Dialogue

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Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

Asking Directions in Mexican Spanish
In this lesson we’ll introduce the directions that will help you find the place you are looking for. Previously, we introduced “Is there a (place) near here?” and “Where is …(something)?” But while we can now ask, we haven’t talked about how to decipher the answer. In this lesson, we’re going to work on understanding what someone tells us. And we’ll go over basic directions.
First, we have “Go straight”. That in Spanish is “Va derecho”.
Let’s break it down:
(slow) Va de-re-cho.
Once more:
Va derecho.
The first word, va, is a form of the verb that means “to go”.
(slow) va.
va.
And derecho can be translated as “straight”.
(slow) de-re-cho
derecho
Together, they make
Va derecho.
This is translated as “Go straight”.
A variation of this sentence that is widely used is:
Va todo derecho.
Let’s break it down:
(slow) Va to-do de-re-cho.
Va todo derecho.
Here we just added the word todo, which means “all”
(slow) to-do
todo
Once again, it is:
Va todo derecho.
This is literally “go all straight”.
Here’s how to say “on the right” or “to the right”:
A la derecha.
(slow) A la de-re-cha.
A la derecha.
And “on the left” or “to the left” is:
A la izquierda.
(slow) A la iz-qui-er-da.
A la izquierda.
Here’s how to tell someone to take a left.
Gira a la izquierda.
Let’s break it down:
(slow) Gi-ra a la iz-qui-er-da.
Gira a la izquierda.
The first word, gira, is translated as “turn”
(slow) gi-ra.
gira.
Together, they make
Gira a la izquierda.
The opposite, “take a right”, in Spanish is
Gire a la derecha.
(slow) Gi-re a la de-re-cha.
Gire a la derecha.
In real life, of course, you’ll need to know where to turn left or right.
Here’s “Turn right at the traffic light”:
Gire a la derecha en el semáforo.
Let’s break it down:
(slow) Gi-re a la de-re-cha en el se-má-fo-ro.
Gire a la derecha en el semáforo.
Semáforo means “traffic light.” In our sentence, we have en el semáforo, which is translated as “at the traffic light.”
(slow) En el se-má-fo-ro.
En el semáforo.
Another common phrase can be “at the first intersection on the left”. In Spanish that is:
En la primera intersección a la izquierda.
(slow) En la pri-me-ra in-ter-sec-ción a la izquierda.
En la primera intersección a la izquierda.
En la means “in the”.
(slow) En la.
En la.
Then we have primera, which means “first”.
(slow) pri-me-ra.
primera.
Next we have intersección, which means “intersection”.
(slow) in-ter-sec-ción.
intersección.
Once again, altogether it is:
En la primera intersección a la izquierda.
To close out today's lessons, we’d like you to practice what you have just learned. I’ll provide you with the English equivalent of the phrase and you’re responsible for shouting it out loud. You’ll have a few seconds before I give you the answer, so !buena suerte! which means “Good luck!” in Spanish.
“Go straight.” - Va derecho.
“Go all straight.” - Va todo derecho.
“On the right or to the right.” - A la derecha.
“On the left or to the left.” - A la izquierda.
“Take a right.” - Gire a la derecha.
“Take a left.” - Gira a la izquierda.
“Turn right at the traffic light.” - Gire a la derecha en el semáforo.
“At the first intersection on the right.” - En la primera intersección a la izquierda.
In this lesson, I said both gira and gire, meaning ‘to turn’. Gira is informal, and you can use it with your friends. Gire is formal, and you should use it with a taxi driver.
Alright! That's going to do it for this lesson. Hasta luego.

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