We’ve been very busy for a while, working on projects like updating the Notes in Spanish website to keep it fresh and mobile friendly (important these days!) and more secure.
It’s been a while since we shared our favourite phrases, and here is one that we hear a lot at this time of year when the weather can’t quite make it’s mind up:
Hasta el 40 de mayo no te quites el sayo – Don’t take your raincoat off until May 40th!
This wonderful phrase, straight from the streets of Madrid (so it might not work in South America!) means that until May 40th, so about June 10th, don’t bet on nice weather, it can still be cold… but after June 10th, watch out! ¡Va a hacer muchísimo calor!
Here’s a bit of ‘Love’ Spanish for you, our lovely listeners! We are pretty sure that, like us, you love learning Real Spanish!
El amor es lo único que crece cuando se reparte.
- Antoine Saint-Exupery
¡Te quiero! – Spanish love phrases
I (Ben) remember how odd it was to walk around the streets of Madrid in my first months in Spain many years ago, hearing young couples say to each other ‘Te quiero’… literally meaning ‘I want you!’ This sounded a little strange to be saying to each other in the street all day long, until I discoved that in Spain it simply means, ‘I love you’, and is used (here, at least) much more frequently than ‘te amo’.
Here are a few more Spanish love phrases we like:
Amor a primera vista – Love at first sight
… or more commonly used:
“Lo nuestro fue un flechazo” – For us it was love at first sight
Encontrar pareja – To find a partner
Or much more poetic and romantic:
Encontrar tu media naranja – To find your perfect other half.
Our Love Audios
This is a great week to listen to our love-related audios again!
Ben and Marina talk about how superstitious the Spanish are, and some of Spain’s favourite superstitions.
Get More Out Of Gold Two:
- Get instant access to all 24 Season Two worksheets (with full transcript of the Spanish conversation, useful notes and exercises) in the Gold Season Two Pack in our Store now. You’ll also get 6 Bonus Spanish-boosting Q and A audios, useful links for each episode and more members-only bonuses.
Ben and Marina look at the reading habits of the Spanish, and what it tells us about the Spanish today.
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- Get instant access to all 24 Season Two worksheets (with full transcript of the Spanish conversation, useful notes and exercises) in the Gold Season Two Pack in our Store now. You’ll also get 6 Bonus Spanish-boosting Q and A audios, useful links for each episode and more members-only bonuses.
Ben and Marina try to live a no-impact week, and discover that rubbish is one of the biggest problems in their lives!
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- Get instant access to all 24 Season Two worksheets (with full transcript of the Spanish conversation, useful notes and exercises) in the Gold Season Two Pack in our Store now. You’ll also get 6 Bonus Spanish-boosting Q and A audios, useful links for each episode and more members-only bonuses.
Ben and Marina discuss the reasons for, and attitudes towards, the new speed reduction on Spanish highways, and how it doesn’t fit in with the speed increase on Madrid’s pavements!
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- Get instant access to all 24 Season Two worksheets (with full transcript of the Spanish conversation, useful notes and exercises) in the Gold Season Two Pack in our Store now. You’ll also get 6 Bonus Spanish-boosting Q and A audios, useful links for each episode and more members-only bonuses.
Ben and Marina discuss the life of Cristóbal Colón (Columbus), and look at whether the tyrannical side of him portrayed in the film ‘Tambien la lluvia’ is really accurate or not.
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- Get instant access to all 24 Season Two worksheets (with full transcript of the Spanish conversation, useful notes and exercises) in the Gold Season Two Pack in our Store now. You’ll also get 6 Bonus Spanish-boosting Q and A audios, useful links for each episode and more members-only bonuses.
The following phrases can all be used in Spain (there may be variations in South/Latin America) to say that you, or someone else, are really happy:
Más feliz que un regaliz (literally, happier than liquorice)
Más feliz que una perdiz (literally, happier than a partridge)
Más contento que un niño con zapatos nuevos (happier than a child with new shoes)
e.g. ¿Cómo estás? … ¡Estoy más feliz que un regaliz!
Another favourite of ours:
Está como un pez en el agua – She’s really having a great time, she’s in her element, (literally ‘like a fish in water’. It’s strange that in English we say ‘like a fish out of water’ to mean the exact opposite!)
And if you just want to keep things simple, there’s no easier phrase in the world than:
Estoy super contento/a
Great Happiness Article – Happiness At Google!
My sister gave me a really interesting book for Christmas called Search Inside Yourself, written by an engineer at Google, about a program he’s introduced at the company that teaches employees mindfulness and emotional intelligence. Here’s an interesting Spanish article about the program, and the launch of the Spanish version of the book:
Ben and Marina are passionate about happiness! Marina works part time as a doula and yoga teacher for pregnant women and mothers and babies, and Ben writes about happiness at beinghappiness.com (The posts are in English, but somecontain hints of Spanish too, plus see this related post in Spanish by a friend of ours.)
¡Que seáis muy felices!- May you all be very happy!
Ben and Marina discuss life after Peak Oil, and the fascinating Transition Town initiative that is sweeping through the UK and beyond, promising to help us thrive in an oil-reduced future.
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- Get instant access to all 24 Season Two worksheets (with full transcript of the Spanish conversation, useful notes and exercises) in the Gold Season Two Pack in our Store now. You’ll also get 6 Bonus Spanish-boosting Q and A audios, useful links for each episode and more members-only bonuses.
Ben and Marina discuss Guernica – the fascinating story of Picasso’s involvement in the Spanish civil war, and the birth of his great symbolic painting.
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- Get instant access to all 24 Season Two worksheets (with full transcript of the Spanish conversation, useful notes and exercises) in the Gold Season Two Pack in our Store now. You’ll also get 6 Bonus Spanish-boosting Q and A audios, useful links for each episode and more members-only bonuses.
Saludos desde Madrid!