tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78872691164012767942024-03-13T15:41:04.220-04:00My Spanish NotesThis blog is a collection of the things I learn from talking with native Spanish speakers on my quest to become bilingual. No grammar, no verb conjugations, no "book" Spanish - just real Spanish I learn from real conversations.Rodneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11982073579438095731noreply@blogger.comBlogger230125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887269116401276794.post-50735915013453985402019-06-26T15:56:00.001-04:002019-06-26T16:09:08.096-04:00Soy grilla, y qué? If you don't know what a <b>grilla</b> is, well a pictures worth a thousand words.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rfDyezbKYN8/XRNMyO9AtZI/AAAAAAAAIZw/IezE837ZvlwN7SVJ1C1eXQsaRdl5wJKbwCLcBGAs/s1600/grillo.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="950" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rfDyezbKYN8/XRNMyO9AtZI/AAAAAAAAIZw/IezE837ZvlwN7SVJ1C1eXQsaRdl5wJKbwCLcBGAs/s400/grillo.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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That's right, a <b>grilla </b>is a cricket. Or if you like a little humor in your explanations, then:<br />
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<b>Una grilla es la esposa de un grillo</b><br />
A female cricket is the wife of a male cricket<br />
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While that's really funny, it's not the definition we're looking for. We're going to talk about what this word means in Colombia, where it can take on an entirely meaning.<br />
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First things first. The term <b>grilla </b>applies to a woman, and not in a very nice way. In fact, there are several definitions of what a <b>grilla </b>is in Colombia, so with that said, let's get to it and find out exactly what a <b>grilla </b>is. <br />
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The simplest definition of a <b>grilla </b>is una <b>fea </b>(an unattractive woman). <br />
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A <b>grilla </b>could also refer to a woman who comes from a lower income neighborhood, is very promiscuous, and has little class or education. For those of you who understand the term, "hoodrat" seems to be an equivalent English word.<br />
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The term <b>grilla </b>can also apply to any woman who likes to "show off her goods". In other words, her wardrobe leaves nothing (or very little) to the imagination. A very provocative dresser. <br />
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<b>Grilla </b>also applies to a woman who never turns down an invitation from a guy to go out to eat or party. And of course he's paying the bill. To make things worse, she may also invite her friends, at his expense of course. And guys, if you haven't figured this out yet, she has zero interest in you, you're just a wallet to her.<br />
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Here's a video that does a great job of explaining this definition of <b>grilla</b>. It's in Spanish, but if you're still fine tuning those
Spanish ears, don't worry, it has English subtitles. It's only 2:33
long, and personally, I got a good laugh out of it.<br />
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The video is below, but if for some reason you don't see it here's the link:<br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVsPoJDyTK4" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVsPoJDyTK4</a><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/RVsPoJDyTK4/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RVsPoJDyTK4?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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And that brings to the final definition of <b>grilla</b>, a woman who's sole motive is to find a man to maintain her. <br />
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Married or single, as long as he can keep money in her bank account, pay her bills, drive her around in a nice car, give her credit or debit cards, take her out on dates, she's a happy woman. I think the English word that applies here is gold digger. <br />
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So I think by now you should have a pretty good idea of what <b>grilla </b>means in Colombia. And just so you know, those definitions are not mutually exclusive. A woman could fit several of them.<br />
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As for the origin of the word <b>grilla</b>, the terms popularity came from it's use in the telenovela El Cartel de Los Sapos. At least that's what I've read. <br />
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Let's look at a few more related terms before we wrap things up.<br />
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Remember the poor guy that had to pay for a night with <b>la grilla</b> and her friends that I mentioned above? Well, that guy is called a <b>marrano</b>, and in standard Spanish it means pig.<br />
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Here's another fun video, but this it's about <b>marranos</b>. If you don't see the video below, here's the direct link:<br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZIvBgAtkmY" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZIvBgAtkmY</a><br />
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Hopefully you got a laugh out of the video. I certainly did, but then again I've watched that scene play out on numerous occasions so I can identify. Luckily I was never a <b>marrano</b>.<br />
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A <b>grillera </b>would be a woman that likes to date unattractive men.<br />
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A <b>grillero </b>is a guy who likes to pick up or date <b>grillas</b>, and in this case I'm primarily referring to the definition of a <b>grilla </b>being an unattractive woman. Although it also includes women looking to be wined and dined by a <b>marrano</b> <b>sapien</b>s. <br />
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If you didn't watch the second video, a <b>marrano sapiens</b> is a guy who knows he's a <b>marrano</b>, but he also knows he's going to get a full return on his investment at the end of the night. I'm going to guess you can figure out what I mean by that.<br />
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Let's move on to the last thing.<br />
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There are men who find the idea of dating <b>grillas </b>agreeable, no matter what type of <b>grilla </b>she is. But <b>¿Quién soy yo para juzgar?</b> The act of dating <b>grillas </b>is called <b>grillar</b>. Apparently this happens often enough to have it's own verb.<br />
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And that's it. Guys, don't say I didn't warn you!Rodneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07520016346341456183noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887269116401276794.post-82560441926382756382019-06-16T19:49:00.000-04:002019-10-17T07:41:42.057-04:00¡Conquistado! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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They make such a beautiful <b>pareja</b> (couple) don't they? </div>
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If you've never heard the word <b>conquistado</b>, it comes from the verb <b>conquistar </b>and it means "conquered". But the literal translation doesn't exactly apply for our purposes. You'll know what it means for our purposes by the end of this post. For now let's start off by talking about the verb <b>conquistar</b>.</div>
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<b>Te voy a conquistar</b><br />
I'm going to conquer you<br />
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This sounds like a threat. In fact, your Spanish dictionary says the word <b>conquistar</b> means to conquer, and it's right. But if you're thinking that this translation just doesn't seem appropriate, you're correct. With that said, the verb <b>conquistar</b> has another usage that you might find surprising. <br />
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When it comes to sweeping someone off their feet, <b>conquistar</b> takes on the meaning "to win someone over". <br />
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Let's take another look at our sentence:<br />
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<b>Te voy a conquistar</b><br />
I'm going to win you over<br />
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That translation sounds way better for our love birds. Here's another example:<br />
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<b>Te estoy mirando a los ojos para conquistarte</b><br />
I'm looking into your eyes to win you over <br />
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Let's take a look at some vocabulary that you need to help you <b>conquistar </b>someone.<br />
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First you need to <b>ligar </b>(hook up) with someone.<br />
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<b>Ligar </b>or <b>ligarse </b> means to hook up, and just like in English it can mean meeting someone for the first time, going on a date with that special someone<b> </b>or even a sexual encounter. Context is everything. You also need to make sure you know how it's used by the person you're talking to. Each country or region within a country may have a slightly different view on what it means. <br />
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<b>Quiero ligarme a esa chica </b><br />
I want to hook up with that girl<br />
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<b>Quiero ligar con ese chico</b><br />
I want to hook up with that guy<br />
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<b>Pedro se ligó a María</b><br />
Pedro hooked up with María<br />
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<b>Esta noche voy a ligar</b><br />
I'm going to hook up tonight<br />
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By the way, as grammatical side note, it's <b>ligarse a</b> and <b>ligar con</b>.<br />
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But enough about grammar, let's get back on track, because I don't think Spanish grammar has ever helped anyone make a love connection.<br />
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When you're trying to <b>ligar</b>, make sure you have you best <b>piropos</b> ready, you'll need them to <b>romper el hielo</b> - break the ice.<b></b><br />
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<b>¿Qué digo para romper el hielo con una chica?</b><br />
What do I say to break the ice with a girl?<br />
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<b>Rompí el hielo con un buen chiste</b><br />
I broke the ice with a good joke<br />
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Let's talk about <b>piropos</b>. What's a <b>piropo</b> you ask?<br />
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Think of a <b>piropo</b> as a pick-up line in this context, but in reality there are many types of <b>piropos</b> - <b>romantícos</b>, <b>groseros</b> and <b>graciosos </b>(romantic, rude and funny). Take a look at the <a href="http://myspanishnotes.blogspot.com/2010/11/tantas-curvas-y-yo-sin-frenos.html" target="_blank">post </a>I wrote on <b>piropos</b>, <a href="http://myspanishnotes.blogspot.com/2010/11/tantas-curvas-y-yo-sin-frenos.html" target="_blank">tantas curvas y yo sin frenos</a>. If you're trying to make a good impression, then I recommend using a romantic <b>piropo</b>.<br />
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And it won't hurt to<b> tener pegue</b>. <b>Tener pegue</b> means to have sex appeal or charm. I wrote about this expression too. Click <a href="http://myspanishnotes.blogspot.com/2010/06/traes-mucho-pegue.html" target="_blank">HERE </a>to read about it.<br />
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Let's get back to <b>conquistando </b>that special someone.<br />
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Being a <b>coqueta </b>or <b>coqueto </b>might be helpful. A <b>coqueto </b>or <b>coqueta </b>is a flirt, and the act of flirting is <b>coquetear</b>. <br />
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<b>¿Estás coqueteando comigo? </b><br />
Are you flirting with me? <br />
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<b>Soy coqueto</b><br />
I'm a flirt<br />
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<b>No seas coqueta</b><br />
Don't be a flirt<br />
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I'm not a flirt, they flirt with me</div>
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Now that you've been a bit of a flirt, used your <b>piropos </b>to help you <b>ligar </b>with someone, it's time to <b>salir con alguien</b> - to date or go out with someone. <b><br /></b><br />
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<b>Salgo con María</b><br />
I'm going out with Mary<br />
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<b>¿Estás saliendo con alguien?</b><br />
Are you going out with anyone?<br />
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A date by the way, is called a <b>cita</b>. And yes, it also means appointment.<br />
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And sometimes you're not so much going out with someone, but rather you're friends with benefits.<br />
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<b>Amigos con derechos </b>or <b>amigos con beneficios</b><br />
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But let's just say things are going well with your <b>relación </b>(relationship). At some point you might feel like you've found your <b>alma gemela</b> (soul mate), and start to start feel like your <b>pareja </b>(partner) is your <b>media naranja</b>.<br />
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If you're thinking your <b>media naranja</b> is an orange sock or half an orange well I can't blame you, because your translator is probably telling you that's what it means. But it's actually a way to say that person is your better half.<br />
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If things don't work out with your <b>media naranja</b>, then you can <b>romper con</b> or <b>cortar con</b> with them.<br />
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<b>Rompí con mi novio ayer</b><br />
I broke up with my boyfriend yesterday<br />
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<b>Corté con mi novia</b><br />
I broke up with my girlfriend<br />
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<b>Susana rompió con Javier</b><br />
Susana broke up with Javier<br />
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If later on you decide that breaking up was a mistake, then you'll need to <b>reconquistar a</b> or<b> recuparar a</b> your ex.<br />
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And that's it.<br />
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If you picked the right place to <b>ligar</b>, used your best <b>piropos</b> to <b>romper el hielo</b> and done everything right, then you may be lucky enough to hear that special someone tell you they've been "<b>Conquistado</b>!"<br />
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Rodneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11982073579438095731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887269116401276794.post-22367956229065582612018-08-05T12:00:00.000-04:002018-08-05T12:09:47.311-04:00Voy a mi arbolito<br />
Surprisingly, the only thing anyone ever teaches about the bathroom in Spanish is how to ask where one is.<br />
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<b>¿Donde está el baño?</b><br />
Where's the bathroom?<br />
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While that's helpful, it won't take long to figure out that your Spanish teacher really let you down in the bathroom department. I didn't realize how terrible my bathroom Spanish was (actually I didn't realize I even needed bathroom Spanish) until I ran into toilet issues in a few hotels.<br />
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We'll start off by talking about how to tell people you need to go in the first place.<br />
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<b>Tener ganas de ir al baño</b> means you've got the urge. In other words, you've realized you need to go. You may not actually go at that moment, but you know you need to. And for some reason you decide you want to share it publicly.<br />
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<b>Tengo ganas de ir al baño</b><br />
I have to go to the bathroom<br />
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<b>Tengo ganas de hacer el numero uno</b><br />
I have to go do a number one<br />
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Now, when you can't fight off those urges anymore you need the expression <b>aguantar las ganas de ir al baño</b>.<br />
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<b>No aguanto más las ganas de ir al baño</b><br />
I can't hold the urge to go to the bathroom anymore<br />
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You can shorten that to<br />
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<b>No aguanto más</b><br />
I can't hold it anymore<br />
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<b>No puedo más. Tengo que ir al baño. </b>I can't hold it any longer. I have to go to the bathroom.<br />
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Let's move on and talk about what you can say when you're actually getting up and going to the bathroom.<br />
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<b>Tengo que ir al baño</b><br />
I have to go to the bathroom<br />
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<b>Voy al baño</b><br />
I'm going to the bathroom<br />
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<b>Necesito ir al baño</b><br />
I need to go to the bathroom<br />
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You've probably heard all of the those and they definitely need to be in your Spanish tool box. In fact, that's really all you need. But where's the fun in that?<br />
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Let's look at a few other ways of saying you're going to the bathroom. I think this is where some people would say we're approaching the line of TMI - Too Much Information or <b>demaisiado información</b>.<br />
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Just like in English, in Spanish you can say you have to go number one or number two.<br />
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<b>Voy a hacer del uno</b><br />
I gotta go number one<br />
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<b>Voy a hacer del dos</b><br />
I gotta go number two<br />
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Yeah, definitely too much information. But let's keep going anyway. I'm not sure if this going to get better or worse.<br />
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The next set of options are generally used with and by children. You can use them with adults too, it just might come off a little weird. No more weird than using their English counterparts I suppose.<br />
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<b>Voy a hacer pis</b><br />
I'm going to pee<br />
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Yeah, I know, <b>pis </b>makes you think of piss, which of course is a bit crude in English, but they aren't the same. It's okay to say <b>pis</b> in Spanish, there's another word in Spanish for to say "to piss", which is <b>mear</b>. Of course, you can use the word <b>pipí</b> to avoid the problem altogether and eliminate the uncomfortable paranoia that you're telling people you're going to take a piss. <br />
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Geez, is this as awkward for you as it is for me? Anyway, moving right along....<br />
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<b>Voy a hacer pipí</b><br />
I going to pee<br />
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<b>Voy a hacer caca</b><br />
I'm going to take a poo<br />
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You can also use the word <b>poó </b><br />
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<b>Voy a hacer poó</b><br />
I'm going to go poo<br />
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<b>Tengo que hacer pipí</b><br />
I have to go pee<br />
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If you want to sound more natural and cool without all the awkwardness and childish language, here are a couple of informal expressions.<br />
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The first I'm going to mention is<br />
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<b>Voy a hacer mis necesidades</b><br />
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Sorry guys, I'm still looking for a good translation for this one, but it implies you're going to take a number 2.<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-w4mH8SxSlE8/W2LlCw5uwGI/AAAAAAAAB7E/UhBBG-mHmNsnsZboYSjOyCk89hxR5MYIwCEwYBhgL/s1600/echar%2Bfirma.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="639" data-original-width="600" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-w4mH8SxSlE8/W2LlCw5uwGI/AAAAAAAAB7E/UhBBG-mHmNsnsZboYSjOyCk89hxR5MYIwCEwYBhgL/s200/echar%2Bfirma.jpg" width="187" /></a><b>Voy a echar una firma</b><br />
I'm going to go sign my name<br />
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Clearly as a literal translation that doesn't work, and at the moment a good English equivalent doesn't come to mind. If you have one leave it in the comments.<br />
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Just remember this an informal way of saying you have to go the bathroom (and pee, specifically), and will likely get a laugh out of your Spanish amigos. By the way, this one probably doesn't work for women.<br />
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<b>Voy al trono</b><br />
I'm going to the throne<br />
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That one probably works better when you're in your own home.<br />
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<b>Voy a mi arbolito</b><br />
I'm going to my little tree<br />
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I would say this is the equivalent of "I'm going to go water the plants" in English.<br />
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Ladies, you'll like this one.<br />
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<b>Voy al tocador, no tardo mucho</b><br />
I'm going to the powder room, I won't be long<br />
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While powder room may sound a bit formal or old-fashioned in English, it's perfectly fine in Spanish.<br />
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By the way, a <b>tocador </b><b> </b>can also be a vanity.<br />
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Or it can be a dresser, with or without a mirror:<br />
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While the informal stuff is always more fun, I feel like we need to take a quick look at a couple of more formal terms. I want to you know what these mean, but you would probably sound weird using them.<br />
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<b>Orinar </b>means to urinate. While this is the correct term, you probably won't hear it much outside of the doctors office.<br />
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<b>Voy a orinar</b><br />
I'm going to urinate<br />
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<b>Defecar </b>means to defecate. Again, just like in English, you very like won't hear this outside of the doctor's office.<br />
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<b>Voy a defecar</b><br />
I'm going to defecate<br />
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Okay, now you know how to tell people you have to respond to nature's call. It's time to move on to everything else. Like when <b>el baño</b> isn't always called a <b>baño</b>.<br />
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Here are a few other terms for bathroom in Spanish - <b>servicios</b>, <b>aseos</b> or <b>sanitarios</b>. You'll see these out in public. Oh, there's one other term, <a href="http://pelangoche.blogspot.com/2012/09/la-cagaste-bien-cagada.html" target="_blank"><b>cagadera</b></a>.<br />
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This is a related post I made back in 2012, but it's not for the politically correct or for those who don't like bad words. However, if you're ok with those things, then you should read my post to <a href="http://pelangoche.blogspot.com/2012/09/la-cagaste-bien-cagada.html" target="_blank">find out what cagadera means</a> in Spanish.<br />
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Let's talk about some bathroom related vocabulary no one's probably ever bothered to teach you.<br />
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The toilet can go by several names - <b>taza</b>, <b>inodoro</b>, <b>retrete</b>, <b>váter</b>. <b>Váter</b> is more of Spain thing. I've never seen it in my Latin America travels.<br />
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The toilet seat is called <b>tapa de inodoro</b> or <b>tapa de retrete</b>. A urinal is called <b>orinal</b>.<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mDwEoyc9tK0/W2b_Bj-p1FI/AAAAAAAAB8A/s5VvOjz1pNwfHmVDc7B5_uazSoSEiU16QCLcBGAs/s1600/papel%2Bhigienico.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1153" data-original-width="1328" height="173" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mDwEoyc9tK0/W2b_Bj-p1FI/AAAAAAAAB8A/s5VvOjz1pNwfHmVDc7B5_uazSoSEiU16QCLcBGAs/s200/papel%2Bhigienico.png" width="200" /></a>Toilet paper is <b>papel de baño</b>, <b>papel sanitario</b> or <b>papel higienico</b>. You can also just refer to it as <b>papel</b>.<br />
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A roll of toilet paper is a <b>rollo de papel, </b>and they are sold as <b>paquetes</b>.<br />
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<b>Un paquete de cuatro rollo de papel</b><br />
A four pack of toilet paper<br />
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You can buy <b>un rollo de hoja sencilla, hoja doble or hoja triple</b> - a single, double or triple ply roll.<br />
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Oh, before I forget. There's one very important thing travelers to Spanish speaking countries need to know about.<br />
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During your travels you may see a sign the reads something like this:<br />
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PLEASE</div>
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Don't throw toilet paper or paper towels </div>
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in the toilet, use the trash can</div>
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Yes, you're reading that correctly.<br />
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Once you're done "tidying up", don't throw your toilet paper in the toilet. I know what you're thinking..."ewww, that's disgusting" and "why not?".<br />
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Some places in Mexico and Latin America have very old and narrow pipes that clog up easily. So the solution is to throw your used <b>papel</b> in the <b>bote</b> (trash can) right next to the toilet. The good news is I haven't seen this very often, but I also typically travel to big and very modern cities. If you're visiting older and more rural cities that still have the plumbing of old, you may run into this.<br />
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Ok, now let's talk about flushing the toilet.<br />
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There are a couple of ways to skin this cat.<br />
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<b>Bajar el agua, </b> <b>Tirar la cadena, Dar la llave, Bajar la palanca</b><br />
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There are probably more ways to say it, but these are very common and the only ones I remember at the moment.<br />
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<b>Por favor jalele al baño</b><br />
Please flush the toilet<br />
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<b>Bájale al inodoro</b><br />
Flush the toilet<br />
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All of these are examples of how you ask someone if they flushed the toilet:<br />
<br />
Did you flush the toilet?<br />
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<b>¿Ya le jalaste (el baño)?</b><br />
<b>¿Ya la diste la llave?</b><br />
<b>¿Tiraste la cadena?</b><br />
<b>¿Bajaste la palanca?</b><br />
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So now let's talk about what happens when you <b>bajar el agua</b> but it just won't work. <br />
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This may not seem all that important at the moment, but when the toilet in your hotel room doesn't flush you'll be glad I taught you this. I had to learn this and a lot of other bathroom talk on the spot because of faulty toilets.<br />
<span style="color: black;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: black;"><b>El agua del inodoro no baja</b></span><br />
<span style="color: black;">The toilet won't flush</span><br />
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And you'll need this one if the toilet gets clogged up.<br />
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<b>El inodoro esta tapado</b><br />
The toilets clogged up<br />
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You can also substitute <b>tapado</b> with the words <b>obstruido</b> or <b>atascado</b> to say the toilets clogged (or stopped up) in Spanish.<br />
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Wow, we're finally about to wrap this up. I'm going to leave you a just a few more terms for things you'll find in a bathroom.<br />
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The sink is <b>el lavabo</b> or <b>el lavamanos</b><br />
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The bathtub is called <b>la tina</b> or <b>la bañera</b><br />
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The shower is <b>la regadera</b> or <b>la ducha</b><br />
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And the last thing I'll leave you with is another bathroom related post I wrote that's actually pretty interesting. Your Spanish book and probably Spanish teacher told you <b>ducharse</b> means to take a shower, and they would be right, but they also left out some extremely important details.<br />
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<a href="http://www.myspanishnotes.com/2009/12/banarse-ducharse-la-tina-y-la-ducha.html" target="_blank">Learn how most Spanish speakers really say to take a shower in Spanish</a>.<br />
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And that's it!<br />
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<b>Hasta la próxima</b><br />
<br />Rodneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11982073579438095731noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887269116401276794.post-36772867362888275262018-04-07T08:33:00.001-04:002018-04-07T08:33:53.707-04:00Me fui pa' Chepe I've been traveling again, and this time I headed back to Costa Rica. I had some unfinished tourism there. That and my wife told me that's where we were spending our vacation.<br />
<br />
The good news is this time around I was really able to explore a bit more of the country and picked up on quite a bit more Spanish as well.<br />
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Let's jump right into things.<br />
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I'm going to share the Costa Rican slang that I picked up, so let's start off with the word <b>pachuco</b>.<br />
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So what does <b>pachuco </b>(or <b>pachuca</b>) mean in Costa Rica?<br />
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<b>Pachuco </b>is nothing more than the name for Costa Rican slang. Well, ok, I'm over simplifying it a bit, but for the purposes of this blog post, understanding that the word <b>pachuco </b>refers to the slang specifically spoken in Costa Rica is good enough.<br />
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Now that we've got that out of the way, let's talk about some actual <b>pachuco </b>terms.<br />
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I stayed in the city of <b>Chepe</b>. What's that? You don't see it on the map? Well, that's because <b>chepe</b> is the nickname for the capital city of Costa Rica, which happens to be San José.<br />
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<b>Me fui pa' Chepe </b><br />
I went to San Jose<br />
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<b>Voy en camino pa' Chepe. Vamos a ver que tanta presa habrá</b><br />
I'm on my way to San Jose. We'll see how much traffic there's going to be<br />
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By the way, that<b> pa'</b> is short for <b>para</b>.<br />
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You can find the sign above on <b>Avenida Central</b> in San José, and if you're wondering, SJO is the airport code for the<b> Aeropuerto Internacional Juan Santamaría</b> in <b>Chepe</b>.<br />
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Here's another word I found interesting.<br />
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<b>Tucas</b><br />
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<b>Tucas </b>are logs, as in trees that have been cut down.<br />
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But I'm sure that my faithful readers already know I didn't post that term because I find cut down trees interesting. However, I will say that the word <b>tucas</b> may only carry that meaning in Costa Rica.<br />
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Now let's look at the definition of the word <b>tucas </b>that qualifies it for this blog.<br />
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In Costa Rican Spanish <b>tucas </b>means legs, especially if they're a pair of good looking legs.<br />
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<b>¡Qué tucas tiene esa mujer!</b><br />
That woman's got some nice legs!<br />
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You can use the word <b>tucas </b>to refer to men or women, like your buddy the body builder who has legs like tree stumps. But more than likely you'll hear this used to refer to a woman with nice legs.<br />
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<b>¡Que tucas tienes huevon!</b><br />
You got some legs on you dude<br />
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By the way, be careful with the word <b>huevón</b>. I translated it as dude, but it's actually one of those bad words that you can use to refer to someone you have a really good relationship with. So if you're not best buddies or you're not absolutely positive the person you're talking to won't take offense, I suggest you use that one with caution. You may also see it spelled as <b>guevón</b>.<br />
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<b>Tucas </b>is a very informal word, so keep that in mind while your chatting with your Costa Rican pals.<br />
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While I've been to Costa Rica a few times, this is the first time I've noticed the usage of the verb <b>ocupar</b>. <b>Ticos </b>use the verb <b>ocupar </b>as a synonym of the verb <b>necesitar</b>. I've run into this in Mexico as well.<br />
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Let's take a closer look.<br />
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<b>No ocupo nada</b><br />
I don't need anything<br />
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<b>¿Se ocupa algo?</b><br />
Do you need anything?<br />
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<b>Si ocupas ir al baño vas a necesitar la llave</b><br />
If you need to go the bathroom you're going to need the key<br />
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<b>¿Un cajero ocupa?</b><br />
You need an ATM ?<br />
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By the way, <b>cajero </b>is short for <b>cajero automatico</b>. Oh, I almost forgot. I wrote about <a href="http://www.myspanishnotes.com/2012/07/marque-su-pin.html" target="_blank">how to use an ATM in Spanish</a> a while back. recommend you read it, it's called <a href="http://www.myspanishnotes.com/2012/07/marque-su-pin.html" target="_blank">Marque su pin</a>.<br />
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Did you notice the word <b>ticos </b>a few sentences back? If you don't know what a <b>tico </b>is, let me explain.<br />
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A <b>tico </b>is a person from Costa Rica. A guy from Costa Rica to be exact. A woman from Costa Rica would be a <b>tica</b>. If you're looking for a more formal word to describe someone from Costa Rica then you want the word <b>Costarricense </b>which is the official term for a person from Costa Rica.<br />
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<b>¿Eres tico?</b><br />
Are you Costa Rican?<br />
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<b>Soy más tico que el gallo pinto</b><br />
I'm more Costa Rican than a spotted rooster<br />
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Well, that last one doesn't make a lot of sense does it? What does a spotted rooster have to do with being Costa Rican? <br />
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First things first. When you hear someone in Costa Rica talk about<b> gallo pinto</b>, more then likely they aren't referring to a spotted rooster, but rather a very traditional Costa Rican dish. In fact, it's considered the national dish.<br />
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A traditional <b>gallo pinto</b> might look something like this:<br />
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I love a good plate of rice and beans, so you can't keep me away from <b>gallo pinto</b> when I'm in Costa Rica.<br />
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Ok, let's switch gears completely.<br />
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This may come as a surprise, but <b>Chepe </b>has it's share of traffic as well. Let's learn a little about how to talk about traffic in Costa Rica like a real <b>tico</b>.<br />
<div>
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<b>Presa </b>is the de facto word <b>ticos</b> use for traffic. In fact, there are actually at least <a href="http://helpingyoulearnspanish.com/7-ways-to-say-traffic-in-spanish/" target="_blank">7 Ways to say traffic in Spanish</a>, but for now let's take a look at a very Costa Rican expression. Well, two of them to be exact.<br />
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<b>Chupar presa</b> and <b>comer presa</b>.<br />
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<b>Comer presa</b> literally means to eat traffic. And <b>chupar presa</b> means to suck traffic. Clearly the literal translations don't do us any good.<br />
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Let's look at some examples.<br />
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<b>Si va por ahi se va a chupar toda la presa</b><br />
If you go that way you're going hit all the traffic<br />
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<b>Se va a comer toda la presa</b><br />
You're going to run into all the traffic<br />
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You can also say something a little less slangy like:<br />
<br />
<b>¿Hay mucha presa?</b><br />
Is there a lot of traffic?<br />
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Toss those phrases around and you're going to raise more than a few eyebrows because now you're sounding super <b>tico</b>.<br />
<br />
Let's keep going.<br />
<br />
I saw a few <b>zaguates </b>running around the streets of San José. And if you have no clue what a <b>zaguate </b>is, don't feel bad, I didn't know either.<br />
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<b>Zaguates </b>are stray dogs or dogs that are not pure breed. Apparently <b>ticos </b>have a love of dogs because they have a few pieces of artwork dedicated to <b>zaguates </b>on <b>Avenida Central</b>. By the way, <b>Avenida Central</b> is the main street in downtown <b>Chepe</b>.<br />
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<br />
Here's another word I found interesting that you'll definitely need to know if you're chatting with the locals.<br />
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<b>¿Hay campos?</b><br />
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A <b>campo </b>in Costa Rica can refer to a place to sit, like an empty seat. I went to the <b>cine </b>(movies) and the person working the counter told me:<br />
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<b>Todavía hay campos</b><br />
There are still seats<br />
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Honestly, that took me by surprise. If they hadn't showed me the seating chart, I would have been at a complete loss. It actually wasn't until a day or two later when a friend filled me in on the use of the word <b>campo</b> and then I was finally able to put it all together.<br />
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Here's one last example:<br />
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<b>No hay campos</b><br />
There are no seats<br />
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You can also safely translate that as "there's no place to sit".<br />
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Another interesting phrase I picked up is <b>a cachete</b>. So what does <b>a cachete</b> mean? Here are some examples.<br />
<br /></div>
<b>¿Cómo estás? A cachete mae</b><br />
How are you? It's all good<br />
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In this context, <b>a cachete</b> could also be translated as awesome or great. But why hear it from me when you can hear it first hand from a <b>tico</b>?<br />
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If you can't see the video, here's the direct link: <a href="https://vimeo.com/249425415">https://vimeo.com/249425415</a><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" mozallowfullscreen="" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/249425415?byline=0&portrait=0" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="640"></iframe>
<a href="https://vimeo.com/249425415">A Cachete | Tico Slang</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/user49071262">Brett Campbell</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
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Here are a few more examples.<br />
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<b>¿Cómo te fue en el examen? ¡A cachete! </b><br />
How did you do on the exam? Great!<br />
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<b>Este carro está a cachete mae</b><br />
This car is awesome dude<br />
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The other context I heard <b>a cachete</b> in had to do with food.<br />
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My amiga ordered something or another, I don't recall exactly what it was, and when the waitress asked what she wanted on it, she replied:<br />
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<b>a cachete</b><br />
With everything<br />
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<b>Con todo</b> would be a more neutral way to respond.<br />
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Wow, we've talked about a lot of stuff. I'm going to cover one more thing and then we'll get this wrapped up.<br />
<br />
I did a little shopping while I was in <b>Chepe </b>and there were a couple of things that jumped out at me.<br />
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While I was looking at a few shirts the attendant said to me:<br />
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<b>Puede medirselo</b><br />
You can try it on<br />
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I'm accustomed to using and hearing the verb <b>probarse </b>to talk about trying on clothes, but apparently <b>medirse </b>works as well.<br />
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<b>¿Me lo puedo probar?</b><br />
Can I try it on?<br />
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<b>¿Me lo puedo medir?</b><br />
Can I try it on?<br />
<br />
I was in search of a <b>camisa de la sele</b>. The <b>sele </b>is the short way of referring to the national soccer team of Costa Rica, <b> La Selección de Fútbol de Costa Rica</b>. Now you know why it's simply referred to as <b>la sele</b>.<br />
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<b>Camisa </b>just means shirt. So a <b>camisa de la sele</b> refers to a soccer jersey of the national soccer team.<br />
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Add a few more inches around the middle and I look just as good in my <b>camisa de la sele</b> as the mannequin does.<br />
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Finding my <b>camisa de la sele</b> was no easy task. Well, not for someone who doesn't want to pay full retail for an official jersey. I was looking for a quality knock off at a reasonable price. And for that I had to find <b>una china</b>.<br />
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<b>Una china</b> is <b>una tienda de chinos</b>, or as we would say, a Chinese store. They're everywhere in downtown <b>Chepe</b>. It took a bit of searching but I finally got my<b> camisa de la sele</b>.<br />
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And with that we're finally done. Now you're ready to impress some folks with your Costa Rican Spanish.<br />
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If you want or need to learn more Costa Rican slang, I found <a href="http://bit.ly/2lPYlQs" target="_blank">these lessons on Costa Rican Spanish</a> to be of great help. They do a great job of zeroing in on the most common terms. You can also find several books on <a href="http://amzn.to/2q4kjPs" target="_blank">Costa Rican slang at Amazon.</a> <br />
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I've got a few more things to share about my trip, so stay tuned for more! You can also <a href="http://www.myspanishnotes.com/search/label/Costa%20Rican%20Spanish" target="_blank">read my other posts on Costa Rican Spanish</a>.<br />
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<b>¡Hasta la próxima!</b>Rodneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07520016346341456183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887269116401276794.post-26216383768177393382018-01-27T06:59:00.000-05:002018-01-27T06:59:17.962-05:00Cali es Cali, lo demás es loma If you missed it you might enjoy reading my first post about my visit to Cali, Colombia, <a href="http://myspanishnotes.blogspot.com/2017/11/no-des-papaya.html" target="_blank">No des papaya</a>. I talked about all of the cool new Spanish I picked up while I was there. In today's post I'm going to share my experiences with the city itself.<br />
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Let's jump right into it.</div>
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One thing I should mention is that Cali is short for <b>Santiago de Cali</b>, which is in the <b>Valle de Cauca</b>.<br />
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You may not know this, but Cali has been proclaimed itself the Salsa capital of the world. And by <b>Salsa</b> I mean the dance, not the condiment. I would say the city has good reason to make that claim.</div>
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You hear Salsa music playing everywhere in Cali. In the streets, in the bars and night clubs, in stores, in restaurants, in taxis, in cars driving by, on the radio, you can't avoid it. I mean you <i>literally </i>hear Salsa being played <i>everywhere</i>. </div>
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But they don't just dance Salsa, they dance <b>Salsa Caleña</b>. Often referred to as Colombian Salsa. </div>
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If you dance Salsa or have seen people dancing Salsa, it was most likely Cuban, Puerto Rican or New York style Salsa. But <b>Salsa Caleña</b> is a different animal. It's famous for it's fancy foot work. Here are 47 seconds of the amazing foot work <b>Salsa Caleña</b> is known for:</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/B6y1ntHcxGY/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/B6y1ntHcxGY?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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If you can't see the video, here's the direct link: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6y1ntHcxGY">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6y1ntHcxGY</a></div>
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I actually took a Salsa lesson when I was there. When in Rome, right? </div>
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There is no shortage of Salsa schools in Cali. They're practically on every corner. I read an article that said there are around 200 Salsa schools in Cali.</div>
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But let's move on, there's a lot more to do in Cali than dance Salsa.<br />
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One of the must see attractions in Cali is the Cristo Rey. It's a smaller, but equally impressive copy of the Brazilian version.</div>
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It's absolutely amazing to see it up close and personal. Here's one more picture for you:</div>
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Up next is the <b>parque de gatos</b>. I really enjoyed visiting this park, which is ironic because I'm not a cat person.</div>
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The cats are known as <b>Los Gatos de Tejada</b>. Or more affectionately as <b>los gatos</b>. The park contains numerous sculptures of cats that represent various things, each <b>gato </b>has a sign that tells the story of what it represents. Here a few of my favorites. Google "<b>parque de gatos cali</b>" and you'll find pictures of nearly all of the cats.</div>
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Here's an interesting cultural note about Cali that won't go unnoticed while you're there. I found it to be rather surprising and I suspect you will too. </div>
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You see, Cali is not just the capital of Salsa, it's also known for being home of some of the most beautiful women in Colombia. Not to mention the capital of plastic surgery. </div>
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And when I say plastic surgery, yes, I'm referring <b>aumentos de gluteos y senos</b>. And of course <b>lipo</b>, or <b>liposución</b>.</div>
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<b>Aumentos de gluteos y senos</b></div>
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Butt and breast augmentations<br />
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Many women choose to get plastic surgery, it's commonplace. Rumor has it that even girls as young as 15 will get surgery as a <b>quiseñera</b> present if they come from families that can afford it. And compared to the US, plastic surgery is cheap there. In fact, it's cheap all throughout Colombia.</div>
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But wait, I'm not done yet. That isn't the part I found surprising. </div>
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Like anywhere else in the world, Colombia uses <b>mannequins </b>to sell clothes.</div>
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Did you notice anything unusual about those <b>mannequins</b>? If you didn't let me help you out.<br />
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And you'll see it on the "flip" side as well.</div>
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Yep, the culture of <b>cirugía plastica</b> extends to <b>mannequins </b>as well. Apparently "bigger is better" in Cali. </div>
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Let's move on.<br />
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Cali is also known for it's night life. I mean, how could a city that claims to be the Salsa capital of the world not be famous for it's night life? <b>Tin Tin Deo</b> is a well known place to go Salsa dancing.<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DNu2bSBOtSg/WlBU047alzI/AAAAAAAAHPg/8yrs0huN0vwP8dsWZ-gL5P9f-Iho-rTvwCLcBGAs/s1600/Tintindeo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="471" data-original-width="1210" height="155" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DNu2bSBOtSg/WlBU047alzI/AAAAAAAAHPg/8yrs0huN0vwP8dsWZ-gL5P9f-Iho-rTvwCLcBGAs/s400/Tintindeo.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I'd be irresponsible if I didn't teach you the proper lingo to talk about going partying in Colombia.<br />
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You might think that in Colombia you <b>ir de fiesta</b> (to go partying) but instead you <b>ir de rumba</b>. It means the same thing, but you want to sound like a real Colombian, so use <b>ir de rumba</b>.<br />
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If you like to party, you're a <b>rumbero </b>or <b>rumbera</b>. <b>Rumbear </b>is another way to say you're going to go partying.<br />
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Remember I said that Cali is the (self-proclaimed) Salsa capital of the world? Well, if you're the type who loves Salsa music and likes to dance Salsa, then you're a <b>salsero</b>. <br />
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Now, what's a night out on the town without a few drinks?</div>
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If you're a rum drinker, you may want to try one of Colombia's very own rums.<br />
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I've never been the one to "pop bottles" in the club, but you can order a bottle of Ron de Caldas for about $30 in the discos and have a good time. For that price my friends and I <b>hicimos una vaca </b>and didn't hesitate to pop a few bottles. <br />
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Interestingly enough, your bottle of rum is served with a pitcher of water that has fresh limes squeezed in it that serves as your chaser as opposed to mixing it with Coke. <br />
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Let me explain what <b>hicimos una vaca</b> means.<br />
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The expression is <b>hacer una vaca</b> and it means you and your friends pool money together to pay for something. In this case it was a bottle of Ron de Caldas, but it could be for anything.<br />
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Ok, enough about partying. It's time to explain the title of this post.<br />
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<b>Cali es Cali, lo demás es loma </b><br />
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First of all, <b>loma </b>means hill. Geographically Cali sits in a Valley and is therefore pretty much flat. So if we translate this literally it's something like<br />
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<b>Cali es Cali, lo demás es loma </b><br />
Cali is Cali, the rest is hills<br />
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Not impressive right? Let's translate this again with the real spirit of the expression.<br />
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<b>Cali es Cali, lo demás es loma </b><br />
Cali is the best city in the world<br />
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I don't know about that, but I do know it's time for me to wrap this post up. <br />
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I spent 8 days in Cali and really enjoyed it. This post really doesn't do the town justice, but it should be enough to give you a glimpse of the city and a tiny slice of the culture in Cali. <br />
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Have you been to Cali? What did you think of the city? Leave a comment down below and share your opinions and experiences. <br />
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<b>¡Hasta la próxima!</b></div>
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Rodneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07520016346341456183noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887269116401276794.post-88905779118602592732017-11-27T18:52:00.002-05:002017-11-27T19:16:10.169-05:00No des papaya Just a few weeks ago I was back in Colombia, but this time I traveled to the city of Cali.<br />
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If you don't know where Cali is, here's a map of Colombia:<br />
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Don't feel bad, I didn't know exactly where it was either. Now that we've oriented ourselves, let's jump right into the good stuff, the Spanish. We'll leave the tourist attractions for the next post.<br />
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We'll start with what was perhaps the most surprising thing to me about Cali. The traffic.<br />
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Cali, like many other cities in Central and South America is extremely congested and rush hour lasts for a lot more than an hour.<br />
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The good news is that gave it me more than enough time to talk to cab drivers about the amount of <b>tráfico </b>there.<br />
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Except they didn't use the word <b>tráfico</b>, instead you're going to hear the word <b>tráncon</b>. <br />
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<b>En la avenida 19 hay trancón</b><br />
There's a traffic jam on 19th avenue<br />
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<b>No, yo no voy para allá y hay mucho trancón</b><br />
No, I'm not going over there because there's a lot of traffic<br />
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<b>Hay mucho trancón y mucho accidente</b><br />
There's a lot of traffic and a lot of accidents<br />
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By the way, you can refer to rush hour as <b>la hora pico</b>. And the word <b>trancón</b> is used throughout Colombia and Central America, so your Spanish will get a lot of mileage out of this one.<br />
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One other interesting thing about traffic in Cali, Medellín, and I imagine most of Colombia, is that lots of people ride motorcycles or scooters. The word for motorcycles in Spanish is <b>motocicleta</b>, but you'll just hear them referred to as <b>motos</b>.<br />
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There is one advantage to riding a moto as your primary form of transportation, it allows you to beat the traffic. People ride in between the cars and zig-zaging in and out lanes.<br />
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They do it so much in fact, that you'll see street signs discouraging it.<br />
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Yes, you read that correctly. <b>No Zigzaguear</b>. I laughed when I saw it. I was thinking, "You've got to be kidding". But as it turns out <b>zigzaguear </b>is an official word in the Spanish dictionary. You can read about it in <a href="https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/zigzaguear.246090/" target="_blank">Wordreference</a>. It's not only an official word, it's fairly common in other countries too.<br />
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This next one is a fun word. <b>Cuchibarbi</b>.<br />
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So what does <b>cuchibarbi </b>mean? I can sum it up pretty easily in English with one word, milf. Although <b>cuchibarbi </b>isn't considered vulgar as is it's English counterpart. And <b>cuchibarbi </b>appears to be uniquely Colombian.<br />
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But to be more specific and to explain things a little better for those of you who aren't familiar with the term milf, a <b>cuchibarbi </b>is an older woman, typically 35+, that's still very attractive and dresses as if she were still in her 20's, provacatively with short skirts (<b>minifaldas</b>) and plunging necklines (<b>escote</b>). She may or may not have had a bit (or a lot) of plastic surgery. And she may or may not have kids.<br />
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The word is a combination of the word <b>cucha</b>, meaning <b>vieja</b>, which is a way of referring to an older woman (potentially disrespectfully) and Barbie, like the doll. Don't ask me how <b>cucha </b>becomes <b>cuchi</b>, because I have no idea.<br />
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<b>Mira esa cuchibarbi, que buena esta!</b><br />
Look at that milf, she's hot<br />
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<b>Miren la faldita que se puso hoy la cuchibarbi</b><br />
Look at that tiny skirt the milf put on today<br />
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Remember that even though I translated <b>cuchibarbi </b>as milf, it isn't as vulgar. I could've also said "older woman". And in the second example you see "la" <b>cuchibarbi</b>, because they're referring to a particular woman, as opposed to just any <b>cuchibarbi</b>.<br />
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Another fun word I learned was <b>mecatos</b>. <b>Mecatos </b>are snacks, or to be more specific, junk food.<br />
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Another expression I heard on several occasions is "<b>en bombas</b>". It means you need to do something or go somewhere really quickly,<br />
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<b>Traigame ese libro en bombas</b><br />
Bring me that book right away<br />
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<b>Voy en bombas y ya regreso</b><br />
I'm going really quickly and I'll be right back<br />
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<b>Me voy en bombas y cuando llego a la oficina, oh sorpresa, no hay parqueadero</b><br />
I leave in a hurry and when I get to the office, surprise, there's no parking available<br />
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I made some time to go to downtown Cali (<b>el centro</b>) to do some shopping. One of the things I noticed is that there are signs everywhere that read "<b>Remate</b>".<br />
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What is a <b>remate</b>? A sale, but not just any sale. It's a killer sale with steep discounts.<br />
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Next let me talk about some of the words I heard people using to address each other while I was out and about in the streets.<br />
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First up is the term <b>pana</b>. So what does <b>pana </b>mean? <b>Pana </b>is a way of referring to a good friend.<br />
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<b>Miguel es mi pana</b><br />
Miguel is my homeboy<br />
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Ok, maybe homeboy is a bit too informal (but then again maybe not) but you get the idea. You'll hear this word used in Venezuela too.<br />
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You can also use it as an informal but affectionate way to refer to someone, like when you want to get their attention. In this case it's like saying friend, dude, sweetie. I wouldn't say there's an exact translation, but you get the hang of it pretty quickly after hearing it a few times.<br />
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<b>Disculpe pana, me puedes decir la hora?</b><br />
Excuse me dude, can you tell me the time?<br />
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<b>¿Cómo estás mi pana?</b><br />
How are you my friend?<br />
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<b>Ayer estuve con unos panas </b><br />
I was with my a few of my buddies yesterday<br />
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The words <b>nene </b>and <b>nena </b>convey the same meaning.<br />
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<b>Disculpe nena, ¿me ayudas?</b><br />
Excuse me sweetie, can you help me?<br />
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And just like <b>pana</b>, <b>nene</b> (for guys) and <b>nena </b>(for girls) are used in Venezuela.</div>
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<b>Mi reina</b> (my queen) is another attention getter I heard. Guys, you can also use this one to address to affectionately address that cute girl you just met or have been dating. Or married.<br />
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I overheard a conversation with a couple of ladies from Venezuela and they used the word <b>marica </b>to refer to each other. Men can use this term in the same fashion as well. It's very much a Colombian and Venezuelan thing, but you need to be careful with it because it's also a derogatory term for homosexuals. In fact, in most of the Spanish speaking world it only carries the derogatory meaning.<br />
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Here's a little bit more Venezuela Spanish I heard, <b>chamo </b>and <b>chama</b>. You can use it as an informal and affectionate way to refer to people as well. <br />
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One thing you won't find in Colombia is <b>una famarcia</b>. Not because they don't exist, but because a <b>farmacia </b>in Colombia is called a <b>droguería</b>. By the way, both of those words mean pharmacy in English.<br />
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I certainly heard my fair share of <a href="http://pelangoche.blogspot.com/2016/12/pudrese-papito.html" target="_blank">Colombian swear words</a> in Cali, but you can <a href="http://pelangoche.blogspot.com/2016/12/pudrese-papito.html" target="_blank">read about those</a> in my other blog, <a href="http://pelangoche.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">No Seas Pelangoche</a>. That blog is dedicated to the really fun stuff, swear words. Or as I like to call them, sentence enhancers. Right now I'm only going to share a couple of words to help you avoid swearing in Colombia.<br />
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If you want to avoid saying <a href="http://pelangoche.blogspot.com/2016/12/pudrese-papito.html" target="_blank">jueputa</a> (think SOB), then you can say <b>juepucha </b>or <b>juemadre </b>instead. They're very mild words that you can use anytime you'd say something like darn it or son of a gun.<br />
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And finally we get to the title of this post.<br />
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<b>No des papaya</b><br />
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So what does <b>no des papaya</b> mean? On the off chance you're never heard of a papaya, it's fruit.<br />
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Now that we know that we can make a translation, or at least attempt to.<br />
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<b>No des papaya</b><br />
Don't give papaya<br />
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Well, that wasn't exactly helpful was it? Let me stop teasing you and <b>ir al grano</b> (get to the point).<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eeZbsegyVZA/WhVrjN4zi9I/AAAAAAAAHNQ/cqhKvANkUYgsmecFPJ7nRqUCyZnuLUowgCLcBGAs/s1600/no%2Bdes%2Bpapaya.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1124" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eeZbsegyVZA/WhVrjN4zi9I/AAAAAAAAHNQ/cqhKvANkUYgsmecFPJ7nRqUCyZnuLUowgCLcBGAs/s320/no%2Bdes%2Bpapaya.png" width="299" /></a><b>No des papaya</b> is something you will hear over and over again in Colombia, and it means to not give someone an opportunity to take advantage of you. Like by walking around with your brand new iPhone in your hand taking pictures and talking on the phone. <br />
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If your Colombian friends or sometimes even complete strangers see you doing things that will potentially make you a victim of crime , they will say this to you. Especially with cell phones. <br />
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As Americans we're very accustomed to walking around and doing whatever we please with our cell phones without any real fear of having them snatched out our hands. But be advised (as I have been numerous times) don't walk around with your cell phone out in the streets of Colombia, or at least not in the bigger cities with higher crime rates. Step into a store, restaurant or any place that gets you off the streets before using your phone. Remember, <b>No des papaya</b>.<br />
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And finally we get to a bit of Spanish that actually took me by surprise. I was checking out of my hotel and said:<br />
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<b>Estoy listo para dejar la habitación</b><br />
I'm ready to check out<br />
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Or literally, leave the room.<br />
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To which the gentleman replied:<br />
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<b>¿Quiere entregar la habitación?</b><br />
Do you want to check out?<br />
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Technically, <b>entregar </b>means to hand over or deliver something, but apparently you can <b>entregar </b>a hotel room as well. So far I've only heard this in Colombia, but if you've heard it somewhere else, please, leave a comment below.<br />
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If you want to learn more about checking in and out of hotel rooms, check out my post:<br />
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<a href="https://myspanishnotes.blogspot.com/2013/10/hotel-spanish.html" target="_blank">¿A qué hora es la hora de entrada?</a><br />
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You can also download my list of <a href="http://helpingyoulearnspanish.com/?ddownload=1253" target="_blank">54 Spanish Hotel phrases for travelers</a>, for free of course.<br />
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And finally, I think that about wraps it up.<br />
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I recommend you try out some of these words on your travels and/or your Colombian friends. They will surely be impressed with your new found knowledge.<br />
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If you enjoyed this post, this isn't my first encounter with Colombian Spanish, so here are the links to the other posts I've written about Colombian Spanish.<br />
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<a href="https://myspanishnotes.blogspot.com/2015/06/what-is-chocolo.html" target="_blank">¿De tela o chócolo?</a><br />
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<a href="https://myspanishnotes.blogspot.com/2010/12/quiubo-parcero.html" target="_blank">¿Quiubo parcero?</a><br />
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<a href="https://myspanishnotes.blogspot.com/2015/06/colombian-spanish.html" target="_blank">¿Hola bebé qué más pues?</a><br />
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And lastly, if you want to learn more about Colombian Spanish, I highly recommend an ebook appropriately titled <a href="http://bit.ly/2zR3qz4" target="_blank">Colombian Spanish</a>. It's actually a great book and goes well beyond teaching you Colombian slang. It offers some great advice on how speak more like a native and less like a gringo, and touches on Colombian culture as well. I was extremely hesitant to buy it because my bookshelf was already overflowing with Spanish books, but I'm glad I did.<br />
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Stay tuned as I've got several more posts lined up to share the rest of my adventures in Cali with you all!<br />
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<b>¡Ojalá que les sirva!</b><br />
<br />Rodneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07520016346341456183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887269116401276794.post-25582024705561628482017-09-19T06:43:00.000-04:002017-11-27T20:02:46.447-05:00Qué pichudo mae Today we're going to look at a thank you note for a wedding gift I gave to my <b>tico</b> friend that just recently got married. By the way, if you're wondering what the word <b>tico</b> means, it's an <b>apodo</b> (nick name) for the people of Costa Rica, or <b>costarricenses</b>. And <b>tica</b> would be used for a woman.<br />
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He knows how much I love learning colloquial Spanish so he wrote the thank you note in pure Costa Rican slang. Needless to say translating it kept me busy for several hours and I enjoyed every minute of it. This little note certainly put my Spanish skills to the test.<br />
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I thought you all would enjoy the Spanish I learned, especially since I've already done all the hard work. <br />
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We're going to take a close look at this card, so here it is.<br />
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I'm not sure what was harder, deciphering his handwriting or the slang. But with that said, let's examine this note line by line.<br />
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<b><span style="color: blue;">Qué pichudo mae</span></b><br />
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Let's start with the easy stuff, the word <b>mae</b><br />
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<b>Mae </b>is the de facto Costa Rican word for dude, and you'll hear it constantly walking up and down the streets of San Jose and most likely all of Costa Rica. Guys use it, girls use it, it's everywhere. You can also use it to refer to a person in general. <br />
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<b>Ese mae no me cae bien</b><br />
I don't like that guy<br />
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<b>Mae, ¿Dónde estás?</b><br />
Dude, where are you?<br />
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Now, as always exercise some caution because you may just run across the one person who doesn't like the word or is offended by it. Or takes offense at you (a.k.a a gringo) using it, but the word itself is perfectly safe. Just remember it carries this meaning in Costa Rica. In another country it may not exist at all or possibly be offensive. Know your audience.<br />
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Next we get to <b>pichudo</b>. <b>Pichudo </b>is another very Costa Rican word meaning <b>genial </b>or <b>buenísimo </b>in standard Spanish. In English it would be something along the great, cool or awesome.<br />
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So our translation would be something along the lines of:<br />
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<b>Qué pichudo mae</b><br />
How awesome dude<br />
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Translating slang isn't an exact science, but this conveys the idea.<br />
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The next line is a bit trickier and I actually needed help with this one.<br />
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<b><span style="color: blue;">Mae, demasiados tenquius por esa harina</span></b><br />
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If you're looking at the word <b>tenquius </b>and can't figure out what it means or how to pronounce it, don't feel bad, you're not alone. I searched the internet far and wide for the meaning of that one to no avail. It turns it out it means "thank you's", but it sounds like "tank youz". Go figure.<br />
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The next word, <b>harina</b>, is a lot easier. The dictionary meaning is flour, but in Costa Rican Spanish it's money. In fact, the currency of Costa Rica is called <b>colones</b>, but I'll write more about that in another post.<br />
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The literal translation "Too many thank you's" just doesn't sound right to my English ears, so I'm going with the below instead.<br />
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<b>Mae, demasiados tenquius por esa harina</b><br />
Dude, thanks so much for the money<br />
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Moving on the next line, this is something else I would never have figured out with my friends help.<br />
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<b><span style="color: blue;">Esta en tuas!</span></b><br />
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This actually has a bit of history to go with it and you will <b><i>totally</i></b> impress your Costa Rican friends with your knowledge of this one. Or at least the one's old enough to remember this.<br />
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The first thing you need to know is that this phrase, when written in proper Spanish, is actually<br />
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<b>Está en todas</b><br />
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And unlike the vast majority of the Spanish phrases I learn, I was actually able to learn the origin of this one. Or least how it become popular.<br />
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These may look familiar to you.<br />
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Yep, they look like M&M's don't they?<br />
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Our phrase, <b>estás en todas</b>, became a popular saying as a result of an 80's commercial. Thanks to the magic of YouTube, we get to watch this too.<br />
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If you don't see the video below, here's the direct link: <br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zbqXBrBXUM">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zbqXBrBXUM</a><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">¡Con teens estás en todas!</span></b></div>
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Now, this is the hard part, translating our expression. I'm thinking it's somewhere along the lines of you're awesome or really cool. <br />
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Moving right along we get to the next line.<br />
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<b><span style="color: blue;">Fue un placer contar con teus en esa tafies tan memorable</span></b><br />
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Keeping with our tradition of tackling the easy words first, <b>tafies</b> is a <b>fiesta</b>, or party in English. <br />
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<b>Teus</b> is a bit trickier. My amigo <b>tico</b> told me that this simply means <b>usted</b> in <b>pachuco</b>. Great, now we have to figure what <b>pachuco</b> is. <br />
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<b>Pachuco </b>is a very informal and slangy form of Costa Rican Spanish, which according to Google has it's roots in Mexican Spanish used in the days of zoot suits. I can't really tell you much about it but a Google search will give you enough info to keep you busy if you're really interested.<br />
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And if you don't know, everyone in Costa Rica speaks with <b>usted</b>. It's just what they do.<br />
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<b>Fue un placer contar con teus en esa tafies tan memorable</b><br />
It was a pleasure to have your support in this memorable occasion<br />
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As I mentioned earlier, <b>tafies </b>means party, but for translation purposes occasion or celebration seems to fit better.<br />
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<b><span style="color: blue;">Me comprare una chema y la guila unas chanclas</span></b><br />
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<b>Chema</b> is Costa Rican slang for a shirt. And just so you know, they use the word <b>cachos </b>for shoes. I mentioned that in some of <a href="https://myspanishnotes.blogspot.com/search/label/Costa%20Rican%20Spanish" target="_blank">my earlier posts about Costan Rican Spanish</a>.<br />
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Next we get another very, very common word in Costa Rican slang. <b>Guila</b>.<br />
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Here's a well written definition in Spanish I found.<br />
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<b>Guila </b>should actually be written as <b>güila</b>, and it can be used to refer to a guy or a girl in general, or your girlfriend or boyfriend. It's always written as <b>güila</b>, so to specify the gender you say <b>el </b><b>güila </b>or <b>la </b><b>güila</b>. In informal writing it's nearly always seen written with a regular u and not ü (with the diaeresis). <br />
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<b>Mae, esa güila es muy bonita</b><br />
Dude, that girl is really pretty<br />
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<b>¿Como está su guila?</b><br />
How's your girlfriend?<br />
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<b>Es un queque</b>, right? That's <b>tico </b>for "it's easy, right?"<br />
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Moving on. <br />
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<b>Chanclas, </b>are flip flops or <b>sandalias </b>(sandals). Generally speaking, <b>chanclas </b>and <b>sandalias </b>are synonyms, with the exception that <b>chanclas</b> also refers to flip flips, while typically <b>sandalias </b>does not. <br />
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The word <b>chancla</b> generally refers to any flat sandal, but that's not a strict rule. Various styles of sandals can be referred to as <b>chanclas</b>.<br />
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<b>Me comprare una chema y la guila unas chanclas</b><br />
I'm going to buy myself a shirt and my girlfriend some sandals<br />
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And we're finally getting to the end.<br />
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<b><span style="color: blue;">Espero que se le haga un nudo en la jupa desentrañando mi mensaje escrito en lenguaje de tiquicia.</span></b><br />
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<b>Jupa </b>means cabeza, or head. And <b>Tiquicia </b>is nothing more than an affectionate reference to the country of Costa Rica itself. <br />
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<b>Espero que se le haga un nudo en la jupa desentrañando mi mensaje escrito en lenguaje de tiquicia.</b><br />
I hope you tie a knot in your head trying to figure out my message written in the language of Costa Rica.<br />
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And there you have it. Go forth and impress your <b>tico </b>(Costa Rican) friends with this new bit of Spanish you've learned today. <br />
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If you want or need to learn more Costa Rican slang, I found <a href="http://bit.ly/2lPYlQs" target="_blank">these lessons on Costa Rican Spanish</a> to be of great help. They do a great job of zeroing in on the most common terms. You can also find several books on <a href="http://amzn.to/2q4kjPs" target="_blank">Costa Rican slang at Amazon.</a><br />
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Of course the best thing to do to learn some Costa Rican slang is to make friends with some <b>ticos </b>or hop on a plane to <b>Tiquicia</b>, but if you can't do either one of those then the options I gave you above aren't bad either. <br />
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<b>¡Hasta la próxima!</b><br />
<br />Rodneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11982073579438095731noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887269116401276794.post-60100767571964467342017-06-09T18:34:00.001-04:002017-12-12T11:55:50.050-05:00¡Diacachimba!In my last post, <a href="https://myspanishnotes.blogspot.com/2017/05/nicaragua-spanish-chinelas.html" target="_blank">Tenemos Chinelas</a>, I gave you a mini-tour of Managua, Nicaragua. And a little bit of Nicaraguan Spanish to boot. I also promised you I'd do the the same for the city of Granada. So with that said, let the Nicaragua adventure continue.<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xGcFf7lWLoY/WS9Sn6YFSxI/AAAAAAAAHAM/awA2ADviVXwlAGhCKmuBN1e5XMeofTbJgCLcB/s1600/soy%2Bnica.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xGcFf7lWLoY/WS9Sn6YFSxI/AAAAAAAAHAM/awA2ADviVXwlAGhCKmuBN1e5XMeofTbJgCLcB/s200/soy%2Bnica.jpg" width="200" /></a>Let's start with a little bit of Nicaraguan Spanish I should have explained to you the first time.<br />
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People from Nicaragua are called <b>nicaragüense</b>. But that's kind of a mouthful, so I like to say the abbreviated version, <b>nica</b>. And it's <b>nica </b>for both sexes. You would say <b>un nica </b>for a man and <b>una nica</b> for a woman.<br />
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<b>¿Eres nica?</b><br />
Are you Nicaraguan?<br />
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<b>Soy Nica y eso nadie me lo quita</b><br />
I'm Nicaraguan and no one can take that from me<br />
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Here's the Nicaraguan flag (<b>bandera</b>) if you're never seen it.<br />
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The currency of Nicaragua is called the <b>córdoba</b>. Here are a few pics.<br />
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Great! We've got the basics covered so let's get on with that mini-tour of Granada.<br />
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I got to Granada in a <b>buseta </b>much like this one. A <b>buseta </b>is just a smaller version of an <b>autobús</b>. It can only carry 30 people or so. <br />
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My Granada adventure started with ride in a <b>coche de caballos</b> or a horse and buggy. You may also hear a coach and buggy referred to as <b>un coche con carruaje</b>. Or <b>cabellos con carruajes</b>. If you're familiar with Spanish you know how it is, there's always more than one way to say something. <br />
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It's an enjoyable way to tour the city. You can find them at <b>Parque Colón</b>. They'll be lined up in the street waiting to take you on the grand tour.<br />
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By the way, the word for tour in Spanish is <b>recorrido</b>. However, don't be surprised if you just hear the word tour. With a Spanish accent of course.<br />
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Granada is a colonial town full of history and super old houses. The guide pointed out one that was over 400 years old. Amazing. What's even more amazing is I didn't take pictures. What was I thinking?<br />
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After touring the city we headed to the<b> Centro Turistico</b>.<br />
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The <b>Centro Turistico</b> in Grenada is an awesome place. It's like a huge park where families go to have picnics, let the kids run around, take a swim in the lake (<b>Lago Cocibolca</b>) and have <b>asados</b> (barbeques). You can also walk along the lake front and more importantly, take a tour of <b>Las Isletas</b>.<br />
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<b>Las Isletas</b> consist of 75 small islands formed from eruptions of <b>el volcán Mombacho</b>. A good number of the<b> isletas</b> have houses of varying sizes on them. By the way, an <b>isleta</b> is a small island. A regular size island (however big that is) is an <b>isla</b>.<br />
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If you take a <b>recorrido </b>of <b>Las Isletas</b> you'll also get a chance to have lunch at one of the restaurants found on the <b>isletas</b>. <br />
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I really enjoyed the <b>recorrido</b> of <b>las isletas</b>. Nothing like enjoying the cool breeze on the lake on a hot day.<br />
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I'll leave you with a couple of more pictures of Granada. <br />
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And to wrap up my mini-tour of Granada, here's a short promo video I found of Granada. It will give you a great idea of what to expect if you decide to go.<br />
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvLWrE8yAQk<br />
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And to finally wrap this post up, let's look at the word <b>diacachimba</b>.<br />
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You probably immediately noticed the difference in spelling from what I typed and what's in the photo. Since it's an informal word to begin with it really doesn't matter. You may also see <b>deachachimba</b>. Anyway, it means something is really cool, really well done, or even to say you're in a good mood.<br />
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<b>Que fiesta mas deacachimba</b><br />
This party is awesome<br />
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It can also apply to people.<br />
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<b>Ese mae es deacachimba</b><br />
This guy is really cool<br />
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Here are a couple more examples:<br />
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<b>Esta entrada esta deacachimba</b><br />
This post is awesome<br />
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<b>Me siento diacachimba</b><br />
I feel great<br />
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<b>Tu carro está deacachimba</b><br />
Your car is really cool<br />
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<b>Este trabajo me esta quedando diacachimba</b><br />
This job is turning out great<br />
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Well, that's it. Almost. The last thing I'll add is that if you get the chance try the <b>Toña</b><br />
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and the <b>Flor de Caña</b>, which is their flagship rum. Awesome stuff.<br />
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There really is a lot to do in Nicaragua, much more than I expected. There were a few things and places I didn't get to see, so who knows, maybe a return trip is in order.<br />
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If you missed it, be sure <a href="http://myspanishnotes.blogspot.com/2017/05/nicaragua-spanish-chinelas.html" target="_blank">to read part one</a> of my adventures in Nicaragua, <a href="http://myspanishnotes.blogspot.com/2017/05/nicaragua-spanish-chinelas.html" target="_blank">Tenemos chinelas</a>. <br />
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That's it for today, <b>Hasta la próxima!</b><br />
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<br />Rodneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07520016346341456183noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887269116401276794.post-75379279248718646372017-05-22T07:36:00.000-04:002017-12-12T11:50:57.389-05:00Tenemos Chinelas Well, I've been traveling again, this time to Central America. Managua, Nicaragua to be exact. I have to say, I picked up a couple of interesting tidbits of Spanish that I'm going to share and I'll also give you a mini-tour of Managua and Granada.<br />
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Let's jump right into things.<br />
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I actually flew into Managuga from Costa Rica with an airline called <b>Avianca </b>on an <b>avión </b>that looked something like this:<br />
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When we got to Managua I was pleasantly surprised by the airport (Aeropuerto Internaciónal Augusto C Sandino). It was clean and pretty modern.<br />
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From there my Nicaragua adventure begin!<br />
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I guess we'll start with one of the things that surprised me the most about Managua. The traffic. The streets are packed with cars. <b>La hora pico</b> (rush hour) was absolutely insane. And because of that, nearly all of the conversations I had with <b>taxistas</b> (taxi drivers) always included:<br />
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<b>Hay mucho tráfico</b><br />
There's a lot of traffic<br />
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Except that in Managua they don't say <b>tráfico</b>. They say <b>presa</b>. <br />
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<b>Hay mucha presa</b><br />
There's a lot of traffic<br />
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Here's another tip you'll need to know if you ever find yourself catching a cab in Managua. <br />
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The taxis are <b>colectivos</b>, meaning they pick up multiple passengers. By the way, it's not uncommon to hear buses referred to as <b>colectivos </b>in some Latin American countries. But I digress, let's get back on track. <br />
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If you're riding solo in a cab and someone else going your direction needs a ride, the <b>taxista </b>will pick them up too. And there is no <b>taximetro</b> (taxi meter), so negotiate your <b>carrera</b> (fare) before you get in the cab. And you can expect to pay what I call the gringo tax, meaning you're going to be overcharged.<br />
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It was also in a taxi cab that I came across the verb <b>dilatar </b>for first time. In Managua, <b>dilatar </b>is a synonym for the verb <b>tardar</b> in the context of how long it takes to get somewhere. Here's an example:<br />
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<b><span style="color: blue;">Me</span></b>: <b> ¿Cuanto tiempo tarda para llegar al malecón?</b><br />
How long does it take to get to the boardwalk?<br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><b>Taxista</b></span>: <b>Dilata unos diez minutos</b><br />
It takes about 10 minutes<br />
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<b>Pan comida</b> right?<br />
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Moving right along...<br />
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A popular greeting that Nicaragua (or at least Managua) shares with México is <b>qué onda.</b> I heard this several times. <b>Qué onda</b> simply means "What's up?". It's very informal, used in exactly the same way you'd use it's English counterpart. <br />
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Another greeting I heard often is <b>buenas</b>. <b>Buenas </b>is a informal greeting you can use any time of the day. You can use it with pretty much anyone. Unless of course you find yourself in a situation you need to be more formal in. However, it's perfect for greeting folks in stores, restaurants, in the street, etc. I think you get the idea.<br />
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As you walk or drive up and down the streets of Managua you'll see what they call an <b>arbol de la vida</b> everywhere. <br />
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I found them to be really pretty at night when they're all lit up. However as nice as they may look, not everyone is a fan of these. You see, they're illuminated all night, every night, 365 days a year, paid for by the tax payers. They also have guards that protect the trees. Also paid for by the tax payers. I think you now understand why everyone isn't fan. Anyway, a <b>taxista</b> filled me in on all the gory details, which I've spared you from. At any rate, they are nice to look at regardless of the politics and controversy behind them.<br />
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I didn't have as much time as I'd like to get around Managua, but one of the places I felt obligated to visit was <b>Puerto Salvador Allende</b>. <br />
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<b>Puerto Salvador Allende</b> is what they refer to as the <b>malecón</b>, or boardwalk. It sits on the <b>orilla del Lago de Managua. </b>The <b>lago </b>(lake) is also called by it's indigenous name<b> Lago Xolotlán. </b> By the way, <b>orilla</b> in this context means shore, or edge. <br />
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It's a really awesome place. Huge, as a matter of fact. You'll find restaurants and shopping, a playground for the kids, historical monuments, all kinds of cool stuff there to see and just a great place to pass the time walking around. I went there at night because the summertime heat in Managua is insane (90+ degrees). <br />
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Night time at the <b>malecón </b>is amazing. The restaurants have music blaring and are filled with people dining and dancing the night away. The <b>malecón </b>is filled with locals and tourists alike just walking around and enjoying the atmosphere.<br />
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Here's a short video for you to see what it's like. If you can't see the video, I also included the direct link.<br />
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unY7dnhrK7o<br />
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Here are a few photos I took as well. On the first couple you'll see the palm leaves that cover the benches. The word for those is <b>palapas</b>. <br />
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If you find yourself in Managua a visit to the <b>malecón vale la pena </b>(it's worth the trouble).<br />
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While this next word isn't exclusive to to Nicaragua, it was a new word I picked up. I found myself sitting in a bank waiting for my friend to <b>cambiar dinero</b> (exchange money) and I was looking for a water fountain, which you can call a <b>fuente </b>(<b>para beber</b>) or a<b> </b><b>bebedero</b>. Hard to believe after more than 10 years of learning Spanish I've never had to ask for a water fountain. <br />
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This post is starting to get a little long, so I'll wrap it up with today's expression, <b>tenemos chinelas</b> and finish the rest in part two, where I'll share the last couple of words I picked up and a brief tour of Granada. <br />
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And finally, we get to our expression, <b>tenemos chinelas</b>. <br />
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I actually heard "<b>tenemos chinelas</b>" in the airport on my way back to Costa Rica. I was doing a bit of last minute shopping and while the owner of the shop was showing me all of her goods, she said <b>tenemos chinelas</b>. Needless to say, I was surprised by the term as I had never heard it before. <br />
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It turns out <b>chinelas </b>in Nicaragua are nothing more than <b>sandalias</b>, or <b>chancletas</b>. In other words, sandals.<br />
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The word seems to apply to any and all types of sandals. The sandals the shop keeper showed me were pretty nice. If you google the phrase <b>chinelas nicaragua</b>, you'll see a wide variety of <b>chinelas </b>in the results.<br />
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And <b>ya</b>, that's it for today. Be sure to <a href="http://myspanishnotes.blogspot.com/2017/06/diacachimba.html" target="_blank">read part two</a> where I share a little more Nicaraguan Spanish with you, including <a href="http://myspanishnotes.blogspot.com/2017/06/diacachimba.html" target="_blank">a very, very Nicaraguan term</a> as well as some of my photos of Granada. <br />
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<b>¡Hasta próxima!</b><br />
<br />Rodneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07520016346341456183noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887269116401276794.post-20294197841580055722017-03-25T09:10:00.000-04:002017-03-25T09:10:47.635-04:00Voy a hacer lo que me da la puta ganaBefore we get into today's expression, we need to talk about the word <b>gana</b>.<br />
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A <b>gana</b> is a desire, or a want. <br />
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You'll also (and more commonly) hear the plural form of the word, <b>ganas</b><b>. </b> We won't be looking at the word <b>ganas</b> today, but I did write about how to use the word <b>ganas</b> back in 2010. <a href="http://myspanishnotes.blogspot.com/2010/12/tienes-ganas.html" target="_blank">I recommend you read the post on ganas</a> to get a handle on the word, it's pretty common so you'll need to have this one in your Spanish toolbox for sure.<br />
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Now we're ready to move on to the good stuff.<br />
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<b>Hago lo que me da la gana</b><br />
I do whatever I feel like<br />
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<b>Dar la gana</b> is the idiomatic expression you use to tell people that you do whatever you feel like. It can come across as kind of strong, so be careful of how you use it.<br />
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I reserve the right to dress however I want</div>
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<b>¿Por qué no vas a la fiesta?</b><br />
<b>No me da la gana</b><br />
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Why aren't you going to the party?<br />
I don't feel like it<br />
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<b>Por mí puedes hacer lo que te da la gana</b><br />
You can do what you like for all I care<br />
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Now, if you want to really to emphasis the fact that you aren't in the mood to do something, then you just need add what I like to call a sentence enhancer. The first sentence enhancer we'll look at is <b>regalada</b>.<br />
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Normally <b>regalada </b>means something is a good deal, a bargain, or a steal as we would say. But for some reason when you use it with the expression <b>dar la gana</b>, it takes on whole new meaning.<br />
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<b>Hago lo que me da la regalada gana</b><br />
I do whatever the hell I feel like<br />
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<b>Por qué quieres hacer eso?</b><br />
<b>Porque me da la regalada gana</b><br />
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Why do you want to do that? <br />
Because I damn well feel like it<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-twPSujEB4Mc/WNUaMbnezQI/AAAAAAAAB0I/l6Tq8CK__s4xFjIB6W4ZZyQoQNTB5Y03gCLcB/s1600/puta%2Bgana.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-twPSujEB4Mc/WNUaMbnezQI/AAAAAAAAB0I/l6Tq8CK__s4xFjIB6W4ZZyQoQNTB5Y03gCLcB/s320/puta%2Bgana.jpg" width="320" /></a>And now we get to the next sentence enhancer and today's expression:<br />
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<b>Voy a hacer lo que me da la puta gana</b><br />
I'm going to do what I f'ing want to do<br />
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I'm pretty sure I don't need to explain what "f'ing" means. Much less that this is for sure one of those situations that this will come across as rather strong.<br />
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The word <b>puta </b>in Spanish is very much a bad word and has quite a few meanings. I tend to keep this blog PG (ok, sometimes PG-13) so you can <a href="http://pelangoche.blogspot.com/search?q=puta" target="_blank">read about the many uses of puta </a>on my <a href="http://pelangoche.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">No Seas Pelangoche</a> blog. <br />
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Now, as usual, there's more than one way to skin a cat (<b>hay muchas formas de pelar un gato</b>) in Spanish, which brings us to the expression <b>pegarsele la gana</b>. In grammatical terms that's pretty complicated. The examples below will help you figure out how to use it.<br />
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It means the exact same thing.<br />
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<b>No se me pega la gana</b><br />
I don't feel like it<br />
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<b>Sé de él solo cuando le pega la gana</b><br />
I only hear from him when he feels like it<br />
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<b>Porque se me pega la regalada gana</b><br />
Because I damn well feel like it<br />
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<b>Hago lo que se me pega la gana</b><br />
I do whatever I feel like<br />
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<b>Me hablas cuando se te pega la gana</b><br />
You talk to me whenever you feel like it<br />
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You can use the same sentence enhancers I mentioned above as well.<br />
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<b>Te llamo cuando se me pegue la regalada gana</b><br />
I'll call you when I damn well feel like it<br />
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<b>Haces lo que se te pega la puta gana</b></div>
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You do whatever the f@ck you feel like</div>
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And that's it. Before I let you go, <a href="http://myspanishnotes.blogspot.com/2010/12/tienes-ganas.html" target="_blank">don't forget to read my post on ganas (¿Tienes ganas?) </a>because it will help you get more a complete understanding of the word and the concept. <br />
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<b>¡Hasta la próxima! </b>Rodneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11982073579438095731noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887269116401276794.post-89731099092417542102017-03-07T07:29:00.000-05:002017-03-07T07:29:27.146-05:00No seas gallina Apparently Spanish books think the only thing you need to know about chickens in Spanish is the word <b>pollo</b>. Well, sooner or later you're going to discover that you need more than the word <b>pollo</b> to talk about chicken. <br />
<br />
With that in mind, let's take a look at few things you should know.<br />
<br />
<b>Pollo</b> is what chicken is called when it's on your plate. While it's alive and well it goes by another name.<br />
<br />
A <b>gallo </b>is what we call a rooster. <br />
<br />
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<br />
<br />
A <b>gallina </b>is a hen.<br />
<br />
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<br />
<br />
<br />
And little baby chickens, chicks, are called <b>pollitos</b>. <br />
<br />
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<br />
Maybe you remember this movie:<br />
<br />
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<br />
<br />
I have no idea why they called the chickens <b>pollitos</b> since they aren't chicks, but maybe they thought it sounded cuter than <b>Gallos a la fuga</b>.<br />
<br />
Let's back up a minute and talk a little more about what chicken is called when it's on your plate.<br />
<br />
To be honest, I spent years learning Spanish without ever knowing any words for chicken other than <b>pollo</b>. In fact, it never even occurred to me to ask until I found myself in a situation where I needed the vocabulary and didn't know it. <br />
<br />
I was wandering the streets of Tijuana and saw a <b>viejita </b>(little old lady) selling <b>pollo rostizado</b> (roasted chicken) . I had to have some. Of course as soon I stepped up to the <b>ventanilla </b>(the little window) to order, I realized I had no idea what I was doing. Luckily for me she had a few signs up.<br />
<br />
I ended up ordering a <b>medio pollo</b> , a half a chicken. Which by the way was way too much. I should have ordered the<b> cuarto de pollo</b>, or quarter chicken. My eyes being bigger than my stomach aside, it was <b>muy rico</b>. At least I didn't order a <b>pollo entero</b> (whole chicken).<br />
<br />
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YKYj2zxsVPw/WL3Hu9EvszI/AAAAAAAAGrs/a9qKSNU3sJYiCxVJZHLR5er1pAc3VDGaQCLcB/s1600/alitas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YKYj2zxsVPw/WL3Hu9EvszI/AAAAAAAAGrs/a9qKSNU3sJYiCxVJZHLR5er1pAc3VDGaQCLcB/s200/alitas.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
<br />
Wings are an extremely popular menu item in sports bars, heck, just in general. And if you want to order them, then you need to ask for <b>alitas de pollo</b>. Or the simpler and more common way to refer to them, <b>alitas</b>. <br />
<br />
Boneless chicken wings are <b>alitas deshuesadas</b>. <br />
<br />
<br />
And if it's chicken fingers you're after, just ask for <b>dedos de pollo</b>.<br />
<br />
You can have <b>pollo asado</b> (grilled chicken), <b>pollo frito</b> (fried chicken), <b>pollo del horno</b> (baked chicken), or even <b>pollo empanizado</b> (breaded chicken).<br />
<br />
Boneless chicken is referred to as <b>sin hueso</b>. Chicken that's been deboned is <b>deshuesado. </b> The verb for deboning chicken is <b>deshuesar</b>.<br />
<br />
Well, we learned how to ask for wings, let's look at how to ask for other parts of the chicken.<br />
<br />
<b>La pierna </b>is a chicken leg. <br />
<br />
A <b>muslo</b> is a thigh. There are a lot of Spanish speaking countries, so you might get some variation and hear it called a <b>cadera de pollo</b>, or simply <b>cadera</b>. But I would say <b>muslo </b>is your best bet. And <b>pechuga</b> is chicken breast everywhere.<br />
<br />
There's also <b>caldo de pollo</b> or <b>caldo de gallina</b>, chicken soup. Technically <b>gallina</b> refers to a hen, but on a menu the word <b>gallina</b> tends to just be a synonym for chicken. <br />
<br />
Oh, I almost forgot. <b>Piel de gallina</b> is how you refer to goosebumps as well as chicken skin.<br />
<br />
<b>Tengo piel de gallina</b><br />
I have goosebumps<br />
<br />
There are also some fun expressions involving chicken.<br />
<br />
<b>¿Quén pidió pollo?</b><br />
<br />
This expression is uniquely Colombian. Well, at least to my knowledge it is. It literally means:<br />
<br />
Who ordered chicken?<br />
<br />
And while you may actually find that question useful one day, the meaning we're after is quite a bit different. <br />
<br />
In Colombia, the expression "<b>¿Quén pidió pollo?</b>" is a way to talk about someone you find attractive.<br />
<br />
Here's how it works.<br />
<br />
Someone attractive walks in the room and you look at your friends and say<br />
<br />
<b>¿Quén pidió pollo?</b><br />
Who's that hottie?<br />
<br />
My translation isn't literal, but that's pretty much the sentiment of the expression. Keep this one in your back pocket for just the right time and your Colombian friends will be impressed. And it works for both men and women.<br />
<br />
By the way, if you're interested in picking up some more Colombian slang, then you can <a href="http://myspanishnotes.blogspot.com/search/label/Colombian%20Spanish" target="_blank">read some of my prior posts on Colombian Spanish</a> or <a href="https://gumroad.com/a/367998067" target="_blank">pick up a copy of the book Colombian Spanish</a>.<br />
<br />
<b>¿Quién es tu gallo?</b><br />
<br />
This expression is very Mexican. <br />
<br />
So what does the expression "<b>¿Quién es tu gallo?</b>" mean?<br />
<br />
It's a way of asking who you're rooting for. In standard Spanish that would be:<br />
<br />
<b>¿Para quién vas?</b><br />
Who are you going for?<br />
<br />
This would also work<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>¿A quién apoyas?</b><br />
<br />
<br />
I remember very clearly the first time I used the expression "<b>¿Quién es tu gallo?</b>". I was talking with a cab drive about the Mayweather vs Canelo fight. I'm guessing he was quite surprised because he turned and looked at me and said "hablas mucho español" before answering the question.<br />
<br />
That aside, to answer the question you can reply with the word <b>gallo</b>.<br />
<br />
<b>Canelo es mi gallo</b><br />
<br />
And this expression isn't just limited to to boxing. You can use this expression to talk about any sort of event.<br />
<br />
This next one you'll probably find quite interesting. Maybe even more so than the first two. <br />
<br />
<b>Eres más puta que las gallinas</b><br />
<br />
Literally this means you're more of a whore then female chickens. Figuratively it's more like "You're a real slut", only stronger. Maybe an equivalent expression would be "You'll f@ck anything wearing pants". The word <b>puta</b> is what makes it so harsh, as if you needed me to tell you that. <br />
<br />
If you want to soften that up just a tad, you can say:<br />
<br />
<b>Eres más suelta que las gallinas</b><br />
<br />
The message is still the same, you just aren't using bad words to deliver it. <br />
<br />
However you translate it, you're saying that this woman is very loose, so be careful with this one. <br />
<br />
Don't ask me where this expression comes from, I have no idea. I guess hens are a lively bunch. And one last thing. That's the shortened version of the expression. The full version is:<br />
<br />
<b>Eres mas puta que la gallina que aprendió a nadar para follarse a los patos</b><br />
You're more of a whore then the hen that learned to swim to have sex with the ducks<br />
<br />
Now, I softened up my translation because I generally like to keep this blog family friendly. Just realize that <b>follar </b>is the vulgar way to talk about having sex. If you're interested in learning about more explicit language then you want to read my <a href="http://pelangoche.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">No Seas Pelangoche blog</a>. I have <a href="http://pelangoche.blogspot.com/search?q=follar" target="_blank">a number of posts about the verb follar </a>and it's like there. But be warned, that blog is entirely composed of frank and explicit language. It's not for the sensitive types.<br />
<br />
And finally, we get to the tittle of today's post. <br />
<br />
<b>No seas gallina</b><br />
Don't be chicken<br />
<br />
I don't think this one needs any further explanation.<br />
<br />
And that's it! Unless you're a chicken farmer, you probably learned everything you need to know about chickens in Spanish.<br />
<br />
<b>¡Hasta la próxima!</b>Rodneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11982073579438095731noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887269116401276794.post-4539636122064384712016-08-04T19:16:00.001-04:002016-08-04T19:29:32.486-04:00¡Qué tal!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Sure, you may have heard the expression <b>qué tal</b> before, but if you haven't you're going to be glad you came across this post because it's going to simplify your life when it comes to speaking Spanish.<br />
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<br />
You see the expression <b>qué tal</b> in Spanish books on occasion, but most of the time they just tell you it's an informal greeting and case closed. That hardly does the expression <b>qué tal</b> any justice, so I put together a podcast about some of the most common uses for this expression and you'll be pleasantly surprised at some of its other uses.<br />
<br />
You can listen to the podcast here by using the player below or you can <a href="http://us.ivoox.com/en/que-tal-audios-mp3_rf_12248831_1.html" target="_blank">click here to download it from iVoox</a>. <br />
<br />
By the way, if you missed my previous podcast, <a href="http://myspanishnotes.blogspot.com/2016/01/spanish-in-tijuana.html" target="_blank">Español en Las Calles de Tijuana</a>, you can listen to it clicking <a href="http://myspanishnotes.blogspot.com/2016/01/spanish-in-tijuana.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
<audio controls="controls" height="50px" width="150px">
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</audio>
<br />
<br />
The transcript is posted below. Enjoy the podcast!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Hi, this is Rodney and today I'm going to talk about the expression qué tal.<br />
<br />
Qué tal is an informal expression that has several different uses.<br />
<br />
Don't bother trying to make a literal translation because it's an idiomatic<br />
expression and it just won't make sense.<br />
<br />
But don't worry, it's not as bad as it sounds. Once you see how's it's used<br />
you'll realize how simple and useful this expression is.<br />
<br />
Let's take a look at some examples<br />
<br />
The first and perhaps most common usage of qué tal is as a greeting that you can use any time of the day.<br />
<br />
You can use it to address one person or a group people.<br />
<br />
If you're speaking directly with someone, you can say:<br />
<br />
Hola, ¿qué tal?<br />
Hi, what's up?<br />
<br />
Or simply ¿Qué tal?<br />
<br />
While I translated qué tal as what's up, that's not really a literal translation.<br />
<br />
It could also be translated as:<br />
<br />
How are you?<br />
How's it going?<br />
How's everything?<br />
How are you doing?<br />
<br />
If you want to address a group of people you can say:<br />
<br />
¿Qué tal todos?<br />
How is everybody?<br />
<br />
or<br />
<br />
¿Qué tal chicos?<br />
How are you guys doing?<br />
<br />
You can also ask about a third person<br />
<br />
¿Qué tal tu hermana?<br />
How's your sister?<br />
<br />
¿Qué tal tu amiga Marta?<br />
How's your friend Marta?<br />
<br />
You can even ask about animals<br />
<br />
¿Qué tal tu gato?<br />
How's your cat doing?<br />
<br />
In fact, you can use qué tal to ask about anything.<br />
<br />
¿Qué tal todo?<br />
How's everything?<br />
<br />
¿Qué tal el día?<br />
How's your day going?<br />
<br />
¿Qué tal la comida?<br />
How's the food?<br />
<br />
¿Qué tal tu trabajo?<br />
How's your job going?<br />
<br />
¿Qué tal tu clase?<br />
How's your class going?<br />
<br />
¿Qué tal el fin de semana?<br />
How's your weekend going?<br />
<br />
Before we move on, did you notice that we didn't use a verb in any of those examples?<br />
<br />
¿Qué tal?<br />
¿Qué tal tu hermana?<br />
¿Qué tal la comida?<br />
¿Qué tal el fin de semana?<br />
<br />
So what's going on here?<br />
<br />
When you use qué tal to ask about how something or someone is you're actually using the verb estar,<br />
but it's assumed and not explicitly mentioned.<br />
<br />
¿Qué tal? is actually ¿Qué tal estás?<br />
¿Qué tal chicos? is ¿Qué tal están chicos?<br />
¿Qué tal tu hermana? is ¿Qué tal está tu hermana?<br />
¿Qué tal la comida? is ¿Qué tal está la comida?<br />
<br />
Now here's the really nice thing about qué tal, you can also use it to ask about events in the past<br />
with the exact same structure.<br />
<br />
¿Qué tal el vuelo?<br />
How was the flight?<br />
<br />
¿Qué tal el fin de semana?<br />
How was your weekend?<br />
<br />
¿Qué tal la comida?<br />
How was the food?<br />
<br />
And just like in the present tense, the verb estar is understood.<br />
<br />
¿Qué tal el vuelo? is ¿Qué tal estuvo el vuelo?<br />
¿Qué tal el fin de semana? is ¿Qué tal estuvo el fin de semana?<br />
¿Qué tal la comida? is ¿Qué tal estuvo la comida?<br />
<br />
Let's talk about some more ways to use qué tal.<br />
<br />
You can also use qué tal to make suggestions by saying "Qué tal si..."<br />
<br />
which translates to "How about if"<br />
<br />
And remember, this is "si" without an accent which means if<br />
<br />
Let's look at some examples.<br />
<br />
¿Qué tal si vamos al cine?<br />
How about if we go to the movies?<br />
<br />
¿Qué tal si vamos todos a jugar billar?<br />
How about if we all go shoot pool?<br />
<br />
You can also use it to ask about someone's personality or an objects<br />
characteristics by using "es", from the verb ser.<br />
<br />
¿Qué tal es tu novia?<br />
What's your girlfriend like?<br />
<br />
¿Qué tal es tu nuevo coche?<br />
What's your new car like?<br />
<br />
And that's it.<br />
<br />
As you can see, qué tal is a very useful expression that allows us to ask about<br />
things that occur in both the present and the past using a very simple<br />
construction.<br />
<br />
That's it for today. Thanks for listening and I look forward to seeing you in the next podcast.Rodneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11982073579438095731noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887269116401276794.post-38315176014925588642016-07-31T12:43:00.000-04:002016-07-31T12:43:23.140-04:00Nos arreglamos el chongo If you've always wanted to know what a <b>chongo </b>is, today's your lucky day. <br />
<br />
And if you've never heard of the word <b>chongo</b>, today's still your lucky day. And guess what else? You'll really impress your Mexican friends with this one. Your cool points will go through the roof. OK, it's not that cool, but you will surprise them.<br />
<br />
Enough chit-chat, let's get to it.<br />
<br />
Here's a picture of a <b>chongo</b>.<br />
<br />
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<br />
<br />
That's right, a <b>chongo </b>is a hair bun. At least in Mexico it is. In other countries <b>chongo </b>could mean something completely different, so make sure you know your audience. Anyway, a more universal way to refer to a <b>chongo </b>would be <b>moño de pelo</b>, or simply <b>un moño</b>.<br />
<br />
Here are some examples:<br />
<br />
<b>El chongo no es sólo para domingos relajados u ocasiones en las que haces ejercicio -- puedes arreglarlo de forma elegante para ocasiones en las que te quieras ver más formal.</b><br />
<br />
The hair bun isn't just for lazy Sundays or when you workout, you can make it look elegant for the ocassions you want to look more formal.<br />
<br />
<span class="st"><b>¿Cómo puedo arreglarme mas? ... casi no me peino; me peino con un 'chongo' así equis, no me maquillo no me gusta usar tacones.</b></span><br />
<span class="st"><br /></span>
How can I make myself up more? I almost never do my hair. I put it a bun, whatever. I don't put on make up and I don't like to wear heels.<br />
<br />
Simple enough right? But guess what? There's more. There are also a few expressions that use the word <b>chongo</b>, like<b> </b><b>agarrarse del chongo</b>.<br />
<br />
This picture should take all the mystery out of the phrase "<b>agarrarse del chongo</b>":<br />
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<br />
<br />
<br />
Although our female friend in the black shirt (<b>la de la camisa negra</b>) is pulling the other girls <b>cola </b>(pony tail) , our phrase <b>agarrarse del chongo</b> still applies because <b>agarrarse del chongo </b> refers to a fight between women even if hair buns and pulling hair isn't involved.<br />
<br />
Let's look at some examples:<br />
<br />
<span class="st"><b>Julia y Carolina se agarraron del chongo afuera de la escuela</b></span><br />
<span class="st">Julia and Carolina were fighting outside the school</span><br />
<span class="st"><br /></span>
<b><span class="st">Las niñas estaban felices pero se agarraron del </span>chongo por sus juguetes</b><br />
The girls were happy but they started fighting over their toys<br />
<br />
<span class="st"><b>Lilia esta a punto de agarrarse del chongo con Marisa</b></span><br />
<span class="st">Lilia is about to get into a fight with Marisa</span><br />
<br />
<span class="st"><b>Otra vez, ¿te agarraste del chongo con tu jefe?</b></span><br />
<span class="st">You got into an argument with your boss again?</span><br />
<span class="st"><br /></span>
<span class="st"><b>Sé que a veces somos como el agua y el aceite, nos agarramos del chongo por que a veces tu dices no y yo digo que sí, o tu dices sì y yo digo que no</b></span><br />
I know that sometimes we're like oil and water, we argue because sometimes you say no and I say yes, or you say yes and I say no.<br />
<span class="st"><br /></span><span class="st">Did you notice that </span><b>agarrarse del chongo</b> doesn't always refer to a physical fight?<br />
<span class="st"><br /></span>
<span class="st">Well, now that your <b>chongo</b> is all out of place (literally or figuratively), it's time to </span><b>arreglarse el chongo.</b><br />
<br />
If you're not familiar with the verb <b>arreglarse</b>, add it to your list of verbs to learn because you'll hear it a lot and it has several different uses. The definition we care about in this post is to fix yourself up or to make yourself look nice.<br />
<br />
Keeping our definition of <b>arreglarse </b>in mind, <b>arreglarse el chongo</b> doesn't refer to fixing your hair (although it can), in this context it refers to making things right, working things out or straightening things out between you and the people you were <b>agarrando el chongo</b> with. <br />
<br />
Now we can translate today's expression means.<br />
<br />
<b>Nos arreglamos el chongo</b><br />
We worked everything out<br />
<br />
<b>Arreglamos el chongo</b> is very much a Mexican saying, so if you want something a little more universal, go with:<br />
<br />
<b>Arreglarse con alguien</b><br />
<br />
<span class="st"><b>Teresa peleó con Jose y no poder arreglarse por el orgullo de los dos</b>.</span><br />
<span class="st">Teresa fought with Jose and they're not able to straighten things out because they're both prideful.</span><br />
<br />
<b>Me arreglé con mi ex</b><br />
I worked things out with my ex<br />
<br />
And that just about wraps things up. I'll leave you with a few other posts I wrote about hair:<br />
<a href="http://myspanishnotes.blogspot.com/2010/05/tengo-el-pelo-chino.html" target="_blank"><br /></a>
<a href="http://myspanishnotes.blogspot.com/2010/05/tengo-el-pelo-chino.html" target="_blank">Tengo el pelo chino</a> and <a href="http://myspanishnotes.blogspot.com/2012/03/soy-pelimorado-rayas.html" target="_blank">Soy pelimorado a rayos</a><br />
<br />
That's it for today. <b>¡Hasta la próxima!</b><br />
<br />Rodneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11982073579438095731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887269116401276794.post-83053182482678777782016-02-07T12:22:00.000-05:002017-11-20T07:36:04.896-05:00Estoy mamao <b>Abrazos y amapuches</b><br />
<br />
This was the text message I got from my <b>amiga venezolana</b>. While I didn't know exactly what it meant, from the context I knew it was a way of saying goodbye. It's very common for Spanish speakers to end emails or chats with things like:<br />
<br />
<b>Besos</b><br />
<b>Besitos</b><br />
<b>Besos y abrazos</b><br />
<b>Un abrazo</b><br />
<b>Un abrazo fuerte</b><br />
<br />
But <b>amapuche</b> had me at a complete loss. <br />
<br />
So what is an <b>amapuche</b>? <br />
<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-g8asn2tm_Xg/VofcjaWTP9I/AAAAAAAAFgQ/6WarJOgCiNk/s1600/amapuche.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-g8asn2tm_Xg/VofcjaWTP9I/AAAAAAAAFgQ/6WarJOgCiNk/s1600/amapuche.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
In general, an <b>amapuche </b>is a hug, a caress, a kiss, a display of fondness, affection or any combination of the above. You can give <b>amapuches</b> to your children, your spouse, boyfriend, girlfriend, your grandmother, to anyone you care about. <br />
<br />
Now it's time for some examples. <br />
<br />
<b>Te envio un amapuche fuerte </b><br />
I'm sending you a big hug<br />
<br />
<b>A Ramon no le gusta que su abuelita le haga amapuches enfrente de la gente</b><br />
Ramon doesn't like his grandmother to be affectionate with him in front of people<br />
<br />
<b>Te mando amapuches miles y a la family</b><br />
Sending you and your family lots of hugs<br />
<br />
Literally the phrase above says thousands of hugs, but that would sound odd in English so I just translated it to lots. And while <b>amapuches </b>doesn't always mean hugs, it seems appropriate here.<br />
<br />
<b>Besos, abrazos y amapuches</b><br />
Kisses, hugs and lots of love <br />
<br />
I took some liberty with my translation of that one. Translation can be a tricky business, and that last one definitely is a little tricky. I'm hesitant to say <b>amapuche </b>means "lots of love" in this case, but translating it to anything else I could think of just didn't make sense in English. Feel free to suggest a translation in the comments.<br />
<br />
<b>Se ve que están recién casados porque se la pasan de amapuche en amapuche</b><br />
You can see they're newlyweds because they're all lovey-dovey<br />
<br />
<b>Tus caricias, tú, tus abrazos, </b><b>tú</b><b>, tus amapuches, </b><b>tú</b><b>, tus besos, </b><b>tú</b><b>..Quedo claro que eres </b><b>tú</b><b>? </b><br />
Your caresses, you, your hugs, you, your affections, you, your kisses, you..Are you clear that it's you?<br />
<br />
<b>Mi amor te mando un amapuche para que te quite el frio</b><br />
My love, I'm sending you a hug to make the cold go away<br />
<br />
<b>María tiene algo con Juan porque los he visto con amapuches</b><br />
María has something going on with Juan because I've seen them being lovey-dovey<br />
<br />
Some of you may have noticed that my translations weren't necessarily literal, but <b>amapuche </b>is one of those words that you just have to know what it means. It can be hard to translate because in some contexts it doesn't have an exact translation. <br />
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<br />
The word <b>amapuche </b>makes me think of it's Mexican equivalent, <b>apapacho</b>. You may want to take a look at that one too. And as an afterthought, neither of these are terms are actually Spanish, they come from one of the indigenous languages of Mexico and Venezuela.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://myspanishnotes.blogspot.com/2012/06/no-hay-mejor-medicina-que-un-buen.html" target="_blank">No hay mejor medecino como un buen apapcho</a><br />
<br />
There's also the verb <b>amapuchar</b>. <b>Amapuchar</b> means to give someone a big hug, to squeeze them really tight. It also means to show affection.<br />
<br />
<b>Ella me amapuchó muy fuerte</b><br />
She gave me a really big hug<br />
<br />
<b>Quiero que me amapuches</b><br />
I want you to show me some affection<br />
<br />
You could also translate that last one as "I want you to hug me" or maybe even "I want you to caress me". But like I said earlier, translation is a tricky business. The idea is you need to give whoever it is you're talking to a little TLC. <br />
<br />
Let's talk about a few other Venezuelan expressions I picked up from my amiga.<br />
<br />
The first one is <b>estar mamao</b>.<br />
<br />
You can look up the word <b>mamao</b> in the dictionary, but you might not find it. And even if you do, it's meaning changes depending on what country you're in. But there's one minor thing we need to talk about first.<br />
<br />
Part of the reason you might not find the word <b>mamao</b> in the dictionary is because it's actual spelling should be <b>mamado</b>. The d is dropped, and while you may find this surprising, this sort of thing happens all the time in Spanish. <br />
<br />
OK, now that we have that out of the way, <b>estar mamao</b> means to be tired. Physically tired or even tired of someone or doing something. Here are some examples.<br />
<br />
<b>Estoy mamao</b><br />
I'm tired<br />
<br />
<b>Ayer trabajé muy duro todo el día, estoy mamao</b><br />
I worked really hard all day yesterday, I'm tired<br />
<br />
<b>Si no estoy mamao , voy</b><br />
If I'm not tired, I'll go<br />
<br />
To talk about being tired of something or someone, you have to add <b>de</b>:<br />
<br />
<b>Estoy mamao de tanto escribir hoy</b><br />
I'm tired of writing so much today<br />
<br />
<b>Estoy mamao de trabajar los sábados</b><br />
I'm tired of working on Saturdays<br />
<br />
Next we come to the word <b>limpio</b>. <b>Limpio </b>means clean in Spanish, but in Venezuela it takes on an additional meaning.<br />
<br />
<b>Estoy limpio</b><br />
I don't have any money<br />
<br />
A more accurate translation might be "I'm broke". <br />
<br />
Here's another example:<br />
<br />
<b>He caminado más que puta limpia</b><br />
I've walked more than a prostitute with no money<br />
<br />
By the way, the word <b>puta </b>is a vulgar way of saying prostitute, so be careful with this one. <br />
<br />
After a few of these conversations with my amiga, I realized this wasn't my first encounter with Venezuelan Spanish. Flashing back, that first encounter was years ago with the word <b>pana</b>.<br />
<br />
Every Spanish speaking country seems to have its own word for friend or dude, and in Venezuela that word is <b>pana</b>. You can use it to refer to both men and women, but it's probably much more commonly used between men.<br />
<br />
<b>¿Pana cómo estás?</b><br />
How are you my friend?<br />
<br />
<b>El director es pana mía</b><br />
The director is a friend of mine<br />
<br />
<b>Voy a tomarme unos tragos con los panas</b><br />
I'm going to have some drinks with my friends<br />
<br />
You can also use <b>pana </b>to describe someone as being cool or friendly.<br />
<br />
<b>Soy muy pana con todos</b><br />
I'm very friendly with everyone<br />
<br />
<b>Es un chamo bien pana</b><br />
He's a really cool (or nice) guy<br />
<br />
By the way, <b>chamo </b>or <b>chama </b>can be used as a synonym of <b>muchacho </b>or <b>muchacha</b>.<br />
<br />
There's one last word I want to talk to about, <b>chévere</b>. This one is actually a staple of both Venezuelan and Colombian Spanish. I don't think it's possible to have a conversation with someone from Colombia or Venezuela without hearing this word. OK, I'm exaggerating, but it's extremely common and you'll hear it a lot. Rumor has it <b>chévere </b>originated in Cuba. It's also used in a few other countries, but Venezuela and Colombia typically get the credit for it. <br />
<br />
<b>La camiseta que compraste está super chévere</b><br />
That t-shirt you bought is really cool<br />
<br />
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YOO07Vv5ky8/VrdvMGB2EOI/AAAAAAAAFhs/3fY14XWLVMQ/s1600/todo_chevere.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YOO07Vv5ky8/VrdvMGB2EOI/AAAAAAAAFhs/3fY14XWLVMQ/s320/todo_chevere.jpg" width="304" /></a><b></b><br />
<b><b>¿Cómo te va? Todo chévere</b></b><br />
How's it going? It's all good<br />
<br />
<b>Ella es chévere</b><br />
She's really nice (or cool)<br />
<br />
<b>¡Qué chévere!</b><br />
That's great!<br />
<br />
<b>Qué chévere la fiesta</b><br />
This party is great<br />
<br />
<b>Qué chévere me siento hoy</b><br />
I feel really great today<br />
<br />
<b>¿Cómo estás? ¡Chévere!</b><br />
How are you? Great!<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>¿Cómo estás? ¡Chévere cambur!</b><br />
How are you? Awesome!<br />
<br />
I know what you're thinking, what the heck is <b>cambur</b>? Well, <b>cambur </b>is the word for banana in Venezuela. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qDjywgPlaYc/VrdqabKq5bI/AAAAAAAAFhY/TrICp_mMuY0/s1600/cambur.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qDjywgPlaYc/VrdqabKq5bI/AAAAAAAAFhY/TrICp_mMuY0/s320/cambur.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Surprisingly there are a quite a few words for banana. You may want to read my previous posts on banana related Spanish.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://myspanishnotes.blogspot.com/2011/08/tostones-o-los-amarillos.html" target="_blank">¿Tostones o los amarillos?</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://myspanishnotes.blogspot.com/2009/02/banano-banana-guineo-platano.html" target="_blank">Banano-Banana-Guineo-Plátano</a><br />
<br />
OK, I digress. Let's get back on track.<br />
<br />
<b>Chévere cambur</b> is just a way to emphasis how great you feel. But there's an even cooler expression that <b>sin duda</b> is the mark of a <b>Venezolano</b>. <br />
<br />
<b>¿Cómo estás? Chévere cambur pintón</b><br />
<br />
Translation? Something along the lines of I feel totally awesome.<br />
<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
My country is totally awesome</div>
<br />
As you can see by the image the phrase can apply to more than just people.<br />
<br />
And that's it for today. Now go forth and impress your Venezuelan amigos!Rodneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07520016346341456183noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887269116401276794.post-59483968458708891642016-01-10T11:33:00.000-05:002016-01-10T12:15:55.745-05:00Español en las calles de TijuanaIt's been a long time since I've posted anything, but with 2016 now upon us I plan on being back in the saddle with a lot more of the posts you all have enjoyed over the years. <br />
<br />
And with hopes of making up for my lack of activity, I'm going to share with you my first ever podcast. I've posted the transcript and a translation below for you to follow if you need it. I speak at a relatively slow and consistent pace, so it shouldn't be to hard to keep up with.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.ivoox.com/espanol-calles-tijuana-audios-mp3_rf_10020059_1.html" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: blue;">Click here download the podcast from iVoox, for free of course: Español en las calles de Tijuana</span></b></a><br />
<br />
Also, the transcript (not the translation) is part of the audio file to make it even more convenient for you follow along. Please leave your comments below and let me know if you enjoyed it and whether or not you'd like to see me do more.<br />
<br />
<b>¡Que disfruten!</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eY0zyJDUzVg/VpKRo8zvSqI/AAAAAAAAFgo/pHD9RA7GM_E/s1600/Tijuana%2BArch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eY0zyJDUzVg/VpKRo8zvSqI/AAAAAAAAFgo/pHD9RA7GM_E/s640/Tijuana%2BArch.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<td height="19" width="257"><span style="color: purple;"><b>Español en las calles de Tijuana</b></span></td>
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<td height="173" width="257">My name is Rodney and in this podcast I’m going to talk about the Spanish I’ve learned during my visits to Baja Norte, or Northen Baja, primarily the city of Tijuana. Over the years I’ve heard quite a few words and expressions that are unique to Mexico that I want to share with you. You won’t find these words and expressions in your Spanish textbook, but you’ll hear them all the time as you travel throughout Mexico.</td>
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<td height="58" width="257">The rest of this podcast will be in Spanish, but don’t worry, you can follow along with the transcript if you need to. OK, let’s get started.</td>
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<td height="72" width="257">Primero, <span style="color: blue;"><strong>para llegar</strong></span><strong><span style="color: blue;"> a Tijuana</span>,</strong> tienes que cruzar la frontera. Pero no se cruza la frontera, se cruza la <strong>linea</strong>. Eso se llama la frontera en Tijuana. </td>
<td width="250">First, <span style="color: blue;"><strong>to get to</strong></span><span style="color: blue;"><strong> Tijuana</strong></span> you have to cross the border. But you don’t cross the border, you cross the <strong>line</strong>. That’s what you call the border in Tijuana. </td>
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<td height="58" width="257"> Y cuando<span style="color: green;"><strong> quieres regresar</strong></span> a los estados unidos puedes decir “Voy al otro lado” o “Voy a gringolandía“.</td>
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And when you <span style="color: green;"><strong>want to go back</strong></span> to the United States you can say “I’m going to the other side” or “I’m going to gringo land“.</td>
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Bueno, ya estamos en Tijuana y una de las primeras cosas hay <span style="color: red;"><strong>que saber para hablar</strong></span> como un buen Tijuanense, o sea, una persona nacida en Tijuana, es que mucha gente simplemente llama a la cuidad Tijuas.</td>
<td width="250">Good, now we’re in Tijuana and one of the first things <span style="color: red;"><strong>you have to know to speak</strong></span> like a tijuanense, or a person born in Tijuana, is that a lot of people simply call the city Tijuas.</td>
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<td height="58" width="257">Cuando te encuentras en la Avenida Revolución, o La Revu,<span style="color: #333399;"><strong> lo que vas a escuchar</strong></span> mil veces es “Pásale Amigo, Pásale”.</td>
<td width="250">When you find yourself on Revolution Avenue, or The Rev (La Revu), <span style="color: #333399;"><strong>what you’ll hear</strong> </span>a thousand times is “Pásale Amigo, Pásale”.</td>
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<td width="250"> * There really isn’t a translation for La Revu, but what I proposed above is roughly the English equivalent.</td>
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<td height="72" width="257">En Mexico pásale significa “come in”. Pero en pocas palabras, <strong><span style="color: #999999;">cuando dicen “pásale amigo</span>“</strong> es una manera de decir “por qué no entras en mi tienda y echas un vistazo a la mercancía”.</td>
<td width="250"> In Mexico pásale means “come in”. In short, <strong><span style="color: #999999;">when they say come in my friend</span>.</strong> It’s a way of saying “Why don’t you come into my store and take a look at the merchandise?”</td>
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<td height="43" width="257">Mientras<span style="color: maroon;"><strong> caminas por las calles</strong>,</span> es imposible no escuchar la palabra wey.</td>
<td width="250">While <span style="color: maroon;"><strong>you</strong> <strong>walk through the streets</strong></span> it’s impossible not to hear the word wey.</td>
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Wey es una de las palabras<br />
coloquiales más usada <span style="color: #cc99ff;"><strong>en todo </strong></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc99ff;"><strong>México.</strong></span></td>
<td width="250">Wey is one of the informal words most used <span style="color: #cc99ff;"><strong>throughout all of Mexico.</strong></span></td>
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<td height="19" width="257">¿Y <span style="color: #339966;"><strong>qué significa</strong></span> wey?</td>
<td width="250">And <span style="color: #339966;"><strong>what does</strong> wey <strong>mean?</strong></span></td>
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<td height="58" width="257">Es una manera muy informal <span style="color: maroon;"><strong>para llamar</strong> </span>a alguien amigo, compa, o tipo. En ingles la palabra <span style="color: blue;"><strong>más parecida</strong></span> es dude.</td>
<td width="250">It’s an informal way <span style="color: maroon;"><strong>to call</strong></span> someone friend, bro or guy. The <span style="color: blue;"><strong>most comparabl</strong>e</span> word in English is dude.</td>
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<td height="19" width="257">Unos ejemplos:</td>
<td width="250">A few examples:</td>
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<td height="19" width="257">- Wey, ¿Qué haces?</td>
<td width="250"> – Dude, what are you doing?</td>
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<td height="19" width="257">- ¿Cómo estás wey?</td>
<td width="250"> – How are you dude?</td>
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<td height="19" width="257">- Vamos por unas cervezas wey.</td>
<td width="250"> – Let’s go get some beers dude.</td>
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<td height="72" width="257">Ahora vamos de hablar de la expresión <span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 2;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 2;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 2;"> </span></span></span>“¿Qué onda”? que es un saludo muy común entre amigos y es <span style="color: #339966;"><strong>uno de los saludos más usado</strong></span> en todo México.<span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 2;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 2;"><br />
</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 2;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 2;"><br />
</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 2;">.</span></td>
<td width="250">Now let’s talk about the expression qué onda. It’s a very common greeting between friends and is <span style="color: teal;"><strong>one of the most used greetings</strong></span> in all of Mexico.</td>
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<td height="43" width="257">Qué onda es una manera muy informal <span style="color: #ff6600;"><strong>para decir</strong> </span>que tál, o en inglés, what’s up?</td>
<td width="250">Qué onda is a very informal way <span style="color: #ff6600;"><strong>of saying</strong> </span>qué tal, or what’s up.</td>
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<td height="19" width="257"></td>
<td width="250"></td>
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<td height="19" width="257"> – ¿Qué onda wey?</td>
<td width="250"> – What’s up dude?</td>
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<td height="19" width="257"> – ¿Qué onda con tu vida?</td>
<td width="250"> – What’s up with your life?</td>
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<td height="43" width="257"></td>
<td width="250"> * This may sound strange in English, but is very natural in Spanish</td>
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<td height="58" width="257">Ahora les voy a hablar de unas palabras <span style="color: #993366;"><strong>que tienen un uso interesante</strong> </span>en México. La primera es el verbo ocupar.</td>
<td width="250">Now I’m going to talk about a few words <strong><span style="color: purple;">that </span><span style="color: #993366;">have an interesting use</span></strong> in Mexico. The first is the verb ocupar.</td>
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<td height="43" width="257">En mexico,<span style="color: #ff6600;"> <strong>pues,</strong></span> por lo menos Tijuana, se usa ocupar como sinonimo de necesitar.</td>
<td width="250">In Mexico, <strong>well,</strong> at least in Tijuana, ocupar is used as a synonym of necesitar.</td>
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<td height="19" width="257"> Unos ejemplos:</td>
<td width="250">Some examples:</td>
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<td height="19" width="257"> - Ocupo trabajo</td>
<td width="250"> – I need work</td>
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<td height="19" width="257"> - Ocupo dinero</td>
<td width="250"> – I need money</td>
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<td height="19" width="257"> - Ocupo un taxi</td>
<td width="250"> – I need a taxi</td>
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<td height="19" width="257"></td>
<td width="250"></td>
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<td height="29" width="257">Cuando <span style="color: olive;"><strong>estás hablando</strong></span> con alguien y no escuchas o no entiendes algo y</td>
<td width="250">When <span style="color: olive;"><strong>you’re speaking</strong></span> with someone and you didn’t hear or don’t understand</td>
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<td height="43" width="257"><span style="color: maroon;"><strong>quieres pedir</strong> </span>que la persona repita lo que dijo, hay varias opciones:</td>
<td width="250">something and <span style="color: maroon;"><strong>you want</strong></span> to ask the person to repeat what they said, there are several options:</td>
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<td height="19" width="257"></td>
<td width="250"></td>
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<td height="58" width="257">¿Qué has<span style="color: grey;"><strong> dicho?</strong></span>, ¿Cómo dijo? , ¿Cómo? , ¿perdon?, ¿Cómo dice? ¿Disculpe?</td>
<td width="250">What did you <span style="color: grey;"><strong>say?</strong> </span> What was that? (A very polite) What? Pardon? What’d you day? Excuse me?</td>
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<td height="19" width="257"></td>
<td width="250"></td>
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<td height="43" width="257">Pero en México casi siempre <span style="color: #ff6600;"><strong>lo que vas a escuchar</strong></span> en vez de ese termino es ¿mande?.</td>
<td width="250">But in Mexico what you’re almost always <strong><span style="color: #ff6600;">going to hear</span> i</strong>s “mande?”</td>
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<td height="19" width="257"></td>
<td width="250"></td>
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<td height="43" width="257">Mande es una expresión de cortesía con la que aún hoy los padres<span style="color: red;"><strong> corrigen</strong></span> a sus hijos</td>
<td width="250">Mande is an expression of courtesy that even today parents use to <span style="color: red;"><strong>correct</strong></span> their children:</td>
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<td height="29" width="257"> -<span style="color: #993366;"> ¡</span><strong><span style="color: #993366;">No se dice</span> “</strong>¿qué?”, se dice “mande”!</td>
<td width="250"> – <span style="color: #993366;"><strong>You don’t say</strong></span> what, you say pardon me</td>
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<td height="43" width="257"></td>
<td width="250"> * Pardon me isn’t an exact translation, but mande is a more formal and polite way of saying what.</td>
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<td height="86" width="257">Si quieres andar por la cuidad, los taxis son <span style="color: navy;"><strong>muy baratos.</strong> <strong>A lo mejor estás acustumbrado</strong></span> a decir coger o tomar un taxi, pero en México se dice agarrar un taxi.</td>
<td width="250">If you want to wander around the city taxis are <span style="color: navy;"><strong>very cheap.</strong> <strong>You may be used to</strong></span> saying coger or tomar to talk about taking a taxi, but in Mexico you use agarrar to talk about taking a taxi.</td>
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<td height="43" width="257">Los autobuses estan aún más baratos, pero <span style="color: #993300;"><strong>no se dice</strong> </span>autobús, se dice camión.</td>
<td width="250">The buses are even cheaper, but <span style="color: #993300;"><strong>you don’t say</strong> </span>autobús, you say camión.</td>
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<td height="19" width="257"></td>
<td width="250"><br /></td>
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<td height="101" width="257">Tijuana tiene una <span style="color: red;"><strong>vida nocturna</strong></span> muy buena. Pero en Tijuana nadie va de fiesta, sino van de party. Sí, party, exactamente como decimos en inglés. En La Revu y la calle sexta hay muchos bares, restaurantes y <span style="color: grey;"><strong>antros.</strong></span></td>
<td width="250">Tijuana has a very good <span style="color: #333333;"><strong><span style="color: red;">nightlife</span>.</strong></span> But in Tijuana no one uses the word fiesta, rather they say party. Yes, party, exactly the same as what we say in English. On Revolución Avenue and Sixth street there are a lot of bars, restaurants and <span style="color: grey;"><strong>night clubs.</strong></span><br />
<span style="color: grey;"><strong><br /></strong></span></td>
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<td height="72" width="257">Por cierto, un antro es una disco.</td>
<td width="250"> * The dialog uses antro for nightclub, which in Mexican Spanish is used instead of discoteca. Please note that the word antro can have a different meaning in other countries.<br />
<br /></td>
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<td height="101" width="257">Y claro <span style="color: blue;"><strong>la gente le gustan</strong> <strong>disfrutar</strong></span> de unas cervezas. <span style="color: #339966;"><strong>Puedes pedir</strong></span> sola una cerveza, pero pedir una cubeta de cerveza es mucho más común. Una cubeta es un bucket, que usualmente vienen de entre cinco o doce cervezas, depende en el bar y lo que pidas.</td>
<td width="250">And of course people <span style="color: blue;"><strong>love to enjoy</strong></span> a few beers. <span style="color: #339966;"><strong>You can order</strong></span> just one, but it’s much more common to order a cubeta of beer. A cubeta is a bucket that usually comes with five to twelve beers, depending on the bar and what you</td>
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<td height="19" width="257"></td>
<td width="250"></td>
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<td height="72" width="257">Otra palabra para cerveza es chela. Y no puedes ir a Tijuana<span style="color: #993366;"> <strong>sin disfrutar</strong></span> de un buen caballito. ¿Qué es un caballito? Un trago, o sea un shot de tequila.</td>
<td width="250">Another word for beer is chela. And you can’t go to Tijuana <span style="color: #993366;"><strong>without enjoying</strong></span> a good caballito. What is a caballito? A swallow, or rather a shot of tequila.</td>
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<td height="19" width="257"></td>
<td width="250"></td>
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<td height="29" width="257"><span style="color: #3366ff;"><strong>Y para que sepas</strong></span>, también dicen shot.</td>
<td width="250"><span style="color: #3366ff;"><strong><br /></strong></span>
<span style="color: #3366ff;"><strong>And just so you know</strong>,</span> they also say shot.</td>
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<td height="19" width="257"></td>
<td width="250"></td>
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<tr>
<td height="144" width="257"><br />
Tijuana no solo tiene buena vida nocturna, también una gastronomía<strong><span style="color: red;"> de primer nivel</span>.</strong><strong> </strong> Pero seguro que el hecho más conocido de la gastronomía mexicana es que a los mexicanos les encantan lo picante. Pero a veces <strong>en vez de</strong> decir algo es picante, dicen pica. Así que, en vez de preguntar si una comida o salsa es picante, puedes decir:</td>
<td width="250">Tijuana doesn’t only have a good nightlife, they also have a <span style="color: red;"><strong>first class</strong></span> gastronomy. But surely the most well known fact of Mexican gastronomy is that Mexicans enjoy spicy food. But sometimes <strong>instead of</strong> saying spicy (picante),they say it bites (pica). So, instead of asking if a dish or salsa is spicy,you can say:</td>
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<td height="19" width="257"> – ¿Pica?</td>
<td width="250"> – Does it bite?</td>
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<td height="24" width="257"> – ¿Pica mucho?</td>
<td width="250"> – Does it have a lot of bite to it?</td>
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<td height="29" width="257"> – Quiero una salsa que pique.</td>
<td width="250"><br />
– I want a salsa that has some bite to it</td>
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<td height="16" width="257"> – ¿Hay una salsa que no pica?</td>
<td width="250"><br />
– Is there a salsa that doesn’t have a bite to it?</td>
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<td height="19" width="257"></td>
<td width="250"></td>
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<td height="33" width="257">Bueno, eso es todo por hoy. <span style="color: blue;"><strong>Espero que hayan disfrutado</strong> e</span>sta pequeña lección del español mexicano. Gracias por escuchar, ¡chao!</td>
<td width="250">Well, that’s all for today.<span style="color: blue;"><strong> I hope you’ve enjoyed</strong> </span>this small lesson on Mexican Spanish. Thanks for listening, bye!</td>
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Rodneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07520016346341456183noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887269116401276794.post-89454816578504952642015-08-23T12:07:00.001-04:002015-09-30T18:36:04.376-04:00Eso que ni queSo there I was, texting away with my <b>carnal</b>:<br />
<br />
<b>Yo: Hay que disfrutar la vida</b><br />
<b>Mi carnal: Eso que ni que</b><br />
<br />
By the way, <b>carnal </b>is Mexican Spanish for brother, either by blood or a close friendship.<br />
<br />
<b>Eso que ni que</b><br />
<br />
I had never even seen that before. Clearly a literal translation wasn't going to work:<br />
<br />
That what neither what<br />
<br />
I didn't see his reply until a few hours later, so I wasn't able to ask him what it meant.<br />
<br />
My mind was scrambling trying to figure that one out. A few Google searches later and verifying my research with another of one my Mexican amigos, I finally found out what it meant.<br />
<br />
<b>Yo: Hay que disfrutar la vida</b><br />
Me: You have to enjoy life<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Mi carnal: Eso que ni que</b><br />
My buddy: I totally agree<br />
<br />
I won't say "I totally agree" is a direct translation, but it certainly captures the meaning. <b>Eso que ni que</b> is way of saying you absolutely agree with what's being said or that something is very clear, leaving no doubt.<br />
<br />
Here's another example:<br />
<br />
<span class="ya-q-full-text" id="yui_3_17_2_3_1438378006359_1795"><b>Si me quitan ésta muela me dejara de doler</b></span><br />
<span class="ya-q-full-text">If they take this tooth out it'll stop hurting me</span><br />
<span class="ya-q-full-text"><br /><b>Eso que ni que</b></span><br />
<span class="ya-q-full-text">No doubt about it</span><br />
<br />
It's very a common Mexican expression and if you want to say it in standard Spanish, it would be something close to <b>definitivamente</b>, <b>no hay duda</b> or <b>sin duda,</b> any way of expressing your agreement with the other person would work.<br />
<br />
Well, another mystery solved. But guess what? It reminded me of a few other expressions involving <b>que</b>.<br />
<br />
<b>Eso que ni que</b> is a statement of agreement and <b>ni que nada</b> is an expression of negation or denial, kind of like when we say "my foot", "no way" or maybe even "in your dreams" to add emphasis. You're saying that whatever it is they're asking for is not going to happen.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-o-GcgWDyxX4/VdUuv6J27SI/AAAAAAAAFUc/sgg_bqwuDVE/s1600/ni%2Bque%2Bnada%2B01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-o-GcgWDyxX4/VdUuv6J27SI/AAAAAAAAFUc/sgg_bqwuDVE/s320/ni%2Bque%2Bnada%2B01.jpg" width="313" /></a></div>
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Party my foot </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
There's a lot do around here</div>
<br />
Let me point out the creator of our meme has some pretty bad <b>ortografía </b>(spelling). <b>Ay </b>should be <b>hay </b>and <b>aser </b>should be <b>hacer</b>. That aside, <b>ni que nada</b> is a very common expression, at least in Mexican Spanish.<br />
<br />
Here's another example:<br />
<br />
<b>A: El me dijo que era contador</b><br />
He told me he was an account<br />
<br />
<b>B: ¿Qué contador ni que nada? Él no ha terminado la Universidad</b><br />
What do you mean an accountant? He hasn't even finished college<br />
<br />
That brings us to our next expression, <b>ni que ocho cuartos</b>. If you're attempting to translate it literally, forget it - Not even 8 rooms. Nope, makes no sense at all. But it's actually not that hard to understand.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OKK8b8r0Bho/VcKmGzAS92I/AAAAAAAAFQ0/uQHlnyTELn4/s1600/que-keep-calm-ni-que-ocho-cuartos-hoy-juega-colombia.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OKK8b8r0Bho/VcKmGzAS92I/AAAAAAAAFQ0/uQHlnyTELn4/s320/que-keep-calm-ni-que-ocho-cuartos-hoy-juega-colombia.png" width="274" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Keep calm?</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
No way, Colombia is playing today</div>
<br />
<b>Ni que nada </b>and <b>ni que ocho cuartos </b>are synonyms, used in the same way.<br />
<br />
Here are a few more examples.<br />
<br />
Your 13 year old daughter says she wants a boyfriend:<br />
<br />
<b>Que novio, ni que ocho cuartos</b><br />
Boyfriend? That's not gonna happen<br />
<br />
<b>¡Qué fiesta ni que ocho cuartos, ¡te vas a quedar en casa!</b><br />
Party my foot, you're staying at home!<br />
<br />
And like <b>ni que nada</b>, this is a very common expression. Both of them place a lot of emphasis on the fact that something is being denied. <br />
<br />
Here are few more examples:<br />
<br />
<b>¿Puedo salir a jugar?</b><br />
Can I go out and play?<br />
<br />
<b>¡Qué jugar ni qué ocho cuartos! ¡A hacer la tarea!</b><br />
Go out and play my foot.! Go do your homework!<br />
<br />
<b>¿Me dejas quedarme en la casa de Pedro?</b><br />
Will you let me stay at Pedro's house?<br />
<br />
<b>¡Ni ocho cuartos!</b><br />
Absolutely not!<br />
<br />
Well that's it for today. Take these expressions and impress your Spanish friends with your new found knowledge. <br />
<br />
Here a few other posts of Mexican expressions that you might also like:<br />
<br />
1. <a href="http://www.myspanishnotes.blogspot.com/2013/12/que-me-ves.html" target="_blank">¿Que me ves?</a><br />
2. <a href="http://www.myspanishnotes.blogspot.com/2013/04/tomar-una-siesta.html" target="_blank">¿Por qué no te echas un coyotito?</a><br />
3. <a href="http://www.myspanishnotes.blogspot.com/2011/11/ahorita-vengo.html" target="_blank">Ahorita vengo</a><br />
<br />
Lastly, don't forget you can <a href="https://www.facebook.com/MySpanishNotes" target="_blank">follow the blog on Facebook</a>!<br />
<br />
<b>¡Hasta la próxima!</b>Rodneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11982073579438095731noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887269116401276794.post-22331730501572871922015-06-24T20:50:00.000-04:002016-11-02T07:03:23.239-04:00¿De tela o chócolo?In this post I'm going to continue sharing my Spanish languages adventures in Medellín, Colombia. If you missed the first installment, no worries, you can read it here: <a href="http://myspanishnotes.blogspot.com/2015/06/colombian-spanish.html" target="_blank">Holo bebé, ¿qué más pues?</a><br />
<br />
One of the first things I tend to do when I get off the plane is exchange money and grab a bite to eat. Exchanging money is usually a pretty straight-forward transaction. I'll have to blog about it so that when you have to do it completely in Spanish for the first time you won't feel lost. In the meantime, you can find plenty of helpful phrases for changing money and everything travel related in general in<a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hyls.myphrasebook" target="_blank"> my favorite Spanish Phrasebook</a> for android, called <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hyls.myphrasebook" target="_blank">My Spanish Phrasebook</a>. Alright, I digress, let's get to it.<br />
<br />
In México I've had to show a passport to exchange money on occasion, but this time I had to let them take a <b>huella</b>, or finger print of my <b>dedo índice</b> (index finger). Not a big deal, it just took me by surprise. By the way, if you want to know what the other fingers are called, then read my post <a href="http://myspanishnotes.blogspot.com/2012/02/pulgar-arriba.html" target="_blank">Pulgar Arriba</a>. <br />
<br />
So after getting some Colombian Pesos in my pocket (I'll show you what those look like in a later post) checking into the hotel was up next. I won't go into detail about that, you can read my post <a href="http://myspanishnotes.blogspot.com/2013/10/hotel-spanish.html" target="_blank">¿A qué hora es la hora de entrada?</a> to learn how to check into a hotel. After that it was time to get to one of my favorite past times, eating.<br />
<br />
So I headed downtown and came across a food stand selling <b>arepas de chócolo</b>. <br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1itkYbRq7bU/VYSk2fClD6I/AAAAAAAAE2o/3wckiwfCrO0/s1600/arepa-chocolo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1itkYbRq7bU/VYSk2fClD6I/AAAAAAAAE2o/3wckiwfCrO0/s320/arepa-chocolo.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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I didn't know what <b>chócolo </b>was, and it didn't look like any <b>arepa </b>I had ever seen, but it did look tasty, so I ordered one. And it turned <b>tenía razón</b> (I was right), it was delicious! <br />
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What is <b>chócolo </b>you ask? Nothing but good old-fashioned <b>maíz</b>.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-h5vklO-izOk/VYSkEBPDhDI/AAAAAAAAE1c/vFfIOryeKRQ/s1600/maiz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-h5vklO-izOk/VYSkEBPDhDI/AAAAAAAAE1c/vFfIOryeKRQ/s1600/maiz.jpg" /></a></div>
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Now that we know what <b>chócolo </b>is, we can figure what an <b>arepa de chócolo</b> is. It's what we might call sweet corn cake. <br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-V6xuCQRhFVk/VYSmLw9XPkI/AAAAAAAAE4U/PVaqJzkXgmo/s1600/Ch%25C3%25B3colo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-V6xuCQRhFVk/VYSmLw9XPkI/AAAAAAAAE4U/PVaqJzkXgmo/s320/Ch%25C3%25B3colo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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You may have noticed the above photo is missing that white triangular stuff that was on top of <b>arepas</b> in the first picture. And if you're wondering what that was, it's <b>queso cuajado</b>. I'm not a cheese guy, so if it isn't a slice of Kraft American cheese I can't help you, but the definition of <b>queso cuajado</b> is curd cheese. <br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-r7lSJ2ZpdUw/VYSqgktRi0I/AAAAAAAAE8s/Wc3pUCcM5zg/s1600/queso%2Bcuajado.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="206" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-r7lSJ2ZpdUw/VYSqgktRi0I/AAAAAAAAE8s/Wc3pUCcM5zg/s320/queso%2Bcuajado.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The combination of an <b>arepa </b>and<b> queso cuajado</b> is something you have to try. I wasn't sure if I was going to like it, but I fell in love with it.<br />
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Here's a little <b>chócolo </b>humor for you if you want a good laugh and a have just a little over a minute to spare. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUTVRUYz2xE" target="_blank">Click here to watch it in Youtube</a> if you can't see the link.<br />
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OK, now that you've had a chance to put those Spanish ears to work let's keep going.<br />
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There's actually more than one type of <b>arepa</b> served in Medellín. The other one is called an <b>arepa tela</b>. I have to admit, I didn't like these quite as much, but they weren't bad.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5br04up_fpI/VXDysYjjhYI/AAAAAAAAEXc/Je1wv6sLR1A/s1600/arepa%2Btela.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="232" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5br04up_fpI/VXDysYjjhYI/AAAAAAAAEXc/Je1wv6sLR1A/s320/arepa%2Btela.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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While Medellín has a variety of foods, the most famous dish you have to try is the <b>Bandeja Paisa</b>.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mqbIuo5MPag/VYtEhq1Ah1I/AAAAAAAAFMY/uaPd4YYOeOs/s1600/bandeja_paisa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mqbIuo5MPag/VYtEhq1Ah1I/AAAAAAAAFMY/uaPd4YYOeOs/s320/bandeja_paisa.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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As you can see by the photo, that's quite a bit of food.<b> Arroz, frijoles, chicharron, huevo, aguacate, carne and plátanos maduros. Bandeja Paisa</b> is a hearty meal for sure. <br />
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I think that's going to wrap this post up. Stayed tune for the next one where I'll share a little more Colombian Spanish and tell you about a quaint little place called <b>Pueblito Paisa</b> and more.<br />
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<a href="https://gumroad.com/a/367998067" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6dBgBXkCln8/WBnFLo1okEI/AAAAAAAAGps/W0FUGrT417EaArf_-TQi7mhU3rSwTwZNQCLcB/s200/colombianspanish-3d2.png" width="148" /></a></div>
Oops, I almost forgot.<br />
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If you're interested in learning more about Colombian Spanish, then I recommend you take a look at a book called <a href="https://gumroad.com/a/367998067" target="_blank">Colombian Spanish</a>.<br />
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It's actually a very enlightening book that will help you learn to speak more like a native Spanish speaker (in any country) as well as teaching you the most important Colombian words and expressions you'll need to know along with a bit of culture. I was honestly surprised at just how good of a book this is.<br />
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<b>¡Hasta la próxima!</b>Rodneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07520016346341456183noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887269116401276794.post-3446104145248060142015-06-04T21:49:00.001-04:002017-11-20T08:19:55.510-05:00¿Hola bebé qué más pues? <br />
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></div>
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I've been traveling again, but this time I went to a new destination: Medellin, Colombia.<br />
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Let's talk about some of the Spanish I heard.<br />
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As far as greetings (<b>saludos</b>) go, I heard the typical <b>buenos días</b>, <b>buenas tardes</b> and <b>buenas noches</b>, but what I also heard a lot of was simply <b>buenas</b>. I heard it a lot. If you aren't familiar with <b>buenas</b>, it's an informal greeting that you can use anytime of day. <br />
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There was another greeting I heard quite a bit, and as far as I know, it is uniquely Colombian. Watch the video. It's all of 6 seconds, so it won't take long. If you don't see the video,<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3Tu_TzP-bI" target="_blank"> click here to watch it on YouTube</a>.<br />
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Didn't catch that? Here's the transcript:<br />
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<b>¿Cómo tu saludas a los niños de tu jardin?</b><br />
How do you say hi to the kids in your Kindergarten class?<br />
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<b>¿Hola bebé qué más pues?</b> <br />
Hey baby, how are you?<br />
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She's so cute, I couldn't help but share that video with you. Now, you may not hear the word "<b>bebé</b>" from just anybody, but without a doubt you'll hear "<b>¿Qué más?</b>" or "<b>¿Qué más pues?</b>". It's really just the Colombian version of "<b>¿Cómo estás?</b>".<br />
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Did you notice that <b>pues</b> on the end? It doesn't really mean anything, it's just a word <b>paisas </b>attach on the end of words, like, all the time.<br />
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Here are some examples: <b>Chao pues</b>,<b>Vamos pues</b><br />
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I took that photo from the top of the stairs, which is why the sign says <b>baja</b>.<br />
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Oh, remember that word <b>paisas </b>you just saw? If you're wondering what a <b>paisa</b> is, let me give you the short version. A <b>paisa </b>is a person from <b>Medellin</b>, a <b>rolo </b>is someone from <b>Bogotá</b>, a <b>caleño</b> is from <b>Cali</b>, and the people from the coast (e.g. <b>Cartegena </b>and <b>Baranquilla</b>) are <b>costeños</b>. And that my friends, is my 1 minute, over simplified and very incomplete lesson on who is who in Colombia. I recommend you talk to your Colombian friends to get the real deal on Colombian geography and demographics. What I just told you will barely help you squeak by.<br />
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Other expressions that are nearly impossible to miss are <b>A la orden</b> and <b>con gusto</b>. Let's take a look at these.<br />
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It all started the first time I told someone <b>gracias</b>. The response I expected was <b>de nada</b>,<b> </b>but instead I got <b>a la orden</b>. I heard that a few times and thought, I got this, no problem. Then one more <b>gracias </b>later the response was <b>con gusto</b>. Let's take a closer look at the context I heard these in.<br />
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From what I recall, I heard <b>con gusto</b> more in restaurants. The <b>mesero </b>or <b>mesera </b>would bring me something and I'd say <b>gracias</b>, and they would reply <b>con gusto</b>. In my hotel if I said <b>gracias </b>to a staff member, the typical reply would be <b>a la orden</b>. Except the bartender. I'm pretty sure I heard him use both. If I asked for something or asked someone to do something for me, like call a cab, they would also reply <b>a la orden</b>.<br />
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Now, we're not quite done with <b>a la orden</b>. I also heard this walking past shops when the proprietors wanted to get my attention. In this context it's more like "May I help you?". I have to say it's a nice change from hearing <a href="http://myspanishnotes.blogspot.com/2015/05/mexican-spanish-tijuana.html" target="_blank">"Pásale amigo" in Mexico</a>.<br />
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If you think you're going to <b>Ir de fiesta</b> (go partying) in Medellin, forget it. In Medellin you <b>Ir de rumba</b>! Medellin has a great night life, with no shortage of places to <b>rumba </b>in. And <b>rumba </b>means party if you haven't guessed that by now.<br />
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Brain, what are we going to do this weekend?</div>
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The same thing we do every weekend, Go partying.</div>
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And that is enough for this first installment of my Colombian experience. In the next post I'll talk about some more Colombian Spanish, food, and a few of the places I visited.<br />
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<a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hyls.myphrasebook" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-arpiqJ8u73E/V6PeoJNuoFI/AAAAAAAABrg/3tUhOH1G8zIYf-Xm_aZpdeYi9fPTPkr7QCPcB/s200/rodney-phone-app-plain.png" width="153" /></a></div>
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By the way, if you're looking for a good Spanish phrasebook for your android phone to help you out when you travel, check out <a href="http://bit.ly/msp-hotel-phrases" target="_blank">My Spanish Phrasebook</a>, it certainly helped me out of a jam a couple of times this trip. <br />
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It was written by me, so you can rest assured it's got all the Spanish you need to help you navigate your way around a Spanish speaking country and communicate with the locals and a whole lot more.<br />
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<a href="https://gumroad.com/a/367998067" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HPRY7rBHNZE/WHEfU-7DfcI/AAAAAAAAByk/A9_KQkcALG8zfOoqJv99EynHWNmnLN1AgCLcB/s200/colombianspanish%2Bhigh%2Bres.jpg" width="132" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://gumroad.com/a/367998067" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>Lastly, if you're interested in learning more about Colombian Spanish then take a look at a book appropriately titled <a href="http://bit.ly/2zR3qz4" target="_blank">Colombian Spanish</a>. <br />
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It's actually a lot more than just a bunch of phrases. It really does a good job of teaching you how to sound like a native speaker and much of what it teaches is true of Spanish in general, not just Colombian Spanish. It will help you improve your Spanish as whole.<br />
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<b><br /></b>Rodneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07520016346341456183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887269116401276794.post-42143341765429247932015-05-13T21:19:00.000-04:002015-08-26T05:45:44.215-04:00Pásale Amigo, Pásale <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rGFPeoYwsCY/VVP1H-YbhlI/AAAAAAAAETU/wdMYGKodKdE/s1600/La%2BRevu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rGFPeoYwsCY/VVP1H-YbhlI/AAAAAAAAETU/wdMYGKodKdE/s320/La%2BRevu.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
When you're walking up and down Tijuana's most famous street, Revolution Avenue, or <b>La Revu</b> as it is affectionately called by <b>los tijuanenses</b>, you'll hear the word <b>pásale </b>a thousand times. It's said by the shop owners trying to convince you to come in and take a look their goods.<br />
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<b>Pásale Amigo, Pásale</b><br />
Come in my friend, come in<br />
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And if you happen to be walking in the direction of the border (<b>la frontera</b>), also informally called <b>la linea</b>, you'll hear "Taxi amigo?". Actually, it doesn't matter which you're going, virtually every <b>taxista </b>you see is going to ask you if you want a cab. <br />
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There are a lot of other things you're going to hear when you walk up and down the streets of Mexico and start talking to people, and that's what this post is about, some of the interesting Spanish (well, interesting to me) I heard on my latest visit to Mexico. Some of the things I heard weren't exactly PG, but they are words and expressions used everyday, and if you expect to understand and be understood, these are things you need to know.<br />
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Let's get to it.<br />
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We all know what this ugly little creature is.<br />
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The photo alone gives me the creeps. But I digress. The dictionary translates mosquito as <b>mosquito</b>. That's the word I knew. Easy, right? Life is good and that's one less Spanish word to learn. Well, life was good until someone threw out the words <b>zancudo </b>and <b>mosco</b>. <br />
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This one really threw me for a loop, the verb <b><a href="http://www.wordreference.com/es/en/translation.asp?spen=ocupar" target="_blank">ocupar</a>.</b> Oddly enough I heard it used in the context of "to need":<br />
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<b>Cuándo ocupes taxi no hay, y cuando no ocupes hay taxis por todos lados</b><br />
When you need a taxi there aren't any, and when you don't need a taxi they're everywhere<br />
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This wasn't first time I heard <b><a href="http://www.wordreference.com/es/en/translation.asp?spen=ocupar" target="_blank">ocupar </a></b>used that way, but it stuck out like a sore thumb this time. And if you're wondering why I find this so odd, it's because nowhere in the <a href="http://www.wordreference.com/es/en/translation.asp?spen=ocupar" target="_blank">definition of ocupar</a> does it say it means "to need". And based on my research so far, Nothern Mexico seems to be the only place that uses <b>ocupar </b>in this way, but I'll write more about that another time.<br />
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While I was having margaritas at an old friends restaurant (yes, two of those were mine) we were talking about unusual and unpleasant jobs people have, and he threw out the phrase <b>Hay que sacar la papa</b>. I had no idea what he meant by getting the potatoes out, so I had to ask.<br />
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Basically it means, at least in this context, to make a living. And while I didn't realize it at first, I've heard the verb <b>sacar </b>used in a related, but slightly different fashion before:<br />
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<b>Que onda wey, ¿saca las chelas no?</b><br />
What's up dude, you're buying the beers right? <br />
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<b>Agarrar la onda</b> is another expression I heard. While it wasn't my first time hearing this, it was the first time I heard it in a context that helped me figure out what it means.<br />
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<b>Agarrar la onda</b>, to catch on, get the hang of things. <br />
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<b>Estás agarrando la onda</b><br />
You're getting the hang of things<br />
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My daughter asked me for a few things, so I found myself shopping at the swap meet in Tijuana. Yes, they have swap meets in Tijuana and I presume in all of Mexico as well. Don't feel bad, I was as shocked as you. Anyway, as I was walking through the maze of passageways a <b>vendedor </b>tried to get my attention by shouting out:<br />
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<b>Que tranza holmes</b><br />
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Surprisingly, It wasn't the <b>que tranza</b> that got my attention. I've heard that expression before, it's a very colloquial, and I assume Mexican, way of saying what's up. Holmes, on the other hand, I haven't heard since the 90's.<br />
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<b>Ruca </b>is a word you'll hear frequently, at least in a conversation between guys talking about women. It started off referring to an older woman, <b>una antigua</b>, but now it's just a way of referring to a woman.<br />
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<b>Vieja </b>is used the same way. Although with <b>vieja</b>, you can use it to refer to your mom, wife or girlfriend as well. Keep in mind that they may not appreciate that, but if you're talking with friends it's OK. <br />
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<b><a href="http://myspanishnotes.blogspot.com/2010/06/estoy-de-fodonga.html" target="_blank">Fodongo </a></b>is another word I heard pop up a few times. I wrote about it a few years back. <a href="http://myspanishnotes.blogspot.com/2010/06/estoy-de-fodonga.html" target="_blank">Take a look</a>.<br />
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<b>Simón </b>is a very informal way of agreeing with someone. It's the equivalent of yeah.<br />
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<b>Carnal </b>is something like bro and used when you consider someone a good friend. It can also mean brother, as in your real brother.<br />
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Your Spanish book will tell you <b>¿Cómo?</b> is the proper way to ask some what they said, but in Mexico what you're going to hear instead is <b>¿Mande? </b>Honestly, I think I was the only person in the entire country using<b> cómo</b>.<b> </b><br />
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Nothing says Mexican like the word <b>Órale</b>. If you plan on spending a lot of time in Mexico or talking to Mexicans, you'd better get a good handle on this word. <a href="http://myspanishnotes.blogspot.com/2013/09/que-significa-orale.html" target="_blank"> I've written about órale as well.</a><br />
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There's a great little place to have breakfast in Tijuana right off of Revolution Avenue.<br />
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I've forgotten exactly what it was I ordered, but when I was paying the bill the gentleman at the <b>caja</b> (register) asked me <b>¿Te late?</b>. To be honest, I wasn't really paying attention and what he said didn't click until a few hours later.<br />
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<b>Te late</b> is a very informal way of saying <b>te gusta</b>. He was asking me if I enjoyed my meal. But you can use <b>te late</b> anytime you want to ask someone if they like something.<br />
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<b>¿Te late la comida mexicana?</b><br />
Do you like Mexican food?<br />
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This next one isn't really polite, but you'll hear in it conversations with real people in Mexico.<br />
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<b>Eres puto</b><br />
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If you know what the word <b>mujeriego </b>means, then you'll have no problem understanding this usage of the word <b>puto</b>. It's a way of calling a man a womanizer, or player. He messes around with a lot of women. A friend of mine was the "victim" of this phrase but it was a fun conversation and we got a lot of laughs out of it. You can also use the word <b>golfo</b>.<br />
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<a href="http://pelangoche.blogspot.com/2013/03/What-does-puto-mean.html" target="_blank">I blogged in detail about the word puto</a> in one of my sister blogs, <a href="http://pelangoche.blogspot.com/2013/03/What-does-puto-mean.html" target="_blank">No Seas Pelangoche</a> (all about bad words in Spanish), because even though this usage is innocent enough, it's still a bad word and has several other meanings, which is why it belongs on <a href="http://pelangoche.blogspot.com/2013/03/What-does-puto-mean.html" target="_blank">No Seas Pelangoche</a>. By the way, if you're easily offended <a href="http://pelangoche.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">No Seas Pelangoche</a> is not for you, because I give you the most accurate translations possible, in very frank and direct language. Otherwise I think you'll find it a fun and interesting site.<br />
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Take a look at this picture.<br />
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In Spanish this beautiful bird is a called a <b>cotorra</b>, or parrot in English. And we've all heard the expression about people who talk like a parrot. Apparently our Spanish speaking friends have heard this one too. <br />
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<b>Tengo una amiga catorra</b><br />
I have a friend who's a chatterbox<br />
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I wouldn't say that's a literal translation, but it certainly conveys the spirit of the word.<br />
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<b><a href="http://myspanishnotes.blogspot.com/2010/02/que-onda-guey.html" target="_blank">Wey </a></b>is another high percentage word you'll hear on the street, which means dude. I don't think I could possibly count the number of times I heard this a day. <a href="http://myspanishnotes.blogspot.com/2010/02/que-onda-guey.html" target="_blank">Read my post on the word wey</a>. <br />
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<b><a href="http://pelangoche.blogspot.com/2010/09/soy-cabrona.html" target="_blank">Cabrón </a></b>is another word you'll hear which has a variety of meanings depending on the context of the conversation. It's another one of those words that's not exactly for polite company but highly used between friends and in very informal conversations on the street. Yeah, you guessed it, I wrote about <b>cabrón </b>before too, you can read about it on <a href="http://pelangoche.blogspot.com/2010/09/soy-cabrona.html" target="_blank">No Seas Pelongoche</a>. <br />
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<b>Pinche </b>is basically the equivalent of the F bomb in English. You'll very often hear it combined with the word <b>wey</b>. <b>Pinche wey</b>. And yeah, you guessed it, you can read about it on <a href="http://pelangoche.blogspot.com/2010/02/pinche-idiota.html" target="_blank">No Seas Pelangoche</a> if you want more detail.<br />
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I think we've covered enough bad words and you've probably figured out where to go to learn more. Let me close things out with an interesting phrase I picked up.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>¿Cómo estás?</b><br />
<b>Bien, en lo que cabe</b><br />
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<b>Bien, en lo que cabe</b> translates to something like "given/under the circumstances", "as well as can be expected" or "considering". It implies that the person is having some degree of issues or problems, but outside of that is doing just fine.<br />
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Well, that's it! I hope you found this post helpful and gave you a little more insight into Mexican Spanish. I'll leave you with this <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/L5Y60SX1SD4H/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&linkCode=ur2&tag=helyouleaspa-20&linkId=T2TJWFU66WDVWQ47" target="_blank">list of books in Amazon on Mexican Spanish</a>. I have them in my collection and found them really helpful.<br />
<br />
<b>¡Hasta la próxima!</b>Rodneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11982073579438095731noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887269116401276794.post-51425897058569100532015-02-05T07:33:00.000-05:002015-02-05T13:49:33.433-05:00Ya colgó los tenisNobody likes it, but <b>tarde o temprano,</b> we have to talk about someone who's "in a better place". Not my favorite topic, but it's something you should know.<br />
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The a very common way to refer to people who have died is with one of two verbs, <b>morirse </b>or<b> </b><b>fallecer</b>.<br />
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<b>La actiz se murió</b><br />
The actress died<br />
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<b>Se murío</b> is rather direct and to the point. <b>Fallecer </b>is what you'll hear on the news. <br />
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<b>La actríz falleció</b><br />
The actress died<br />
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But in all honesty, you've probably seen those in your Spanish book. We're here to learn about a few of the more creative ways to talk about <b>el fallecido</b> (<b>la fallecida</b> for a woman), so let's get to it. <br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-K3hNef9S3Go/VLKPx0ddmJI/AAAAAAAAD2I/--KEIU7nVNk/s1600/colgo%2Bsu%2Btenis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-K3hNef9S3Go/VLKPx0ddmJI/AAAAAAAAD2I/--KEIU7nVNk/s1600/colgo%2Bsu%2Btenis.jpg" /></a></div>
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<b>Se colgó su tenis</b><br />
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<b>Colgar los tenis</b> literally means to hang up your tennis shoes. Figuratively it means someone died. <br />
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<i>Oye, hace mucho tiempo que no hablo con Pedro, ¿Cómo está?</i><br />
<i>Uyyy, ¿no sabias? Pedro se colgó los tenis hace un año.</i><br />
<br />
<i>Hey, it's it's been a long time since I spoke with Pedro, how is he?</i><br />
<i>Oh, you didn't know? Pedro died a year ago.</i><br />
<br />
<b>Colgó los tenis </b>is very informal, so if you need to break the news to someone gently, this probably isn't the expression you want.<br />
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You can also say <b>ya colgó los tenis</b>. <br />
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Here's a fun one, <b>ponerse el traje de madera</b>.<br />
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If you don't have a clue as to what <b>Pijamas de madera</b> are, here's a hint.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MeyZjoOJhWc/VM9MeknIm8I/AAAAAAAAECU/6jsyVfmxIGU/s1600/atuad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MeyZjoOJhWc/VM9MeknIm8I/AAAAAAAAECU/6jsyVfmxIGU/s1600/atuad.jpg" height="157" width="320" /></a></div>
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Wooden pajamas refer to a coffin, or <b>ataúd </b>in Spanish.<br />
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<b>Se puso el pijama de madera</b><br />
He put on his wooden pajamas<br />
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<b>Estirar la pata</b> is generally accepted as the best translation for the English phrase to kick the bucket.<br />
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<b>Ya estiró la pata</b><br />
He kicked the bucket<br />
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<b>Entregar el equipo </b>is useful if you want to use a sports related phrase.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<b>Ya entregó el equipo</b><br />
He turned in his equipment<br />
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And remember, you shouldn't use any of the above expressions when you need to be caring and sensitive.<br />
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There are actually many more ways to talk about death, but why not hear them from real Mexicans with your own ears? Here's link to some guys who run a YouTube channel called ZMG for U, and they give the run down on everything you should know, including a few cultural tips to help keep you out of trouble.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://ytimg.googleusercontent.com/vi/R-GdOY5hkR0/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/R-GdOY5hkR0?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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Let's close out today's post with something fun. Here's a phrase we use all the time in English.<br />
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<b>¿Que traes en la bolsa, una cadáver?</b><br />
<div>
What do you have in your purse/bag, a body?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
You may be tempted to use <b>cuerpo </b>instead of <b>cadáver</b>, but don't. <br />
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Well that's it for today. Don't forget you can also <a href="https://www.facebook.com/MySpanishNotes" target="_blank">follow this blog on Facebook</a>. Also don't forget to check out my sister blog,<a href="http://helpingyoulearnspanish.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"> Helping You Learn Spanish</a> where I take a stab at simplifying the textbook side of Spanish so you can learn more faster without all the grammar double-talk.<br />
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<b>¡Hasta la próxima!</b>Rodneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07520016346341456183noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887269116401276794.post-79871862966354926132014-12-25T08:48:00.002-05:002017-05-06T20:08:36.831-04:00¿Pichas las caguamas?If you don't know what a <b>caguama </b>is, let me help you out:<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oEJQZcx8ebc/VJUqDKT4QYI/AAAAAAAABbY/BNCHe9YBZNU/s1600/tortugas-akumal1ok.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oEJQZcx8ebc/VJUqDKT4QYI/AAAAAAAABbY/BNCHe9YBZNU/s1600/tortugas-akumal1ok.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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It's a species of sea turtle. And since we're on the subject of creatures that live in the water, let's talk about one more, a <b>ballena</b>.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-d3Nn1tz52oQ/VJUqzN1wfLI/AAAAAAAABbg/QOFbr3llRr0/s1600/ballena.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="152" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-d3Nn1tz52oQ/VJUqzN1wfLI/AAAAAAAABbg/QOFbr3llRr0/s1600/ballena.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
Yep, a <b>ballena </b>is a whale.<br />
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Yeah, I know, you're thinking, "Rodney, where are you going with this?". OK, <b>vamos al grano</b> (Let's get to the point).<br />
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A <b>caguama </b>in Mexico is not just a sea turtle:<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-e8UBc4dy1UE/VJUwujwnrrI/AAAAAAAABb0/j-izfwWiBDs/s1600/caguama.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-e8UBc4dy1UE/VJUwujwnrrI/AAAAAAAABb0/j-izfwWiBDs/s1600/caguama.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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A <b>caguama</b> is any brand (<b>marca</b>) of beer that comes in a <b>botella </b>(bottle) of roughly 900-1000ml, or 33oz. Carta Blanca is just one brand of beer that sells <b>caguamas</b>, but there are others. Here are a couple of <b>corcholatas </b>(bottle caps) from <b>Sol </b>and <b>Tecate</b>.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KX3p5JoTu-4/VJU0mVoBfEI/AAAAAAAABcE/iVR68fOt-uE/s1600/caguama-corchelata.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KX3p5JoTu-4/VJU0mVoBfEI/AAAAAAAABcE/iVR68fOt-uE/s1600/caguama-corchelata.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bz2-8jS98FA/VJU0mVSxLHI/AAAAAAAABcA/ZDrQdNB-jsU/s1600/sol-caguama-corchelata.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bz2-8jS98FA/VJU0mVSxLHI/AAAAAAAABcA/ZDrQdNB-jsU/s1600/sol-caguama-corchelata.jpg" /></a></div>
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If you're thinking "that's a lot of beer", well, you're right. If you're thinking "well that's a good start", then you'll be happy to know that there's something bigger than a <b>caguama</b>, which is a <b>caguamón</b>.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-v99C0NnWQ1k/VJU5FrVosHI/AAAAAAAABcU/02M4DuBIz68/s1600/caguamon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-v99C0NnWQ1k/VJU5FrVosHI/AAAAAAAABcU/02M4DuBIz68/s1600/caguamon.jpg" /></a></div>
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A <b>caguamón </b>has roughly 1200ml, which hopefully is enough to quench your thirst. Let's put the difference between a <b>caguama </b>and <b>caguamón </b>in perspective.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_69ILslt_Qg/VJU65EKVfjI/AAAAAAAABcg/ADCU_mixjEA/s1600/cervezas%2B-%2Btomanos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_69ILslt_Qg/VJU65EKVfjI/AAAAAAAABcg/ADCU_mixjEA/s1600/cervezas%2B-%2Btomanos.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Wow. That's a lot of beer. I'm pretty sure most people know the word for beer in Spanish is <b>cerveza</b>, but in Mexican Spanish you have a few other ways to refer to a <b>cerveza</b>.<br />
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<b>Vamos por unas chelas</b><br />
Let's go get some beers<br />
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<b>¿Qué me toca pagar las chelas? </b><br />
What do you mean it's my turn to pay for the beers?<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
There's also the word <b>cheve</b>.<br />
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<b>Vámonos a echarnos unas cheves</b><br />
Let's go have some beers<br />
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This next one is universal.<br />
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<b>Quiero una fría</b><br />
I want a cold one<br />
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Know any colloquial words for beer? Share them in the comments.<br />
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We're almost done, the only thing we have left to talk about is the word <b>ballena</b>.<br />
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A <b>ballena</b>, aside from being a whale, is just another name for a <b>caguama </b>when it comes to beer. And a <b>ballenón </b>is the same as a <b>caguamón</b>.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BNlcVmKxlEs/VJVSL5v5aBI/AAAAAAAABdI/67lEChRRyYo/s1600/ballenaJPG.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BNlcVmKxlEs/VJVSL5v5aBI/AAAAAAAABdI/67lEChRRyYo/s1600/ballenaJPG.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BD5Yd3AQiBM/VJVSbdkadTI/AAAAAAAABdQ/9I1lkhFWPf0/s1600/ballenon.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BD5Yd3AQiBM/VJVSbdkadTI/AAAAAAAABdQ/9I1lkhFWPf0/s1600/ballenon.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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And again, let's put things in perspective.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WY7TNn8-j2k/VJVRJ14agnI/AAAAAAAABdE/sApqRduw2jI/s1600/cervezapacifico.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WY7TNn8-j2k/VJVRJ14agnI/AAAAAAAABdE/sApqRduw2jI/s1600/cervezapacifico.png" width="281" /></a></div>
By the way, we still have to cover the title of this <b>entrada </b>(post).<br />
<br />
<b> ¿Pichas las caguamas?</b><br />
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<b>Pichas </b>comes from the verb <b>pichar</b>, which means to treat or to pay for. With that in mind, let's translate our phrase.<br />
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<b> ¿Pichas las caguamas?</b> <br />
Are you buying the beers?<br />
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Regarding the verb <b>pichar</b>, I need to leave you with a word of warning. It can have more then one meaning among Spanish speakers. You can read about it's meanings at <a href="http://www.asihablamos.com/word/palabra/pichar.php" style="color: blue;" target="_blank">Así Hablamos</a>. Remember, know your audience.<br />
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Whew, that's finally it. I'll leave you with one last thing, a video of what I think is is a pretty impressive feat. Personally, it would take me a week or more to finish a <b>caguama</b>, much less a <b>caguamón</b>. This gentleman puts it away all at once. And on top of that he does it with no hands.<br />
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If you don't see the video, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sCdPsjcKY4" target="_blank">here's the direct link</a>.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/-sCdPsjcKY4?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<br />
Here are a few other posts related to <b>chelas</b>.<br />
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1. <a href="http://myspanishnotes.blogspot.com/2012/02/pisteando-en-mi-casa-con-mi-kerida.html" target="_blank">Pisteando en mi casa con mi kerida</a><br />
2. <a href="http://myspanishnotes.blogspot.com/2011/03/por-que-estas-chiquiteando-wey.html" target="_blank">¿Por qué estás chiquiteando wey?</a><br />
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Having drinks with the locals is always a great way to practice and learn some Spanish, so you might want to <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hyls.myphrasebook" target="_blank">check out the My Spanish Phrasebook app</a> (for Android devices) to have some great bar related phrases (and a whole lot more) at your fingertips while you're out. <br />
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Now go forth and (responsibly) have a few <b>cheves</b>.<br />
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<b>¡Hasta la próxima!</b>Rodneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11982073579438095731noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887269116401276794.post-74323089037969582742014-11-23T15:45:00.000-05:002014-11-23T15:49:56.794-05:00El Caló Mexicano, Parte 2 Not too terribly long ago I wrote about <a href="http://myspanishnotes.blogspot.com/2014/05/el-calo-mexicano.html" target="_blank">El Caló Mexicano</a>, or Mexican slang. Rather than write yet another top 10 list, I decided to write about some very common Mexican slang that your average gringo probably isn't aware of. Today I'm going to fulfill the promise I made about writing a part two.<br />
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Let's cover a few greetings first.<br />
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You've probably heard of the expression <b>Qué onda</b>, which means what's up, but here's a couple that might have escaped you.<br />
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<b>¿Qué tranza?</b><br />
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<b>¿Qué show?</b><br />
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<b>¿Qué pex?</b><br />
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I don't know that any of these have a direct translation, they're just additional ways to say what's up. These are very slangy and will most likely shock your Mexican friends when they hear you say this.<br />
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<b>¡Que oso!</b><br />
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Literally speaking, this means what a bear. But if you're not having a conversation about bears then this means how embarrassing.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8wvi3pTGXH0/VHIDrs5INwI/AAAAAAAADVU/Uq_n6Ku2VkY/s1600/que%2Boso.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8wvi3pTGXH0/VHIDrs5INwI/AAAAAAAADVU/Uq_n6Ku2VkY/s1600/que%2Boso.jpg" height="320" width="272" /></a></div>
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That's embarrassing. I don't know you.</div>
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We know these as a Volkswagon. But in Mexican Spanish you'll probably hear it referred to as a <b>vocho</b>.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4KFz5d8Lbc0/VHIG-3ojW3I/AAAAAAAADVg/8Ulox3rqc9A/s1600/CIMG4144.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4KFz5d8Lbc0/VHIG-3ojW3I/AAAAAAAADVg/8Ulox3rqc9A/s1600/CIMG4144.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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You'll hear people talk about <b>dinero</b> (money) all the time, but they may be doing it with words you aren't familiar with. <b>Feria </b>and <b>varo</b>.<br />
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<b>No traigo varo wey</b><br />
I don't have any money dude<br />
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<b>Prestame una feria wey</b><br />
Loan me some money dude<br />
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While not uniquely Mexican, there are other ways to talk about money. I blogged about this a while back - <a href="http://myspanishnotes.blogspot.com/2013/06/what-does-lana-mean.html" target="_blank">Más minutos menos lana</a>.<br />
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Let's keep going.<br />
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In standard Spanish to say you don't like someone you can use <b>caer bien</b> or <b>caer mal</b>. But in Mexican Spanish you say....<br />
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<b>Ese wey me cae gordo</b><br />
I don't like that guy<br />
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If you really like someone then you can say...<br />
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<b>Tu amiga me cae a todo madre</b><br />
I really like your friend<br />
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And keep in mind with the expression <b>caer bien</b> we're talking about if you like someone, not if you like like them. For that you need <b>gustar</b>.<br />
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If you find yourself flipping a coin, you can say <b>Águila o sol</b> - Heads or tails<br />
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Here's a good one. The next time someone asks you <b>cómo van las cosas</b> (How are things going), you can reply....<br />
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<b>Atole con lo mismo </b><br />
The same as always<br />
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And finally, when your friends ask how you know all of this , you can tell them...<br />
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<b>Porque soy más mexicano que el chile</b><br />
Because I'm more Mexican than the chile<br />
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And that's it for today. Make sure you subscribe via email or follow the blog and keep reading for more Mexican slang and other great posts!<br />
<br />Rodneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07520016346341456183noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887269116401276794.post-10224218530270594652014-11-09T09:29:00.000-05:002015-08-22T08:12:43.115-04:00Quiero dos con todoOnce again, we're going to be talking about one of my favorite subjects, food. Somehow my Spanish has become inexplicably tied to food, but I love both of them, so <b>no me voy a quejar</b> (I'm not going to complain).<br />
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If you've never had a genuine Mexican taco, then you haven't lived. And one of best places to experience the joy a great Mexican taco can deliver is in the city of Tijuana. If you happen to be in San Diego, it's very easy to get to there, you just cross the San Diego border and there you are.<br />
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Taco stands are everywhere in Tijuana, it's hard to turn a corner and not see a taco stand of some sort.<br />
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There are basically two kinds of places to eat tacos, those that are more like restaurants with fixed locations. You walk up, pull up a chair or sit at a table and then order your tacos and enjoy.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PdFnCcPp94A/VF7ybQvD9MI/AAAAAAAADSo/Ki7fdZfzGLw/s1600/CIMG4146.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PdFnCcPp94A/VF7ybQvD9MI/AAAAAAAADSo/Ki7fdZfzGLw/s1600/CIMG4146.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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And there are the taco stands (<b>puestos de tacos</b>), that sit on a corner and get wheeled in and out everyday. The photo below is of my favorite taco stand. <br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fs34lm_AnL4/VF7x4IR8sAI/AAAAAAAADSg/AM8qaUq59Fs/s1600/CIMG4286.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fs34lm_AnL4/VF7x4IR8sAI/AAAAAAAADSg/AM8qaUq59Fs/s1600/CIMG4286.JPG" width="320" /> </a></div>
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Let's take a look at how these <b>puestos </b>work. As you can see by the photo above, there are lots of people just standing around. Why you ask? Let me explain.</div>
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Once you've chosen the <b>puesto </b>you want to eat at, you simply walk up to the <b>puesto</b>. You may have to navigate your way to the front of the <b>puesto </b>with your best <b>con permiso </b>(excuse me), but once you get there, this is what you'll see:</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CZlX1g98GRA/VF71nFNTpoI/AAAAAAAADS0/fofSY984dW0/s1600/CIMG4289.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CZlX1g98GRA/VF71nFNTpoI/AAAAAAAADS0/fofSY984dW0/s1600/CIMG4289.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Then all you do is place your order with the cook:</div>
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<b>Quiero dos con todo</b></div>
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I want two with everything<br />
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Of course you can order as many tacos as you want, I typically start with two and end up having eaten 3 or 4. They're more tasty and addictive then you think. Now, you may be wondering what is a taco "<b>con todo</b>"? </div>
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You're average <b>puesto de taco </b>will typically have a collection of condiments that looks like this:<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yc-9S4kQrPs/VF73bHkgw5I/AAAAAAAADTA/TNt9AvudceU/s1600/CIMG4288.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yc-9S4kQrPs/VF73bHkgw5I/AAAAAAAADTA/TNt9AvudceU/s1600/CIMG4288.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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There's <b>limón </b>(Even though your Spanish book says <b>limón </b>means lemon, you'll get a lime when you ask for one) , some form of <b>salsa </b>(which is almost always spicy), <b>rábanos </b>(radishes), <b>pepinos</b> (cucumbers), <b>cebolla</b> (onions) and <b>cilantro</b>. <b>Cilantro </b>is the same in word in Spanish. You can just add whatever condiments you like to your taco yourself.</div>
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Here's a bit of Spanish you might need.</div>
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If you want to know how spicy the salsa is you can ask:</div>
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<b>¿La salsa es picante?</b></div>
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Is the salsa spicy?</div>
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If you want to sound a little more Mexican, then you can say?</div>
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<b>¿La salsa pica?</b></div>
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Is the salsa spicy?</div>
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You'll get one of two answers back:</div>
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<b>Sí pica</b></div>
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Yes it's spicy</div>
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Or </div>
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<b>No, no pica</b></div>
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No it's not spicy</div>
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It's the second answer you need to be worried about. Sometimes when they say the salsa <b>no pica</b>, it really doesn't. Sometimes it means the person you asked doesn't consider it to be spicy. Big difference. You've been warned, let's move on.</div>
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When I order I keep my tacos pretty simple. </div>
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<b>Dos de carne con cebolla y cilantro</b></div>
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Two beef tacos with onion and cilantro</div>
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Here's the end result:</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BjOuHu8MkRI/VF74mHNCMUI/AAAAAAAADTI/rJX5bTnhtjE/s1600/CIMG4186.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BjOuHu8MkRI/VF74mHNCMUI/AAAAAAAADTI/rJX5bTnhtjE/s1600/CIMG4186.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Another condiment I nearly forgot about is <b>aguacate </b>(avocado). <b>Aguacate </b>is practically a staple in Mexico, but I'm not a fan of it.</div>
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Now that you've got your taco, you simply take a step back and enjoy. You can eat them right there in front of the <b>puesto</b>. Take your time, there's no rush, they even offer <b>refrescos </b>(sodas). Still hungry? Order a few more. That's why you always see so many people standing around.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KY5GwKPCcLo/VF78T-1gUdI/AAAAAAAADTU/B7WxNLWICco/s1600/CIMG4315.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KY5GwKPCcLo/VF78T-1gUdI/AAAAAAAADTU/B7WxNLWICco/s1600/CIMG4315.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Once you're all done, you pay for your tacos (roughly $1.25 each) and get on on with the rest of your day. Or night.<br />
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Ah, there's one other thing I forgot to mention. Aside from <b>tacos de carne</b>, you can order <b>tacos al pastor</b>.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qexIylqP9CM/VF791qWt7FI/AAAAAAAADTg/My_BGVu4Edo/s1600/CIMG4290.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qexIylqP9CM/VF791qWt7FI/AAAAAAAADTg/My_BGVu4Edo/s1600/CIMG4290.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Do you see that big hunk of meat? That is the where <b>tacos al pastor</b> come from. When you refer to <b>tacos al pastor</b> you're referring to roasted pork. The pork is being cooked on what's called a <b>trompo</b>, which you can think of as a rotisserie.<br />
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Here's a closer look:<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-poLrDUN49no/VF8BX1wtYSI/AAAAAAAADTs/vP2PxYhTxBg/s1600/CIMG4189.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-poLrDUN49no/VF8BX1wtYSI/AAAAAAAADTs/vP2PxYhTxBg/s1600/CIMG4189.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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The meat is sliced off of the <b>trompo </b>into the <b>tortilla</b>:<br />
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And when all is said and done you have a delicious looking taco:<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jPk3Da1KMmo/VF8De_hRz-I/AAAAAAAADUA/I2Dz7oGwJ4E/s1600/CIMG4287.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jPk3Da1KMmo/VF8De_hRz-I/AAAAAAAADUA/I2Dz7oGwJ4E/s1600/CIMG4287.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Most taco stands offer only <b>carne </b>or <b>al pastor</b>, but there are stands that offer other types of tacos.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BpUDDmqYtPU/VF9pMnBHfkI/AAAAAAAADUQ/T4s_wFlrXac/s1600/CIMG4178.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BpUDDmqYtPU/VF9pMnBHfkI/AAAAAAAADUQ/T4s_wFlrXac/s1600/CIMG4178.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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A close look at the sign reveals that you can order <b>pechuga de pollo</b> (chicken breast) and <b>cabeza de res</b> as well. <b>Cabeza de res</b> is the meat that comes off the skull of the cow. Typically you'll see more of a variety of tacos in the restaurants that serve tacos, like <b>tacos de ojo</b> (eye) or <b>de tripa</b> (intestines). I don't think I'll be reporting on the specifics of those anytime soon. Well, more like never. <br />
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If you've been intrigued by the street tacos of Tijuana, you're not alone. In fact, you're in very good company. Rick Bayless has talked about how great the tacos of Tijuana are as well.<br />
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If for some reason you can't see or play the video, here's the link:<br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86cCss_VkCw">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86cCss_VkCw</a><br />
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<object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="https://ytimg.googleusercontent.com/vi/86cCss_VkCw/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/86cCss_VkCw&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/86cCss_VkCw&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
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There you have it, everything you need to know to enjoy street tacos in Tijuana or any other part of Mexico.<br />
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There are few more things I want to share with you about the street food of Tijuana, so stay tuned.<br />
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Lastly, if I haven't mentioned it before, you can finally <a href="https://www.facebook.com/MySpanishNotes" target="_blank">follow this blog on Facebook</a>.<br />
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<b>¡Hasta la próxima!</b>Rodneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07520016346341456183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887269116401276794.post-72818238333380811272014-09-27T11:00:00.000-04:002014-10-02T06:15:26.412-04:00El Caló Mexicano So what is <b>El Caló Mexicano</b>?<br />
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<b>El Caló Mexicano</b> is nothing more than Mexican slang. And there's a lot of it.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FFhHdXROA7Y/VC0kLcylXPI/AAAAAAAADRw/1fD2xUo3IcY/s1600/calo%2Bmexicano2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FFhHdXROA7Y/VC0kLcylXPI/AAAAAAAADRw/1fD2xUo3IcY/s1600/calo%2Bmexicano2.jpg" height="320" width="207" /></a></div>
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I've written about a lot of Mexican slang over the years, but I've finally decided it's time I put together some kind of Mexican slang list. I thought about doing a top 10 list, but how many times has that been done? Besides, I couldn't narrow it down to just 10 anyway. <br />
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So instead I'm going to write about some common Mexican slang that the average gringo may not have heard before. Some of these words I use on a regular basis, some of them I just like the sound of. Either way, I'm going to share with you my favorite <b>caló mexicano</b>.<br />
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Let's get to it. BTW, these are in no particular order, I'm just writing them down as they come to mind.<br />
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<i><b>Chaparrita </b></i>- this word is a diminutive of <i><b>chaparra</b></i>, and it's a way of referring to a short woman. Use <b><i>chaparrito </i></b>if you want to talk about a short man.<br />
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<i><b>Me gustan las chaparritas</b></i><br />
I like short girls<br />
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<i><b>Simón </b></i>- This is another (very informal) way of saying yes. It's probably closer to yeah. <br />
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<i><b>Nel </b></i>- An informal way to say no. And now that I think about, <i><b>nel </b></i>is short for <i><b>nel pastel</b></i>. It's kind of like how we say no way Jose. Try this on your Mexican friends and enjoy the laughs you're going to get.<br />
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<i><b>Pica </b></i>- You'll hear this quite a bit to refer to spicy food. The universal word is <i><b>picante</b></i>, but I can't tell you how many times I've heard (and used) this word.<br />
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<i><b>¿Pica?</b></i><br />
Is it spicy?<br />
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<i><b>¿Pica mucho?</b></i><br />
Is it very spicy?<br />
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<i><b>Carnal </b></i>- If you've got a really good friend you can refer to him as <i><b>carnal</b></i>. This is also a way of referring to a person who actually is your brother.<br />
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<i><b>¿Qué onda carnal?</b></i><br />
What's up bro?<br />
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<b><i>Una chela</i></b> - More commonly known as <i><b>cerveza</b></i> <br />
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<i><b>Vamos por unas chelas</b></i><br />
Let's go get some beers<br />
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You're probably going to want that <i><b>chela </b></i>to be nice and cold, so you could ask for a <i><b>chela bien fría</b></i>. But that's not going to impress anybody. Instead ask for a <i><b>chela bien muerta</b></i>. <i><b>Muerta </b></i>means dead. So why would you ask for a dead beer? The short version is dead bodies are cold, so you want your beer as cold as a dead body. Creepy, I know, but you'll sound <i><b>muy mexicano</b></i>. <br />
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<i><b>Me vale</b></i> - I don't care. Don't ask me why, but I think this is way more fun than saying <i><b>no me importa</b></i>.<br />
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<i><b>Me vale lo que piensas</b></i><br />
I don't care what you think <br />
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<i><b>Neta </b></i>- In my book this word is way cool. To be honest I'm surprised I haven't blogged about this before. <i><b>Neta </b></i>can be used in many different ways, here are some common examples.<br />
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<i><b>¿Neta wey?</b> </i><br />
Really dude?<br />
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<i><b>Es la neta</b></i><br />
It's the truth<br />
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Stay tuned, I'm going to post about <b><i>neta </i></b>in the very near future. It's a versatile word that deserves some special attention.<br />
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<i><b>Morra, Morrita</b></i> - A way of referring to a woman. You can use <b><i>morro </i></b>to refer to a man.<br />
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<i><b>Ahí nos vidrios</b></i> - This is a play on words for<i><b> Ahí nos vemos</b></i> (see you there)<br />
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<i><b>Mocoso</b></i> - Snot nosed brat. <i><b>Mocosa</b></i> for girls. <a href="http://myspanishnotes.blogspot.com/2011/05/verdad-que-mocoso.html" target="_blank">Read my earlier post</a> about this one.<br />
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<i><b>Chupar </b></i>- You have to be careful with this one, but you can use it to mean go drinking. <i><b>¡Vamos a chupar wey!</b></i> Think of this as going to suck down a few beers. In fact, <i><b>chupar </b></i>means to suck. I'll let you use your imagination and you'll quickly figure out why you need to be careful with <i><b>chupar</b></i>.<br />
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You can learn more about drinking in Mexican Spanish in this <a href="http://myspanishnotes.blogspot.com/2012_02_01_archive.html" target="_blank">post</a>.<br />
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Let's get back to the subject of alcohol. If you want to order a shot at the bar you could ask for a <b><i>trago </i></b>(literally a swallow), but it you want to give your Mexican Spanish a little workout, ask for a <i><b>caballito</b></i>.<br />
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<b><i>Un caballito</i> </b>- A shot. I love this word. <i><b>Un cabillito de</b></i> [favorite drink goes here].<br />
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<b><i>¡Bartender! Un cabellito de tequila</i></b><br />
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Yes, they do say bartender.<br />
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<b><i>Si tomas demasidos caballitos, vas a tener la cruda </i></b><br />
If you drink too many shots, you're going to have a hangover<br />
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<i><b>Güero </b></i>- It means blonde, or even a fair skinned person. And here in the US it's also a way to refer to white Americans. <br />
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Your Spanish book will tell you that <b>jefe </b>means boss, and may not even mention the word <i><b>jefa</b></i>, which would be your female boss. But guess what? In Mexico there's another use for the word <i><b>jefa</b></i>. <i><b>Jefa </b></i>or <i><b>jefecita </b></i>can refer to your mom. <br />
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I'm going to get my mom and I'll be back.<br />
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We all know <i><b>casa </b></i>means house, but so does <i><b>cantón</b></i>.<br />
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<i><b>Voy a pasar por tu cantón</b></i><br />
I'm going to stop by your house<br />
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You could talk about your <i><b>coche </b></i>or <i><b>carro</b></i>, but you might hear a Mexican talk about his <i><b>nave</b></i>.<br />
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Let's talk about a few expressions.<br />
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<i><b>Te voy a partir tu mandarina en gajos</b></i><br />
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If you hear this,you've made somebody awfully mad. A <i><b>mandarina </b></i>is a tangerine, and a <b><i>gajo </i></b>is a slice or section. So to split (<i><b>partir</b></i>) a <b><i>mandirina </i></b>(you) in <b><i>gajos</i></b>, means you're about to get your butt kicked.<br />
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<b><i>El que no tranza no avanza</i></b> - This translates to something like "if you don't cheat you don't get ahead". I first heard this in the movie <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Todo-Poder-Ley-Herodes-Spanish/dp/B000GETTJI/ref=as_sl_pc_ss_til?tag=helyouleaspa-20&linkCode=w01&linkId=2X6F6OCDCPUK7XAQ&creativeASIN=B000GETTJI" target="_blank">La Ley de Herodes</a>, it's a great movie, you should check it out.<br />
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<i><b>El burro hablando de orejas</b></i> - I can't actually be sure that this is uniquely Mexican, but it's a nice spin on the pot calling the kettle black.<br />
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<i><b>Es más cabrón que bonito</b></i> - I also heard this for the first time in <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Todo-Poder-Ley-Herodes-Spanish/dp/B000GETTJI/ref=as_sl_pc_ss_til?tag=helyouleaspa-20&linkCode=w01&linkId=2X6F6OCDCPUK7XAQ&creativeASIN=B000GETTJI" target="_blank">La Ley de Herodes</a> too. Literally it's something to the effect of "He's smarter than he is handsome". You can use this for women to, but it changes to "<i><b>Es más cabrona que bonita</b></i>". And if you want to talk about yourself just change <i><b>es </b></i>to <i><b>soy</b></i>. <br />
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<i><b>Soy más cabrona que bonita, y mira que soy muy bonita</b></i><br />
I'm smarter than I am beautiful, and look at how beautiful I am<br />
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This post could go for a while, as there is certainly no shortage of <i><b>caló mexicano</b></i>, but I think it's time to wrap things up. And don't worry, part 2 will be coming soon.<br />
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I wanted to avoid some of the more well known Mexican slang, so I'm not going to talk about the word <i><b>Órale</b></i>, but it's super important and you need to know about it. Luckily I've already blogged about it - <a href="http://myspanishnotes.blogspot.com/2013_09_01_archive.html" target="_blank">Órale wey</a>. Check it out. <br />
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If you want to pick up some more Mexican Spanish Amazon has a nice collection of books on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/L5Y60SX1SD4H/?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&linkCode=ur2&tag=helyouleaspa-20&linkId=VVSLCVSLW7LUD7QF" target="_blank">Mexican Slang</a>. I also recommend you <a href="http://nohaybronca.wordpress.com/2011/05/20/top-10-mexican-slang/" target="_blank">click here</a> to take a look at the great post my friend TC (He's the author of <a href="http://nohaybronca.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">No Hay Bronco</a>) has written on Mexican slang. Be sure to read the comments, there a lot of them with even more info.<br />
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And of course you can read <a href="http://myspanishnotes.blogspot.com/search/label/Mexican%20Spanish" target="_blank">my other posts on Mexican Spanish</a>.<br />
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What's your favorite <i><b>caló mexicano</b></i>? Post it in the comments.<br />
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<i><b>Nos vidrios</b></i> in part 2!Rodneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11982073579438095731noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887269116401276794.post-24313256792290949442014-07-03T07:32:00.001-04:002018-06-19T06:53:33.310-04:00¡GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL! Unless you've been trapped in cave for the last few weeks, you've been surrounded by the excitement of the <b>Copa Mundial 2014</b>. And if you have been trapped in a cave and just recently managed to escape, it's not too late to get in on all the fun.<br />
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I know I'm a little late with this post, but you still have time to learn all the key words and phrases you need to enjoy the <b>Mundial 2014</b>. I'm not going to try and teach you everything, just enough to get you into the conversation.<br />
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First things first, you have to look the part. And in order to do that you need to wear <b>la camisa de la selección</b> of your favorite team. And <b>la selección</b> refers to the countries national team. <br />
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Here's what Mexico's <b>camisa</b> looks like:<br />
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But maybe you should wear Colombia's since Mexico has been eliminated.<br />
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Now that you look the part, it's time to learn how to talk the talk. Let's start with the basics.<br />
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If by some chance you don't know this, what we call soccer is called <b>fútbol</b> in the Spanish speaking world. <br />
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A game is called a <b>partido</b>. And every <b>partido </b>needs two <b>equipos </b>(teams) which are composed of <b>jugadores </b>(players). One player is a <b>jugador</b>, btw. <br />
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<b>Fútbol</b> is played on a <b>cancha</b> (soccer field) also called a <b>campo</b>. <br />
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There's a lot more vocabulary that I'm not going to cover here, but you can <a href="http://www.cabrillo.edu/~nstucker/futbol_vocab.pdf" target="_blank">download this free PDF</a> to catch up on what I left out.<br />
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And <a href="http://www.ikonet.com/es/diccionariovisual/deportes-y-juegos/deportes-de-pelota-y-de-balon/futbol/posicion-de-los-jugadores.php" target="_blank">here's an interesting page</a> where you can see the names of the positions in English, Spanish or French, and hear an audio with the correct pronunciation in each language. <br />
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Alright, now we get to the interesting stuff.<br />
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The first thing you're going to need to know is who's playing, and when.<br />
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<b>¿Quién esta jugando?</b><br />
Who's playing?<br />
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<b>México juega contra los Estados Unidos</b><br />
Mexico is playing against the United States<br />
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<b>¿A qué hora es el partido?</b><br />
What time is the game?<br />
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<b>¿A qué hora es el partido de Colombia?</b><br />
What time is the Colombia game?<br />
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If you're not watching the game in the comfort of your home, you may need to call and ask if your favorite restaurant or bar is showing the game.<br />
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<b>¿Vas a poner el partido de Brasil el sábado?</b><br />
Are you going to show the Brazil game on Saturday?<br />
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If you want to find out who's rooting for who, you'll find these phrases handy.<br />
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<b>¿Por quien vas en el partido Agentina-Colombia? </b><br />
Who are you going for in the Argentina - Colombia game?<br />
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If you want to sound really, really Mexican, go with these. And remember, these are Mexican expressions, so your buddies from Argentina or other countries may look at you funny if you say this to them.<br />
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<b>¿Quién es tu gallo en el partido Agentina-Colombia? </b><br />
Who are you going for in the Argentina - Colombia game?<br />
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<b>¿Quién es tu gallo para ganar la copa mundial?</b><br />
Who's your pick to win the World Cup?<br />
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And to tell the world who you're rooting for, you can say:<br />
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<b>Voy por Chile</b><br />
I'm rooting for Chile<br />
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Of course you can just substitute your team name for <b>Chile</b>.<br />
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While you're watching the game here are a few things you can shout out.<br />
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<b>¡Pásala, pásala!</b><br />
Pass it, pass it<br />
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<b>Pásala </b>is referring to the <b>pelota </b>o <b>bola </b>(ball) of course.<br />
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When a player or players are driving down field this is a good one to throw out.<br />
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<b>¡Dale dale dale!</b><br />
Go go go<br />
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<b>¡Tira, tira!</b><br />
Shoot, shoot<br />
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Since we're on the topic, <b>tirar </b>and <b>disparar</b> both mean to shoot, to kick the ball in an attempt to score. <br />
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<b>¡Vamos Mexico!</b><br />
Go Mexico!<br />
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<b>¡Que cabezazo!</b><br />
What a header!<br />
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<b>El cabezazo que le paró el corazón a toda Argentina</b><br />
The header that stopped the heart of Argentina<br />
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Don't know what a <b>cabezazo </b>is? This will help.<br />
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A <b>cabezazo </b>is when you use your head to bounce the ball around. Too many of those can't be good for you. It's also the word you want if you need to refer to a good old-fashioned headbutt.<br />
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The real excitement in a <b>partido de fútbol</b> is when someone scores, so let's talk about that.<br />
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To score a goal is to <b>meter un gol</b>. But when a goal is really impressive, it's a <b>golazo</b>.<br />
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<b>¡Metió un golazo!</b><br />
He scored an amazing goal!<br />
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<b>Ingleterra acaba de meter un gol</b><br />
England just scored a goal<br />
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<b>Barcelona metió uno</b><br />
Barcelona scored<br />
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<b>¿Lo metió?</b><br />
Did he score?<br />
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To miss a goal is to <b>fallar</b>.<br />
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<b>¿Lo falló?</b><br />
Did he miss it?<br />
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Now, when someone scores a goal, feel free to shout out <b>¡Gol!</b>. But your sportscaster is going to one up you by shouting.....<br />
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<b>¡GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL! </b><br />
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If you want to hear what that sounds like, watch this short video. It's actually a Geico commercial starring a very famous sportscaster in the world of <b>fútbol</b>, Andres Cantor. And no, I'm not trying to get you to buy insurance.<br />
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IF you can't see the video, here's the direct link: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O06Zp3gCT3c" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O06Zp3gCT3c</a> <br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/6ixwKBwfT38?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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If you can beat that, you will be the hero of the bar.<br />
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Of course we need to be able to talk about who's winning or losing. Here's what you need to keep up with the score.<br />
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<b>¿Quién va ganado?</b><br />
Who's winning?<br />
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<b>México va ganando a Brasil</b><br />
Mexico is beating Brazil<br />
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<b>Real Madrid le va ganando 1 a 0 al Barcelona</b><br />
Real Madrid is beating Barcelona 1 to 0<br />
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<b>Están empatados</b><br />
They're tied<br />
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<b>¿Cómo va el partido?</b><br />
What's the score?<br />
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<b>¿Cómo va el marcador? </b><br />
What's the score?<br />
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<b>España esta ganado Costa Rica</b><br />
Spain is beating Costa Rica<br />
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You'll need these for after the game or to catch up on the things you missed.<br />
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<b>¿Cómo fue el resultado?</b><br />
What was the final score?<br />
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<b>Alemania perdió</b><br />
Germany lost<br />
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<b>Grecia perdio contra Croacia</b><br />
Greece lost to Croatia<br />
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<b>¡Colombia ganó!</b><br />
Colombia won!<br />
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Speaking of Colombia, they <b>pasaron por los cuartos</b>.<br />
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<b>Pasar por los cuartos</b> means they're moving on to the semi-finals. <b>Están en cuartos</b> means they're in the semifinals. The <b>equipos</b> lucky enough to get to the <b>final </b>(use your Spanish pronunciation) will become <b>campeones </b>(champions). <br />
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That's all I'm going to write about today, but it's more enough to get you started. But I'm not done yet.<br />
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Here's a free beginner Spanish lesson about the <b>mundial</b>. <br />
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World Cup Lesson<br />
<audio controls="controls" height="50px" width="150px">
<source src="https://drive.google.com/uc?export=download&id=0B21vyMiUXtgfUnNXQUVFVXBRSjA" type="audio/mpeg"></source>
Your browser does not support the audio element. Upgrade your browser to one that does
</audio>
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The lesson was developed by Marcus Santamaria, the creator of <a href="http://61435n4awzgcrx6xx1njczcofw.hop.clickbank.net/" target="_blank">Synergy Spanish</a> and <a href="http://1e3fdbwhr9hprvczz6t5562tbo.hop.clickbank.net/" target="_blank">Shortcut to Spanish</a>. He's got some really great material for everyone, not just beginners. You'll also find more free lessons if you poke around his sites. Pay him a visit, my Spanish wouldn't be where it is today without his help. <br />
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And lastly, you don't have to memorize all of the stuff you learned to today, if you have an android phone you can take your Spanish with you using my app, <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hyls.myphrasebook" target="_blank">My Spanish Phrasebook</a>.Rodneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07520016346341456183noreply@blogger.com1