Categories Learn Spanish Phrases

Merienda time! Snacks and Food Vocabulary in Spanish

Spanish tapas

Hola!

It’s revision/review time – Last year we emailed some of you about Spanish for snacks, and we wanted to make sure you all get this great Spanish language information:

It can often be confusing how the Spanish can have 3 different ways to say the same thing!

Having a between-meals snack is a classic example.

Spanish tapas

If I (Ben) am investigating the fridge for a snack Marina might say to me either of the following things:

Hmmm, hazme un piscolabis también…

A mi también me apetece un tentempié…

If it’s afternoon teatime, she’ll probably use ‘merienda’:

¿Vas a preparar la merienda?

So, piscolabis and tentempié are both wonderful sounding words used here in Spain for between-meal snacks and merienda is more for teatime, though it could be used for a morning snack in the context of what you send a child off to school with to keep her going until lunch.

Spanish tapas

The verb is often used too – voy a merendar algo, and the Spanish often talk about having an early merienda-cena, a ‘high-tea’ that fills you up enough to not need a proper supper later.

Spanish tapas

So snacking in Spain can sound like a complex business, but we like to make sure you are aware of all the variations!

Try using these in real life Spanish conversations!

Saludos desde Madrid,

Ben y Marina

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