Christmas bonus (given to everyone in Mexico by law, regardless of religion)
árbol de Navidad
Christmas tree
bacalao noruego (m)
Cod fish from Norway, typical Spanish Christmas dish. If it's not from Norway, it's fake.
Día de Reyes
January 6th. Epiphany.
envolver
to wrap
escarcha (f) (tree decoration)
tinsel
esfera navideña(f) (tree decoration)
Christmas globes, balls
felicidades (f), felicitaciones (f)
congratulations
Feliz Navidad
Merry Chrismas
heno (m)
Spanish moss
intercambio de regalos
Gift exchange, secret Santa.
Misa (f) de Gallo
Midnight Mass
muñeco (m) de nieve
snowman
Nacimiento (m), pesebre (m), Belén (m, SP)
creche, Nativity scene
Natividad (f)
nativity
nieve (f)
snow
Nochebuena (f)
Christmas Eve
Nochevieja (f) Lit: Old night
New Year's Eve
posada (f) (event, party)
See below
propósitos de año nuevo (purposes)
New Year's resolutions
regalo (m)
gift
reno (m)
reindeer
Reyes Magos (m, pl)
the Three Wise Men, the Three Kings.
rompope (m)
Mild alcoholic beverage similar to eggnog. In Hispanic countries, It's not unusual to see kids drinking rompope on Christmas.
Sidra (f)
Mild alcoholic beverage similar to apple cider. In Hispanic countries, It's not unusual to see kids drinking sidra on Christmas.
trineo (m)
sleigh
villancicos (m pl)
Christmas carols
(From Wordreference) Posada: A popular celebration in Mexico and Central America between December 16 and Christmas Day to commemorate the journey of Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem. It consists of a procession of models of religious figures that people carry on their shoulders, asking for shelter as they go by. The figures have their origin in an Aztec celebration, adapted to Christian tradition. Generally one family takes charge of organizing the models, and offers its house as the last of nine posadas. Other groups form, one of which goes from house to house with the figures, asking for shelter. It is turned away at each house. At the last house, the figures are taken in and put on an altar. The celebrations continue with food and drink, singing and dancing.
Spanish Christmas Carol. La Marimorena. Modern Version.
Last night on Twitter, Mexicans were brainstorming about Mexican Jobs. Obviously, we all were joking. Here are some of them. Many of them are not just mexican; they are quite universal.
Job
Approximate literal translation (what you might think you actually heard)
Explanation
bolero
what?
shoeshine person
cácaro
what?
person who handles the projector at a movie theater
carterista
wallet specialist?
pickpocket
cerillo
kitchen match
Person, usually a kid, who packs your groceries at supermarkets for a little tip. In NY, usually the cashier does it.
chacha
from muchacha, young woman.
maid (may be pejorative)
chatarrero
chatarra = junk
person who recycles junk
franelero
franela = flannel
squiggy man
niño gritón (de la lotería)
lotto shouter kid
A tradition in Mexico since 1770: Kids who announce the jackpot winning numbers.
huesero
from hueso =bone
chiropractor
junior
junior
rich dad's son
luchador social
social wrestler
social activist
mil usos
thousand uses
handyman, gofer
monero
mono, monito (MX) = figure
cartoonist, caricaturist
ni ni
Originally from Spain. Neither Nor.
Person who is neither employed nor a student.
organillero
what?
organ grinder (music)
padrote
big papi
pimp
pepenadores
what?
scavengers (garbage)
raspados
scraped
shaved ice
revendedor
reseller
scalper
saca borrachos
drunk customer bouncer
bar bouncer
tendero
from tienda, store
store clerk
viejo del costal
old man with a sac
Buggie man
viene viene
it comes, it comes (from venir, to come).
person who helps a driver park his/her car in a tight space
Thanks to hundreds of people who worked hard for about an hour on Twitter.
Niños gritones de la lotería nacional. A tradition since 1770 as Real Lotería de la Nueva España. (Royal Lottery of the New Spain -Mexico-). Watch video at 4m00s. and at 6m00s.
It's been many years since, out of politically correctness, Newyorkers stopped saying Merry Christmas. This is something I really miss from Mexico and all Spanish speaking countries. We always say Feliz Navidad, not Happy Holidays. appyalidays! appyalidays! appyalidays! :(
But one store just managed to say Merry Christmas, and in Spanish! I think it's valid, because in Spanish we don't say Happy Holidays but Feliz Navidad. If somebody says Felices Fiestas it sounds dumb, weird, and most importantly, fake. Not only that, when I go to a store and a Hispanic cashier says Felices Fiestas to me, it sounds insulting. Better don't say anything.
So I am quite pleased because Duane Reade printed this:
Perfect thing. In English, stores should continue with their fake Happy Holidays if they want, but in Spanish they should switch back to Feliz Navidad.
(Still a month to go, but in the U.S., Christmas season starts much earlier.)
Thank you Duane Read, even if it's just a tortilla chips ad.
This is how we say careful, don't fall, watch out! don't burn yourself, etc. What we usually do, is converting sentences like these: te vas a caer, te vas a quemar, se te va a escapar, to the negative comand form: no te vayas a caer, no te vayas a quemar, no se te vaya a escapar.
English equivalent
Explanation
estudia. No vayas a reprobar el examen.
Careful. Study, don't fail the exam.
reprobar el examen = to fail the exam
no se te vaya a manchar la camisa
careful, don't stain your shirt
mancharse = to get stained. camisa = shirt. te (indirect object pronoun) indicates possession.
no se te vaya a olvidar la cartera
careful, don't forget your wallet.
te indicates possession. Olvidar = to forget.
no se te vayan a perder las llaves.
Careful, don't lose your keys.
no te vayas a caer
careful, don't fall down.
caer = to fall, caerse = to fall down (accident).
no te vayas a quemar
watch out, don't burn yourself,
quemarse = to get burned
que no se le vaya a olvidar pagar la luz.
(Hopefully) he won't forget to pay the electricity bill.
la luz = light, (utility) electricity
recuérdale. No se le vaya a olvidar llamarme
Remind him not to forget to call me.
recuérdale = tú imperative o recordar, to remind. llamar = to call.
No te vayas a caer.
Spoiler: No, he is not going to fall down because it's just a trick
possibly short or an euphemism for guardaespaldas, bodyguard.
popote (m.) (MX)
what?
drinking straw.
Aquí hay gato encerrado (y enojado)
Aquí hay gato encerrado (y asustado)
Remember: MX is Mexico only. So if you watch a Mexican telenovela you'll need them. It's very helpful to do some web searches of these expressions/words for examples on how to use them.
This applies only to English speakers. This is a very common pronunciation error, dólar Vs. dolor. What happens is that most students pronounce the word dólar, dollar, the same as dolor, pain.
You mean this:
but we picture this:
Only the context tells us what you really mean. Americans use the schwa sound for the a in dólar. Use an Spanish a sound instead, not a schwa. Also, dólar has an accent on the o, so the stressed syllable is the first one. In dolor, the stressed syllable is the second one.
I know, I know. We, Spanish speaking people, make many of these mistakes in English.
10 expressions that are not so easy to figure out (11)
Here are 10 common random idioms you may have trouble with if you hear them for the first time:
Expression
Approximate literal translation (what you might think you actually heard)
Explanation
de nuez (MX)
of nut
modification of de nuevo, again. Playful.
dolaruco (MX)
what?
modification of dólar, dollar. Playful.
cuatacho, cuatacha (MX)
what?
Modification of cuate, cuata, friend. Ese cuate = that guy.
billullo
what?
modification of billetes, dinero, money. The Royal Academy says it's from Chile, but in very old Mexican movies they used it before! An actor called Tintán, for example, used this word in movies older than 50 years now.
me duele la patrulla (MX)
I have pain in the patrol car
patrulla, modification of pata, leg. Playful.
color de hormiga brava (MX)
vicious ant color (which means the big, red ants that can bite).
things are getting intense, difficult
dar el pitazo
to give the whistle
to tip someone with information
OVNI
what?
Objeto Volador No Identificado = UFO
pelarse (MX)
to peel oneself
to escape, to run away. él se peló. He escaped, He ran away.
mandar a la goma (MX)
to send someone to the rubber eraser
to send someone packing
¡No! I'm not telling you to use these words/expressions. Some of them are very informal, but you will hear them if you watch telenovelas, or sitcoms, for example.
Many students (and natives) wonder why we say el agua (water), but in plural we say las aguas (waters).
Agua is a feminine noun, and yet, we say el agua, so most people think we should say la agua instead.
Most feminine nouns beginning with a stressed a sound (including ha) take the masculine article. This avoids el-agua sounding like la-agua. The sound of la-agua is considered harsh. In the plural, the s of las or unas breaks the cacophony (harsh or discordant
sound of words or phrases. Cacofonía. Disonancia.)
Here is a list I compiled myself containing most words
obeying this rule. Many of these words are not commonly used. I will mark in red the most important ones. Again, regardless of the masculine article in their singular form, all these nouns are feminine:
el acta
las actas
document, report, certificate
el afta
las aftas
blister, cold sore
el ágata
las ágatas
agate (gem)
el agua
las aguas
water, waters, currents
el águila
las águilas
eagle
el ala
las alas
wing
el alba
las albas
dawn, rare in plural
el alca
las alcas
an arctic species of bird
el alga
las algas
seaweed
el álgebra
las álgebras
algebra. rare in plural.
el alma
las almas
soul
el alta
las altas
to be released from hospital, enrollment, registration
el alza
las alzas
rise, increase
el ama
las amas
mistress, housewife
el anca
las ancas
rear legs of some animals
el ancla
las anclas
anchor
el ánfora
las ánforas
amphora
el ánima
las ánimas
soul
el ansa
las ansas
alternate old spelling of "asa"
el ansia
las ansias
anxiety, longing
el anta
las antas
some architectural decoration, tapir
el ara
las aras
altar, honor
el arca
las arcas
chest, safe, ark
el arda
las ardas
old word for "ardilla", squirrel.
el área
las áreas
area
el arma
las armas
arm, weapon
el árnica
las árnicas
arnica (plant)
el arpa
las arpas
harp
el asa
las asas
bag, mug, drawer handle.
el ascua
las ascuas
ember
el asma
las asmas
asthma, rare in plural
el aspa
las aspas
blender blades, propellers, mill arm
el asta
las astas
pole, mast, horn
el aula
las aulas
classroom
el ave
las aves
birds, as opposed to mammals, reptiles, etc.
el haba
las habas
broad bean
el habla
las hablas
speech. Rare in plural.
el hacha
las hachas
axe
el hada
las hadas
fairy
el halda
las haldas
some kind of packaging fabric
el hambre
las hambres
hunger, rare in plural
el hampa
las hampas
underworld, crime, rare in plural
el harca
las harcas
some military term used in Spain
el harda
las hardas
alternate spelling of "farda", a sac. Also, old form for arda and ardilla (squirrel).
el harpa
las harpas
alternate spelling of arpa.
Exceptions:
La arte, el arte, los
artes, las artes (art; both genders)
Letters are feminine for the most part
La A, las As (the Spanish name of the
letter "a", las aes, is the plural form according to the RAE))
La alfa, las alfas (the Greek letter alpha)
La hache, las haches (the Spanish name of the
letter “h”)
El álef, La álef, Los álefs, las álefs (both genders. Hebrew's aleph)
Various nouns, some coming from
adjectives, describing female people or animals
La árabe, las árabes (a female Arab
person)
La árbitra, las árbitras (a female referee)
La aria, las arias (feminine for Aryan)
La asna, las asnas (female donkey. Some scholars prefer "El asno
hembra" (female donkey), but it's way too formal)
La ánade, las ánades (female variety of duck)
La áspid (female asp)
Notice that compounds do not
necessarily follow the rule because the stress falls on a different
syllable:
El aguardiente,
la aguamala
As of yet, not many scholars
agree on what to do in cases like these; I would go for the feminine
article: El hábil hada or La hábil hada. Un ágil águila or Una ágil águila
When the word is inflected,
the stress moves to a different syllable so the masculine article is
no longer necessary:
La agüita,
la anclota, la alita, la aguilota
In this table I used the definite article, but you can use the
indefinite article as well, i.e. un, unas.
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Actually, remember this please
English native speakers who are learning almost any other language, including Spanish, please watch out.
Your word actual has a very different meaning in almost any other language.
Spanish
actual
current, up-to-the-minute, happening at this time
Portuguese
atual
current, up-to-the-minute, happening at this time
French
actuel
current, up-to-the-minute, happening at this time
German
aktuell
current, up-to-the-minute, happening at this time
Italian
attuale
current, up-to-the-minute, happening at this time
Romanian
actual
current, up-to-the-minute, happening at this time
Polish
aktualnie
current, up-to-the-minute, happening at this time
Turkish
aktüalite
current, up-to-the-minute, happening at this time
Czech
aktuální
current, up-to-the-minute, happening at this time
etc. etc. etc.
I don't know how the English language got this one wrong, but please students take this into account and don't say actualmente for actually, or actual to mean actual or real in English..
10 expressions that are not so easy to figure out (10)
Here are 10 common random idioms you may have trouble with if you hear them for the first time. This time all of them from Mexico, but they are understood in places where Mexican television is shown.
Expression
Approximate literal translation (what you might think you actually heard)
Explanation
el acordeón (MX)
accordion
it is an accordion, but that's how we call in Mexico a cheat sheet. There are two reasons, 1) they are folded like accordions, and 2) acordarse is a verb that means to remember. Me acordé means I remembered, for example.
los paracaidistas (MX)
parachutist
Besides it's literal meaning, that's how we call unwanted or unwelcome tenants, or squatters. They just land and stay there.
agarrarse de los pelos, ellas siempre andan agarradas de los pelos (MX)
to grab each other from the hair
this is how we refer to a cat fight.
estar de pelos (MX)
to be of hairs
to be cool, great, awesome, wonderful
echar la sal (MX)
to put salt in it
to jinx something or someone. ¡no me eches la sal! Don't jinx me!. Estar salado means to be jinxed.
la neta (MX)
net (as in net weight)
the truth, the real thing.
sepa la bola (MX)
may the ball know
who knows? (used in sitcoms, for example). It's often shortened to sepa.
dar en la torre (MX)
to hit in the tower (probably meaning in the head).
to ruin someone or something, to beat up, to defeat
¿a poco? (MX)
to little? to few? at few? (it cannot really be translated)
it's an expression of disbelief. It's like you must be kidding.
ponerse la piel chinita (MX)
to get a Chinese skin.
chino in this case is a texture, not a nationality. It means to get the goose bumps (En inglés es piel de ganso).
This is a barber shop called De Pelos (awesome, marvelous), in the Mexican barrio in the Upper East Side, on Lexington above 100th St.
Today is 25 years of the strongest earthquake I have experienced, it was 8.1. I was in the school and I thought the kid sitting behind me was moving my chair with his foot, until the windows started to fall off: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-9QCEXzLM8
The celebration will be tonight. The ceremony was prepared by the organizers who prepared the opening of the Sydney Olympic games. You can watch it live tonight on all Spanish channels in the United States. CNN Español, Univision, Galavision, Telemundo. Many local channels available through Justin TV http://www.caposguanatos.com/ I hope the narcos leave us alone today. Galavision should be the best. Univision shows the ceremony in Los Angeles, but people in New York don't care about what is going on in Los Angeles, but in Mexico.
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