Sure, you may have heard the expression qué tal before, but if you haven't you're going to be glad you came across this post because it's going to simplify your life when it comes to speaking Spanish.
You see the expression qué tal in Spanish books on occasion, but most of the time they just tell you it's an informal greeting and case closed. That hardly does the expression qué tal any justice, so I put together a podcast about some of the most common uses for this expression and you'll be pleasantly surprised at some of its other uses.
You can listen to the podcast here by using the player below or you can click here to download it from iVoox.
By the way, if you missed my previous podcast, Español en Las Calles de Tijuana, you can listen to it clicking here.
The transcript is posted below. Enjoy the podcast!
Hi, this is Rodney and today I'm going to talk about the expression qué tal.
Qué tal is an informal expression that has several different uses.
Don't bother trying to make a literal translation because it's an idiomatic
expression and it just won't make sense.
But don't worry, it's not as bad as it sounds. Once you see how's it's used
you'll realize how simple and useful this expression is.
Let's take a look at some examples
The first and perhaps most common usage of qué tal is as a greeting that you can use any time of the day.
You can use it to address one person or a group people.
If you're speaking directly with someone, you can say:
Hola, ¿qué tal?
Hi, what's up?
Or simply ¿Qué tal?
While I translated qué tal as what's up, that's not really a literal translation.
It could also be translated as:
How are you?
How's it going?
How's everything?
How are you doing?
If you want to address a group of people you can say:
¿Qué tal todos?
How is everybody?
or
¿Qué tal chicos?
How are you guys doing?
You can also ask about a third person
¿Qué tal tu hermana?
How's your sister?
¿Qué tal tu amiga Marta?
How's your friend Marta?
You can even ask about animals
¿Qué tal tu gato?
How's your cat doing?
In fact, you can use qué tal to ask about anything.
¿Qué tal todo?
How's everything?
¿Qué tal el día?
How's your day going?
¿Qué tal la comida?
How's the food?
¿Qué tal tu trabajo?
How's your job going?
¿Qué tal tu clase?
How's your class going?
¿Qué tal el fin de semana?
How's your weekend going?
Before we move on, did you notice that we didn't use a verb in any of those examples?
¿Qué tal?
¿Qué tal tu hermana?
¿Qué tal la comida?
¿Qué tal el fin de semana?
So what's going on here?
When you use qué tal to ask about how something or someone is you're actually using the verb estar,
but it's assumed and not explicitly mentioned.
¿Qué tal? is actually ¿Qué tal estás?
¿Qué tal chicos? is ¿Qué tal están chicos?
¿Qué tal tu hermana? is ¿Qué tal está tu hermana?
¿Qué tal la comida? is ¿Qué tal está la comida?
Now here's the really nice thing about qué tal, you can also use it to ask about events in the past
with the exact same structure.
¿Qué tal el vuelo?
How was the flight?
¿Qué tal el fin de semana?
How was your weekend?
¿Qué tal la comida?
How was the food?
And just like in the present tense, the verb estar is understood.
¿Qué tal el vuelo? is ¿Qué tal estuvo el vuelo?
¿Qué tal el fin de semana? is ¿Qué tal estuvo el fin de semana?
¿Qué tal la comida? is ¿Qué tal estuvo la comida?
Let's talk about some more ways to use qué tal.
You can also use qué tal to make suggestions by saying "Qué tal si..."
which translates to "How about if"
And remember, this is "si" without an accent which means if
Let's look at some examples.
¿Qué tal si vamos al cine?
How about if we go to the movies?
¿Qué tal si vamos todos a jugar billar?
How about if we all go shoot pool?
You can also use it to ask about someone's personality or an objects
characteristics by using "es", from the verb ser.
¿Qué tal es tu novia?
What's your girlfriend like?
¿Qué tal es tu nuevo coche?
What's your new car like?
And that's it.
As you can see, qué tal is a very useful expression that allows us to ask about
things that occur in both the present and the past using a very simple
construction.
That's it for today. Thanks for listening and I look forward to seeing you in the next podcast.
Showing posts with label colloquial Spanish. Show all posts
Showing posts with label colloquial Spanish. Show all posts
Thursday, August 4, 2016
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
¿Me puede pasar corriente?
Sometimes I'm amazed at the amount of Spanish I know. Until I'm abruptly reminded of how much Spanish I don't know.
One night after enjoying a nice dinner at a Mexican restaurant, I was completely surprised by what happened next.
Se murió la batería de mi coche
My car battery died
To be honest, while that was aggravating, what bothered me even more was the fact that I had to ask for a jump in English. I didn't even have a clue as to how to ask for a jump in Spanish. So today I'm going to make sure that doesn't happen to you.
¿Me puede pasarcorriente?
Can you give me a jump?
That was easy wasn't it? Let's look at some vocabulary and learn a few other things you'll need to know.
Jumper cables are called cables para pasar corriente.
¿Tienes cables para pasar corriente?
Do you have jumper cables?
The jumper cable clamps are called pinzas.
Now we know how to ask for jumper cables, we're halfway there.
There are two words for battery in Spanish, pilas and batería. You want to use batería when in comes to talking about your car battery.
The cables para pasar corriente attach to the terminales (terminal for just one) of the batería. And as you can see by picture you have a terminal positivo y terminal negativo. And the dead battery is called the batería muerta.
La batería está muerta
The battery is dead
You have to conectar the pinzas to the terminales.
Conecta el cable con la pinza roja primero en la terminal positiva
Connect the cable with red clamp first to the positive terminal
Conecta la pinza negra a la terminal negativa
Connect the black clamp to the negative terminal
The next step is to encender or arrancar (start) the car.
Enciende/Arranca el coche
Start the car
And finally, you need to retirar las pinzas from the terminales.
Retira las pinzas
Remove the clamps
And finally, here's a video where you can actually hear all of this and learn how to pasar corriente at the same time.
That's it! Now you know everything you need to get a jump in Spanish. And if your memory is as bad as mine, then you may want to consider downloading my android phrasebook app that will allow you keep these phrases and many more at your fingertips when you need them.
Before I let you go, here are some other posts you may like:
1. Marque su pin
2. Gira a la derecha, mas adelante
That's it for today, ¡Buena suerte!
One night after enjoying a nice dinner at a Mexican restaurant, I was completely surprised by what happened next.
Se murió la batería de mi coche
My car battery died
To be honest, while that was aggravating, what bothered me even more was the fact that I had to ask for a jump in English. I didn't even have a clue as to how to ask for a jump in Spanish. So today I'm going to make sure that doesn't happen to you.
¿Me puede pasarcorriente?
Can you give me a jump?
That was easy wasn't it? Let's look at some vocabulary and learn a few other things you'll need to know.
Jumper cables are called cables para pasar corriente.
¿Tienes cables para pasar corriente?
Do you have jumper cables?
The jumper cable clamps are called pinzas.
Now we know how to ask for jumper cables, we're halfway there.
There are two words for battery in Spanish, pilas and batería. You want to use batería when in comes to talking about your car battery.
The cables para pasar corriente attach to the terminales (terminal for just one) of the batería. And as you can see by picture you have a terminal positivo y terminal negativo. And the dead battery is called the batería muerta.
La batería está muerta
The battery is dead
You have to conectar the pinzas to the terminales.
Conecta el cable con la pinza roja primero en la terminal positiva
Connect the cable with red clamp first to the positive terminal
Conecta la pinza negra a la terminal negativa
Connect the black clamp to the negative terminal
The next step is to encender or arrancar (start) the car.
Enciende/Arranca el coche
Start the car
And finally, you need to retirar las pinzas from the terminales.
Retira las pinzas
Remove the clamps
And finally, here's a video where you can actually hear all of this and learn how to pasar corriente at the same time.
That's it! Now you know everything you need to get a jump in Spanish. And if your memory is as bad as mine, then you may want to consider downloading my android phrasebook app that will allow you keep these phrases and many more at your fingertips when you need them.
Before I let you go, here are some other posts you may like:
1. Marque su pin
2. Gira a la derecha, mas adelante
That's it for today, ¡Buena suerte!
Thursday, November 28, 2013
No me baja
If you don't know what a regla is, it's a ruler. But that's not the only definition of regla, nor is it the definition we're here to talk about.
When you hear someone refer to la regla, it's a way of referring to the menstruation cycle, or el ciclo menstrual. You can also say periodo menstrual.
La regla me vino por primera vez con 15
My period came for the first time when I was 15
No me viene la regla
My period didn't come
But just like in English, there's more than one way to skin a cat.
Estoy en mis días
I'm on my period
Ando en mis días
I'm on my period
Está con la regla
She's on her period
When it comes to talking about when "la regla" did or didn't arrive, you can use the verb venir like the examples above but there's also another very common option using the verb bajar.
No me baja
My period didn't start
Me bajó hace una semana
My period started a week ago
Me debía de haber bajado desde el día 21
My period should have started on the 21st
If you have 52 seconds, want to practice your listening skills and want a good laugh, then this video is for you. Be sure to listen for the phrases we just talked about.
That's it for today! I hope you all learned something and got a good laugh from the video. And if for some reason you don't see the video on the page, click here to watch it in YouTube.
¡Hasta la próxima!
When you hear someone refer to la regla, it's a way of referring to the menstruation cycle, or el ciclo menstrual. You can also say periodo menstrual.
La regla me vino por primera vez con 15
My period came for the first time when I was 15
No me viene la regla
My period didn't come
But just like in English, there's more than one way to skin a cat.
Estoy en mis días
I'm on my period
Ando en mis días
I'm on my period
Está con la regla
She's on her period
I'm on my period, don't talk to me
When it comes to talking about when "la regla" did or didn't arrive, you can use the verb venir like the examples above but there's also another very common option using the verb bajar.
No me baja
My period didn't start
Me bajó hace una semana
My period started a week ago
Me debía de haber bajado desde el día 21
My period should have started on the 21st
If you have 52 seconds, want to practice your listening skills and want a good laugh, then this video is for you. Be sure to listen for the phrases we just talked about.
That's it for today! I hope you all learned something and got a good laugh from the video. And if for some reason you don't see the video on the page, click here to watch it in YouTube.
¡Hasta la próxima!
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Más minutos menos lana
More minutes, less wool. Say what?
Sometimes Spanish is just plain confusing. Well, it is if the only thing you ever do is read your text book.
Your dictionary will tell you that lana means wool. And that's good, because it does.
So now you're wondering what lana has to do with minutes. Maybe this will help.
In case you don't recognize the photo, it's the side of a public phone booth. Public phone booth's are all but extinct here in the US. Anyway, I'm sure all of you have already figured out that lana is another way to talk about money, or dinero in Spanish.
Más minutos, menos lana
More minutes less money
Dinero is the standard word in Spanish word for money. You can't go wrong with it. But there are other words that are a lot more fun and make you sound more like a native.
So how do you use the word lana? Just like you use the word dinero.
No tengo lana encima
I don't have any cash on me
¿Qué le puedo regalar a mi novia para la navidad si no tengo lana?
What can I give my girlfriend for Christmas if I don't any money?
Me pagan una buena lana
They pay me good money
So now you've got another word to add to your Spanish toolbox, but there are a few more words you can use for money.
Plata means silver, but it's also used as a synonym for money.
And that's it. Now you can add a little more flair to your Spanish. If you know any more Spanish words for money, leave a comment!
¡Hasta la próxima!
Sometimes Spanish is just plain confusing. Well, it is if the only thing you ever do is read your text book.
Your dictionary will tell you that lana means wool. And that's good, because it does.
So now you're wondering what lana has to do with minutes. Maybe this will help.
In case you don't recognize the photo, it's the side of a public phone booth. Public phone booth's are all but extinct here in the US. Anyway, I'm sure all of you have already figured out that lana is another way to talk about money, or dinero in Spanish.
Más minutos, menos lana
More minutes less money
Dinero is the standard word in Spanish word for money. You can't go wrong with it. But there are other words that are a lot more fun and make you sound more like a native.
So how do you use the word lana? Just like you use the word dinero.
No tengo lana encima
I don't have any cash on me
¿Qué le puedo regalar a mi novia para la navidad si no tengo lana?
What can I give my girlfriend for Christmas if I don't any money?
Me pagan una buena lana
They pay me good money
So now you've got another word to add to your Spanish toolbox, but there are a few more words you can use for money.
Plata means silver, but it's also used as a synonym for money.
I want to buy a lottery ticket so I'll have money, but I don't have money to buy a lottery ticket.
Poor guy.
Billete specifically refers to bills, but you can use it generically to refer to money as well.
Ya págame mi billete
Pay me my money already
In Mexico you'll also hear the terms feria and biyuyo. Feria can refer to bills or change depending on the context.
In Argentina you'll hear the words guita and mango.
The truth is, there are many more words for money besides dinero. In fact, Wikilengua has a list of words used in various countries. Here's the link:
¡Hasta la próxima!
Friday, May 10, 2013
Estoy a punto de llegar al cuarto piso
In my last post I talked about birthdays in Spanish - Estoy de cumple. If you haven't read it yet, you should, because I talk about several birthday-related words your Spanish book left out.
Today we're going to continue on with the subject of age and if you thought your Spanish book betrayed you on the topic of birthdays, well, it's not going to get any better.
You've probably already mastered this bit of Spanish:
¿Cuántos años tienes?
How old are you?
Tengo 24 años
I'm 24
Your Spanish book leaves you high and dry after that, but that's where this post comes in to save the day.
You can also reply with:
Tengo 24
I'm 24
OK, that's just a slightly different version of what your Spanish book taught you, but I just wanted to let you know you can say it without the word "años". It seems rather obvious, but I wondered about that for a long time.
Here are some more options.
Tengo cuarenta y algo
I'm 40 something
Tengo treinta y algo
I'm thirty something
Tengo veinte y tantos
I'm twenty something
You don't even need the verb tener.
Apenas trienta y cinco
Barely thirty five.
Now it's time for the really fun stuff.
Adivina cuántos años tengo
Guess how old I am
You could also just say:
Adivina
Guess
If you really want to have fun, you can reply with:
¿Cuántos años me pones?
How old do you think I am?
Literally that means how many years do you put on me, but literal translations don't always make sense, like in this case.
If someone asks you this question, you need to be ready to reply. Let's take a look at this short dialog:
¿Cuántos años me pones?
How old do you think I am?
Te pongo 30
I think you're about 30
Uy, no, tengo 22
Um, no, I'm 22
Isn't that embarrassing. Let's hope that doesn't happen to you.
Sometimes you don't mind telling people your age in general, but you don't want to discuss specific numbers. The verb IR really comes in handy for this.
Voy para los treinta
I'm going on 30
Voy para los sesenta
I'm going on my 60's
Mi hija va para dos años
My daughter is going on two
You can also use the verb estar.
Mi hermano esta en su treinta
My brother is in his thirties
Mi esposo esta en los cuarenta
My husband is in his 40's
Here are even more cool options to talk about your age.
Soy cuarentón
I'm in my 40's
Es una cicuentona muy atractiva
She's a very attractive 50 year old
Use the verb ser to be somewhat specific about you age no matter how old you are:
Soy (I'm).....
veinton/veintona I'm in my 20's
treintón/trientona I'm in my 30's
cuarentón/cuarentóna I'm in my 40's
cincuentón/cicuentona I'm in my 50's
sesentón/sesentona I'm in my 60's
setentón/setentona I'm in my 70's
ochentón/ochentona I'm in my 80's
noventón/noventona I'm in my 90's
Surprisingly, or maybe not, there's another way to say the same thing.
Soy...
veinteañero/veinteañera
treintañero/treintañera
cuarentoñero/cuarentoñera
cincuentañero/cincuentañera
sesentañero/sesentañera
setentañero/setentañera
ochentañero/ochentañera
noventañero/noventañera
Which version of the above you use is up to you.
Of course, you could always take Mafalda's approach on the subject of age:
Hopefully you got a laugh out of that. And if you don't know who Mafalda is, you're really behind in your Spanish culture. Maybe Malfada will be the focus of future post.
That leaves us with one more thing to discuss.
Estoy a punto de llegar al tercer piso
I'm about to arrive at the 3rd floor
OK, that's the literal translation but at this point I think we all know what's really going on.
When you llegar to the 3rd floor, it's a way of saying you're about to turn 30.
You can arrive to a number of floors, like the quinto piso (5th floor) , and yes, you guessed right, it means you're about to turn 50. Throw the floor in you need and you're good to go.
Well, I think that's enough for one blog post. Now go forth and impress your Spanish speaking amigos with your new found ability to talk about, or even avoid talking about your age.
¡Hasta la próxima!
Today we're going to continue on with the subject of age and if you thought your Spanish book betrayed you on the topic of birthdays, well, it's not going to get any better.
You've probably already mastered this bit of Spanish:
¿Cuántos años tienes?
How old are you?
Tengo 24 años
I'm 24
Your Spanish book leaves you high and dry after that, but that's where this post comes in to save the day.
You can also reply with:
Tengo 24
I'm 24
OK, that's just a slightly different version of what your Spanish book taught you, but I just wanted to let you know you can say it without the word "años". It seems rather obvious, but I wondered about that for a long time.
Here are some more options.
Tengo cuarenta y algo
I'm 40 something
Tengo treinta y algo
I'm thirty something
Tengo veinte y tantos
I'm twenty something
You don't even need the verb tener.
Apenas trienta y cinco
Barely thirty five.
Now it's time for the really fun stuff.
Adivina cuántos años tengo
Guess how old I am
You could also just say:
Adivina
Guess
If you really want to have fun, you can reply with:
¿Cuántos años me pones?
How old do you think I am?
Literally that means how many years do you put on me, but literal translations don't always make sense, like in this case.
If someone asks you this question, you need to be ready to reply. Let's take a look at this short dialog:
¿Cuántos años me pones?
How old do you think I am?
Te pongo 30
I think you're about 30
Uy, no, tengo 22
Um, no, I'm 22
Isn't that embarrassing. Let's hope that doesn't happen to you.
Sometimes you don't mind telling people your age in general, but you don't want to discuss specific numbers. The verb IR really comes in handy for this.
Voy para los treinta
I'm going on 30
Voy para los sesenta
I'm going on my 60's
Mi hija va para dos años
My daughter is going on two
You can also use the verb estar.
Mi hermano esta en su treinta
My brother is in his thirties
Mi esposo esta en los cuarenta
My husband is in his 40's
Here are even more cool options to talk about your age.
Soy cuarentón
I'm in my 40's
Es una cicuentona muy atractiva
She's a very attractive 50 year old
Use the verb ser to be somewhat specific about you age no matter how old you are:
Soy (I'm).....
veinton/veintona I'm in my 20's
treintón/trientona I'm in my 30's
cuarentón/cuarentóna I'm in my 40's
cincuentón/cicuentona I'm in my 50's
sesentón/sesentona I'm in my 60's
setentón/setentona I'm in my 70's
ochentón/ochentona I'm in my 80's
noventón/noventona I'm in my 90's
Surprisingly, or maybe not, there's another way to say the same thing.
Soy...
veinteañero/veinteañera
treintañero/treintañera
cuarentoñero/cuarentoñera
cincuentañero/cincuentañera
sesentañero/sesentañera
setentañero/setentañera
ochentañero/ochentañera
noventañero/noventañera
Which version of the above you use is up to you.
Of course, you could always take Mafalda's approach on the subject of age:
Hopefully you got a laugh out of that. And if you don't know who Mafalda is, you're really behind in your Spanish culture. Maybe Malfada will be the focus of future post.
That leaves us with one more thing to discuss.
Estoy a punto de llegar al tercer piso
I'm about to arrive at the 3rd floor
OK, that's the literal translation but at this point I think we all know what's really going on.
When you llegar to the 3rd floor, it's a way of saying you're about to turn 30.
You can arrive to a number of floors, like the quinto piso (5th floor) , and yes, you guessed right, it means you're about to turn 50. Throw the floor in you need and you're good to go.
Well, I think that's enough for one blog post. Now go forth and impress your Spanish speaking amigos with your new found ability to talk about, or even avoid talking about your age.
¡Hasta la próxima!
Monday, January 7, 2013
¿Puedes pasar por mi?
In the last post I talked about the verb llevar and among other uses, you can use it to talk about taking people from one place to another. If you haven't read that post, you can click here to read it.
So now we know how to ask someone to take us somewhere, but now we need to know how to ask someone to bring us back. Lucky for us Spanish has a verb for that. In fact, there are several ways, so let's learn how to ask someone to pick us up.
The first one we're going to talk about is the verb recoger.
¿Me puedes recoger?
Can you pick me up?
¿Quieres que te recoja?
Do you want me to pick you up?
¿Quieres que te recoja en casa?
Do you want me to pick you up at home?
Ven a recogerme
Come and pick me up
Mi amiga me recogió en el aeropuerto
Voy a buscarte al aeropuerto el domingo
I'll pick you up from the airport on Sunday
While we are done talking about grammar, we're not done talking about how to get that ride home.
There's also pasar a buscar a alguien
¿Te paso a buscar a tu casa?
Should I stop by your house and pick you up?
¿Quieres que te pase a buscar?
Do you want me to stop by your house and pick you up?
¿Donde te paso a buscar?
My personal favorite, pasar por. This is very common in Mexico, and probably the preferred choice when speaking with Mexicans. It also happens to be the first way I learned to ask this question.
Por favor pasa por mi al aeropuerto a la 1
Please pick me up from the airport at 1
¿Vas a pasar por mí al aeropuerto?
Are you going to pick me up from the airport
¿Puedes pasar por mí?
Can you pick me up?
There's also venir a buscar.
Ven a buscarme
Come get me
¿Puedes venir a buscarme al aeropuerto?
Can you come get me from the ariport?
¿Ven a buscarme al trabajo?
Will you come pick me up from work?
We can't forget about pasar a buscar.
Mi novio pasó a buscarme
My boyfriend came to pick me up
Pasa a buscarme
Come pick me up
¿Querés que te pase a buscar?
Do you want me to pick you up?
And last but not least, ir por.
¿Quieres que vaya por ti?
Do you want me to come get you?
Voy por él
I'm going to get him
Tengo que ir por ella
I have to go get her
Voy por mi padre
I'm going to get my dad
Well, that's it. Or maybe I should say that's enough. You may be wondering which one of these many options you should use. My suggestion, use the one you find easiest to remember, or the one that you hear the native speakers around you use.
I hope you found this discussion useful, hasta la próxima.
So now we know how to ask someone to take us somewhere, but now we need to know how to ask someone to bring us back. Lucky for us Spanish has a verb for that. In fact, there are several ways, so let's learn how to ask someone to pick us up.
The first one we're going to talk about is the verb recoger.
¿Me puedes recoger?
Can you pick me up?
¿Quieres que te recoja?
Do you want me to pick you up?
¿Quieres que te recoja en casa?
Do you want me to pick you up at home?
Ven a recogerme
Come and pick me up
Mi amiga me recogió en el aeropuerto
My friend picked me up from the airport
Por favor recógeme en el aeropuerto a la 1 pm
Please pick me up from the airport at 1PM
¿Me puedes recoger a las seis?
Can you pick me up at 6?
Yo te recojo
I'll pick you up
¿Y dónde te recojo?
And where do I pick you up?
Te recojo a las 8
I'll pick you up at 8
Another way to say it is to ir a buscar.
Voy a ir a buscar a Jose al cumpleaños
I'm going to pick up Jose from the birthday party
¿Quieres que vaya a buscarte a casa?
Do you want me to pick you up at home?
Not that I'm at all a grammar fan, much less an expert, but notice the "vaya" above. If the conjugation looks strange it's because it's in the subjunctive. Remember that when you're telling someone what you want them to do, or as in this case, you're asking what you can do for them, you need the subjunctive.
Enough of that, let's get back to the fun stuff.
El pastor fue a buscarme al aeropuerto
The pastor picked me up from the airport
Cuando vayas a buscarme allí estaré
When you come to pick me up I'll be there
Please pick me up from the airport at 1PM
¿Me puedes recoger a las seis?
Can you pick me up at 6?
Yo te recojo
I'll pick you up
¿Y dónde te recojo?
And where do I pick you up?
Te recojo a las 8
I'll pick you up at 8
Another way to say it is to ir a buscar.
Voy a ir a buscar a Jose al cumpleaños
I'm going to pick up Jose from the birthday party
¿Quieres que vaya a buscarte a casa?
Do you want me to pick you up at home?
Not that I'm at all a grammar fan, much less an expert, but notice the "vaya" above. If the conjugation looks strange it's because it's in the subjunctive. Remember that when you're telling someone what you want them to do, or as in this case, you're asking what you can do for them, you need the subjunctive.
Enough of that, let's get back to the fun stuff.
El pastor fue a buscarme al aeropuerto
The pastor picked me up from the airport
Cuando vayas a buscarme allí estaré
When you come to pick me up I'll be there
Voy a buscarte al aeropuerto el domingo
I'll pick you up from the airport on Sunday
While we are done talking about grammar, we're not done talking about how to get that ride home.
There's also pasar a buscar a alguien
¿Te paso a buscar a tu casa?
Should I stop by your house and pick you up?
¿Quieres que te pase a buscar?
Do you want me to stop by your house and pick you up?
¿Donde te paso a buscar?
Where should I pick you up from?
My personal favorite, pasar por. This is very common in Mexico, and probably the preferred choice when speaking with Mexicans. It also happens to be the first way I learned to ask this question.
Por favor pasa por mi al aeropuerto a la 1
Please pick me up from the airport at 1
¿Vas a pasar por mí al aeropuerto?
Are you going to pick me up from the airport
¿Puedes pasar por mí?
Can you pick me up?
There's also venir a buscar.
Ven a buscarme
Come get me
¿Puedes venir a buscarme al aeropuerto?
Can you come get me from the ariport?
¿Ven a buscarme al trabajo?
Will you come pick me up from work?
We can't forget about pasar a buscar.
Mi novio pasó a buscarme
My boyfriend came to pick me up
Pasa a buscarme
Come pick me up
¿Querés que te pase a buscar?
Do you want me to pick you up?
And last but not least, ir por.
¿Quieres que vaya por ti?
Do you want me to come get you?
Voy por él
I'm going to get him
Tengo que ir por ella
I have to go get her
Voy por mi padre
I'm going to get my dad
Well, that's it. Or maybe I should say that's enough. You may be wondering which one of these many options you should use. My suggestion, use the one you find easiest to remember, or the one that you hear the native speakers around you use.
I hope you found this discussion useful, hasta la próxima.
Monday, May 28, 2012
Eres todo un potro
Let's have some fun today.
One day you may find yourself wanting to express to someone how attractive they are, and while Spanish has words like guapa, guapo, bonita, atractivo and the like, it can be way more fun using "slangier" words.
There's going to be some good stuff in here for both guys and gals, so let's get started.
Ricky Martin es todo un galán
Ricky Martin is a complete hunk
A galán is basically your classic movie star, telenovela type of handsome. You'll see this word used quite a bit in entertainment news. While this isn't slang, it's definitely a word to boost a man's ego. If you're really trying to sweep a man off his feet, this is a good choice.
Next we have guapetón, or guapetona.
Mira que guapetón es mi novio
Look at how handsome my boyfriend is
Quiero presentarte a mi amiga, es bien guapetona
I want to introduce you to my friend, she's really pretty
Now, I translated guapetón and guapetona as handsome and pretty, but the truth is, that's not quite right. Guapo or guapa would translate to handsome or pretty. Guapetón and guapetona are a step above plain old handsome and pretty. It's like saying someone is incredibly handsome or pretty. So if you happen to be on the receiving end of this word, you can hold your chin high and walk with your chest poked out.
You could also substitute the words hermosisimo or hermosisima above, which is a variation on the word hermoso. It's like multiplying hermoso times two. You're saying this person is drop-dead gorgeous. This will definitely win you some bonus points.
In English you can tell someone they have the body of a God or Goddess. Spanish is no different.
Tienes cuerpo de un dios griego
You have the body of a Greek god
Eres una diosa
You're a Goddess
FYI, when some refers to a woman as a diosa, they're typically talking about the total package, a great body and a beautiful face.
While we're on the subject of nice bodies, you could also say:
Tienes buen cuerpo
You have a great body
And that's a great compliment, but if you're trying to say you think someone has a really great body, then go with this one:
Que cuerpazo tienes
You have an incredible body
Here's another one to compliment a pretty face.
Hola preciosa
Hey gorgeous
For a guy, you'd say precioso.
You're probably very familiar with the next few Spanish words, they've practically been assimilated into English.
Hola mamacita
Hello baby
Calling a woman mamacita implies that you find her attractive, not only physically, but sexually as well. Depending on who you're talking to, this may not be taken kindly. Think of it as calling a woman a hot mama in English. It could be considered just plain disrespectful.
Eres todo un papacito
Literally, papacito translates as little daddy, but that's nowhere near accurate.
At the moment I can't think of an appropriate word in English for papacito. But the translation isn't really important, what's important is she digs you. If a woman calls you a papcito, she's thinking you're pretty hot. Charming, sexy and attractive could be words running through her mind.
You may also here the word papi, which is really a term of endearment.
Hola papi
Hi baby
Let's keep going, we're almost done.
Eres una yegua
A yegua is actually a female horse, or a philly, as we say in English. It's another way of saying a woman is good looking, a voluptuous or sexy woman. But be careful, in some places calling a woman a yegua can be an insult.
Fear not ladies, you also have a way of comparing a man to a horse. And no, that's not what I'm talking about. Kudos to those of you who get that.
Eres todo un potro
You're a stallion
Officially a potro is a male horse, or stallion. At this point do I even need to say what it means unofficially?
Here's a joke for you.
¿En qué se parece el hombre a los caballitos de mar?
How are men like seahorses?
En que se creen potros y son unos pescados
They think they're stallions but they're just fish
Sorry, Let's get back on track and wrap this up.
You can tell someone:
Estás buenisima
You're hot
Buenisimo for a guy. Buenisima can have a sexual connotation, so be careful. In fact, the remaining things I'm going to share all have a sexual connotation.
Estas bien buena
You are really hot
Again, bueno for a man.
These are even more forward.
Te ves deliciosa
You look delicious
Yeah, I think you get it.
Te ves bien rico
You look delicious
Rico or rica typically applies to food, but as you can see it applies to people as well. I did mention this can have a sexual connotation right?
Wow, that's it for now. There are probably dozens of other ways to compliment someone informally, but this is more than enough to get you started.
¡Chao!
One day you may find yourself wanting to express to someone how attractive they are, and while Spanish has words like guapa, guapo, bonita, atractivo and the like, it can be way more fun using "slangier" words.
There's going to be some good stuff in here for both guys and gals, so let's get started.
Ricky Martin es todo un galán
Ricky Martin is a complete hunk
A galán is basically your classic movie star, telenovela type of handsome. You'll see this word used quite a bit in entertainment news. While this isn't slang, it's definitely a word to boost a man's ego. If you're really trying to sweep a man off his feet, this is a good choice.
Next we have guapetón, or guapetona.
Mira que guapetón es mi novio
Look at how handsome my boyfriend is
Quiero presentarte a mi amiga, es bien guapetona
I want to introduce you to my friend, she's really pretty
Now, I translated guapetón and guapetona as handsome and pretty, but the truth is, that's not quite right. Guapo or guapa would translate to handsome or pretty. Guapetón and guapetona are a step above plain old handsome and pretty. It's like saying someone is incredibly handsome or pretty. So if you happen to be on the receiving end of this word, you can hold your chin high and walk with your chest poked out.
You could also substitute the words hermosisimo or hermosisima above, which is a variation on the word hermoso. It's like multiplying hermoso times two. You're saying this person is drop-dead gorgeous. This will definitely win you some bonus points.
In English you can tell someone they have the body of a God or Goddess. Spanish is no different.
Tienes cuerpo de un dios griego
You have the body of a Greek god
Eres una diosa
You're a Goddess
FYI, when some refers to a woman as a diosa, they're typically talking about the total package, a great body and a beautiful face.
While we're on the subject of nice bodies, you could also say:
Tienes buen cuerpo
You have a great body
And that's a great compliment, but if you're trying to say you think someone has a really great body, then go with this one:
Que cuerpazo tienes
You have an incredible body
Here's another one to compliment a pretty face.
Hola preciosa
Hey gorgeous
For a guy, you'd say precioso.
You're probably very familiar with the next few Spanish words, they've practically been assimilated into English.
Hola mamacita
Hello baby
Calling a woman mamacita implies that you find her attractive, not only physically, but sexually as well. Depending on who you're talking to, this may not be taken kindly. Think of it as calling a woman a hot mama in English. It could be considered just plain disrespectful.
Eres todo un papacito
Literally, papacito translates as little daddy, but that's nowhere near accurate.
At the moment I can't think of an appropriate word in English for papacito. But the translation isn't really important, what's important is she digs you. If a woman calls you a papcito, she's thinking you're pretty hot. Charming, sexy and attractive could be words running through her mind.
You may also here the word papi, which is really a term of endearment.
Hola papi
Hi baby
Let's keep going, we're almost done.
Eres una yegua
A yegua is actually a female horse, or a philly, as we say in English. It's another way of saying a woman is good looking, a voluptuous or sexy woman. But be careful, in some places calling a woman a yegua can be an insult.
Fear not ladies, you also have a way of comparing a man to a horse. And no, that's not what I'm talking about. Kudos to those of you who get that.
Eres todo un potro
You're a stallion
Officially a potro is a male horse, or stallion. At this point do I even need to say what it means unofficially?
Here's a joke for you.
¿En qué se parece el hombre a los caballitos de mar?
How are men like seahorses?
En que se creen potros y son unos pescados
They think they're stallions but they're just fish
Sorry, Let's get back on track and wrap this up.
You can tell someone:
Estás buenisima
You're hot
Buenisimo for a guy. Buenisima can have a sexual connotation, so be careful. In fact, the remaining things I'm going to share all have a sexual connotation.
Estas bien buena
You are really hot
Again, bueno for a man.
These are even more forward.
Te ves deliciosa
You look delicious
Yeah, I think you get it.
Te ves bien rico
You look delicious
Rico or rica typically applies to food, but as you can see it applies to people as well. I did mention this can have a sexual connotation right?
Wow, that's it for now. There are probably dozens of other ways to compliment someone informally, but this is more than enough to get you started.
¡Chao!
Monday, March 19, 2012
Para los ke pidieron fotos ojicafe
Yes, that's an ojo. An eye for those of you who are truly Spanish newbies.
And as we all know, eyes come in all different colors. If you want an extensive list of eye colors (color de ojos) in Spanish, here's a link to Wikipedia:
But you can do that later. Here's a quick listing of common eye colors.
Marrón, café o castaño - Brown
Azul - Blue
Verde - Green
Negro - Black
One way of talking about the color of someone's eyes is to simply say...
Tienes ojos verdes
You have green eyes
You just conjugate the verb tener to it's appropriate form, throw in the word ojos, the necessary color and you're good. Here's one more example.
Tengo ojos azul
I have blue eyes
You get the idea. But it turns out there's another way to talk about eye color.
Soy flaco pelo negro oji negro
I'm thin, black hair, black eyes
Did you catch the "oji negro"? I've seen this written a few different ways:
Ojinegro, oji negro and oji-negro
I have no idea which one is correct, and on top of that, I had to look through a few dictionaries before I could even find the word ojinegro. When you're talking it won't make a difference, and I doubt anybody really cares anyway.
Some other colors:
Ojiazul - Blues eyes
Ojimoreno - Brown eyes
Ojiverde - Green eyes
Ojigris - Grey eyes
We have just one thing left to talk about. Our expression for today.
Para los ke pidieron fotos ojicafe
For those of you who asked for brown-eyed photos
If ke doesn't look familiar to you, don't worry, it's basically chat speak, or shorthand if you prefer. You may also see just plain k, or even q.
That's all for today. Don't hesitate to go out and start using your new found vocabulary!
Saludos
Monday, November 21, 2011
Si me toca el gordo, qué hago?
Literally speaking, Tocar el gordo means to touch the fat man.
So, if you translated this as:
¿Si me toca el gordo, que hago?
If the fat man touches me, what do I do?
You'd be wrong. Let's find out why.
OK, the truth is, whether or not your translation is wrong depends on context. "El gordo" does mean the fat man, but it also has another meaning.
"El gordo" is a colloquial way of referring to "la lotería". And "lotería" means lottery in case you don't know. You may also hear it called a sorteo. Sorteo is also the word you want if you need to talk about a raffle.
Here are some examples of what a boleto de lotería and a boleto de sorteo might look like:
Where can you buy boletos de lotería? It's pretty common to see boletos de lotería being sold in the streets.
It's not uncommon for us to refer to the lottery as "the big one", and "El gordo" is the Spanish version of that. "El gordo" is universal, so you can use this with Spanish speakers from anywhere.
You may have wondered about the use of tocar in this sentence. Literally "si me toca" translates to "if it touches me", but we wouldn't say that in English. You could have easily said:
¿Si me gano el gordo, qué hago?
If I win the the big one, what do I do?
As you can see, using the verb ganar (to win) is more of a direct translation. But using the verb tocar is also a very common way of expressing this. It's also a good way of flexing your Spanish muscles and impressing your Spanish speaking friends.
And speaking of tocar, it's used in a few other ways you may find surprising. But I'm not going to tell you what they are in this post. In fact, I'm not going to tell you at all, because another fellow blogger has already written a great post about this, so why reinvent the wheel?
My new found internet friend and Spanish aficionado runs the blog Vocabat.com. Her blog focuses on Colombian Spanish and gives us some great insight on the language and culture of Colombia. What makes her blog even more informative is that she is reporting directly from the city of Medellin. I can't even begin to tell you how jealous I am. Anyway, it's a great blog, check it out.
Here's the link to her post on the verb tocar. If you're serious about learning Spanish, be sure to read it, because it's both informative, and amusing. Not to mention it may very well save you some embarrassment.
¿Me toca o me toco?
That's it for today, ¡hasta la próxima!
So, if you translated this as:
¿Si me toca el gordo, que hago?
If the fat man touches me, what do I do?
You'd be wrong. Let's find out why.
OK, the truth is, whether or not your translation is wrong depends on context. "El gordo" does mean the fat man, but it also has another meaning.
"El gordo" is a colloquial way of referring to "la lotería". And "lotería" means lottery in case you don't know. You may also hear it called a sorteo. Sorteo is also the word you want if you need to talk about a raffle.
Here are some examples of what a boleto de lotería and a boleto de sorteo might look like:
Where can you buy boletos de lotería? It's pretty common to see boletos de lotería being sold in the streets.
It's not uncommon for us to refer to the lottery as "the big one", and "El gordo" is the Spanish version of that. "El gordo" is universal, so you can use this with Spanish speakers from anywhere.
You may have wondered about the use of tocar in this sentence. Literally "si me toca" translates to "if it touches me", but we wouldn't say that in English. You could have easily said:¿Si me gano el gordo, qué hago?
If I win the the big one, what do I do?
As you can see, using the verb ganar (to win) is more of a direct translation. But using the verb tocar is also a very common way of expressing this. It's also a good way of flexing your Spanish muscles and impressing your Spanish speaking friends.
And speaking of tocar, it's used in a few other ways you may find surprising. But I'm not going to tell you what they are in this post. In fact, I'm not going to tell you at all, because another fellow blogger has already written a great post about this, so why reinvent the wheel?
My new found internet friend and Spanish aficionado runs the blog Vocabat.com. Her blog focuses on Colombian Spanish and gives us some great insight on the language and culture of Colombia. What makes her blog even more informative is that she is reporting directly from the city of Medellin. I can't even begin to tell you how jealous I am. Anyway, it's a great blog, check it out.
Here's the link to her post on the verb tocar. If you're serious about learning Spanish, be sure to read it, because it's both informative, and amusing. Not to mention it may very well save you some embarrassment.
¿Me toca o me toco?
That's it for today, ¡hasta la próxima!
Monday, October 31, 2011
Si tuere dominicano dale like
Si tuere dominicano dale like
This sentence could confuse you for multiple reasons, so let's get started.
I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that the word "tuere" might have some of you saying "what the heck is that?". Don't bother looking it up in your dictionary, you won't find it.
The reason you won't find "tuere" in your dictionary is because it isn't one word, it's two. "Tuere" is really "tu ere". Well, that's not entirely true, it's "tu eres". However, when you "quita la s" - drop the "s" and say it really fast, it becomes "tuere". Dominicans (among other Spanish speakers) are famous for dropping the s when they speak and even more famous for speaking incredibly fast.
So we've solved our first mystery. That leaves us with "dale like". You may have already guessed the meaning of this one, but if you haven't, here's a clue:
Yes, "dale like" means to "to like" something in FaceBook. Now we can make our translation:
Si tuere dominicano dale like
If you're Domican, "like" this
And since we're on the subject of FaceBook, let's talk about that. That's really what this entrada (post) is about anyway.
Primero lo primero (first things first), FaceBook in Spanish is simply refered to as "FaceBook".
Mandame un mensaje por facebook
Send me a message on FaceBook
You can also simply refer to FaceBook as "el face". This may be regional, but everyone will know what you're talking about.
If you use FaceBook, you're a feisbuqero, or feisbuquera.
When you're using FaceBook, you're feisbuqueando.
q peedo we q haces?? ps nada aki....feisbuqueando
What's up dude, what are you doing? Nothing, I'm just on FaceBook
Notice the cryptic lanugage. People really write like that. Let me translate it for you.
q peedo we q haces?? ps nada aki....feisbuqueando
Qué pedo wey, qué haces? Pues nada aquí....feisbuqueando
Who would have ever thought you'd have to translate from Spanish to Spanish? But let's get back to our conversation about FaceBook terminology.
If you want to tell your friends to add you to their page...
Agrégame en FaceBook
Add me to your FaceBook page
If you want them to take you off their page...
Borrame de tu Facebook
Take me off your FaceBook page
You may also need this one, I certainly did:
Te borré sin querer de mi Facebook
I accidently removed you from my FaceBook page
You can also tag people in photos.
Te voy a etiquetar en unas fotos
I'm going to tag you in some pictures
Or you can go with something perhaps a bit more cool:
Te puse tag en el Face
I tagged you in FaceBook
Oye te puse tag en un par de fotos
Hey, I tagged you in a couple of photos
If you want to poke someone, you can "Dar un toque". Although, while poking around on the web (ok, ok, bad joke, I promise not to do it again) I discovered that the opinion of many Spanish speakers is that "Dar un toque" is a bad translation. But, that's what's FaceBook uses, so there we have it. And you should always be polite and "Devolver el toque" - poke them back.
Lastly while we did talk about how to "like" something, you have a few more options as well. You can "pon un like" or "pon un me gusta" as well.
That's it! This certainly isn't the end all be all of feisbuqueando in Spanish, but it should get you started. Also, check out this page for some good examples of "FaceBook speak". If you start feisbuqueando with your Spanish friends, you might need it.
http://gringationcancun.wordpress.com/2010/04/10/how-to-speak-like-a-mexicano-im-down-with-the-kids-and-the-facebook/
¡Hasta luego!
This sentence could confuse you for multiple reasons, so let's get started.
I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that the word "tuere" might have some of you saying "what the heck is that?". Don't bother looking it up in your dictionary, you won't find it.
The reason you won't find "tuere" in your dictionary is because it isn't one word, it's two. "Tuere" is really "tu ere". Well, that's not entirely true, it's "tu eres". However, when you "quita la s" - drop the "s" and say it really fast, it becomes "tuere". Dominicans (among other Spanish speakers) are famous for dropping the s when they speak and even more famous for speaking incredibly fast.
So we've solved our first mystery. That leaves us with "dale like". You may have already guessed the meaning of this one, but if you haven't, here's a clue:
Yes, "dale like" means to "to like" something in FaceBook. Now we can make our translation:
Si tuere dominicano dale like
If you're Domican, "like" this
And since we're on the subject of FaceBook, let's talk about that. That's really what this entrada (post) is about anyway.
Primero lo primero (first things first), FaceBook in Spanish is simply refered to as "FaceBook".
Mandame un mensaje por facebook
Send me a message on FaceBook
You can also simply refer to FaceBook as "el face". This may be regional, but everyone will know what you're talking about.
If you use FaceBook, you're a feisbuqero, or feisbuquera.
When you're using FaceBook, you're feisbuqueando.
q peedo we q haces?? ps nada aki....feisbuqueando
What's up dude, what are you doing? Nothing, I'm just on FaceBook
Notice the cryptic lanugage. People really write like that. Let me translate it for you.
q peedo we q haces?? ps nada aki....feisbuqueando
Qué pedo wey, qué haces? Pues nada aquí....feisbuqueando
Who would have ever thought you'd have to translate from Spanish to Spanish? But let's get back to our conversation about FaceBook terminology.
If you want to tell your friends to add you to their page...
Agrégame en FaceBook
Add me to your FaceBook page
If you want them to take you off their page...
Borrame de tu Facebook
Take me off your FaceBook page
You may also need this one, I certainly did:
Te borré sin querer de mi Facebook
I accidently removed you from my FaceBook page
You can also tag people in photos.
Te voy a etiquetar en unas fotos
I'm going to tag you in some pictures
Or you can go with something perhaps a bit more cool:
Te puse tag en el Face
I tagged you in FaceBook
Oye te puse tag en un par de fotos
Hey, I tagged you in a couple of photos
If you want to poke someone, you can "Dar un toque". Although, while poking around on the web (ok, ok, bad joke, I promise not to do it again) I discovered that the opinion of many Spanish speakers is that "Dar un toque" is a bad translation. But, that's what's FaceBook uses, so there we have it. And you should always be polite and "Devolver el toque" - poke them back.
Lastly while we did talk about how to "like" something, you have a few more options as well. You can "pon un like" or "pon un me gusta" as well.
That's it! This certainly isn't the end all be all of feisbuqueando in Spanish, but it should get you started. Also, check out this page for some good examples of "FaceBook speak". If you start feisbuqueando with your Spanish friends, you might need it.
http://gringationcancun.wordpress.com/2010/04/10/how-to-speak-like-a-mexicano-im-down-with-the-kids-and-the-facebook/
¡Hasta luego!
Monday, October 24, 2011
Ayudita porfis
One of the first things you learn in Spanish is how to say "please". And that's a good thing, because you can never be too polite.
And just in case you don't know, "por favor" is Spanish for "please".
However, once you go beyond your text books and actually start communicating with real people, you quicly learn there's more than one way to say please.
Un cafecito, porfa
A coffee, please
Vengan a mi fiesta por favorcito
Come to my party pretty please
Préstame tu cel para hacer unas llamaditas plis
Loan me your cell please so I can make some quick calls please
Ayudita porfis
A little help please
Remember, all of these versions of por favor are interchangable. I will point out that porfis and por favorcito is along the lines of "pretty please". And "plis" is a bit of Spanglish slipping into the language. It sounds exactly like "please" in English.
Also remember that for formal occasions you'll want to stick with "por favor". It's also possible that one version is a little more regional than the other, but everyone will still understand you.
Don't be afraid to try to try these out with your amigos, they make your Spanish sound just a bit more natural. These expressions are kind of childish and playful, so you don't want to overdo it with them.
¡Hasta luego!
And just in case you don't know, "por favor" is Spanish for "please".
However, once you go beyond your text books and actually start communicating with real people, you quicly learn there's more than one way to say please.
Un cafecito, porfa
A coffee, please
Vengan a mi fiesta por favorcito
Come to my party pretty please
Please tell me the holiday isn't over
Préstame tu cel para hacer unas llamaditas plis
Loan me your cell please so I can make some quick calls please
Ayudita porfis
A little help please
Remember, all of these versions of por favor are interchangable. I will point out that porfis and por favorcito is along the lines of "pretty please". And "plis" is a bit of Spanglish slipping into the language. It sounds exactly like "please" in English.
Also remember that for formal occasions you'll want to stick with "por favor". It's also possible that one version is a little more regional than the other, but everyone will still understand you.
Don't be afraid to try to try these out with your amigos, they make your Spanish sound just a bit more natural. These expressions are kind of childish and playful, so you don't want to overdo it with them.
¡Hasta luego!
Monday, June 13, 2011
Creo que me pone los cuernos
Let's start with the word cuerno, just in case you don't know what that is. And since "una imágen vale más que mil palabras" - a picture is worth a thousand words, here's a cuerno:
Yes, a cuerno is a horn. Now we can translate our sentence.
Creo que me pone los cuernos
I think he's putting the horns on me.
Well, that didn't help much, did it? Let me explain.
In Spanish, when you "put the horns on someone", "Ponerle los cuernos a alguien", that means you're cheating on your significant other. Let's take a look at some examples of how to use this.
Creo que me pone los cuernos
I think he's cheating on me
¿Por qué me pusiste los cuernos?
Why did you cheat on me?
Su novia le ponía los cuernos
His girlfriend was chearing on him
Before I forget, there's the word "curnudos". That's the term given to the parties involved in the affair.
Like always, there's more than one way to skin a cat. You can use the verb engañar as well, "engañarle a alguien".
Creo que mi esposa me engaña
I think my wife is cheating on me
Mi novia me engaño
My girlfriend cheated on me
¿Me estás engañado?
Are you cheating on me?
¡Me engañaste!
You cheated on me!
Lastly, you can talk about being loyal to your significant other with the words fiel and infiel, which mean to be faithful and unfaithful, respectively. You'll want to use the verb Ser - Ser fiel/infiel
¿Eres fiel a tu pareja?
Are you faithful to your partner?
Fui infiel a mi pareja en mi despedida de soltera
I was unfaithful to my partner at my bachelorette party
Well, I think that about covers it for today.
¡Hasta la próxima!
Yes, a cuerno is a horn. Now we can translate our sentence.
Creo que me pone los cuernos
I think he's putting the horns on me.
Well, that didn't help much, did it? Let me explain.
In Spanish, when you "put the horns on someone", "Ponerle los cuernos a alguien", that means you're cheating on your significant other. Let's take a look at some examples of how to use this.
Creo que me pone los cuernos
I think he's cheating on me
¿Por qué me pusiste los cuernos?
Why did you cheat on me?
Su novia le ponía los cuernos
His girlfriend was chearing on him
Before I forget, there's the word "curnudos". That's the term given to the parties involved in the affair.
Like always, there's more than one way to skin a cat. You can use the verb engañar as well, "engañarle a alguien".
Creo que mi esposa me engaña
I think my wife is cheating on me
Mi novia me engaño
My girlfriend cheated on me
¿Me estás engañado?
Are you cheating on me?
¡Me engañaste!
You cheated on me!
Lastly, you can talk about being loyal to your significant other with the words fiel and infiel, which mean to be faithful and unfaithful, respectively. You'll want to use the verb Ser - Ser fiel/infiel
¿Eres fiel a tu pareja?
Are you faithful to your partner?
Fui infiel a mi pareja en mi despedida de soltera
I was unfaithful to my partner at my bachelorette party
Well, I think that about covers it for today.
¡Hasta la próxima!
Monday, May 30, 2011
Este gabacho habla bastante español
Although I had heard the term gabacho before, it had never been directed at me. But don't worry, it wasn't an insult.
I've also heard the term gabachita, which stems from gabacho. I heard this when a waitress I was talking to in Mexico pointed to her friend (another waitress) and told me her co-worker, "la gabachita" spoke really good Spanish. She eventually confessed that her friend wasn't a gabacha, but in fact a Mexicana, and was just pulling my leg.
Ok, at this point I guess I need to get on with it and explain what a gabacho (gabacha) is.
The truth is, you already know what a gabacho is. Gabacho is often used instead of gringo. And gabachita is just a variation of gabacha. You see, the waitress I was speaking with at the bar called her co-worker a gabachita because her co-worker looked more like a a red-blooded American than a Mexican. And that's exactly how the term is used, to refer to Americans, just like gringo.
Bolillo is another term. It's actually a kind of white bread that you can probably find in your local Wal-Mart, and it's used to specifically refer to white Americans.
If you're wondering whether or not the words gabacho, gringo or bilillo are offensive, well, the answer is a definate maybe.
You see, while many Spanish speakers will be familar with these words, who considers what to be offensive various tremendously, so becareful. When in doubt ask. Although I suspect you're not likely to use them as much as you are to hear them.
¡Hasta la próxima!
I've also heard the term gabachita, which stems from gabacho. I heard this when a waitress I was talking to in Mexico pointed to her friend (another waitress) and told me her co-worker, "la gabachita" spoke really good Spanish. She eventually confessed that her friend wasn't a gabacha, but in fact a Mexicana, and was just pulling my leg.
Ok, at this point I guess I need to get on with it and explain what a gabacho (gabacha) is.
The truth is, you already know what a gabacho is. Gabacho is often used instead of gringo. And gabachita is just a variation of gabacha. You see, the waitress I was speaking with at the bar called her co-worker a gabachita because her co-worker looked more like a a red-blooded American than a Mexican. And that's exactly how the term is used, to refer to Americans, just like gringo.
Bolillo is another term. It's actually a kind of white bread that you can probably find in your local Wal-Mart, and it's used to specifically refer to white Americans.
If you're wondering whether or not the words gabacho, gringo or bilillo are offensive, well, the answer is a definate maybe.
You see, while many Spanish speakers will be familar with these words, who considers what to be offensive various tremendously, so becareful. When in doubt ask. Although I suspect you're not likely to use them as much as you are to hear them.
¡Hasta la próxima!
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Estoy hasta el tope y apenas es lunes
This is one of those expressions you'll find yourself using a lot. At least, if you're like me you will.
Before we get started, there are a few interesting words you may not be familar with, so let's talk about those before we cover the entire phrase.
Let's start with tope. Tope can be translated as "the upper limit", "to the top" or maybe "to the rim". So you can say something like:
Llene el vaso hasta el tope
Fill the glass to the rim
Apenas, at least in this context means barely.
Apenas te conozco
I barely know you
"Hasta el" or "hasta la", can generally be translated as "until".
Camina hasta la esquina y dobla a la derecha
Walk until you get to the corner and turn right
¿Cuanto tiempo te vas a quedar? Hasta el lunes
How long are you going to stay? Until Monday
Now we're ready to look at our phrase.
You may have already put some of this together, but let's talk about it anyway.
When you say "Estoy hasta el tope", you're literally saying your filled to rim. Clearly this makes no sense. But figuratively it means "I'm fed up".
Estoy hasta el tope con el trabajo
I'm fed up with my job
Interestingly enough, if you change "con" to "de", the meaning changes rather drastically.
Estoy hasta el tope de trabajo
I've got a ton of work
Consider that one a bonus. Let's get back to the task at hand.
"Hasta el tope" is just one option. Here's another one.
Estoy harto de mi trabajo
I'm fed up with my job
Estoy harto de tí
I'm fed up with you
Or simply...
Estoy harta
I'm fed up
Notice I used "harta" this time. Ladies you'll want to use "harta".
That's it. Pan comido, ¿verdad?
¡Hasta la próxima!
Before we get started, there are a few interesting words you may not be familar with, so let's talk about those before we cover the entire phrase.
Let's start with tope. Tope can be translated as "the upper limit", "to the top" or maybe "to the rim". So you can say something like:
Llene el vaso hasta el tope
Fill the glass to the rim
Apenas, at least in this context means barely.
Apenas te conozco
I barely know you
"Hasta el" or "hasta la", can generally be translated as "until".
Camina hasta la esquina y dobla a la derecha
Walk until you get to the corner and turn right
¿Cuanto tiempo te vas a quedar? Hasta el lunes
How long are you going to stay? Until Monday
Now we're ready to look at our phrase.
You may have already put some of this together, but let's talk about it anyway.
When you say "Estoy hasta el tope", you're literally saying your filled to rim. Clearly this makes no sense. But figuratively it means "I'm fed up".
Estoy hasta el tope con el trabajo
I'm fed up with my job
Interestingly enough, if you change "con" to "de", the meaning changes rather drastically.
Estoy hasta el tope de trabajo
I've got a ton of work
Consider that one a bonus. Let's get back to the task at hand.
"Hasta el tope" is just one option. Here's another one.
Estoy harto de mi trabajo
I'm fed up with my job
Estoy harto de tí
I'm fed up with you
Or simply...
Estoy harta
I'm fed up
Notice I used "harta" this time. Ladies you'll want to use "harta".
That's it. Pan comido, ¿verdad?
¡Hasta la próxima!
Monday, March 14, 2011
Me pones
The verb ponerse is highly used but rarely talked about in any Spanish book I've seen. For whatever reason it's non-reflexive cousin poner gets all the glory.
Let's take a look at some ways ponerse is used:
Voy a ponerme guapa
I'm going to go make myself look pretty
Me pongo nervioso cuando estoy con chicas bonitas
I get nervous when I'm with pretty girls
¿Qué me pongo?
What should I put on?
Saber que estas mejorando me pone muy feliz
Knowing that you're getting better makes me happy
Se puso a hacer las maletas
He started packing his suit cases
Ponte el cinturón
Put on your seatbelt
Se puso enfermo y por eso no pudo ir
He got sick and that's why he couldn't go
Quiero ponerme en forma para el verano
I want to get in shape for the summer
Using ponerse is actually pretty straight-forward, and mastering it's use will make your Spanish sound very, very natural. And as you can see from the examples above, you can use ponerse to talk about anything from putting on clothes, talking about your emotions, and even making yourself look nice, so you can see there are many uses of this verb.
Before we wrap things up, there's one other usage I didn't cover.
Me pones
After looking at the previous examples, you may be tempted to think this is an incomplete sentence, but you'd be wrong.
Me pones
You turn me on
Mi novio no me pone para nada
My boyfriend doesn't turn me on at all
Shakira me pone
Shakira turns me on
I bet you didn't see that one coming. It was a surprise for me too.
That's it for today, espero que te sirva.
¡Hasta la próxima!
Let's take a look at some ways ponerse is used:
Voy a ponerme guapa
I'm going to go make myself look pretty
Me pongo nervioso cuando estoy con chicas bonitas
I get nervous when I'm with pretty girls
¿Qué me pongo?
What should I put on?
Saber que estas mejorando me pone muy feliz
Knowing that you're getting better makes me happy
Se puso a hacer las maletas
He started packing his suit cases
Ponte el cinturón
Put on your seatbelt
Se puso enfermo y por eso no pudo ir
He got sick and that's why he couldn't go
Quiero ponerme en forma para el verano
I want to get in shape for the summer
Using ponerse is actually pretty straight-forward, and mastering it's use will make your Spanish sound very, very natural. And as you can see from the examples above, you can use ponerse to talk about anything from putting on clothes, talking about your emotions, and even making yourself look nice, so you can see there are many uses of this verb.
Before we wrap things up, there's one other usage I didn't cover.
Me pones
After looking at the previous examples, you may be tempted to think this is an incomplete sentence, but you'd be wrong.
Me pones
You turn me on
Mi novio no me pone para nada
My boyfriend doesn't turn me on at all
Shakira me pone
Shakira turns me on
I bet you didn't see that one coming. It was a surprise for me too.
That's it for today, espero que te sirva.
¡Hasta la próxima!
Monday, January 31, 2011
¿Varón o hembra?
I remember the first time I heard the word varón like it was yesterday.
This was a few year back and I was on an airplane speaking with a woman from Cuba and she used this word. I was convinced it was some form of Cuban slang because I had never heard it before. Turns out it wasn't, but I didn't think much about it until I heard it again much later.
Enough chit-chat, let me ir al grano (get to the point).
Varón and hembra officially mean male and female. However, colloquially these terms are used to mean niño or niña, boy or girl, son or daughter. Let's look at a few examples:
Tengo una nena y un varón
I have one girl and a boy
Tengo 3 hijos adultos 1 varon y 2 mujeres
I have 3 grown children, 1 son and 2 daughters
¿Vas a tener un varón o hembra?
Are you going to have a boy or girl?
Tengo un varón y una hembra
I have one boy and one girl
When you talk to someone who just recently had a baby and you ask them the sex of the baby, you might hear:
es un varoncito or es una hembra
These terms are also what you use for talking about male or female animals. And you may also hear the word macho instead of varón.
¿Como diferenciar un gato macho a un gato hembra?
How do I tell the difference between a male and female cat?
That's it. Getting a good handle on how these words are used will have you sounding like a born Spanish speaker.
Ojála que te sirva
I hope this helps!
This was a few year back and I was on an airplane speaking with a woman from Cuba and she used this word. I was convinced it was some form of Cuban slang because I had never heard it before. Turns out it wasn't, but I didn't think much about it until I heard it again much later.
Enough chit-chat, let me ir al grano (get to the point).
Varón and hembra officially mean male and female. However, colloquially these terms are used to mean niño or niña, boy or girl, son or daughter. Let's look at a few examples:
Tengo una nena y un varón
I have one girl and a boy
Tengo 3 hijos adultos 1 varon y 2 mujeres
I have 3 grown children, 1 son and 2 daughters
¿Vas a tener un varón o hembra?
Are you going to have a boy or girl?
Tengo un varón y una hembra
I have one boy and one girl
When you talk to someone who just recently had a baby and you ask them the sex of the baby, you might hear:
es un varoncito or es una hembra
These terms are also what you use for talking about male or female animals. And you may also hear the word macho instead of varón.
¿Como diferenciar un gato macho a un gato hembra?
How do I tell the difference between a male and female cat?
That's it. Getting a good handle on how these words are used will have you sounding like a born Spanish speaker.
Ojála que te sirva
I hope this helps!
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Me perdí la reunión donde Clara
Break out your pen and paper boys and girls, you'll want to write this one down.
The first time I saw this, I thought it was a typo, it reads like something is missing:
Me perdí la reunión donde Clara
I missed the meeting where Clara
However, when my friend used it a second time, I knew there was something going on I just didn't understand.
It turns out donde has a colloquial usage I never knew about. In this context, donde means "en la casa de" or "en casa de". With that in mind, we could have written this as:
Me perdí la reunión en la casa de Clara
I missed the meeting at Clara's
Who knew? Let's go over a few more details.
When you say "donde Clara", you're refering to that persons home, regardless of whether they are at home or not.
Here's another example:
Estoy donde mi amigo
I'm at my friends house
Your friend may not be at home, but that's where you are. You can also use the construction "en lo de" to say the same thing.
Me perdí la reunión en lo de Clara
I missed the meeting at Clara's (house)
In a slightly different context, donde can also mean "next to" (‘junto a’ )
El banco está donde el cine
The bank is next to the movie theatre
This usage of donde in these contexts is pretty common and will make you sound like a native speaker for sure. I recommend you go and use it every chance you get to burn it into your memory.
¡Nos vemos!
The first time I saw this, I thought it was a typo, it reads like something is missing:
Me perdí la reunión donde Clara
I missed the meeting where Clara
However, when my friend used it a second time, I knew there was something going on I just didn't understand.
It turns out donde has a colloquial usage I never knew about. In this context, donde means "en la casa de" or "en casa de". With that in mind, we could have written this as:
Me perdí la reunión en la casa de Clara
I missed the meeting at Clara's
Who knew? Let's go over a few more details.
When you say "donde Clara", you're refering to that persons home, regardless of whether they are at home or not.
Here's another example:
Estoy donde mi amigo
I'm at my friends house
Your friend may not be at home, but that's where you are. You can also use the construction "en lo de" to say the same thing.
Me perdí la reunión en lo de Clara
I missed the meeting at Clara's (house)
In a slightly different context, donde can also mean "next to" (‘junto a’ )
El banco está donde el cine
The bank is next to the movie theatre
This usage of donde in these contexts is pretty common and will make you sound like a native speaker for sure. I recommend you go and use it every chance you get to burn it into your memory.
¡Nos vemos!
Monday, December 20, 2010
¿Tienes ganas?
Before we start talking about "¿tienes ganas?", let's start with the word ganas.
Ganas can perhaps best be translated as desire, or the urge to do something.
Now that we know what ganas are we can start to talk about expressions like "Tener ganas de".
Tener ganas de means to feel like doing something. Here's some examples:
Tengo ganas de ir al cine
I feel like going to the movies
¿Tienes ganas de ir a la playa?
Do you feel like going to the beach?
No tengo ganas de ir al cine
I don't feel like going to the movies
You can use the expression tener ganas to express your desire to do anything, or nothing at all:
Hoy no tengo ganas de hacer nada
I don't feel like doing anything today
You can also say something like...
Se me pasaron las ganas
I don't feel like it anymore
There's also "dar ganas de". This is when something makes you feel like doing something.
Esta canción me da ganas de bailar
This song makes me want to dance
You may have also heard....
¡Échale ganas!
Which translates to something like "do your best", "put your all into it", "give it your best shot".
There's also con ganas de.
¿Cómo estás?
Con ganas de verte
How are you?
With the urge/desire to see you / I really want to you see.
That loses a little something in the translation, but I think you get the picture. Once you get a good grasp on this subject, the Spanish will make much more sense.
And now we're about to get what I found to be an interesting and somewhat surprising use of the word ganas.
When you start talking about "las ganas", it's a way of refering to "deseo sexual" - sexual desire, or as we might say "to be in the mood". I wouldn't call that a literal translation, but it definitely conveys the meaning.
Es dificil no sentir ganas al verlo
It's hard not to be in the mode when you see him
Se perdío las ganas
He's not in the mood any more
Mi esposo tiene más ganas que yo
My husbands is in the mood more often than me
And finally, if you're with that someone special and the time is right, you can ask:
¿Tienes ganas?
Are you in the mood?
Las ganas doesn't always refer to romantic urges, but the context will certainly make it clear when it does.
This post is by no means an exhaustive discussion of the word ganas and it's associated expressions, but it's more than enough to get you started.
¡Hasta la próxima!
Ganas can perhaps best be translated as desire, or the urge to do something.
To run you only need legs, time and desire
Everything else is an accesory
Now that we know what ganas are we can start to talk about expressions like "Tener ganas de".
I feel like going to the movies
¿Tienes ganas de ir a la playa?
Do you feel like going to the beach?
No tengo ganas de ir al cine
I don't feel like going to the movies
You can use the expression tener ganas to express your desire to do anything, or nothing at all:
Hoy no tengo ganas de hacer nada
I don't feel like doing anything today
You can also say something like...
Se me pasaron las ganas
I don't feel like it anymore
There's also "dar ganas de". This is when something makes you feel like doing something.
Esta canción me da ganas de bailar
This song makes me want to dance
You may have also heard....
¡Échale ganas!
Which translates to something like "do your best", "put your all into it", "give it your best shot".
Give it your best Manuel, You can do it!!
There's also con ganas de.
¿Cómo estás?
Con ganas de verte
How are you?
With the urge/desire to see you / I really want to you see.
That loses a little something in the translation, but I think you get the picture. Once you get a good grasp on this subject, the Spanish will make much more sense.
I woke up today wanting to see you
And now we're about to get what I found to be an interesting and somewhat surprising use of the word ganas.
When you start talking about "las ganas", it's a way of refering to "deseo sexual" - sexual desire, or as we might say "to be in the mood". I wouldn't call that a literal translation, but it definitely conveys the meaning.
Es dificil no sentir ganas al verlo
It's hard not to be in the mode when you see him
Se perdío las ganas
He's not in the mood any more
Mi esposo tiene más ganas que yo
My husbands is in the mood more often than me
And finally, if you're with that someone special and the time is right, you can ask:
¿Tienes ganas?
Are you in the mood?
Las ganas doesn't always refer to romantic urges, but the context will certainly make it clear when it does.
This post is by no means an exhaustive discussion of the word ganas and it's associated expressions, but it's more than enough to get you started.
¡Hasta la próxima!
Monday, November 29, 2010
Estás en linea
This is another situation where literal translations just don't work.
When you tell someone...
Estás en linea
You're telling them they look trim, perhaps athletic and has a nice body in general. In more generic terms you'd say "estás en buena forma".
And there's the expression...
Estás en linea curva
Which means just the opposite. Now you're talking about someone who's not in "buena forma", but instead gordo or gorda (fat).
Since we're on the topic of giving out compliments, let's continue our discussion about hot bods.
Cuerpo means "body", so you could say:
Tienes buen cuerpo
You've got a nice body
But if you're really moved by someone's physique, then you want the word cuerpazo. A cuerpazo is a really great body.
¡Qué cuerpazo tienes!
You've got a really great body
You can use "bien bueno".
Este chico esta bien bueno
This guy is really hot
And for a woman:
Esta chica esta bien buena
This girl is really hot
Now it's time to get gender specific. Ladies, here's a few words for you first.
A galán is what we call a hunk. Most women seem to think Brad Pitt and Denzel Washington are galanes.
There's also papacito. This can be used as a term of endearment as well as saying a guy is a total hunk.
Guys, get ready, it's your turn.
A mamacita is a way of saying a woman is totally hot. Also a possible term of affection.
Mira esa mamacita
Look at that sexy girl
A buenota is also a very attractive woman.
La novia de Juan es una buenota
Juan's girlfriend is super hot
Well, I think that's more than enough to get you started. Keep in mind while none of these phrases are explicit, most of them are meant for you to use with friends. It's like using the word hottie in English, some people will be offended, some won't.
If you're looking for terms a little less colorful, you can also go with hermoso/a, guapo/a, or bonita. And it's my understanding that men are never called bonito.
If you're not familar with hermosísimo/a and guapísimo/a they're another way of emphasizing that someone is really beautiful or handsome. You can also do the same thing with reguapa and rehermosa. When you add the prefix "re", it intensifies the meaning. You can tack on "re" to many words in Spanish, like rebueno. It's not just good, it's really good.
This soup is really good
Esta sopa es rebuena
That's it. Have fun with these!
¡Hasta la próxima!
When you tell someone...
Estás en linea
You're telling them they look trim, perhaps athletic and has a nice body in general. In more generic terms you'd say "estás en buena forma".
And there's the expression...
Estás en linea curva
Which means just the opposite. Now you're talking about someone who's not in "buena forma", but instead gordo or gorda (fat).
Since we're on the topic of giving out compliments, let's continue our discussion about hot bods.
Cuerpo means "body", so you could say:
Tienes buen cuerpo
You've got a nice body
But if you're really moved by someone's physique, then you want the word cuerpazo. A cuerpazo is a really great body.
¡Qué cuerpazo tienes!
You've got a really great body
You can use "bien bueno".
Este chico esta bien bueno
This guy is really hot
And for a woman:
Esta chica esta bien buena
This girl is really hot
Now it's time to get gender specific. Ladies, here's a few words for you first.
A galán is what we call a hunk. Most women seem to think Brad Pitt and Denzel Washington are galanes.
There's also papacito. This can be used as a term of endearment as well as saying a guy is a total hunk.
Guys, get ready, it's your turn.
A mamacita is a way of saying a woman is totally hot. Also a possible term of affection.
Mira esa mamacita
Look at that sexy girl
A buenota is also a very attractive woman.
La novia de Juan es una buenota
Juan's girlfriend is super hot
Well, I think that's more than enough to get you started. Keep in mind while none of these phrases are explicit, most of them are meant for you to use with friends. It's like using the word hottie in English, some people will be offended, some won't.
If you're looking for terms a little less colorful, you can also go with hermoso/a, guapo/a, or bonita. And it's my understanding that men are never called bonito.
If you're not familar with hermosísimo/a and guapísimo/a they're another way of emphasizing that someone is really beautiful or handsome. You can also do the same thing with reguapa and rehermosa. When you add the prefix "re", it intensifies the meaning. You can tack on "re" to many words in Spanish, like rebueno. It's not just good, it's really good.
This soup is really good
Esta sopa es rebuena
That's it. Have fun with these!
¡Hasta la próxima!
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
¿Vas llegando?
I was having dinner in a great little Mexican-Central American restaurant chatting with the owner. In fact, he actually thought I was Panamanian, I was flattered. I guess all my hard work is paying off. Everything was going well. That is, until he asked me...
¿Vas llegando?
Once again, I had the deer in headlights look. In fact, I couldn't even understand what he said, my gringo ears just weren't able to decipher those two simple words. Oh well, I'm used to that now, so let's just talk about what this means.
The first thing I learned is that "vas llegando" is incorrect, at least grammatically so. But let's remember that even though it's grammatically incorrect, it's important recognize common, colloquial speech. It should be:
¿Vienes llegando?
Are you just arriving?
That's a literal translation, but I think it sounds more natural to translate it as:
¿Vienes llegando?
Did you just get here?
It can also be interpreted as...
¿Vienes llegando?
Are you on your way?
How do you know when to use which translation? Simple, context.
You're driving to visit your mom, and she calls and asks "¿Vienes llegando?" - Are you on your way?
You finally make it to your moms house and your brother walks in 5 minutes after you and asks you ¿Vienes llegando? - Did you just get here?
So with that said, let's revisit my conversation in the restaurant. To be just a little more specific, I told the owner that I was working locally and that I wasn't familar with the city, and that's when he asked...
¿Vas llegando?
In this context, "vas llegando" would be better translated as "Did you just move here?". One phrase, three possible translations. Don't you love Spanish?
Fortunately, the rest of the conversation went well and there were no more "deer in headlights" moments. Thank goodness, I try to keep them limited to one a day.
The actual phrase is "venir llegando", and in general means "to have just arrived (got here)". Here's a couple of examples:
Vengo llegando
I just got in.
Viene llegando
He just got here.
That's it!
Espero que te sirva.
¿Vas llegando?
Once again, I had the deer in headlights look. In fact, I couldn't even understand what he said, my gringo ears just weren't able to decipher those two simple words. Oh well, I'm used to that now, so let's just talk about what this means.
The first thing I learned is that "vas llegando" is incorrect, at least grammatically so. But let's remember that even though it's grammatically incorrect, it's important recognize common, colloquial speech. It should be:
¿Vienes llegando?
Are you just arriving?
That's a literal translation, but I think it sounds more natural to translate it as:
¿Vienes llegando?
Did you just get here?
It can also be interpreted as...
¿Vienes llegando?
Are you on your way?
How do you know when to use which translation? Simple, context.
You're driving to visit your mom, and she calls and asks "¿Vienes llegando?" - Are you on your way?
You finally make it to your moms house and your brother walks in 5 minutes after you and asks you ¿Vienes llegando? - Did you just get here?
So with that said, let's revisit my conversation in the restaurant. To be just a little more specific, I told the owner that I was working locally and that I wasn't familar with the city, and that's when he asked...
¿Vas llegando?
In this context, "vas llegando" would be better translated as "Did you just move here?". One phrase, three possible translations. Don't you love Spanish?
Fortunately, the rest of the conversation went well and there were no more "deer in headlights" moments. Thank goodness, I try to keep them limited to one a day.
The actual phrase is "venir llegando", and in general means "to have just arrived (got here)". Here's a couple of examples:
Vengo llegando
I just got in.
Viene llegando
He just got here.
That's it!
Espero que te sirva.
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