Monday, August 27, 2012

Basic vocabulary

These may not be the words you learn in class, but when you need them, you need them!

el inodoro, el excusado, el retrete - toilet
el lavabo - sink (in a bathroom, for washing hands)
el papel higiénico - toilet paper
el grifo - faucet


Of course, there are euphemisms:  el baño (which means the bath, literally) or los servicios.

Friday, August 3, 2012

Intermediate class continues

One of the words that came up at break time (descanso) was "snack."  I looked it up on www.wordreference.com and found an amazing variety of expressions, varying by country, time of day, type of food, reason for eating!  ¡Caramba!

So - try one or more of these:
  • el tentempié, 
  • el refrigerio, 
  • una botana, 
  • un bocado, 
  • un bocadillo (which means sandwich in Spain, but the kind with big hunks of bread and a chunk of food inside, not the sliced white bread type, which is called a "sandwich"), 
  • una merienda (en España, a media tarde solamente, antes de la cena)
  • "Please bring a snack to share" - "Favor de traer (Por favor traiga) un platillo (un pequeño plato, un refrigerio, un bocadillo) para compartir."
  • mid-morning snack -- un bocado de media mañana (la hora del bocadillo can mean a mid-morning work break in some places)
  • bedtime snack - picoteo nocturno (España) o merienda nocturna (Puerto Rico)
Fortunately, there is less variety about other foods:
  • cherries - las cerezas
  • cantaloupe - el melón
  • cookies - galletas (dulces)
  • crackers - galletas saladas (salty or savory)
  • strawberries - las fresas
  • raspberries - las frambuesas
  • blackberries - las moras
  • olives - las aceitunas
  • olive tree - el olivo
  • olive oil - aceite de oliva
  • pear - la pera
  • pear tree - el peral
  • apple - la manzana
  • apple tree - el manzano