http://www.mexperience.com/blogs/foreignnative/?p=111

An interesting discussion in Yahoo Respuestas (In Spanish)
http://espanol.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070125175531AAIPkNK

Me imagino (I imagine) that some of what is considered annoying or offensive is subjuctive, but it's certainly something to keep in mind, especially as you become more and more proficient in the Spanish language, because when people see that you have a good command of the language, it's very difficult for them to determine whether or not you made a mistake due to language or cultural misunderstandings vs you potentially just being a jerk.

Espero que te sirva (I hope this helps),

Hasta Luego!

No te metas

This is a very common expression that you're bound to hear. It's the short form of No te metas tu cuchara en esto - Literally it means "Don't stick your spoon in this". Or as we would say in English, "Mind your own business". But that's not the only way you can use this expression. Let's look at some examples:

No te metas en mi vida - Stay out of my life

No te metas con mi amigo - Don't mess with my friend.

No te metas con Zohan - Don't mess with the Zohan

No te metas conmigo - Don't mess with me

No te metas en mis asuntos - Stay out of my business, mind your own business

No te metas donde no te llaman - Don't intefere when nobody asked you

Ask you can see, the meaning changes slightly based on the context, but I think (hope) the examples give you a good understanding of both how to interpret and use this very common phrase.

It's also very common to see and hear the short verstion. If someone is getting a little to interested in your asuntos (affairs, or business), you can tell them "no es asunto tuyo" or simply, "no te metas". And if you happen to be the recipient of this message, well, you've probably overstepped your boundries.

And like most things in language, your tone of voice can change this from a very strong statement to something fun and playful in the right situation.