So, this page will tell you how I'm getting on with the old Espaņol. It's not easy, I must admit it, although I am improving, slowly. I won't be fluent by the time I leave, but I'll definitely be better than when I first arrived - or else something has seriously gone wrong! In fact, I'm doing well, at the moment - particularly when talking to taxi drivers. Don't ask me why, but for some reason, put me in a taxi and I'm fluent. Weird... Not sure what a psychologist would make of that...
There are many differences between Spanish and English, although one of the
best things about it is that quite often, if you cannot think of the word in
Spanish, if you "hispanicise" the word it's correct. So that organisation
is "organizacion", and football club is "club de futbol". However, this can get you into
trouble - if you say "estoy embarazada" you're not embarrassed but pregnant!
And, if you think someone's telling you TMI by saying "estoy constipado",
they're not - it just means that they have a cold.
So, collected here are some of my favourite phrases in Spanish, along with the literal translation and the English equivalent.
| Spanish | Literal | Actual |
| mucho ruido y pocos nueces | A lot of noise and few walnuts | Much ado about nothing |
| volver la tortilla | return the omelette | turn the tables |
| me vale madre | I value mother | I don't give a fuck* |
| Estoy como una pez que come su cola | I'm like a fish that eats its tail | I'm going round in circles |
| estas tomando mi pelo | You're taking my hair | You're pulling my leg |
| Estas en pedo | You're in fart | Your head's in the clouds (nice!) |
| Estoy un poco patosa | I'm a little bit ducky/ducklike | I'm a bit dozy |
*For more swearing, please see: http://www.insultmonger.com/swearing/spanish.htm
| home | news | el espaņol | gallery | top fives |
| links | guest columns | biography | Mark's website | archived material |