Today, Ben and Marina discuss Madrid’s new ‘Madrid Central’ initiative which aims to solve pollution problems in the city center. We look at why this has taken so long, and ask if it is connected to the way politics works in Spain (never upset the voter!), and the anti-law nature of the Spanish character in general.
Double your Spanish with the Transcripts!Become a Patron to Supercharge your Spanish!
The new Notes in Spanish Conversations audios have new transcripts, including a full transcript of everything we say (so you miss nothing!), and a special list we call ‘Real, Essential Spanish’, everything from today’s audio that we feel you must know to be very good at Spanish no matter what your level!
We are delivering the transcripts via the popular crowd-support website Patreon.com:
PLUS! Become a Patron, and you get the ‘Real Spanish Archives’ 18-page BONUS! (…and other rewards!)
We hope listeners of all levels will consider becoming a Notes in Spanish Patroneven if you don’t need the transcripts right now, it’s a wonderful, innovative way to support our work and your Spanish at the same time!
DONATE!Your donations and purchases help us to keep going! If you just feel like supporting these free audios, donations are welcome via our Donate page. ¡Mil gracias!🙂
PLUS! Make sure you are on our Spanish-packed newsletter list! You get our free Kickstart Your Spanish report and our Super Subjunctive Rule book - plus news of our new audios and videos, and great phrases in every newsletter! Sign up here now!
In today’s video we look at ways to express enthusiasm, excitement, and how to say you can’t wait for something in Spanish. Thanks Molly for the question!
¡Disfruta un montón! – I hope you really enjoy yourself
¡Qué sortudo! / ¡Qué suerte tienes! – Lucky you
No puedo esperar mas / estoy super impaciente – I can’t wait
Mañana me marcho a esquiar a los Alpes, estoy super impaciente – I’m going skiing in the Alps tomorrow, I can’t wait!
No puedo esperar, este viernes es mi último día de trabajo antes de las vacaciones – I can’t wait, this Friday is my last day of work before the holidays
Estoy emocionado – I’m so excited
Estoy muy emocionado porque esta tarde me dan mi coche nuevo – I’m really excited because this afternoon they are giving me my new car
Tengo muchas ganas de… – I’m looking forward to…
Tengo muchas ganas de verte – I’m really looking forward to seeing you
Tengo muchas ganas de que nos vayamos de excursión – I’m really looking forward to the outing
Thanks for the question Molly!
DONATE!Your donations and purchases help us to keep going! If you feel like supporting our free audios and videos, donations are welcome via our Donate page. ¡Mil gracias!🙂
PLUS! Make sure you are on our Spanish-packed newsletter list! You get our free Kickstart Your Spanish report and our Super Subjunctive Rule book - plus news of our new audios and videos, and great phrases in every newsletter! Sign up here now!
Today, Ben and Marina discuss the sociology and practice of play, and why it is so important in both children’s and adults’ lives. We talk about how play fits in to our own lives (it can be as simple as riding a bike!), plus how difficult it can be for adults to just let go and have a fun, purpose-less time.
Double your Spanish with the Transcripts!Become a Patron to Supercharge your Spanish!
The new Notes in Spanish Conversations audios have new transcripts, including a full transcript of everything we say (so you miss nothing!), and a special list we call ‘Real, Essential Spanish’, everything from today’s audio that we feel you must know to be very good at Spanish no matter what your level!
We are delivering the transcripts via the popular crowd-support website Patreon.com:
PLUS! Become a Patron, and you get the ‘Real Spanish Archives’ 18-page BONUS! (…and other rewards!)
We hope listeners of all levels will consider becoming a Notes in Spanish Patroneven if you don’t need the transcripts right now, it’s a wonderful, innovative way to support our work and your Spanish at the same time!
DONATE!Your donations and purchases help us to keep going! If you just feel like supporting these free audios, donations are welcome via our Donate page. ¡Mil gracias!🙂
PLUS! Make sure you are on our Spanish-packed newsletter list! You get our free Kickstart Your Spanish report and our Super Subjunctive Rule book - plus news of our new audios and videos, and great phrases in every newsletter! Sign up here now!
In today’s video we look at Christmas holiday greetings in Spanish. Here’s all the great vocab and Spanish Christmas phrases from the video:
Feliz navidad y prospero año nuevo – Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year (more formal, for writing in a Christmas card)
Feliz navidad – Happy Christmas
Feliz año nuevo – Happy New Year
Que lo pases muy bien estas navidades – Have a wonderful time this Christmas
Que lo pases muy bien estas vacaciones – Have a fantastic holiday
Te deseo unas vacaciones llenas de paz y alegría – May your holidays be filled with peace and joy
Te deseo lo mejor en estas vacaciones – I hope you have a wonderful holiday
Thanks to Bruce for asking this question in our monthly Patrons Q and A. Join our patrons at Patreon.com to ask us questions in the next Q and A!
DONATE!Your donations and purchases help us to keep going! If you feel like supporting our free audios and videos, donations are welcome via our Donate page. ¡Mil gracias!🙂
PLUS! Make sure you are on our Spanish-packed newsletter list! You get our free Kickstart Your Spanish report and our Super Subjunctive Rule book - plus news of our new audios and videos, and great phrases in every newsletter! Sign up here now!
In today’s video we look at the many uses of the Spanish verb Echar. Watch the video, and download this super, free PDF that accompanies it, which includes all the uses and example phrases with Echar from the video, and more!
DONATE!Your donations and purchases help us to keep going! If you feel like supporting our free audios and videos, donations are welcome via our Donate page. ¡Mil gracias!🙂
PLUS! Make sure you are on our Spanish-packed newsletter list! You get our free Kickstart Your Spanish report and our Super Subjunctive Rule book - plus news of our new audios and videos, and great phrases in every newsletter! Sign up here now!
Thanks to all our Patrons who sent in questions this month. If you would like to send in questions for our next Q and A, join our Patrons at Patreon!
Language Notes for the Video
Question 1 – Spanish for ‘What’s the point?’
Mi nombre es Randi. Mi pregunta es: ¿Cómo decir “What´s the point” en español? Por ejemplo: What´s the point in doing that?
Simple answer – ¿Para qué?
Here’s an example: Voy a pedir una subida a mi jefe – I’m going to ask my boss for a raise.
Answer 1. ¿Para qué? – What’s the point?
Answer 2. Total, para lo que te va a servir – Right, for all the good it’s going to do you (much more ironic.)
Question 2 – Useful words for vegetarians in Spanish:
David – my question is part language/part cultural: how, as a vegetarian, should I deal with being given meat-based tapas without appearing rude or ungrateful? I was recently in Granada and felt uncomfortable sending the tapas back.
Answer 1. Muchas gracias, te importaría cambiarme la tapa por una que no tenga carne? Soy vegetariano. – Thank you, would you mind changing it for a tapa that doesn’t have meat? I’m vegetarian.
Answer 2. Culturally . it’s fine! The Spanish always send stuff back! You can’t be too British about it!
To confirm something is vegetarian on a Spanish menu:
Perdona. ¿Este plato tiene carne, pescado o embutido? Es que soy vegetariano – Excuse me, does this dish include meat, fish or cured meat (e.g. chorizo, cured ham)?
Question 3 – Christmas words in Spanish:
Marcus – I have a question regarding the word “navideño”. I saw this word on a poster several years ago, but I rarely see this word used when I read Christmas-related articles in Spanish. I know that people say “árbol de Navidad” for “Christmas tree”, “canciones de Navidad” for “Christmas songs”, “época de Navidad” for “Christmas time”, “regalos de Navidad” for “Christmas presents/gifts”, so when would you actually use “navideño”? Could I instead say:
– árbol navideño – no, this is not common
– canciones navideñas – yes, this is fine
– época navideña – yes, this is fine
– se acerca la época navideña – yes, this is fine
Would it be correct to say this? – Me encanta la época de Navidad, el amor está en el aire y todas las casas de mi ciudad están adornadas con cosas navideñas. – Yes, perfect!
Here are a few more:
7 curiosidades navideñas – the name of a podcast we are releasing soon!
Este mantel es muy navideño – this table cloth is very Christmassy.
Hay un ambiente muy navideño en la plaza mayor – There is a real Christmas atmosphere in the Plaza Mayor.
Question 4 – How to use ‘A flor de piel’.
Marcus – Last month I came across an interesting expression: a flor de piel. If I remember the sentence correctly it went like this: Un día vas a despertar con la nostalgia a flor de piel. Are there any other examples you could give me to correctly use this expression?
Tiene los nervios a flor de piel, mejor que le dejes tranquila – She’s on the edge of her nerves, you better leave her in peace.
Tiene las emociones a flor de piel – Her emotions are just under the surface
Question 5 – using ‘hombre’ in Spanish.
Gill from New Zealand – In the episode about scooters in Madrid, Marina said to Ben, ‘Hombre, tampoco te pases.’ What does that mean, and when would you use it?
Ben said he used to walk across half the city to work, a big exaggeration.
Hombre is used as a filler word, for men or women. It has different meanings.
In this case it means ‘come on’, ‘yeah right’.
Tampoco te pases – don’t exagerate
Hombre Can also mean ‘well…’ for example:
– No seria mas fácil para ti ir a San Sebastián en el tren?
– Hombre, no lo había pensado.
Thanks again to all our Patrons who sent in questions this month. Join our Patrons at Patreon to participate in our next Q and A!
DONATE!Your donations and purchases help us to keep going! If you feel like supporting our free audios and videos, donations are welcome via our Donate page. ¡Mil gracias!🙂
PLUS! Make sure you are on our Spanish-packed newsletter list! You get our free Kickstart Your Spanish report and our Super Subjunctive Rule book - plus news of our new audios and videos, and great phrases in every newsletter! Sign up here now!
We don’t publish all our Real-Spanish-packed newsletters here (so make sure you are signed up to receive them!), but this one has particularly good and important news for all our listeners/viewers, so we wanted to include it here on the blog…
Hello dear Spanish-lovers!
Today another very useful, real Spanish phrase (¡Que buen rollo!), a new audio, news of our sale (ends tomorrow, Tuesday!), and most important or all, the latest Notes in Spanish Charity contributions – with your help we’ve been able to send 4000 euros to very good causes – please take a minute to read about all of this below.
En primer lugar… the phrase:
Siempre hay muy buen rollo en este restaurante – there is always a really good vibe in this restaurant.
Los audios de Notes in Spanish tienen muy buen rollo – Notes in Spanish audios have a good vibe (we think so!)
(The opposite of course, is ‘mal rollo’: ¡Que mal rollo hay aquí! – This place has a really bad vibe! – But we are much more into ‘buenos rollos’ – good vibes – at NIS!)
This phrase, ‘buen rollo’ is included in the ‘Real Essential Spanish’ list from this week’s Notes in Spanish Conversations transcript (available to our Patreon supporters).
All The Good News!!
New Audio: We have a brand new Notes in Spanish Conversations audio out today, ‘Españoles longevos’, all about the recent discovery that Spain is going to overtake Japan in the longevity stakes! We look at the reasons why, and add our own interpretations: Listen here now!
Charity: Thanks to all the support we receive via purchases in our store, and via our Patreon page for NIS supporters, this week we have sent a total of 4000 euros (2000 euros each) to two charities that are very important to us.
The first is Aldeas Infantiles SOS – it’s mission is to protect vulnerable children. We have donated to their Madrid centre, which includes a large fostering centre in El Escorial (see their video 1, 2, 3… Casa to really understand what they do). The Madrid centre also provides vital emergency support throughout the Madrid region for families in grave risk of breaking apart.
The second charity, which we have supported in the past, is ACNUR, the Spanish division of UNHCR, the UN’s refugee agency. We have donated to their Christmas Campaign to help women and children displaced by, and in danger from, the Boko Haram crisis in Nigeria.
Thank you for your help in allowing Notes in Spanish to fulfill this charitable role, as well as teaching people the real Spanish that we love so much.
And finally…
Our Black Friday sale is still running! You can get 25% off any of the products sold in our store until midnight Tuesday November 27th (pdt) – just use the coupon code bf2018 on the store checkout page (note: this does not include ‘Notes in Spanish Conversations’ transcripts which are sold via our Patreon page.)
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Today, Ben and Marina discuss news that the Spanish will soon surpass the Japanese in life-expectancy.
We look at the reasons why, from diet, to culture, plus some of our favourite things from the Spanish way of life that we are convinced are bound to make people live longer.
Double your Spanish with the Transcripts!Become a Patron to Supercharge your Spanish!
The new Notes in Spanish Conversations audios have new transcripts, including a full transcript of everything we say (so you miss nothing!), and a special list we call ‘Real, Essential Spanish’, everything from today’s audio that we feel you must know to be very good at Spanish no matter what your level!
We are delivering the transcripts via the popular crowd-support website Patreon.com:
PLUS! Become a Patron, and you get the ‘Real Spanish Archives’ 18-page BONUS! (…and other rewards!)
We hope listeners of all levels will consider becoming a Notes in Spanish Patroneven if you don’t need the transcripts right now, it’s a wonderful, innovative way to support our work and your Spanish at the same time!
DONATE!Your donations and purchases help us to keep going! If you just feel like supporting these free audios, donations are welcome via our Donate page. ¡Mil gracias!🙂
PLUS! Make sure you are on our Spanish-packed newsletter list! You get our free Kickstart Your Spanish report and our Super Subjunctive Rule book - plus news of our new audios and videos, and great phrases in every newsletter! Sign up here now!
Today, Ben and Marina discuss a wonderful picnic in the vineyards south of Madrid, to celebrate the ‘vendimia’, the grape harvest.
We’ve made a video that goes with today’s podcast, explaining some of the words and phrases connected with the picnic (and an amusing mistake Ben often makes involving small dogs and saucepans!) – check it out then read about how to help us, and how to get the transcripts:
Double your Spanish with the Transcripts!Become a Patron to Supercharge your Spanish and support our work!
The new Notes in Spanish Conversations audios have new transcripts, including a full transcript of everything we say (so you miss nothing!), and a special list we call ‘Real, Essential Spanish’, everything from today’s audio that we feel you must know to be very good at Spanish no matter what your level!
We are delivering the transcripts via the popular crowd-support website Patreon.com:
PLUS! Become a Patron, and you get the ‘Real Spanish Archives’ 18-page BONUS! (…and other rewards!)
We hope listeners of all levels will consider becoming a Notes in Spanish Patroneven if you don’t need the transcripts right now, it’s a wonderful, innovative way to support our work and your Spanish!
Subscribe to the new Conversations podcast in Apple Podcasts and other apps – Help us get the word out!
DONATE!Your donations and purchases help us to keep going! If you just feel like supporting these free audios, donations are welcome via our Donate page. ¡Mil gracias!🙂
PLUS! Make sure you are on our Spanish-packed newsletter list! You get our free Kickstart Your Spanish report and our Super Subjunctive Rule book - plus news of our new audios and videos, and great phrases in every newsletter! Sign up here now!
Today’s video is connected to our Notes in Spanish Conversations podcast, La Vendimia. The first part of the video is in English, and from 4m50s we only speak Spanish – hopefully the first half of the video will prepare you for that.
DONATE!Your donations and purchases help us to keep going! If you feel like supporting our free audios and videos, donations are welcome via our Donate page. ¡Mil gracias!🙂
PLUS! Make sure you are on our Spanish-packed newsletter list! You get our free Kickstart Your Spanish report and our Super Subjunctive Rule book - plus news of our new audios and videos, and great phrases in every newsletter! Sign up here now!
Welcome to the second episode of Notes in Spanish Conversations! Our Brand-New Weekly Real Spanish conversations for Advanced and Inspired Intermediate Spanish learners!
Today, Ben and Marina discuss the invasion of Madrid by shared electric scooters, cars and bicycles, that are revolutionising the very infrastructure and regulations of the city’s transport system. Where will it all end?
Double your Spanish with the Transcripts!Become a Patron to Supercharge your Spanish and support our work!
The new Notes in Spanish Conversations audios have new transcripts, including a full transcript of everything we say (so you miss nothing!), and a special list we call ‘Real, Essential Spanish’, everything from today’s audio that we feel you must know to be very good at Spanish no matter what your level! (e.g. Me echó una bronca, Me has pillado de lleno, Me rechina and much more!)
We are delivering the transcripts via the popular crowd-support website Patreon.com:
PLUS! Become a Patron, and you get the ‘Real Spanish Archives’ 18-page BONUS!
We hope listeners of all levels will consider becoming a Notes in Spanish Patroneven if you don’t need the transcripts right now, it’s a wonderful, innovative way to support our work and your Spanish!
Plus every Patron gets a copy of our brand new 18-page ‘Real Spanish Archives’ PDF report (the very best Real Spanish we’ve sent out over the last 12 years).
Tips on How to Use the Notes in Spanish Conversations Audio
Advanced Learners: Listen to the audio the whole way through. Listen again with the transcript to make sure you don’t miss a thing, and to be sure you know all the ‘Real, Essential Spanish’ we outline in the second part of the transcript, it’s really important at your level.
Inspired Intermediate Learners: Don’t panic if the Spanish feels really challenging! It should! Listen to the Spanish conversation, ideally with the transcript – we promise that no matter how challenging this may seem, this ‘real immersion’, with the transcript to help, is the best possible thing you can do for your Spanish!
As Kathleen said about our previous advanced conversations, “I’m one of those you describe as a ‘motivated intermediate’. I want to assure others in that category that this podcast is definitely approachable with the aid of the notes [transcript]. I wasn’t surprised that I understood little listening to the podcast without the notes, but I was amazed at how much I could understand having the notes to read alongside.”
DONATE!Your donations and purchases help us to keep going! If you just feel like supporting these free audios, donations are welcome via our Donate page. ¡Mil gracias!🙂
PLUS! Make sure you are on our Spanish-packed newsletter list! You get our free Kickstart Your Spanish report and our Super Subjunctive Rule book - plus news of our new audios and videos, and great phrases in every newsletter! Sign up here now!
In today’s video we look at words that use -azo or -aza to add emphasis, using these words will make you sound very good at very real Spanish.
If you enjoy our videos, please consider supporting us with a monthly donation via Patreon – it helps us to keep making more videos like these: https://www.patreon.com/notesinspanish
Words and phrases from the video:
Un marronazo – a real pain in the neck, a nightmare Un marranazo – a big pig Eres un guarro – you are a real pig Que gustazo, que bien se está al sol – how lovely, how nice it is to be out in the sun Un cochazo – A big or impressive car Que cochazo te has comprado – what a big car you have bought Un perrazo – A big dog Menudo perrazo se me ha echado encima hoy – What a huge dog jumped up on me today Una madraza – An incredible mum Que madraza – What a mum! Un padrazo – A fantastic dad Es un padrazo – he’s a really amazing dad Un puñetazo – A thump Mama, me ha dado un puñetazo – Mum, he just thumped me Un portazo – A door slam No des un portazo – Don’t slam the door Pedazo – A portion Que pedazo de casa te has comprado – What an incredible/enormous house you’ve bought Ese hombre tiene un pedazo de nariz – That man has an enormous nose Pedazo de video que acabamos de hacer – what a fantastic video we’ve just made
Other examples of the suffix -azo to add emphasis:
Tener morrazo – to be very cheeky Mi hermana tiene un morrazo, nunca ayuda en casa – My sister is very cheeky, she never helps at home Un golpazo – whack, crash Me he dado un golpazo con el coche – I’ve really pranged the car Un currazo – A big piece of work (from curro, which is slang for work) He hecho un currazo en casa hoy, he limpiado la cocina a fondo – I’ve done a massive amount of work at home today, I’ve cleaned every inch of the kitchen.
DONATE!Your donations and purchases help us to keep going! If you feel like supporting our free audios and videos, donations are welcome via our Donate page. ¡Mil gracias!🙂
PLUS! Make sure you are on our Spanish-packed newsletter list! You get our free Kickstart Your Spanish report and our Super Subjunctive Rule book - plus news of our new audios and videos, and great phrases in every newsletter! Sign up here now!
Welcome to Notes in Spanish Conversations! Our Brand-New Weekly Real Spanish conversations for Advanced and Inspired Intermediate Spanish learners, designed to help you learn all the real Spanish you’ll never find in a classroom! A new episode every Monday!
Today, Ben and Marina discuss La Buena Vida, the good life in Spain – Spain’s version of Hygge – all the elements of Spanish life that lead to great happiness, from tapas to terrazas, long lunches, the sobremesa and more.
Important Information For Everyone! Transcripts, The 18-page ‘Real Spanish Archives’ Bonus, Subscribing and Listening Tips!
1. Become a Patron – Get the Transcripts – Support your Spanish and our work!
The new Notes in Spanish Conversations audios have new transcripts, including a full transcript of everything we say (so you miss nothing!), and a special list of ‘Real, Essential Spanish’ from the audio that we feel you must know (no matter what your level!)
We are delivering these weekly transcripts, in time with the weekly audios, via the popular crowd-support website Patreon.com. It’s widely used, and a fantastic way for our listeners to support our work and get our new transcripts (as well as other great Bonuses!)
2. Become a Patron, get the ‘Real Spanish Archives’ 18-page bonus!
We hope listeners of all levels will consider becoming a Notes in Spanish Patroneven if you don’t need the transcripts right now, it’s a wonderful, innovative way to support our work (and your Spanish!)
Plus every Patron gets a copy of our brand new 18-page ‘Real Spanish Archives’ PDF report (the very best Real Spanish we’ve sent out over the last 12 years).
3. Subscribing to the new Conversations podcast in Apple Podcasts and other apps – Help us get the word out!
The new Notes in Spanish Conversations audios will be released weekly on Mondays and put out on a brand new podcast feed. (Episode 2 will be out on Monday November 12th)
– Search for ‘Notes in Spanish Conversations’ in your favourite podcast app, including Spotify.
– Here’s the raw RSS feed if you want to enter it manually: http://nisconversations.libsyn.com/rss
4. Tips on How to Use the Notes in Spanish Conversations Audio
Advanced Learners: Listen to the audio the whole way through. Listen again with the transcript to make sure you don’t miss a thing, and to be sure you know all the ‘Real, Essential Spanish’ we outline in the second part of the transcript, it’s really important at your level.
Inspired Intermediate Learners: Don’t panic if the Spanish feels really challenging! It should! Listen to the Spanish conversation, ideally with the transcript – we promise that no matter how challenging this may seem, this ‘real immersion’, with the transcript to help, is the best possible thing you can do for your Spanish!
As Kathleen said about our previous advanced conversations, “I’m one of those you describe as a ‘motivated intermediate’. I want to assure others in that category that this podcast is definitely approachable with the aid of the notes [transcript]. I wasn’t surprised that I understood little listening to the podcast without the notes, but I was amazed at how much I could understand having the notes to read alongside.”
DONATE!Your donations and purchases help us to keep going! If you just feel like supporting these free audios, donations are welcome via our Donate page. ¡Mil gracias!🙂
PLUS! Make sure you are on our Spanish-packed newsletter list! You get our free Kickstart Your Spanish report and our Super Subjunctive Rule book - plus news of our new audios and videos, and great phrases in every newsletter! Sign up here now!
PLUS, we’ll be letting all our listeners know about a very special way to support our work, and how to get hold of the 18 page Real Spanish Archives report mentioned in the video – it’s great for ALL levels, Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced.
How can I get the Real Spanish Archives report?
Stay tuned to our newsletter (you can sign up via this page if you haven’t already, and we’ll let you know first thing on Monday about how to get the report, how to listen to the new audios, and how to get the new transcripts. Not long now!
Who is the new ‘Notes in Spanish Conversations’ podcast for?
Advanced and Inspired intermediate listeners – If you are Advanced, these audios and the transcripts will help keep you at the highest level. If you are a higher level and Inspired Intermediate listener, the transcripts will help you get a LOT out of the new audios.
What will be in the transcripts?
These new transcripts include a full transcript of our conversation, and a special list we call ‘Real Essential Spanish’, where we pick out the most important real Spanish words and phrases from our conversation, what we feel you really need to know whatever your level.
How can I get the weekly transcripts?
We’ll let you know on Monday – we’re using a new system that will easily deliver the new transcripts for you week by week, to coincide with the new audios every Monday. So stay tuned! Whatever your level! All will be revealed on Monday!
DONATE!Your donations and purchases help us to keep going! If you feel like supporting our free audios and videos, donations are welcome via our Donate page. ¡Mil gracias!🙂
PLUS! Make sure you are on our Spanish-packed newsletter list! You get our free Kickstart Your Spanish report and our Super Subjunctive Rule book - plus news of our new audios and videos, and great phrases in every newsletter! Sign up here now!
Autumn is here! It’s freezing in Madrid! Marina found a funny Spanish phrase this morning, ‘Los únicos marrones que me gustan, son los del otoño’…
It looks like it means, the only brown colours I like, are the autumnal ones (the leaves, of course), but… did you know what else ’un marrón’ is?
It’s something which is a massive a pain in the neck! For example:
Me ha caído un marrón tremendo en el trabajo – I’ve been given a real nightmare to do at work
Tengo un marrón en casa, todos tienen la gripe y yo no puedo faltar al trabajo – Things are really tough at home, everyone has got ‘flu and I can’t miss work (You can also say, ‘tengo un marronazo en casa’ which sounds even more dramatic!)
Menudo marrón, me han pillado copiando en un examen – What a nightmare, I’ve been caught copying in an exam
So what’s the opposite of ‘un marrón’? how do you say something is really great? We asked our son, and he said, ‘¡Es la pera limonera!’
For example, ‘¡El parque de atracciones de Madrid es la pera limonera!’ – Madrid’s theme park is fantastic!
We looked up ‘pera limonera’ and found it is an actual type of pear. One Spanish fruit website I found made the following fantastic statement:
‘Las características de esta fruta, fresca, viva y positiva pero algo ácida y explosiva, también definen en cierta manera nuestra cultura española’ – The characteristics of this fruit, that it is fresh, alive and positive, but a little acidic and explosive, also define to a certain extent our Spanish culture’ – Spot on!
We’ve got a ‘pera limonera’ for you a week from today, on Monday November 5th, when the first of our brand new Advanced-level ’Notes in Spanish Conversations’ audios will be ready for you to listen to! We’ll be back with more details, more Real Spanish, and more big news, before the end of the week.
The photo at the top of this email: Autumn in Madrid’s Retiro Park, Palacio de Cristal, back in 2011, Via our Instagram feed.
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First more cool, real Spanish vocab, then news of NEW real Spanish audios from Ben and Marina coming very soon, plus our Instagram for photo lovers!
The other day I heard Marina telling her sister, ‘Nos ha sobrado un montón de comida’ – we’ve got loads of food left over (after a party we had).
And it reminded me of the wonderful verb ‘sobrar’, to be too much, or to be left over – and a classic Joaquin Sabina song, ‘Nos sobran los motivos’ – We have plenty of reasons.
In our case… Nos sobran motivos para ser felices – We’ve got plenty of reasons to be happy…
Because we are starting a brand new audio series on November 5th – Notes in Spanish Conversations.
These will be more of our trademark real-speed, 100% natural, real Spanish conversations, just like our Advanced series, with a new, streamlined ‘Real, Essential Spanish’ transcript that includes the transcript of our whole conversation and a list of the Real Essential Spanish you need to know from each show.
We’ll be in touch soon with more details, and the first weekly episode will be out November 5th. Until then, keep listening to our other audios and working with the worksheets in our store to bring you up to speed.
Photo lovers: the photo at the top of this email is from Cordoba, back in 2008 – check out more at our Instagram page (which Ben is very excited about getting out with his camera to work on!): https://www.instagram.com/notesinspanish/
¡Un abrazo!
Ben y Marina
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Lots of news today! First some useful Spanish phrases with ‘dar vuelta’, then links to a great interview with Ben and Marina about life in Spain, and much more (so do read on below!)
Spanish phrases with Dar Vuelta:
Le voy a dar una vuelta – I’m going to think about it (e.g. a decision or possible plan)
Darle una vuelta y me dices – think about it and let me know
No le des tantas vueltas al coco – (slang) don’t overthink it, don’t think about it so much (“it” being whatever you are thinking too much about!)
Also in the world of mindfulness, you will hear:
La mente da muchas vueltas – the mind spins around a lot
Another way to say this is ‘la mente es muy saltarina’ – the mind jumps around a lot. ‘Saltarina’ comes from ‘saltar’, to jump.
Ben and Marina Interview:
We were interviewed by Paul Burge for his When in Spain podcast. We chat with Paul about how Spain has changed since Ben first arrived here twenty years ago, the ups and downs of bi-cultural and bilingual relationships, observations on Spanish life, favourite places in Madrid, whether living in a foreign country changes you, and if there is a specific type of personality that’s suited to building a life abroad.
You can now find all our podcasts in Spotify, and Stitcher, just search for ‘Notes in Spanish’ in either, and of course, we’ve been in Apple Podcasts forever!
Remember the worksheets!
If you like the phrases in today’s email, do buy the worksheets that accompany our audios, they are full of useful Spanish like this, plus you support Notes in Spanish with your purchase! Find them in our store now.
Un abrazo!
Ben y Marina
P.S. (or ‘P.D.’ as the Spanish write) if you are interested in happiness, and mindfulness, check out Ben’s side project ‘Being Happiness’ (in English).
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We hope you’ve had a great summer! We spent some time at the beach in Cantabria, near Santander (see the photo above!) Today we’ve got some great slang Spanish from the streets of Spain.
Some cool Spanish slang!
It’s 20 years since I (Ben) moved to Madrid, so I can say:
Llevo 20 años en Madrid, un huevo de tiempo – I’ve been in Madrid for 20 years, a really long time (literal translation “an egg of time”!)
“Un huevo”, an egg, is often used in Spain to show something is really big, or long. But don’t use this in formal circumstances, it’s pretty slang – fine with friends though! Here are more examples:
Los precios de las casas han subido un huevo este año – The prices of houses have gone up a huge amount this year.
Los mejores futbolistas ganan un huevo – The best football players earn a huge amount of money (not an egg!)
This is going to be a great year for your Spanish!
Saludos desde Madrid,
Ben y Marina
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You’ve probably heard the phrase, ‘Estás en Babia’, to mean that you are dreamy, distracted, or ‘on another planet’. It comes from times gone by, when the kings of the region of León would go to the nearby area of Babia to hunt.
Someone was telling me this story again the other day, and commented, ‘Los reyes se quedaron allí ensimismados.’ – The kings were there (in Babia) lost in themselves, lost in their own thoughts. What a great word! Ensimismados!
Ben está ensimismado – Ben is in a dream
Here’s one more great one from our kitchen table…
I was sitting at the table the other day, ‘ensimismado’, while we were preparing supper. Marina, wanting my help, said ‘No te sientes ahí como un zero a la izquierda’ – Don’t sit there being useless.
‘Como un zero a la izquierda’ means something is useless – it literally means, ‘like a zero on the left’. When you put a zero on the left of a number, e.g. 023, that zero does nothing, hence the origin of the expression!
No quiero trabajar más con David, es un cero a la izquierda – I don’t want to work with David anymore, he’s useless.
More cool Spanish like this!
Remember, there is so much more cool Spanish like this in all our free Spanish-learning audios! We also highlight this type of phrase specifically in the worksheets for each level, available in our store.
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As you know, we love to collect and share with you real Spanish phrases (Ben carries a notebook around and is always writing down the best from conversations with Spanish friends!)
Here are a few of the latest that have made us think ‘we have to send these to our Notes in Spanish listeners!’
First of all, why haven’t you heard from us in a while?
Hemos estado muy liados con las nuevas leyes de privacidad – We’ve been really busy with the new privacy laws.
Y como dicen en España, ‘Cosas del palacio van despacio’ – As they say in Spain, bureaucracy is a slow process. (Literally, things of the palace go slowly – you hear this phrase often when there is tedious paperwork to be done involving the state).
Another phrase with ‘liado’:
Estoy super liado en el trabajo – I’m really busy at work
Pero bueno, ha llegado el verano, y hace un calor que te mueres – But anyway, summer has arrived, and it’s unbelievably hot (literally ‘it makes a heat that you die!)
Ha llegado el calor y me ha dejado planchado – The heat has arrived and it’s knocked me out (literally ‘it has ironed me’!)
Nos cuesta más dormir por la noche, y por la mañanase nos pegan las sabanas – It’s harder for us to get to sleep at night, and in the morning we can’t get out of bed (literally ‘the sheets stick to us’)
And a phrase Ben often uses at swimming pools:
Soy de secano – I’m not much of a water person (when someone asks me why I don’t get in the pool or the sea much)
And finally, a verb that is much used around June/July in Spain, veranear:
¿Donde veranáis? – Where are you going on holiday this summer?
Los Reyes siempre veranean en Mallorca – the Royals always go on their summer holiday in Mallorca.
More cool Spanish like this!
Remember, there is so much more cool Spanish like this in all our free Spanish-learning audios! We also highlight this type of phrase specifically in the worksheets for each level (available in our store).
Don't Forget! Make sure you are on our Spanish-packed newsletter list! You get our free Kickstart Your Spanish report and our Super Subjunctive Rule book - plus news of our new audios and videos, and great phrases in every newsletter! Sign up here now!
As you know we love to send you Spanish-packed newsletters with great phrases, and news of new Notes in Spanish audios and videos. You may also know about new European privacy laws that came into effect on May 25th 2018 which mean that we can’t send you any more of our super newsletters unless you re-subscribe to our newsletter list – As the Spanish say, ¡Qué rollo! – What a pain!
Please take a minute to sign up again so we can keep sending you our real-Spanish newsletters – we have lots of great things coming up! (If you don’t we can’t send you any more newsletters – ¡Qué pena! – A big shame!)
We really hope you’ll take a moment to do this, we love teaching you Spanish!
Un abrazo desde Madrid,
Ben y Marina
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Here’s all the fun Spanish slang and cool phrases from today’s video:
Estoy pletórico – I’m full of life, full of energy
He empezado el día con buen pie – I’ve started the day very well/happily
He empezado el día con el pie izquierdo – I got out on the wrong side of the bed
Dime donde enchufo la pasta – Tell me where to send the money
Está como una cabra – She’s acting crazy, she’s really flustered
Estoy como una cabra, he perdido las llaves – I’m going crazy, I’ve lost my keys
Ha perdido el norte – She’s in a real state
He perdido la cabeza – I’m in a real fluster, in a real state
More cool Spanish like this!
There is plenty more cool Spanish like this in all our free Spanish-learning audios! We also highlight this type of phrase specifically in the worksheets for each level (available in our store).
DONATE!Your donations and purchases help us to keep going! If you feel like supporting our free audios and videos, donations are welcome via our Donate page. ¡Mil gracias!🙂
PLUS! Make sure you are on our Spanish-packed newsletter list! You get our free Kickstart Your Spanish report and our Super Subjunctive Rule book - plus news of our new audios and videos, and great phrases in every newsletter! Sign up here now!
Ben and Marina answer more great questions from listeners about everyday Spanish expressions, grammar, and language resources. Below are the notes and links from the Q and A audio.
Quiero disfrutar a tope cada día – I want to live every day to the fullest
Ben estás a tope hoy – Ben you are full of beans today
¿Qué tal todo en el trabajo? – How is everything at work
Estoy a tope – I’m completely overloaded
Question 4 – Ni fu ni fa
Ni fu ni fa – I’m indifferent, I don’t mind
¿Te gustan las lentejas? – Do you like lentils?
Ni fu ni fa – They aren’t my favourite dish but I can eat them
Question 5 – Ganar
Serena ganó a Venus el sábado – Serena beat Venus on Saturday
Me ganó a las cartas otra vez – She beat me at cards again
Question 6 – Caer bien/mal
Ese hombre me cae mal – I don’t like that guy
Ese hombre me cae bien – I like that guy
El novio de mi hermana me cae bien – I like my sister’s boyfriend
El novio de mi hermana me cae mal / me cae fatal – I don’t like /really don’t like my sister’s boyfriend
Me cae fenomenal – I really like him
Question 7 – Pillar de camino
Me pilla de camino – It’s on my way
Te puedo dejar en tu casa porque me pilla de camino al supermercado – I can leave you in your house because it’s on my way to the supermarket
¿Qué tal? – How are you?
Regular – Not feeling great, a bit down
You can also use: ‘Regulín’, or, ‘Regulín regulán’
¿Cómo te han tratado en el dentista? – How did it go at the dentist?
Regular – They weren’t very caring or nice
Question 10 – The flat I used to live in
La casa en la que vivía cuando tenia 20 años – The flat I lived in when I was 20
Mi antiguo piso – My old flat
El piso donde vivía antes – The flat I used to live in
Mi piso anterior – My old flat
El coche que tenía antes – The car I had before/used to have
Mi antiguo coche – My old car
Question 11 – No creo que + Subjunctive
‘No creo que’ expresses doubt or uncertainty, and uses the subjunctive – see our Super Subjunctive Rule Book for further explanation.
No creo que haya problema – I don’t think there is a problem – uses subjunctive
Creo que no hay problema – I don’t think there is a problem – doesn’t use subjunctive
Question 12 – Recoger
Te recogeremos a las 8 – We’ll pick you up at 8
Pasaremos a buscarte a las 8 – We’ll pick you up at 8
Question 13 – You decide
¿Quieres beber cava o cerveza esta noche? – Do you want to drink cava or beer tonight?
Tu decides – you decide
Lo que tu quieras – you decide
Question 14 – Excited about something
Estoy emocionada por verte mañana – I’m excited about seeing you tomorrow
Estoy deseando irme de vacaciones la semana que viene – I’m really looking forward to going on holiday next week
Tengo unas ganas que no veas de irme de vacaciones la semana que viene – I’m really really looking forward to going on holiday next week
Me muero por irme de vacaciones la semana que viene – I can’t wait to going on holiday next week
Question 15 – Menos mal
Menos mal – Thank goodness
Menos mal que nos fuimos pronto a la cama ayer porque hoy los vecinos nos han despertado a las 7 de la mañana – Thank goodness we went to bed early last night because today the neighbours woke us up at 7am
Voy a llegar en 5 minutos – I’ll be there in 5 minutes
Menos mal, tu hijo ya te está echando de menos – Thank goodness, your son is missing you a lot.
Question 16 – The food is to die for
Esta comida está de muerte – The food is to die for/is incredible
Esta comida está que te mueres – The food is to die for/is incredible
Esta comida está que te mueres de buena – The food is to die for/is incredible
Also available: with 90 minutes of exclusive audio, our “Real Spanish Phrase Book” is your ultimate guide to speaking Real Spanish and fitting in with the locals immediately! Check it out in our store!
And if you just want to support our work, feel free to make a donation.
Mil gracias,
Ben y Marina.
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In episode 20 Ben and Marina pay homage to Madrid, the city where Marina was born and Ben has lived since 1998.
We discuss the city’s most beautiful neighbourhoods, its classic bars and restaurants, and how the gentle art of meeting friends at one of the many terrazas in the city’s plazas may be where its real magic lies.
DONATE!Your donations and purchases help us to keep going! If you just feel like supporting these free audios, donations are welcome via our Donate page. ¡Mil gracias!🙂
PLUS! Make sure you are on our Spanish-packed newsletter list! You get our free Kickstart Your Spanish report and our Super Subjunctive Rule book - plus news of our new audios and videos, and great phrases in every newsletter! Sign up here now!
In episode 19 Ben and Marina discuss the art of relaxation. We look at how the after-lunch ‘sobremesa‘ is one of the most relaxing customs in Spain, and how it resembles an ancient Chinese concept of lazyness.
Plus we reveal all of our relaxation secrets, including walking, reading (travelling by novel! Recently with Isabel Allende…), films, yoga, and much more.
DONATE!Your donations and purchases help us to keep going! If you just feel like supporting these free audios, donations are welcome via our Donate page. ¡Mil gracias!🙂
PLUS! Make sure you are on our Spanish-packed newsletter list! You get our free Kickstart Your Spanish report and our Super Subjunctive Rule book - plus news of our new audios and videos, and great phrases in every newsletter! Sign up here now!
In episode 18 Ben and Marina discuss the excessive use of smartphones and social networks in the younger generations, and what effect it can have on our minds, ability to reason, and even our democracy.
We look at how many of the founders of these technologies now reject them for themselves and their children, and ask, is this just progress? Is the human being evolving in new ways? Or should we be looking more closely at this as a society?
Photo: Wall mural, “El que lee mucho y anda mucho, ve mucho y sabe mucho” – Miguel de Cervantes (He who reads a lot and walks a lot, sees a lot and knows a lot).
DONATE!Your donations and purchases help us to keep going! If you just feel like supporting these free audios, donations are welcome via our Donate page. ¡Mil gracias!🙂
PLUS! Make sure you are on our Spanish-packed newsletter list! You get our free Kickstart Your Spanish report and our Super Subjunctive Rule book - plus news of our new audios and videos, and great phrases in every newsletter! Sign up here now!
In episode 17 Ben and Marina discuss etiquette in Spain, covering Spanish punctuality, inviting people to your home in Spain, and how to be polite with food.
Are the Spanish generally punctual? How late will people arrive if you invite them to lunch? How late can you arrive at a restaurant? Can you refuse food at a friends house? Should you take the last croqueta on the plate? And what do the Spanish say about people that sing at the table while everyone is still eating?
Photo: Arriving on time by horse in the Jerez fiestas.
DONATE!Your donations and purchases help us to keep going! If you just feel like supporting these free audios, donations are welcome via our Donate page. ¡Mil gracias!🙂
PLUS! Make sure you are on our Spanish-packed newsletter list! You get our free Kickstart Your Spanish report and our Super Subjunctive Rule book - plus news of our new audios and videos, and great phrases in every newsletter! Sign up here now!
In episode 16 Ben and Marina talk about the endless ways of greeting people in Spain – should you shake hands, give two kisses, a hug, or a combination of all of them?
If they are a neighbour, an old friend, an elderly lady? A persona a friend is introducing you to for the first time? How does this all differ for men and women, or from people who aren’t Spanish, like Ben? We hope to clear everything up!
DONATE!Your donations and purchases help us to keep going! If you just feel like supporting these free audios, donations are welcome via our Donate page. ¡Mil gracias!🙂
PLUS! Make sure you are on our Spanish-packed newsletter list! You get our free Kickstart Your Spanish report and our Super Subjunctive Rule book - plus news of our new audios and videos, and great phrases in every newsletter! Sign up here now!
In episode 15 Ben and Marina discuss a new device that translates real time conversations into different languages on the go, and ask if it’s the end of language learning – no way!
We also discuss whether learning languages makes you more intelligent, how it helps explore the depths of a culture and can lead to greater acceptance in a community when you life abroad, and how the musicality of another language can reach parts of you that your own language can’t touch.
DONATE!Your donations and purchases help us to keep going! If you just feel like supporting these free audios, donations are welcome via our Donate page. ¡Mil gracias!🙂
PLUS! Make sure you are on our Spanish-packed newsletter list! You get our free Kickstart Your Spanish report and our Super Subjunctive Rule book - plus news of our new audios and videos, and great phrases in every newsletter! Sign up here now!
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Today, Ben and Marina discuss Madrid’s new ‘Madrid Central’ initiative which aims to solve pollution problems in the city center. We look at why this has taken so long, and ask if it is connected to the way politics works in Spain (never upset the voter!), and the anti-law nature of the Spanish character in general.
Un abrazo desde Madrid!
In episode 20 Ben and Marina pay homage to Madrid, the city where Marina was born and Ben has lived since 1998.
