by Andrew | Jun 13, 2017 | Learn Spanish for Real, Spanish
1. En pelotas This literally means “in balls” (hence the photo) per the modern definition of “pelota”, but that’s not what it refers to at all (it’s not using the modern definition of “pelota”). Contrary to what many... Read more
by Andrew | Sep 18, 2016 | Learn Spanish for Real, Spanish
I remember talking with a language exchange partner years ago and I wanted to say that something was, as we colloquially say in English, a “pain in the neck”, so I made the mistake most inexperienced language learners make in such situations and just... Read more
by Andrew | Sep 1, 2016 | Learn Spanish for Real, Learn Spanish from Spain, Spain, Spanish
It’s two-for-one day here on How to Learn Spanish! We’re going to cover two phrases in one Learn Spanish for Real post, primarily because they both mean the same thing: something is really far away. For the curious, this is from the Sochi Winter Olympics,... Read more
by Andrew | Aug 31, 2016 | Learn Spanish for Real, Learn Spanish from Spain, Spanish
Literally, it means “this is an armed robbery”, or more colloquially, “this is a stick-up”. An “atraco” is a robbery or hold-up, “mano” as you likely know means “hand” (but note that it’s feminine, so... Read more
by Andrew | Aug 19, 2015 | Learn Spanish for Real, Learn Spanish from Spain
Have you ever heard the expression “throw a shit-fit”? Well, regardless, you do now know how to say that in Spanish! …and apparently it’s available in t-shirt format, as you can see there on the left (that’s what “cabreo de... Read more
by Andrew | Jul 6, 2015 | Learn Spanish for Real, Learn Spanish from Spain
Real quick I just thought I’d share with you an interesting new expression I learned today from one of my Spanish tutors, Silvia (she’s very good, check her out if you’re in the market!), when I realized it would make a great 3rd installment in our... Read more
by Andrew | Nov 16, 2014 | Learn Spanish for Real, Learn Spanish from Spain
Welcome to the second installment of Learn Spanish for Real: Slang, Expressions, and Curse Words! This post will be a sort of continuation on the first one in that we’ll be examining the same sentence from the same video, but a different word. Today’s... Read more
by Andrew | Nov 5, 2014 | Learn Spanish for Real, Spanish
This is the first in a new series of posts I’m going to be doing called “Learn Spanish for Real” where I’ll teach the sort of Spanish that’s commonly used, that you need to know in order to be able to speak like and with a native, but... Read more
by Andrew | Mar 27, 2011 | Popular, Spanish
Every language has a short list (a few dozen or so) of standard “answers” or “responses” to indicate commonly expressed sentiments (e.g yes, no, maybe, I don’t know, good luck, etc.) and knowing these and being able to whip the correct... Read more
by Andrew | Feb 16, 2011 | Spanish
An extremely common problem amongst people learning a new language is smoothness, that ability to keep talking without herky-jerky stop-and-starts in their sentences (lots of awkward silences and “ummms” while they try to think of the right word), and a... Read more
That must mean you like what you're reading! You're finding it interesting, useful, helpful!