A nice example of an expression which can’t be translated literally. The verb “arrimar” means “to move/bring … closer” in, for example, a sentence like this:

El arrimó el sillón a la pared = He pushed/moved the armchair up against the wall

“hombro” means “shoulder” so the expression “arrimar el hombro” should mean “move a shoulder”, but no, it’s real translation is “to lend a hand” or just “help”.

I’ve chosen this particular expression because here in Spain we’ve been forced to hear the expression several times a week for the past six years since the socialist government won the elections. They have an insidious strategy: they decide to introduce a new law or do away with an old one and when the opposition party protests, they say “Estamos intentando salvar/modernizar/cambiar el país y la oposición se niega a arrimar el hombro” meaning “We’re trying to save/modernize/change the country and the opposition party refuses to lend a hand”. They say this as if the opposition were morally obliged to support anything they propose instead of doing what the opposition is supposed to do: oppose.

Sorry to go off on a small tangent, but the expression becomes quite tiresome when used this way. Hopefully you will find better uses for it.

Brad

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This common Spanish language expression, like so many others, does not have a direct translation into English, but the general meaning is “more than expected” or “amply”. The following examples will give you an idea of how it is used in Spanish:

Spanish

1. Las ventajas de este plan superan con creces las desventajas.
2. El ciclista batió el record con creces.
3. Las ventas están superando nuestras expectativas con creces.
4. Recuperaremos los gastos con creces en sólo tres meses.
5. El nuevo jugador cumplió con creces lo que se esperaba de él.

English

1. The advantages of this plan far exceed the disadvantages.
2. The cyclist beat the record by an ample margen.
3. Sales are greatly exceeding our expectations.
4. We’ll easily recover costs and then some in just three months.
5. The new player played even better than expected.

Brad

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Here’s a Spanish idiom which does not mean “give the can/tin” as its literal translation suggests, but rather is a common way of saying that someone or something is annoying. The best way to learn this one is to jump right in with some examples:

Spanish

1. Vino otra vez el vendedor a la oficina para darme la lata.
2. ¡Deja de darme la lata ya!
3. Vino a casa María y nos dio la lata casi toda la noche.
4. Mi mujer me está dando la lata porque dice que bebo demasiado.
5. Este coche nunca me ha dado la lata como el otro.

English

1. The salesman came to the office again to pester me.
2. Stop bothering me!
3. Maria came to the house and pestered us almost all night.
4. My wife is bugging me – she says I drink too much.
5. This car has never given me problems like the other one.

Brad

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Common error for beginners: “tengo una cuestión para ti” (I have a question for you) when it should be either “tengo una pregunta para ti” or “quiero hacerte una pregunta” or “quiero preguntarte algo. Here’s what’s going on:

English “question” = Spanish “pregunta”
English “issue, matter, topic, question” = Spanish “cuestión”
English “ask a question” = Spanish “hacer una pregunta” or “preguntar”

Some examples of each Spanish word or phrase:

pregunta

1. Es una pregunta difícil de contestar = It’s a difficult question to answer.
2. Todos tenían la misma pregunta = They all had (wanted to ask) the same question.
3. Hay muchas preguntas sin respuestas = There are many questions that don’t have an answer.

cuestión

1. Es una cuestión de vida o muerte = It’s a matter of life or death.
2. Es una cuestión de dinero = It’s a question of money.
3. La persona en cuestión no estuvo = The person in question wasn’t there.

hacer (una) pregunta

1. ¿Puedo hacerte una pregunta? = Can I ask you a question?
2. ¿Nadie me hizo preguntas = No one asked me anything.
3. Deja de hacerme la misma pregunta = Stop asking me the same question.

preguntar

1. ¿Puedo preguntarte algo = Can I ask you something?
2. Nadie me preguntó nada = No one asked me anything.
3. Deja de preguntarme lo mismo = Stop asking me the same thing.

Brad

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Go ahead. Look in the dictionary. “Cara” means “face”. I agree.

But there’s one special usage of the word which seems to be more commonly used in Spanish than its English equivalents. The reason I say that is I notice that I say and/or hear the “cara” expressions in Spanish much more than I hear the “nerve” equivalents in English. Maybe it’s just a subjective impression, or perhaps Spanish speakers behave worse than their English speaking counterparts. (Said jokingly, in case anyone is wondering).

Here are some of the “cara” expressions with their English equivalents:

1. ¡Pepe tiene mucha cara! – Pepe’s got a lot of nerve.
2. ¡Qué cara tiene Pepe! – Pepe’s got a lot of nerve.
3. ¡Pepe es/tiene una cara dura! – Pepe’s got a lot of nerve.

I think the “lot of nerve” expression is common to both US and UK speakers. A purely UK translation of the above sentences would be “Pepe’s a cheeky swine”.

Anyway, this post is about learning Spanish and the point is that you will need to know this type of “cara” expression in Spanish since it’s very commonly used.

Brad

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False cognates, in case you aren’t familiar with the term, are words that look similar in different languages but have different meanings. The use of “actualmente” in Spanish is a stumbling block for most beginners, and not so beginners. Here are the facts:

(Spanish) actualmente = (English) presently / currently
(English) actually = (Spanish) en realidad

And here are some examples showing how to use both “actualmente” and “actually”:

Spanish

1. Actualmente no tengo trabajo.
2. Actualmente no es buen momento para invertir en bolsa.
3. Obama es actualmente el presidente de los Estados Unidos.
4. Mi salario actualmente es bajo pero me lo subirán en junio.
—
5. En realidad Paco es mi primo y no mi hermano.
6. ¿Si estoy enamorado de ella? En realidad, no, no lo estoy.
7. En realidad no la creo.

English

1. I currently don’t have a job.
2. It is presently not a good time to invest in the stock market.
3. Obama is currently the president of the United States.
4. My salary is low at present but they’re going to raise it in June.
—
5. Actually Paco is my cousin and not my brother.
6. ¿Am I in love with her? Actually, no, I’m not.
7. Actually I don’t believe her.

Brad

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This short post is about the common Spanish idiom “no tiene abuela” or “parece que no tiene abuela” which is a humorously critical expression used when someone sings his or her own praises too much. The logic of the expressions is easy to follow: your grandmother is usually the one who talks on and on about what a nice, good-looking, extremely intelligent boy or girl that you are and, if you don’t have a grandmother, then you have to do it yourself. That’s why the English equivalent is “to blow one’s own horn” or “to be full of oneself”.

By the way, this the most fantastic, cleverly crafted blog about learning Spanish that has ever been created not only in the history of the Internet, but also in the history of mankind.

Does anyone care to post the proper reply to the above sentence using our new expression?

Brad

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I’ve chosen this expression since students have asked my about it many times. It’s obvious why they ask – the literal translation makes no sense at all in English. And I just discovered that I had serious problems finding a translation for it on a Google search. So let me try to fill the gap: the best translation I can come up with is “no reason to” or “not have a reason to”. Let’s see how that works with some examples:

Spanish

1. No tienes por qué venir mañana porque viene Jorge.
2. No tenemos por qué comprar una casa nueva – ésta está bien.
3. No tienes por qué preocuparte por mí – estoy bien.
4. Ustedes no tienen por qué mentir.

English

1. You don’t have any reason to come in tomorrow because Jorge is coming.
2. We don’t have any reason to buy a new house – this one is OK.
3. You don’t have any reason to worry about me – I’m fine.
4. You don’t have any reason to lie.

Brad

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As you can tell from the title, today we have another Spanish idiom: “(aquí) quien no corre vuela“. It’s a phrase that you use when you see that others are trying to gain some quick advantage. It could be used all the way from a domestic situation where, for example, someone at the table is trying to get all the “good” pieces, to financial markets on Wall Street where someone is trying to corner the market.

Since I don’t suppose you’ll want to say “who doesn’t run flies” in English, I’ll give you the English equivalent and you can apply it from there: “You’ve got to be quick (off the mark)” is the only equivalent translation I’ve been able to come up with. If anyone has a better one, be sure to post it in a reply.

Brad

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This curious Spanish idiom is used when someone has to take the blame for someone else’s mistake. It’s usually said in disgust. Let me invent three situations here where you might use it:

Spanish

1. Mi compañero no hace su trabajo y por eso siempre vamos atrasados en el trabajo. Pero como es sobrino del director, pago el pato yo.

2. Jaime tiró el libro pero la profesora creía que había sido Pedro así que éste pagó el pato.

3. ¿Por qué siempre se me echa la culpa a mí? Estoy harto de siempre pagar el pato aquí.

English

1. My partner doesn’t do his job and we’re always behind at work. But since he’s the manager’s nephew, I always get the blame.

2. Jaime threw the book but the teacher thought is was Pedro so he got the blame.

3. Why do I always get all the blame? I’m sick of being held to blame for everything that goes wrong here.

I hope you don’t have to use this one.

Brad

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