As you learn Spanish you’ll see there are many great words that I really enjoy and get a kick out of. Today I will share some of these with you as well as discuss a little about culture.

Some of my favorite words in Spanish have to do with cars. These words may vary by region; for example, the word for “horn” in one country is “cláxon”, and in another country it is “bocina”. Most core Spanish words are the same in each country but certain specialized words vary in different regions of the world.

Now we’ll move on to some more of the fun words. The word for car “windshield” is “para brizas”, which literally translates to “it stops breezes”. In Spanish, the word used for “bumper” is “para choques”, which translates to “it stops crashes”. And, the word for a heavy-duty grill in the front of a vehicle is called “mataperros” which means “dog killer”.

Now of course, for the record, we are a very animal-friendly company, website and blog, and I wouldn’t have used the word “mataperros” for “grill” if I had invented Spanish. However, by way of information, that is simply the name for “grill” on a vehicle in some areas. I believe that Latin-Americans may have called it “mataperros” because there is an abundance of dogs in many Latin American countries — especially in many poor pueblos where they seem to be everywhere. A few areas have a kind of dog that is pretty strange. This dog is gray and is pretty much bald with just a few hairs on its head. Where I am from, I have never seen a dog of that breed before going to Latin America, and especially not tons of them in the same city. I’ll just say that it this is the kind of dog I would not choose to own myself.

Now, I must break a myth. In some parts of Asia people eat dogs but this is not so in Latin America. Even though there are hundreds of dogs there, they do not eat dogs — at least not in the Latin countries I have ever lived in or visited. However, they do eat guinea pigs which are pets in the United States, but that is a different topic.

While we are talking about food, there is a fun phrase that I really enjoy in Spanish that people use commonly. This phrase is “me ostiga” and it means “I’ve eaten so much of that type of food that I am really tired of it”. There are certain places to use and not to use this phrase. Remember, as I have mentioned in past newsletters, if someone in Latin America invites you to dinner, if you so not eat everything or are not very complimentary and thankful for the food, they can become very offended by your behavior. In other words, don’t ever use the phrase “me ostiga” with the host/hostess that invited you to eat. The proper place to use this phrase would be after the meal when you’re talking to a friend and after you’re out of earshot from the host/hostess.

Moral of the Story: 1. Spanish words can be fun to learn as log as you use them in the proper place. 2. Don’t plan on eating dog in Latin America, but be prepared to meet lots of dogs if you visit smaller pueblos. 3. Remember to eat all of your food when eating dinner with the native speakers and always compliment the host/hostess. 4. You may eat guinea pig in some countries but it isn’t too common so I wouldn’t worry very much if you don’t want to eat it.

Sneak peek at next week: “How to instantly learn hundreds of Spanish words.”

¡Hasta luego! (Until later!)
David S. Clark — President / Director

Vocabulary This Week To Help You Learn Spanish

a veces – sometimes
adultos – adults
algo – something
amable – friendly
amigos latinos – Latin friends
aquí – here
casi siempre – almost always
casual – casual (same spelling in both languages)
conmigo – with me
conversación – conversation
cuando – when
cultura – culture
cultura hispana – Spanish (Latin) culture
cultura latina entre – Latin culture among
de hábito – out of habit
el cual – which
formal – formal (same spelling in both languages)
frase del día – phrase of the day
gente – people
grupo de gente – group of people
hoy – today
manera – way
mano – hand
Me acostumbré tanto a – I got so used to
muchas regiones – many regions
mucho más – much more
o – or
otra vez – again
otros – others
padres – parents
parientes – relatives
pasar – to pass by
persona – person
se abrazan – they hug each other
significa – means
tal vez – maybe
todavía lo hago – I still do it (todavía=sometimes, hago=I do, lo=it)
una situación social – a social situation
útil – useful

The cultura hispana is usually very polite and more formal than the cultura in the U.S. — el cual has a tendency to be a little more casual. Like I have mentioned in the past, when amigos latinos o parientes greet each other (women greet women or women greet men), they usually kiss each other on the cheek. When men greet men, if they are amigos o parientes, they will usually shake hands and/or se abrazan. They generally shake hands when greeting each other and otra vez before leaving una situación social. (more…)

Vocabulary this week to help you Learn Spanish:

unos meses después – a few months later
un aspecto – an aspect
puerta – door
palabras – words
padres – parents
nuevo idioma – new language
muchas veces – many times
mandarme saludos – to send me greetings (say hi to me)
la semana pasada – last week
hogares – homes
gente – people
familias – families
familiarizado – familiar
esto representa – this represents
esta semana – this week
esta parte – this part
español – Spanish
disfruto – I enjoy
diferencia – difference
cultura diferente – different culture
cultura – culture
cuando – when
crece – grows
cortés – courteous
cienes – hundreds
años – years
amistades – friendships
amigo – friend
alguien – someone
algo muy interesante – something very interesting
a veces – sometimes

Esta semana we will be talking about un aspecto of the Latin cultura that I disfruto and admire.

I first became familiarizado with esta parte of the cultura in Latin America cuando I was visiting familias with a native Spanish amigo. When we visited hogares where we noticed that the padres weren’t home at the time, and children had opened the puerta for us, before leaving, my native amigo would usually say what sounded like, “Salud a tu mami [maw-mee]” or “Salud a tu papi [paw-pea]“. This Spanish phrase means “Health to your mom”, or “Health to your dad”. I thought this was algo muy interesante to say to the child but remembered that I was in a cultura diferente where gente must go around wishing each other good “health” all the time.

I laughed at myself unos meses después, cuando I finally realized that he was saying “Saluda a tu mami” instead of “Salud a tu mami”. (more…)

This Week’s Vocabulary To Help You Learn Spanish:

mencioné – I mentioned
miles – thousands
una cosa – one thing
diferente – different
hombres – men
esposas – wives
¡Te has engordado! – You have gained weight!
delgado – skinny
diferencias culturales – cultural differences
probablemente – probably
puerta – door
hogares – homes
interesante – interesting
esposos – husbands
un mes – a month
aquí – here
la semana pasada – last week
la oportunidad – the opportunity
amigos – friends
cultura – culture
pueblos – poor small cities
dinero – money
comida – food
ersona – person
gente – people
hace unos meses – a few months ago
años – years

Like I mencioné la semana pasada, when I lived in Latin America, I had la oportunidad to visit many miles of gente in their hogares. As a result of this, I learned some pretty interesante and fun cultural information while visiting gente.

Una cosa that really shocked me and still seems somewhat diferente was how many of hombres referred to their esposas and vice-versa. (more…)

Vocabulary For The Blog To Help You Learn Spanish:

porque – becuase (“por que” – with a space – is “why”)
técnica – technique
papi (paw-pee) – child’s word for “father”
-mente – -ly (this is a suffix or word ending; “mente” at the end of a word means “ly” in English)
cortés – courteous
besito – kiss
mujer – woman
abrazo – hug
casas – homes
gente – people
muy amable(s) – very friendly (plural)
misionero – missionary
hombre – man mami (maw-mee) – child’s word for “mother”
diferencias culturales – cultural differences
padres – parents
puerta – door mencioné – I mentioned
una persona – a person
amigos – friends
visita personal – personal visit
boletín – newsletter
niño – child

For this week’s boletín, I want to discuss some of the diferencias culturales when visiting Latin America. (more…)

Just like many parts of the mundo (world), soccer is the “número uno” favorite pastime in Latin America. Latin American’s take soccer very seriously, and many fans are fanatical about their teams.

The word for soccer in Spanish is “fútbol”. It sounds and looks like the English word “football”. But, if you are referring to U.S.-style “football”, you would say “fútbol americano” instead of “fútbol” which, as I mentioned, means “soccer” in español. (more…)

To finish our section on culture from Ensenada, Mexico and what I learned while on my trip there, this week we’ll discuss a little about the economy, jobs, and land purchases in Mexico.

While talking with our guide Miguel in Ensenada, he told us that most people there are thankful to Americans for NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement). Because of NAFTA, many large U.S. companies, that hire 1,200 – 1,500 people, have established plants in Ensenada and pay people wages of $10 – $12 per day, which is higher than their minimum wage. As a result of these opportunities, unemployment has gone down. The companies also pay for transportation to and from work since gas there is very expensive and many people still don’t have cars. (more…)

This week we are going to talk more about shopping/bargaining in Ensenada and Mexico in general.

Like I mentioned a few weeks ago before the holidays, when we went to Ensenada, we had an excellent tour guide named Miguel. He gave everyone in the group tips on how to bargain in Mexico. For example, he said that if you’re shopping and something you want costs $10, you should automatically offer $5 (half the original price). The vendor will never go that low, but it gives you some leverage to begin the bargaining process. Eventually you’ll work the price up to about $7. (more…)

I recently went on a with my wife Melanie for our 11th anniversary to Ensenada Mexico. During the cruise, I learned a lot of new fun cultural information that I would like to pass on to you this week.

To start, I learned that the latest word for “cool” in Ensenada is “chilo” [chee-low].  I asked Miguel, our horseback tour guide, if that word is used just in Ensenada or in all of Mexico. (more…)

Lawsuits: United States vs. Latin America

In the United states many people sue other people over very small minor things as well as over large extreme issues. People in Latin America are not usually a sue-happy (litigious) people as in those in United States.

One of my Spanish professors at the university made this comparison (he was exaggerating somewhat, but it gets the point across).

In the United States, if someone is walking on the sidewalk in front of a home and trips, they might sue the homeowner. In Latin America, if someone walks on the sidewalk in front of a house and trips, the homeowner will laugh at them.

Forms and Meanings of the Verb “to drink” (more…)