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Indian Traditional Antique Gold Necklace with Peacock Design

Spanish word of the week: collar

This week’s Spanish word of the week is el collar NOUN necklace; collar Collar covers two different English concepts: necklace and collar (There are lots of words in Spanish which similarly cover more than one English concept): Llevaba un collar de rubíes imponente. She was… Read More
recipe card and some vegetables

Spanish word of the week: receta

This week’s Spanish word of the week is la receta NOUN recipe; prescription The ‘false friend’ that we will be looking at today is receta. In English it means either recipe or prescription. Here are some examples to help you use it… Read More
image of little girl praying on peach background

Spanish word of the week: ojalá

ojalá EXCLAMATION I hope; if only This is one of the many Spanish words which originate from Arabic (O Allah!). Originally it might have been used in fervent prayer, but now it means little more than I hope or the slightly more emotional if only. Don’t forget the upside… Read More
british road sign indicating a warning to take care

Spanish word of the week: cuidado

el cuidado NOUN care One of the basic meanings of cuidado is care: Esta blusa hay que lavarla con cuidado. This blouse needs to be washed with care. The phrase con cuidado often translates as carefully: Lo abrió con cuidado. He opened it carefully. And you can intensify cuidado… Read More
conceptual diagram man and a woman with ? instead of heads

Spanish word of the week: parecer

parecer VERB to think Parecer is a very common way of expressing what you think. You use it in the structure me parece que …, word for word ‘it seems to me that’: Me parece que no va a venir. I don’t think he’s going to come. As you… Read More
a little girl shrugging her shoulders with arms indicating 'I don't know'

Spanish word of the week: importar

importar VERB to mind; to matter importar is a very useful word to describe how people feel about something. No me importa tener que levantarme temprano. I don’t mind having to get up early. Apart from being used with the infinitive, as in the previous example, you… Read More
a small shoot poking through soil

Spanish word of the week: principio

el principio NOUN beginning When you want to talk about the beginning of something, principio is one way of saying it: El principio del libro es muy interesante. The beginning of the book is very interesting. desde el principio hasta el fin from beginning to end… Read More
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
woman stretching on her bed in strong sunlight

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
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