Language Learners

a profile of a man with lots of squiggly arrows coming out of his mouth

Spanish word of the week: charlatán

charlatán ADJECTIVE chatty If you translate charlatán as it sounds you might think someone described that way was a bit suspect. It can have the same meaning as in English, but it’s often used just to describe someone who talks a lot: Estaba charlatana y alegre. She was chatty… Read More
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Spanish word of the week: despertar

despertar VERB to wake up Despertar means to wake … up, that is when you wake someone else up. In other words it’s transitive. Despiértame a las ocho, mamá. Wake me up at eight, mom. If you want to describe waking up of your own accord — in other… Read More
several traditional loaves of bread

Spanish word of the week: pan

el pan NOUN bread; loaf pan integral wholeweat bread Compré dos panes. I bought two loaves. What do you think of when you think of bread? To many Spanish speakers, regular pan is a crusty loaf of what English speakers would call French bread. A chunk… Read More
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Spanish word of the week: cien

cien ADJECTIVE, PRONOUN a hundred Cien is the shortened version of ciento and both mean a hundred. Which one you need to use depends on the words that come before or after. You use cien in front of a noun, as in the title of the famous… Read More

Asking about places to stay in English

Our last article showed you how you could tell people your name and how to say what you do. Moving the conversation further along, a simple way to ask for information about places to stay or live is to start your sentence with Is … ? Is it expensive?… Read More

Telling people your name and what you do in English

Our last article helped you to talk about places to live or to stay when you are away from home. When you are looking for somewhere to live or stay, you may have to talk about yourself. To say what your name is, use I’m … or My name’s …… Read More
Woman sitting on a grey sofa taking to her friend sitting opposite her

Learning German: Making sure you’ve understood

When learning a language, our understanding of what’s being said normally comes before our ability to be able to speak the language and become confident enough to contribute to the conversation. The use of gestures and visual clues often allow us to get the gist of a sentence. That said,… Read More
4 friends eating pizza around a table

Learning Italian: Making sure you’ve understood!

When learning a language, our understanding of what’s being said normally comes before our ability to be able to speak the language and become confident enough to contribute to the conversation. That said, there will be times when you might have a problem understanding what’s been said or may not… Read More
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