2009 May | Spanish Blog

Posts in May 2009

New Version of Byki Spanish App for iPhone - Now you can learn List Central lists on the go!

Posted by margie

May

2009

With the v1.1 update, the Byki Spanish App for iPhone and iPod Touch just got super powers! This new version is still only $7.99, and includes the original Byki App’s pre-loaded content of approximately 1,000 Spanish words and phrases. But, it adds a whole new dimension by linking to List Central on Byki.com.

You can now have the power to access and download your favorite Spanish vocabulary lists from the List Central community, including hundreds of textbook lists and lists created by other users. The best part is that users who own Byki Deluxe can now use their Byki Spanish iPhone App to study lists that they create themselves!

With the new version of Byki Spanish for iPhone, your learning can now be customized to your interests when you use it in conjunction with Byki.com. Whether you choose lists from the community or lists that you have created yourself with Byki Deluxe, you can now learn them on the go, wherever and whenever you have five minutes to fit in some language learning!

Try it out, and if you like it, leave a comment on the iTunes store and let the rest of the world know how Byki Spanish helps you with your language learning.

Visit Byki Spanish on the Transparent Language (our parent company) Apple App Store

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Los falsos amigos

Posted by adir ferreira

May

2009

You’ve been studying Spanish for some time and you’ve definitely come across what we call ‘false friends’.

These are tricky words that lead us to think about a meaning in Spanish that is similar to English but that’s not the case.

Check out some examples, the first word is in Spanish with the translation in English, then you’ll have the English false friend with its Spanish translation.

Barraca – hut, cabin
Barracks – cuartel

Bizarro – gallant, generous
Bizarre – extraño, estrafalario

Carpeta – file, folder
Carpet – alfombra, moqueta

Castigar – to punish
To castigate – censurar, criticar

Casualmente – fortuitously, accidentally
Casually – despreocupadamente, informalmente

Caución – bail
Caution – cautela, prudencia

Cava – wine cellar, sparkling wine
Cave – cueva, caverna

Collar – necklace
Collar – cuello (ropa)

Compás – beat, rhythm
Compass – brújula

Conductor – driver
Conductor – director de orquesta, revisor/cobrador (transporte)

Congelar – to freeze
To congeal – coagular

Corpulento – tall, strong
Corpulent – gordo

(estar) constipado – to have a cold
(to be) constipated – estar estreñido

Contestar – to answer
To contest – negar, poner en tela de juicio

Decepción – disappointment
Deception – engaño

Desgracia – misfortune
Disgrace – vergüenza, escándalo, deshonra

Desmayo – fainting fit
Dismay – consternación

Destitución – dismissal
Destitution – indigencia, miseria

Nos vemos prontito.

Posted under Language, Spanish Language, Vocabulary
Tagged with false friend

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Real Spanish: Mexican dialogue

Posted by adir ferreira

May

2009

If you’re tired of those old textbook dialogues here’s something for you: a real dialogue in Mexican Spanish with lots of interesting vocabulary. And remember, if you have any questions, write to us!

Antonio: Ahorita vengo.
María: ¿Adónde vas?
Antonio: Voy a la farmacia. Necesito unas hojas de afeitar y un rastrillo nuevo. ¿Se te ofrece algo?
María: No, gracias. Este… espera, se me pasaba: tráeme unas curitas y un paquete de algodón.
Antonio: ¿Es todo?
María: Creo que sí. Oye, no te tardes, gordo, ¿eh? Vamos al cine y la película empieza al cuarto para las seis.
Antonio: ¿Al cuarto? Tenemos que salir en diez minutos.
María: Eso ya lo sé, pues. ¡Pélale!
Antonio: ¿Y tu amiga? ¿No iba a lanzarse con nosotros?
María: Bueno, dijo que se caería por aquí como a eso de las cinco.
Antonio: Tu cuatita es la impuntualidad con patas. Dale un fonazo a su chamba para ver si ya salió.
María: Bueno, pero ¡vuélale! Que a esta hora el tráfico se pone de la cachetada.
Antonio: Sí, y para acabarla de amolar está lloviendo. ¡Qué lata! ¡Vuelvo!

Vocabulary and Expressions

• curitas – plasters
• hojas de afeitar – razor blades
• rastrillo – razor
• ¿Se te ofrece algo? – Want me to get you anything?
• ¿Eh? – all right? Ok?
• Este – I mean, that is, you know (used as a filler in a sentence)
• Oye – Hey, listen (used to get somebody’s attention)
• Gordo – informal form of address used for men, not women. For women, use flaca, not gorda (which would mean she’s fat!)
• No te tardes – Don’t be late
• Al cuarto para las seis – at a quarter to six
• ¡Pélale! ¡Vuélale! – Get a move on! Hurry up!
• lanzarse – to come along
• se caería por aquí – she would come here, (lit.) she would fall over here
• como a eso de las cinco – at around five
• cuatita – friend (fem.)
• con patas – personified
• darle un fonazo a alguien – to give someone a call. In Spain the equivalent expression is “pegarle un telefonazo a alguien”
• chamba – job, work
• ponerse de la cachetada – to become helpless, to be very intense
• y para acabarla de amolar – and to top it all off, and for good measure
• ¡Qué lata! – What a bummer!

Espero que les haya gustado, nos vemos prontito.

Posted under Culture, Language, Spanish Language, Vocabulary
Tagged with conversation, Slang

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Idioms with ‘agua’

Posted by adir ferreira

May

2009

Besides being one of the five basic elements, water (el agua) is the source of several interesting idioms in Spanish. Let’s check them out!

Agua pasada no mueve molino. - It’s no use crying over spilled milk.

Del agua mansa líbreme Dios, que de la brava me libro yo. - Still waters run deep.

estar más claro que el agua - to be crystal-clear

echar agua en el mar - to carry coals to Newcastle, to take something to a place where there is plenty of it already, (lit.) to throw water in the sea.

coger agua en cesto - to waste one’s time, to labor in vain, (lit.) to pick water in a basket

estar con el agua al cuello - to be up to one’s neck in debt or in problems, (lit.) to have water up to one’s neck

tener a alguien con el agua al cuello - to have someone over a barrel, to put someone in a situation in which they are forced to accept or do what you want

hacérsele a alguien la boca agua - to make someone’s mouth water

venir como agua de mayo - to come at just the right time, to be a godsend

bailar el agua a alguien - to flirt with someone

llevar el agua a su molino - to carry grist to one’s own mill, to turn things to one’s advantage

sacar agua de las piedras/ de un palo seco – to get blood out of a stone, to perform a very difficult task

ser agua pasada - to be water under the bridge, to be a thing of the past

Ha corrido/pasado mucha agua bajo el puente. - a long time has passed

Nunca digas de este agua no beberé. - Never say never

sin decir agua va – out of the blue, without warning.

las aguas vuelven a su cauce - things are settling down, things return to normal

estar entre dos aguas - to sit on the fence, to be undecided

ahogarse en un vaso de agua – to start a tempest in a teapot, to get worked up about nothing

Nos vemos prontito!

Posted under Culture, Language, Spanish Language, Vocabulary
Tagged with idioms

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Expressions with “de”

Posted by adir ferreira

May

2009

Let’s learn some expressions with the preposition “de”.

Caer de pie – to be lucky (to land on one’s feet)
Vivir del cuento – to live off someone else without working (usually what parents say to kids)
Costar un ojo de la cara – to cost an arm and a leg
Cruzarse de brazos – to fold one’s arm, to be passive towards a situation
Dar el do de pecho – to do one’s very best
De bote en bote – packed, full of people
De golpe y porrazo – suddenly, all of a sudden
De grandes cenas están las sepulturas llenas. – Proverb used when people eat a lot during a meal, it literally means “Graves are filled with big meals.”
La casa de tócame Roque – bedlam, a big mess
lr de Herodes a Pilatos – to go from bad to worse
lr de la Ceca a la Meca – to search high and low, look everywhere for something
lr de puerta en puerta – to go door-to-door begging for something
Dejar algo de la mano – to abandon something
Quedarse de una pieza – to be dumbfounded
Salirse del tiesto – (of a shy person) to pluck up the courage to start doing and saying things
Tener cara de pocos amigos – not to look very friendly
Tener una lengua de víbora – to have a vicious tongue