Useful Spanish Learning Stuff

Mostly reblogs | Heritage Spanish Speaker | Spanish Teacher | Hola, me llamo Suzy :) I created this sideblog mostly to organize posts that I find useful to teach Spanish. I hope you find these posts useful as well as interesting! My ask box is open for questions or if you need an explanation about a topic in Spanish :) I also encourage you to submit any sentences or paragraphs you've created. My goal is to help you understand why the errors occurred and how to avoid them in the future <3 ¡Suerte!

[spanishskulduggery]

I had a question about how h is pronounced in Spanish- I know in a lot of words, it's technically silent, like el alcohol- "alkohl" , or huesped sounding more like "weh-sped". But what about words like el azahar? Do the h's in the middle of a word typically get pronounced, or is it more like there are special cases? or is just "azaar"?

The only times the H gets specifically pronounced is when you're talking about loanwords - words directly taken from other languages, which are often proper nouns, names, etc that come very directly from other languages

But otherwise, no the H is silent - though I have noticed people do seem to do a special vocal emphasis just to make it clear there's an extra syllable sometimes. As in, if I hear someone say "Alhambra", to me it sounds like Al-Aambra" rather than skipping the sound completely, but that could just be how I hear it

Whether you're saying el azahar as sort of like "azar" or "azaar" both make sense

It's mostly just important for spelling to know that you'll be saying something like agua de azahar and not "agua de azar"

I would recommend checking out Forvo which is a pronunciation site where people from all over pronounce certain words and you can hear the accents

[Side Note: el azar is another word for "luck" in Spanish but it's directly related to el azahar "orange blossom" in Spanish - in Arabic the original word meant "flower", but in Al-Andalus (modern Andalusia in the south of Spain which was occupied by Muslims for 700 years) the word came out as azzar or azahar for talking about the white flowers of "orange blossoms"...... in games of dice, one of the sides was labeled "flower" so saying al azar meaning "randomly" was something like "by the throwing of the dice" - one of the things where game terminology affects language]

[puroespanol]

I learned that words ending in O are masculine and words ending in A are feminine. So then why is it el día and not la día? El agua and not la agua?

Sergio answered

The majority of masculine Spanish nouns that end in A are of Greek origin. A quick and easy way to tell if a word is of Greek origin is if it ends in -MA or -TA. For example; el planeta, el tema, el atleta, el problema, el cometa, el idioma, etc.

In the case of el día, it’s a little more complicated. This word comes from the Latin dies which means day (general) when it’s masculine and day (specific date) when it’s feminine. This word kept its masculine status on its way over to Spanish.

In the case of el agua the article is masculine because agua begins with a stressed syllable. This rule is strictly about fluidity of sound. Other examples include: el águila and el área. It’s important to note that all these words go back to feminine when plural: las aguas, las águilas, las áreas. That’s because these words are inherently feminine. They’re only masculine in singular form for ease of pronunciation.

This can sound a bit complicated and it’s totally unnecessary knowledge if all you want to do is speak the language. My advice to you would be to memorize these quirky exceptions and don’t be afraid to be imperfect. You will learn from your mistakes.

[spanishskulduggery]

Hello! I always have trouble of understanding when to use and/or what lo means in weirder contexts

I understand lo means it but sometimes in songs or writing they use it like "Lo importante" or "lo mas bello" What does lo mean in that case?

Does it just objectify what is important or beautiful? Like making it an actual subject? This as well as "Lo que" which I understand as "that thing that" but I just don't understand how lo comes into it all.

Thank you!

Very quickly I'll go over what lo is - minus how it works as a direct object pronoun "it" for masculine nouns, but it's essentially the same idea as below

lo is technically part of what is called "neuter gender", sometimes neutral gender or agender - which is the absence of a grammatical gender; so in Spanish there are technically three genders - masculine, feminine, and then agender/neuter

You wouldn't really know it to look at it, because it looks and behaves like masculine, but you understand it more in practice

By that I mean, lo exists without a noun stated - it's a stand-in for the regular nouns

él is "he", ella is "she", and ello is "it" a thing of undiscernible gender

This is also why you'll see por esto "because of this (thing)" or por eso "because of that (thing)" - without a noun stated; the regular demonstratives este/esta and ese/esa [as well as aquel/aquella vs. aquello] happen with a noun after it; este libro "this book" vs. esto "this (thing)"

-

The idea of lo que is "that which", which is a stand-in for a noun or a longer phrase or abstract concept... as in lo que quiero decir "what I mean" is a shorter form of "the thing that I want to say / mean to say"

You can sort of think of it as a summary... lo que digo "what I'm saying" summarizes what you're saying, whatever you're saying, as "that thing" more or less

The lo becomes a "what/that/which" function especially as lo que

-

With lo + adjectives or adverbs, you're often times making an adjectival or adverbial phrase into a noun

You can understand it as "the thing" or a "what"

You could say la cosa importante "the important thing"... or you can say lo importante "what's important"; la cosa más importante "the most important thing" or lo más importante "what's most important"

lo is a kind of grammatical shortcut for not having to use a longer phrase or specify what you're talking about; it's the "what" or "the thing"... absent of gender or plurality

-

The only bit of weirdness where you can't totally take it as a "what" is when you have expressions of "enough"

These really only happen with bastante or suficiente/suficientemente (which are interchangeable)

As in: no soy lo bastante listo/a "I'm not smart enough"; more literally "I am not what is sufficiently smart"

You see this with lots of expressions... for example, ser lo suficientemente bueno/a "to be good enough", no estar lo bastante frío/a "not cold enough", or something like dormir lo suficiente "to sleep enough"

Expressions of "enough" use lo a lot to qualify amounts and adjectives; sometimes with como para "to be able to do something" like... lo bastante listo/a como para saber "smart enough to (be able to) know"

This last part of lo is something you get used to with time because it doesn't always feel entirely natural (or, at least, that's how I feel as a native English speaker)

[spanishskulduggery]

Why!?

Vengo aunque no tengo dinero.

I’ll come even though I don’t have any money. (Fact: I know I don’t)

Vengo aunque no tenga dinero.

I’ll come even if I don’t have any money. (I don’t know if I have any).

The first is indicative, the second is subjunctive. There are three "moods" in Spanish that encompass the tenses themselves. Indicative mood is basic statements and has the majority of tenses, subjunctive has present subjunctive as well as imperfect subjunctive [and future subjunctive though it's more antiquated now], and then there's imperative mood which is commands.

Moods in Spanish are "modes", showing how Spanish can be used

Tenses are "times", showing when specific grammar can be used - usually past [preterite, imperfect], present, and future [future, conditional]

~

aunque generally means "though" or "although", made up of "even/yet + that", but the translation differs in English depending on whether it's indicative mood or subjunctive mood

aunque in indicative means "although" or "though"

aunque in subjunctive means "even if" or "even though"

-

Indicative mood is a very broad term in Spanish. It has the majority of all tenses in it. It's used for basic statements that are pretty much always declarative statements or based in the realm of certainty - things that did happen, things you're sure happened, things that most likely happened

Subjunctive mood deals with doubts, uncertainty, hypotheticals, contrary to fact statements ["if I were" statements] unlikely supposition

...and it also deals with requests, and one subject acting on another like impositions of will [I want you to do this, I demand that you do that, etc.]. Subjunctive also has a few specific clauses, but that's a separate thing.

If you're seeing something used with subjunctive and it could be either indicative or subjunctive like si "if" or aunque then it's a matter of context

aunque es cierto "although it's true", "even though it is true" - a fact

aunque sea cierto "even if that is true" - possibly untrue, possibly contrary to fact

...Subjunctive comes across as very doubtful, though in this case it is more necessary because aunque sea is like Schrodinger's cat it might be true, it might not be true, it might exist, it might not exist, so it's "even if"

Indicative deals more in established facts and things that have noticeably happened or will happen in all likelihood

[ramosotero]

so i'm reading this interesting book about the history of the spanish language through the people who were important in its development (will probably do a full review when i finish) and right now i'm on the part about different orthographies proposed in the americas. the author gives an example of andrés bello's proposed orthography (who, if you don't recognize him, is known for many things including being bolívar's teacher for a bit but like generally important to the independence era of latin american history)

anyway, the author wrote a whole paragraph in the proposed orthography and i just think it's fun to look at so i'm copying it here

"La ortografía de Bello no era mui diferente de la qe oi estamos aqostrumbrados a usar. Si este libro se ubiera impresa en ella usted se abría echo enseguida, en dos o tres pájinas, a sus partiqularidades, qe tampoco son tantas. Le resultaría ziertamente rrara y qaprichosa en un prinzipio, pero todo se abría rresuelto qon fazilidad, qomo imajino qe no abrá tenido muchas difiqultades para seguir este párrafo. Si qiere qe le sea sinzero, personalmente -salvo en lo de la q- me agrada más la ortografía qe se inventó Bello qe la seguida rregularmente a lo largo del presente libro. Qon la venia de la Aqademia. Por eso no me e rresistido a esqribir estas líneas. Esqritas qedan."

its just so fun and wild like. could you imagine if we wrote like that today? what a world

[ramosotero]

this quiz will tell you where you're from based on your spanish, it's super fun to take and compare so tag your result! it's both for native and non native speakers :)

[jacknosabeleer]

how to find new music in spanish

One of the best ways I've found to find new music in Spanish is through subscribing to different music publications and podcasts, so today I'll link a handful so you can find new music you like!

Radio Garden: This one is not a publication nor anything like that, but rather just a site that lets you listen to radio around the world. Put it in a city and surf through the stations, and you'll surely find something to enjoy.

rock.com.ar: As the name suggests, this is a site from Argentina that discusses rock music. They've got a ton of articles, and as a bonus, they've even got a bunch of podcasts.

Je Ne Sais Pop: News on the music world, but from what I gather, can get a bit more of a gossipy tone to it. Still worth it for the Canción del Día.

Radio Menea: A podcast in English done by two friends who bring music in Spanish to fit a theme each episode. I've found some of my favorite songs EVER here. The two friends have different tastes, so there's a variety of things.

Alt.Latino: NPR's program in English on Latinx arts and culture. I really like the depth of each episode.

Al Borde: A bilingual site with articles on music of the Spanish speaking world. Based out of SoCal.

RYM en Español: Not a site but a forum, part of RateYourMusic where people discuss their favorites in Spanish. The discussion isn't limited to music in Spanish, but often goes that way.

Rolling Stone: Just like the site in English! There are four editions, one for Colombia, one for Mexico, one for Spain, and one for Argentina. I've linked the Colombian version, but you can easily change it at the top of the page.

And of course, don't forget to check out Spotify official playlists every so often.

And that's it for now! Hope it helps you find an album or track you love!

[white-mexicant]

Por v. Para simplified

Hey y’all! One of the hardest parts about learning Spanish for me was the difference between por and para. It is similar to the verbs ser and estar yet a little more tough; the English idea of being is one word whereas the Spanish idea of being is two words. Same with the English idea of “for,” there are two words for that equivalent idea in Spanish.

Por is indication for cause or motive behind a verb. Para is indication for purpose or aim behind a verb. Por, or the cause, is the action that occurs before the result. Para, or the purpose, is a little more tricky. The action will occur after the result or indicates a recipient.

Here are some examples!! Isaías estaba nervioso por la entrevista de trabajo. Le pedí horas extras a mi jefe para pagar los regalos de Navidad.

Isaías was nervous before the event. I asked my boss for overtime in order to afford Christmas gifts.

Here are some extra Spanish words that represent either cause (por) or purpose (para) Por                              Para porque                        a fin de por eso                       con el fin de por lo tanto puesto que ya que como

[mea-lingua]

Insta Accounts for Learning French / Spanish / Mandarin

FRENCH

@all.french -

Posts short stories / audio clips with French & English subtitles on screen

@french.toons -

Plays cartoon clips in French followed by the same clip in English

@lefrancaisaveclesmachin -

Posts reels consisting of a vocab word and example of it used in a sentence (cover slang and common expressions)

@fa_johan -

Posts language learning tips and reels on vocab words, all explained in French (suitable for more intermediate learners)

@linguiswaps_french -

Same as above, posts reels explaining vocab words and expressions in context, all in French

SPANISH

@espamundi -

(🇪🇸) Mainly makes reels on common grammar structures and text posts on common idioms

@spanishgitana -

(🇪🇸) Posts Spanish listening practice reels, using props and ‘acting out actions’ for visual support

@kylah__williams -

Posts mini vlog-like reels, switching between Spanish and English, and displaying vocab words on screen as she uses them

@howtospanish -

(🇲🇽) Posts a variety of content formats (vlog-like reels, audio lip-syncs, vocab in context) with Spanish & English subtitles on screen

@mexicanfluency -

(🇲🇽) Posts reels consisting of a vocab word and example of it used in a sentence (cover slang and common expressions)

MANDARIN

@easymandarinteacher -

Posts mini convos and interviews, chatting about different topics with others (include Mandarin & English subtitles on screen)

@chinesezerotohero -

Posts reels consisting of vocab and of it used in sentences and movie / TV show clips (cover common expressions)

@learnchinesewithun -

Posts mini clips from movies in Mandarin with pinyin, Mandarin character, and English subtitles on screen (include clip breakdowns to focus on major vocab words or expressions)

@voice.mq -

Posts short citations, read out loud to offer vocab learning, reading, and listening practice

@chinese.access -

Make text posts consisting of a vocab word and example of it used in a sentence (cover slang and common expressions)

———

I recently stumbled upon some accounts for Chinese learning on insta (see above) and found that reels really are nice, bite-sized information sharing formats. I mostly follow accounts that teach words in context through reels for optimal language acquisition. I also searched for French and Spanish ones with a similar ‘in-context’ format. Feel free to add to the list above if you have recommendations! I recommend making a second insta account for following language-related pages if you use your current insta to keep up with friends and don’t want to inundate your feed with little bite-sized learning posts.

[goodplan-iguess]

[goodplan-iguess]

[goodplan-iguess]

[goodplan-iguess]

[goodplan-iguess]

[goodplan-iguess]

[jacknosabeleer]

listening practice in spanish

Hi everyone! Here are some different podcasts and youtube channels that would be great for intermediate learners.. Some content is made for learners specifically, while others are directed at natives but are great for learning!

Dreaming Spanish: This youtube channel has been really popularly lately. It's based around comprehensible input and has each video categorized by level, so this would be good for beginners as well.

No hay tos: A podcast for learners where the hosts talk exclusively in Spanish. The topics are wide ranging, and every so often they do a special episode dedicated to an aspect of the language itself.

Españolistos: This podcast features a Colombian teacher talking about varied topics with her American husband. Many episodes are dedicated to tackling aspects of the language or discussing things related to different Latin American cultures, but there are other topics of discussion as well.

Radio Ambulante: This one is actually made for native speakers, but it's great for getting a wide exposure to different types of Spanish. I believe they also have transcripts available that can make following along a bit easier.

El hilo: Similar vein as Radio Ambulante (and same creators). More focused on current events.

Hoy Hablamos: This podcast comes out daily and talks about a whole range of current topics and things related to the language. Since it comes out daily, there are a TON of episodes.

Duolingo Spanish Podcast: On the easier side of things because it uses a lot of English, but this is just random stories made by Duolingo. I loved it when I first started out learning. Also, I just checked and they're on season 13 now, that's crazy! They had just gotten to season 3 when I was listening!

Español con Juan: I personally didn't use this for learning but I have heard a lot of good things about it. Similar to most other podcasts on the list (talking about random stories)

News in Slow Spanish: A news podcast that unfortunately requires a subscription for the full version. They also have a version for Latin American Spanish.

Linguriosa: A youtube channel that explores lots of topics related to the history and usage of the Spanish language. I really like her style of presenting, and most of her videos are subtitled.

[spanishskulduggery]

Hi! I'm a beginner in Spanish and I have a question about Encanto there's a scene where someone says miercoles when something bad happens but why Wednesday?

It's the equivalent of saying "shoot" instead of "shit"

miércoles "Wednesday" starts off very similarly to mierda "shit"

It's very common in some places in Latin America, and I think probably the best known example of it is in the song Camisa negra by Juanes

In linguistic terms it's called a "minced oath"... a way to swear without actually swearing

[spanishskulduggery]

Other well-known “minced oaths” just off the top of my head:

jope, jopeta, jolines... instead of joder

ostras (lit. “oysters”) instead of hostia in Spain [while hostia means “communion wafer” there are many expressions in Spain involving hostia used in a vulgar way; basically blasphemy in a cursing way]

caray or caramba which come across like “wow” or “whoa” or “geez” depending on context... instead of carajo which is more like “fuck” or a vulgar exclamation

Pretty much every language has a way to swear without swearing