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Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Fun and Easy Spanish by SpanishPod101.com!
Do you know what madrugar means? It’s quite a basic word, but for some reason, it doesn’t have a translation in English. Let’s find out about more words like this.
Hola a todos. Soy Rosa.
Hi everyone! I’m Rosa.
And I’m Alisha.
In this lesson, you’ll learn all about Untranslatable Spanish Words.
Have you ever thought about untranslatable Spanish words?
Every language has plenty of words that can't be translated into English; there are even some words that just can't be translated into any other language.
Maybe there aren’t that many Spanish words that are untranslatable, as most of them can probably be translated into other languages, but we definitely have plenty of Spanish words with no English equivalent.
In this video you'll learn
ten untranslatable nouns,
five verbs,
five adjectives,
and three extra untranslatable words in other languages spoken in Spain that in most cases will make you wonder why they don’t exist in English.
Let’s start with ten untranslatable Spanish nouns.
Here are some examples:
First is anteayer, [slow] anteayer. It means “the day before yesterday.”
This word is pretty easy to understand, as it actually has a basic meaning and obviously exists in English, but we can't express it in a single word.
Mi cumpleaños fue anteayer.
“My birthday was anteayer.”
[SLOW] Mi cumpleaños fue anteayer.
Mi cumpleaños fue anteayer.
Second is botellón, [slow] botellón. It literally means “big bottle,” but it refers to partying in the street.
In Spain, it's rather common for young people to get together to get drunk in a usually quiet street or in a park, because it's a lot cheaper than going to bars or clubs.
It's not something we’re proud of, as in most cases these people don't pick up the bottles after they're done and leave their mess behind.
¿Te vienes al botellón de esta noche en el parque?
"Are you coming to the botellón in the park tonight?"
[SLOW] ¿Te vienes al botellón de esta noche en el parque?
¿Te vienes al botellón de esta noche en el parque?
Third is chapuza, [slow] chapuza.
This word refers to something that’s been built or fixed either really fast, without the proper equipment, or without having any idea how to do it. You know, like those times something in your house broke down and your dad tried to fix it.
And hey, maybe he managed, maybe he didn't, but it just doesn't look that neat. It can be a machine, a car, some sort of object, the new floor… Well, those are all examples of chapuzas.
Esta cocina es una chapuza. No hay nada que funcione.
"This kitchen is a chapuza. Nothing works."
[SLOW] Esta cocina es una chapuza. No hay nada que funcione.
Esta cocina es una chapuza. No hay nada que funcione.
Our fourth untranslatable noun is consuegro, [slow] consuegro. This is the word you will use to refer to your son or daughter’s parents-in-law. Instead of saying, for example, "my daughter Anna's husband's parents,” all you need to say is mis consuegros. It makes your whole life easier, doesn't it?
Mis consuegros vienen esta noche a cenar.
"My consuegros are coming over for dinner tonight."
[SLOW]Mis consuegros vienen esta noche a cenar.
Mis consuegros vienen esta noche a cenar.
Fifth is entrecejo, [slow] entrecejo. It refers to the space between both eyebrows. We don't use this word that much, unless we want to point out to someone that they have something between their eyebrows.
Ey, perdona, tienes una mancha en el entrecejo.
"Hey, excuse me, there's a stain on your entrecejo."
[SLOW] Ey, perdona, tienes una mancha en el entrecejo.
Ey, perdona, tienes una mancha en el entrecejo.
Sixth is puente, [slow] puente. It literally means “bridge,” but in this case it refers to a long weekend. What we call a puente is when a holiday is next to the weekend and creates a long weekend.
Este puente de cuatro días me lo voy a pasar en la playa.
"I'm going to spend this four-day puente at the beach."
[SLOW] Este puente de cuatro días me lo voy a pasar en la playa.
Este puente de cuatro días me lo voy a pasar en la playa.
Seventh is resol, [slow] resol. It means “the reflection of the sun.” We use this word when the sun’s reflected in a mirror or in a glass, for example. You can use it to say that the reflection is bothering you, as in the following example, but it isn't necessarily negative.
Me voy a cambiar de asiento, porque aquí me da el resol en los ojos.
"I'm going to switch seats, because here I get the resol on my eyes."
[SLOW] Me voy a cambiar de asiento, porque aquí me da el resol en los ojos.
Me voy a cambiar de asiento, porque aquí me da el resol en los ojos.
Eighth is sobremesa, [slow] sobremesa. This word refers to a very common activity in Spain. It's very common when having a meal with friends or family, especially when there’s a lot of people, to stay seated and talk to everyone.
They can go on for hours and there is often drinking involved. Well, this is what we call sobremesa.
Cada vez que vamos a cenar a casa de Pablo y Marta la sobremesa se alarga durante horas.
"Every time we go to Pablo and Marta's for dinner the sobremesa lasts for hours."
[SLOW] Cada vez que vamos a cenar a casa de Pablo y Marta la sobremesa se alarga durante horas.
Cada vez que vamos a cenar a casa de Pablo y Marta la sobremesa se alarga durante horas.
Ninth is tocayo, [slow] tocayo. It’s the word we use to refer to someone who has the same name as you. This word isn't as widely used as it used to be.
Creo que te confundes con mi tocayo: yo soy Juan García y me parece que buscas a Juan López.
"I think you're mistaking me with my tocayo: I'm Juan García and I think you're looking for Juan López."
[SLOW] Creo que te confundes con mi tocayo: yo soy Juan García y me parece que buscas a Juan López.
Creo que te confundes con mi tocayo: yo soy Juan García y me parece que buscas a Juan López.
And our tenth and last untranslatable noun is vergüenza ajena, [slow] vergüenza ajena.
Do you know that feeling when you’re with someone and they do something so embarrassing that it makes you wish you could run away from them, even though it might have nothing to do with you?
That feeling, that’s exactly what vergüenza ajena is.
Mamá, ¡deja de bailar! Te está mirando todo el mundo y me das vergüenza ajena.
"Mom, stop dancing! Everyone is looking at you and you're giving me vergüenza ajena."
[SLOW] Mamá, ¡deja de bailar! Te está mirando todo el mundo y me das vergüenza ajena.
Mamá, ¡deja de bailar! Te está mirando todo el mundo y me das vergüenza ajena.
Next is five untranslatable Spanish verbs.
The first one is estrenar, [slow] estrenar. It means “to wear something new for the first time.” You can use this verb when you want to tell someone you’re wearing something you just bought for the first time, but it's also used when talking about movies or books being released.
Me he comprado un vestido precioso y tengo muchas ganas de estrenarlo.
"I bought myself a beautiful dress and I can't wait to estrenar it."
[SLOW] Me he comprado un vestido precioso y tengo muchas ganas de estrenarlo.
Me he comprado un vestido precioso y tengo muchas ganas de estrenarlo.
Second is madrugar, [slow] madrugar. It means “to wake up early.” You’ll use this verb when you want to tell someone that you woke up early that day, or that you wake up early every day.
Madrugo todos los días: a las 5 de la mañana ya estoy despierto.
"I madrugo every day: I'm always up by 5 a.m."
[SLOW] Madrugo todos los días: a las 5 de la mañana ya estoy despierto.
Madrugo todos los días: a las 5 de la mañana ya estoy despierto.
Third is merendar, [slow] merendar. It refers to eating a snack in the afternoon. In Spain, we have a meal between lunch and dinner which is called merienda, and it usually consists of a snack.
This snack can be either sweet or savory and is usually had with a cup of coffee, tea, or maybe just milk.
A common merienda for kids, for example, is to have cookies and milk, but it could also be a sandwich. The act of eating your merienda is the verb merendar.
Here is an example sentence:
Hoy he ido a una cafetería nueva a merendar y me he comido un cruasán buenísimo.
"Today I went to a new café to merendar and I ate a delicious croissant."
[SLOW] Hoy he ido a una cafetería nueva a merendar y me he comido un cruasán buenísimo.
Hoy he ido a una cafetería nueva a merendar y me he comido un cruasán buenísimo.
Fourth is trasnochar, [slow] trasnochar. It means “to stay up all night.” It can be used any time someone’s up during the night. That means it includes people who work night shifts, people who have insomnia, people who go out to party, etc.
Tengo que terminar un proyecto para mañana por la mañana; parece que me va a tocar trasnochar.
“I need to finish a project for tomorrow morning; I think I'm going to have to trasnochar.”
[SLOW] Tengo que terminar un proyecto para mañana por la mañana; parece que me va a tocar trasnochar.
Tengo que terminar un proyecto para mañana por la mañana; parece que me va a tocar trasnochar.
And fifth and last is tutear, [slow] tutear. It means to use the common pronoun tú instead of the formal usted and conjugate verbs accordingly. We only use the form usted in formal situations, for example, when talking to someone who’s more important than us.
While we're talking to this person, maybe they decide that the conversation doesn't require this form, and might ask you to use the common tú to refer to them.
No hace falta que me hables de usted: puedes tutearme.
"You don't need to use the form usted: you can tutearme."
[SLOW] No hace falta que me hables de usted: puedes tutearme.
No hace falta que me hables de usted: puedes tutearme.
Next is five untranslatable Spanish adjectives.
Here are some examples:
The first one is cejijunto, [slow] cejijunto. You can use this word to describe someone who has such hairy eyebrows that they meet or nearly meet in the middle.
Mi marido es cejijunto de toda la vida y parece que nuestro hijo también empieza a tener las cejas pobladas.
"My husband has been cejijunto all his life and it looks like our son is starting to get hairy eyebrows too."
[SLOW]
Mi marido es cejijunto de toda la vida y parece que nuestro hijo también empieza a tener las cejas pobladas.
Mi marido es cejijunto de toda la vida y parece que nuestro hijo también empieza a tener las cejas pobladas.
Second is estadounidense, [slow] estadounidense.
This word is the demonym for a person from the United States of America. Isn't it unbelievable that people from the U.S. just call themselves Americans and don't have an actual demonym for their own country? America is the continent, not the country! What if the Germans decided to ditch the word "German" and exclusively called themselves Europeans?
Anyway, Spanish, just like most languages probably do, does have a word for it: estadounidense.
Mi nuevo jefe es estadounidense, creo que es de Seattle.
"My new boss is estadounidense, I think he's from Seattle."
[SLOW] Mi nuevo jefe es estadounidense, creo que es de Seattle.
Mi nuevo jefe es estadounidense, creo que es de Seattle.
Third is friolero, [slow] friolero. This adjective can be used to describe yourself or somebody else who’s sensitive to the cold, or someone who’s always cold, even in the summer.
Soy muy friolera, así que nunca salgo de casa sin una chaqueta.
"I'm very friolera, so I never leave my house without a jacket."
[SLOW] Soy muy friolera, así que nunca salgo de casa sin una chaqueta.
Soy muy friolera, así que nunca salgo de casa sin una chaqueta.
Fourth is manco, [slow] manco. This word is used to describe a person who only has one hand or arm.
Mi abuelo se quedó manco tras un accidente en la fábrica donde trabajaba.
"My grandfather was left manco after having an accident in the factory he used to work at."
[SLOW] Mi abuelo se quedó manco tras un accidente en la fábrica donde trabajaba.
Mi abuelo se quedó manco tras un accidente en la fábrica donde trabajaba.
Fifth is tuerto, [slow] tuerto. You can use this adjective when you want to describe someone who’s blind in one eye.
Mi hermano es tuerto: perdió la visión en el ojo derecho cuando era muy pequeño.
“My brother is tuerto: he lost his sight in his right eye when he was very little.”
[SLOW]Mi hermano es tuerto: perdió la visión en el ojo derecho cuando era muy pequeño.
Mi hermano es tuerto: perdió la visión en el ojo derecho cuando era muy pequeño.
Next is three extra untranslatable words in other languages spoken in Spain. You might not know this, but Spanish isn’t the only language spoken in Spain. There are a few regions that have co-official languages. But no need to worry; everyone speaks Spanish, no matter where you travel in Spain.
Out of these three words, which are also untranslatable in Spanish, the first and third words are sometimes used in Spanish. The second word, somiatruites, has probably never been used in Spanish, and it might never be, but we love this word too much not to include it. You’ll know why very soon.
Here we go.
The first word is morriña, [slow] morriña. This word is in Galician and refers to the feeling you have when you miss your homeland. Galicians use this word when they travel out of their homeland and feel homesick.
Hace una semana que salí de Galicia y ya empiezo a sentir morriña.
“It’s been a week since I left Galicia and I’m already starting to feel morriña.”
[SLOW] Hace una semana que salí de Galicia y ya empiezo a sentir morriña.
Hace una semana que salí de Galicia y ya empiezo a sentir morriña.
Second is somiatruites, [slow] somiatruites. This word is used in Catalan and Valencian, and it literally means “omelette dreamer,” but it’s used to refer to someone who gets overly excited over anything, even if it’s impossible.
We all have that one friend (or hey, maybe YOU’RE that friend) that gets way too excited over every little thing. For example, a girl who sees a cute boy for the first time and she’s already imagining what their wedding would look like, or someone who’s always daydreaming about things that might never happen.
¿Pero no ves que nunca te va a hacer caso? Eres una somiatruites.
“Can't you see he's never going to pay attention to you? You're a somiatruites.”
[SLOW]
¿Pero no ves que nunca te va a hacer caso? Eres una somiatruites.
¿Pero no ves que nunca te va a hacer caso? Eres una somiatruites.
The third word is zirimiri, [slow] zirimiri. This last word is used in Basque, and it’s what they use to refer to a very soft but constant rain, typical in the Basque Country, which is a region in the North of Spain.
They say that when you visit the Basque Country in the North of Spain, there’s often this kind of rain that they call zirimiri, which is constant but very soft. You might not even realize it’s raining until it’s been a few minutes and you’re starting to get wet.
Aún no voy a sacar el paraguas, esto solo es zirimiri.
“I’m not going to take my umbrella out yet, this is just zirimiri.”
[SLOW] Aún no voy a sacar el paraguas, esto solo es zirimiri.
Aún no voy a sacar el paraguas, esto solo es zirimiri.
In this lesson you learned some of the most common Spanish words that can’t be translated directly into English. We’re sure you will want to use some of them as soon as you can.
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That’s it for today!
See you next time!
¡Hasta la próxima!

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