The Spanish Garden

Hello, welcome to my blog.

[thespanishgarden]

Welcome to My Blog!

Hello, welcome to my blog. My name is nellymoon (she/her) and I am a spanish language learner. I began to study spanish during the Covid-19 pandemic and absolutely fell in love with the learning process. This is the first public social media account I have ever created-so I am bit nervous! I want to highlight that I am by no means a fluent spanish speaker or expert to the language, so it is quite possible I will commit errors and mistakes, which is completely normal! I created this blog as a fun hobby and to function as a digital learning notebook.

I hope this blog can help and encourage others on their spanish journey. 🧡

Would like to donate to this blog?

You can find my ko-fi account here: Ko-fi.com/nelly47574.

IMPORTANT ❗️: This blog is centered on Mexican and Latin American Spanish.

[thespanishgarden]

I initially predicted Spain 🇪🇸 to win the Cup, and it appears my prediction was right.

Congratulations to Spain!!

But it absolutely broke my heart to see Messi crying…💔

[thespanishgarden]

🇲🇽 How to Say “Chalk” in Spanish? El Gis o La Tiza? 🤔

The word for “chalk” in Spanish is packed with history.

How so?

Well, in Mexico, before the Spanish Conquest, the word for “chalk” in the nahuatl language was “tizatl” which translated to “white earth or white clay”.

In Spain, the word originally used for “chalk” was “gis” which stemmed from the Latin word “gypsum”.

During the Spanish Conquest, the word “gis” was naturally introduced to the native Mexican population. Likewise, the word “tizatl” was introduced to the Spanish.

Overtime, “tizatl” become “tiza” and the Spanish brought the word back to Spain, replacing “gis”.

In Mexico, the opposite happened. The word “tizatl” disappeared and was replaced by the word “gis”.

This means that Mexico uses the Latin word for chalk, and Spain uses a word derived from nahautl for chalk! This is a perfect example of a phenomenon called linguistic borrowing.

Hope you enjoyed the history lesson 😆

[thespanishgarden]

Argentina I knew I could count on you!!! 🇦🇷

Congrats!!

May the best team win! 🏆 🇪🇸 vs. 🇦🇷

[thespanishgarden]

What do you mean France 🇫🇷 is out!!!

So happy for Spain! 🇪🇸 but I thought it was going to be a close game 😮

[thespanishgarden]

You did your best Norway 🇳🇴 Be proud!

Argentina 🇦🇷…you know what you need to do 😈

[thespanishgarden]

🇲🇽 Spanish Word Wheel - Cacahuate 🥜

The word for “peanuts” in Spanish has a unique history. In Mexico, the word “cacahuate” comes from the nahuatl word “tlālcacahuatl” and it translates to “cacao of the earth”.

Peanut Butter - Crema de Cacahuate or Mantequilla de Cacahuate

Cacahuatero | Cacahuatera - Peanut Seller or Someone Who Grows Peanuts

Cacahuatería - A Store or Business That Sells Peanuts

Encacahuatado | a - To Be Filled With Peanuts

*There is a very popular Mexican dish called “mole/pollo encacahuatado” which consists of chicken smothered in a thick spicy peanut sauce.

Tip: Be aware that the word “cacahuate” is unique to Mexico, Honduras, and other parts of Central America. South America has different words used for peanuts, one of them being “maní”coming from the Taino language.

In the United States, you are definitely going to hear the word “cacahuates” more often than “maní” but they are both referring to the same thing, peanuts!

[Gif not mine]

[thespanishgarden]

Mexico 🇲🇽 eliminated from the Cup… 😔

Norway…take England OUT!! 🙏

[thespanishgarden]

Legal Vocabulary in Spanish 👩‍💼⚖️

Acquittal - La Absolución | La Exculpación

Alibi - La Coartada

Appearance in Court - La Comparencia [The act of showing up to court]

Bail - La Fianza

Breach of Contract - Incumplimiento (De Contrato)

Circumstantial - Indiciaria (circumstantial evidence - prueba indicaria)

Confession - La Confesión

Death Penality - La Pena de Muerte

Eye Witness - Testigo Ocular | Testigo Presencial

Felony - Delito Grave

Jury - El Jurado

Lawsuit - La Demanda | El Pleito

Lawyer - El Abogado | La Abogada or El Letrado | La Letrada

Life Sentence - La Cadena Perpetua | La Cadena a Perpetuidad

Misdemeanor - Delito Menor | Delito Leve

On Bail - Bajo Fianza

Repeat Offender - El | La Reincidente [An individual who has been convicted repeatedly of the same crime]

Under Oath - Bajo Juramento

Your Honor - Su Señoría [Used to address a Judge]

[thespanishgarden]

🇲🇽 Spanish Phrase Guide - Echar La Sal 🧂

Echar La Sal - To Jinx [Someone or Something]

• Don’t say that something could go wrong on my vacation. Don’t jinx me!

• No digas que algo podría salir mal en mi viaje. No me eches la sal!

Explanation: To “echar la sal” literally means to “throw the salt” and it can be used to express that someone or something has been jinxed. To “jinx” someone or something is to place bad luck on a supposed positive event.

If you want to read more about the expression, check out: https://curiositiesofpuebla.com/2017/06/01/mexican-superstitions-echar-la-sal/

Mexican Superstitions – Echar la Sal (to throw salt)

This is part of a collection of some of the richest Mexican traditions (chock-full of expressions) that so many, including myself now, cheri

[thespanishgarden]

Spanish Phrase Guide - A Ciencia Cierta

A Ciencia Cierta - For Sure or For Certain or For a Fact…

For example:

• Nobody knows for sure what happened that day.

• Nadie sabe a ciencia cierta qué pasó aquel día.

• We believe the criminal escaped to Canada, but we don’t know for certain.

• Creemos que el criminal huyó a Canadá, pero no lo sabemos a ciencia cierta.

• I know for a fact that Miguel was at the party.

• Sé a ciencia cierta que Miguel estuvo en la fiesta.

Explanation: The phrase “a ciencia cierta” is used to express that something is known or not known with absolute certainty. It is quite formal, so you will not typically hear this phrase in everyday conversation. You will probably hear this phrase in business, politics, law, or in a extremely formal setting. It is often paired with the verb saber (to know).

[thespanishgarden]

Grammar Notebook - To “Go Unnoticed” in Spanish

To say that “[someone] or [something] went unnoticed” you can use the following structures:

pasar + desapercibido/a

or

pasar + inadvertido/a

For example:

• Her efforts did not go unnoticed.

• Sus esfuerzos no pasaron desapercibidos.

• He went unnoticed in the large crowd.

• Pasó inadvertido entre la gran multitud.

Extra: I would say that “pasar desapercibido/a” is more common than “pasar inadvertido/a” although both are synonymous.

[thespanishgarden]

Spanish Phrase Guide - Llorar A Moco Tendido 😭

Llorar A Moco Tendido - To Cry One’s Eyes Out or To Cry One’s Heart Out

• She cried her eyes out after her boyfriend broke up with her.

• Lloró a moco tendido después de que su novio rompiera con ella.

• The boy cried his heart out when his dog ran away.

• El niño lloró a moco tendido cuando su perro se escapó.

Explanation: The phrase translates to “to cry with snot hanging down” and is used to describe a person crying uncontrollably with tears and snot falling down their face, a very messy cry.

[Gif not mine]

[thespanishgarden]

Spanish Word Wheel - La Filatelia

La Filatelia - Stamp Collecting or Philately

I recently came across the word “filatelia” and found out it means “philately” in English which is apparently the formal term for “stamp collecting”.

El/La Filatelista - A Person Who Collects Stamps or Stamp Collector

Filatélico | Filatélica - [Adjective] Related to Stamp Collecting

• He joined a stamp-collecting club.

• Se unió a un club filatélico.

Did any of you guys recognize this Spanish word? I didn’t even know it in English lol

[thespanishgarden]

Spanish Phrase Guide - Ir De La Mano

Ir De La Mano - To Go Hand in Hand [Figurative]

• Hardwork and success go hand in hand.

• El trabajo duro y el éxito van de la mano.

• Crime and proverty go hand in hand.

• El crimen y la probeza van de la mano.

Explanation: To “go hand in hand” means that two things are closely connected, happen together, or complement one another.

[Gif not mine]

[thespanishgarden]

This isn’t related to Spanish kinda but are guys excited for the World Cup? Or am I the only one excited? 😆

Who do you think is going to win the World Cup this year? I have my bets on Spain 🇪🇸 but who knows 🤷‍♀️ (I secretly always wanted to see Japan 🇯🇵 win a Cup….)

Which match or matches are you most excited to watch?

If you don’t mind sharing leave a reply!

⚽️

[thespanishgarden]

Good News & Bad News

Hey everyone 👋

The good news is that I successfully completed the spring semester of my program! Yay!

The bad news is that starting in June I am going to be taking four classes in the summer 😭 Pray for me you guys 🙏

Summer classes are shorter, faster, and more demanding.

Due to my academic and personal schedule I will not have a lot of time to devote to this blog. I will try my best to update, I swear, but to be honest it’s not looking so good.

Anyways, I hope everyone has a wonderful summer ☀️!!