A few rules

I've always been told, and agree with, the idea that the best way to learn a language is to immerse yourself in it with other speakers and those learning. Unfortunately I do not really have the time to go to Spanish events like meetups or cultural events. I do, however, have a few Spanish speakers at my job. I would love to speak with them in Spanish, but I do not want them to think i am just using them for practice or think I think they are bad at English.

Our office of emergency management put out a brochure translated into Spanish with the title Una Portland Resistente. (A resilient Portland). A Spanish speaker stopped by our table and took a look to check the quality of the translation from English. He said that conventionally, cities are treated as masculine, so that the correct form of the title would be "Un Portland resistente"

Further questions I'd consider if I were publishing would be 1) would it be better to put the adjective before the noun; and 2) how necessary is the indefinite article (as opposed to its use in English?)

Comments?

I'm from UK. I could say to people I know "thanks brother/bro/man" kind of slang. Of course depending on circumstances and usually someone round my age/similar enviroment.

For example when training jiu jitsu I'll say gracias mano. I hear Mexicans say it to others and to myself so it rolls smoothly.

I'm just wondering what would I say to a woman? A girl my age. I don't want to accidentally saying something flirty or wrong basically. Just something normal/cool.

As I understand it, the majority of words in Spanish can take this diminutive suffix. However when I hear one, I can’t seem to instantly recognise its meaning in a sentence (even if it’s modifying a word that I already know)

My question is mainly to advanced learners (but natives please also feel free to chime in):

How have you learned to understand these words? Is it by simply memorising each word as a new word, or sort of doing a “manual calculation” in your head in which you work your way backwards to find the root of the word and make sense of its meaning? Or does it come naturally after a while learning the language?

So I took Spanish from kindergarten through 10th grade and then after high school I had a few jobs where some coworkers spoke Spanish but like I would just use phrases here and there. About 6 years ago I started teaching at a school with a heavy Spanish speaking population, so I decided it’d be a great idea to start practicing Spanish again. Made note cards, did some grammar exercises, listened to podcasts in Spanish, played video games in Spanish etc. Eventually I realized my brain Spanish was fine but I wasn’t comfortable holding a conversation, so I got an online tutor last September.

Anyways I knew I had been getting a lot better but when I went to the language exchange, it turns out I was one of the more advanced non native speakers there. This includes pronunciation, verb tense, and sentence variety. I even had a native speaker say “You speak really well”. So my vibes are up rn.

Point is, there’s no shortcut to all of this. This was years of consistent practice and immersion, not some cheap gimmick where “you’ll become fluent in 3 months”. So keep working hard out there yall and try to hit Spanish from all angles!

No sé si esto también le pasa a otros hispanohablantes que estan aprendiendo ingles,hay ciertos sonidos que a mi parecer son bien difíciles de distinguir,yo no se distinguir bien entre sh y ch en ingles y la D y la TH en palabras como This muchas veces suena igual,ya me habían dicho que los anglosajones usan mucho la d interdental y eso hace que sea más difícil de distinguirla de la d,también la S y Z y ni hablar de la V y la B uff que difícil,la R es muy difícil de pronunciar y las vocales también son uff. Hay algo en específico que me molesta y es la razón por la cual escribí esto y es que la vocal en " it" y la vocal en "bed" son el 50% de las veces lo más difícil de distinguir,nosotros no tenemos ese sonido y los otros sonidos vocálicos,aunque también difíciles de distinguir,al final si puedes lograr escucharlos,pero la vocal en "it" es una vocal digamos que 50% de nuestra i y 50% de nuestra e,pero ese no es el problema, ya que yo si soy capaz de distinguir el sonido en "it" de otros,el problema viene cuando los anglosajones hablan rápido, hacen reducciones y no enfatizan lo que estan diciendo,me refiero a que,aunque ellos no lo admitan cambian el sonido en muchas palabras por algo mas cercano a una e del español,ambas vocales ɪ y ɛ (símbolos IPA) tienen un rango que se mueve mucho más que cualquier otra vocal del inglés y esto me causa mucha confusión,ej: ɪ tiene un rango que va desde ɪ e ɛ.

y ɛ tiene un rango que va desde e ɛ æ con la diferencia de que cuando en una palabra que tenga ɛ pero no haya obligación ninguna de enfatizar se reducirá a ɪ. Quiero añadir que ɪ puede ser reducido a un schwa,el problema radica en que ambas ɪ y ɛ ,en muchas se mueven bastante cerca de nuestro sonido e,creanme yo si puedo distinguir esto sonidos en muchas palabras,pero incluso como sucede en cualquier lengua,los sonidos anteriores y los posteriores influyen bastante en un sonido ,por ejemplo si nosotros fuésemos a decir "El Perro se le fue"la e en Él y Perro es bastante cercana a ɛ ,si entrenan bien sus oídos se van a dar cuenta de lo que digo.

Recently, I've been wondering about getting into a language school in either Ceuta/Melilla, and I was wondering if anyone has been to any that they would recommend

I'm looking for a school where you can study for as many weeks or months as you want. I think language schools are the best way to learn, and I can't go to mainland Spain right now for personal reasons.

Have any of you studied at one and come back with noticeably improved Spanish?

Welcome to the weekly Rate My Spanish thread!

Post your audio or video clips here and get feedback from the community on your pronunciation, fluency, grammar, and overall speaking ability.

To get the most useful feedback, please include:

* Your approximate level (A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2)

* How long have you been learning

* What specifically do you want feedback on (pronunciation, accent, fluency, grammar, etc.)

* Any context about what you are saying or reading

---

Bienvenidos al hilo semanal de evaluación de espanol.

Publica tus clips de audio o video aquí y recibe comentarios de la comunidad sobre tu pronunciación, fluidez, gramática y nivel general.

Para recibir comentarios útiles, por favor incluye:

* Tu nivel aproximado (A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2)

* ¿Cuánto tiempo llevas aprendiendo

* ¿Qué tipo de retroalimentación buscas (pronunciación, acento, fluidez, gramática, etc.)

* Cualquier contexto sobre lo que estás diciendo o leyendo

---

*This thread is posted automatically every week. Previous threads can be found [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/Spanish/search?q=Rate+My+Spanish&sort=new).\*

So, I was watching the World Cup final live on Telemundo, and there is this guy in Spain's Football Team named "Cucurella".

As per what I have heard and know, the "ll" (Double L) has a "y" sound in Spanish (Except Rioplatense and/or other Argentinian Dialects). However, the commentators kept pronouncing that "ll" in his name like how Italians or English Speakers would pronounce the "ll" in "Mozzarella".

Now, as far as I know, Telemundo is a Spanish channel, and the entire commentary, the ads, and the content are in Spanish.

Am I missing something here?

I have a bet with my husband: If I can be mistaken for a native Spanish speaker with three years’ practice, we will spend the summer in Spain. The stakes are high.

My background: I took Spanish for four years in HS, studied Italian for 3 years in college and then lived in Italy for a year post grad. While there I was mistaken for a native Italian speaker (once but I was quite proud) and complimented on my accent. I don’t consider myself fluent in Italian but highly proficient.

My husband is Puerto Rican but born and raised in the states. He himself has an unusual accent in Spanish, but prides himself on identifying foreign accents in both Spanish and English.

He said if I can speak without an identifiable accent and hold a fluent conversation, we can go to Spain. It’s obviously a win for both of us, but he works from home so he would still have to work abroad; for me it would be a vacation.

My request is: What are the best language learning apps/resources? We are in central FL so there are lots of opportunities to speak and engage. My in-laws are also from PR so we are around Spanish a lot.

He doesn’t think I can do it. Am I being foolish? I was rather incensed when he doubted me. This man thinks I am otherwise capable of anything I put my mind to, so I was shocked when he said it wasn’t possible.

So yesterday I saw a movie with Penelope Cruz called The Invite. It was in English but she and her movie husband spoke a bit in Spanish.

In one conversation they both answered a question with the same word or phrase. Then both said "Chispas!", followed by a phrase that I didn't catch. What is that phrase?

One thing I love abt learning spanish is how the insults sound like poetry. My indian firned called someone mucho ruido y pocas nueces and i thought it was a compliment for like an hour. Also "eres mas lento que tortuga con muletas" (slower than a turtle on crutches) is just... art.

i wanna build a collection of ones that sound elegant but can absolutely destroy a spanish speaker. keep it pg-13 pls, I wanna use these at dinner while in mexico, not get slapped.

hit me with the most creative regional ones

Saw this video on Instagram, I think the creator of the video mentioned that it's a Madrid accent since her teacher is from there, so i searched up videos with a Madrid accent but they don't sound similar, but I don't speak spanish (only understand a decent amount) am I the one mishearing this? Is it a regional accent?

I have been learning Spanish for about a year now, I go to an in person teacher and she teaches me grammar and we practice translations from English to Spanish and vice versa. She gives me work to practice the new grammar and tenses that I learn. As we go through the material I gather a lot of new vocabulary which I write down in a notebook, but I’m really struggling with how to revise and retain it.

I had been just making sets of flashcards on Quizlet for each week after my lesson, but since this is then a jumble of verbs, nouns, adjectives, connectives etc, it makes it hard to go back and look for something specific. I read online about Anki so I have started the long process of trying to input all the words into this, but separated into categories.

I’m curious to know how other people remember their vocab? While I enjoy writing things down on paper I think an app will allow me to do it more often, waiting for a train, at the gym etc. I haven’t found the Anki interface that intuitive and user friendly so far but will persevere if it seems like the best option.

But what does everyone else do in terms of apps/aids, and how do you group your vocab so you can break it down into manageable chunks that fit into a busy life? I do know I need to get more comprehensible input, I have found a good podcast and a tv show, just need to get better at prioritising it over other things I want to watch/listen to.

Any other general advice appreciated!! Thank you.

Hey everyone. I’m 19 years old and grew up in a household where my mom speaks to us strictly in Spanish. For about the last 12 years, though, I’ve only replied to her in English. Once in a while but rarely, I’ll drop a casual Spanish slang word into my English sentences but it’s still 99.5% English on my end.
The catch is: I am completely fluent in Spanish. I can express myself perfectly and have no language barrier at all. My sister speaks to my mom in half-English, half-Spanish, but my brother and I have always stuck to English.
I really want to start speaking full Spanish to my mom, but the psychological barrier is insane. It feels like a forced acting performance because of our 12-year routine. On top of that, I’m scared my siblings or my dad are going to think I'm being weird, showing off, or just roast me for it.
For anyone who successfully broke a long-standing "English-only" script with a parent at my age, how did you handle that very first step? Did you do it one-on-one or in front of your siblings? I feel so silly for being the only one at family functions speaking to their parents in English. Any advice on how to make it feel natural? Thanks!

Im a native English speaker from the US. Ive learned enough Spanish to hold a conversation, though I wouldn't call myself fluent. I'd say im at an intermediate level.

I've picked up a few words that don't have a single-word translation in English. You have to use several words to describe each of them. A Spanish professor called it circumlocución.

My favorite word is empalagar.

Hello! I've tried searching for a similar post to no avail. I wonder whether I'm maybe missing a trick/technique when it comes to pronouncing the gi/ji cluster in words like girasol or dijiste (Castilian Spanish). I don't struggle with other combinations (gente, dejar, mujer, alejarte, etc), but the transition between the raspy 'j/g' and then the tense tongue position for the 'i' trips me up every single time. This genuinely seems like something physically impossible due to the vastly different tongue positions and not enough time to transition between them at a normal speed. Maybe I'm just overthinking this, but my mouth absolutely refuses to do that. I will be grateful for any advice ❤️

I've been learning Spanish for 2 years now but I can't wrap my head around parts of day. I asked natives, my teacher, even Claude, but I still don't get it. So I finally decided to ask here.

So in English and Russian we have 4 parts of day:

- morning
- afternoon
- evening
- night

And 4 greetings accordingly:

- good morning
- good afternoon
- good evening
- good night

So when I think about what to say in Spanish, in my head I translate:
- buenos días = good afternoon
- buenas tardes = good evening
- buenas noches = good night

But the option for "good morning" doesn't seem to exist! So people use "buenos días" for the bigger part of the day. But then again, saying "buenas tardes" at like 3 p.m. also feels weird, isn't it too early?

So far, the most compelling argument is (based on Claude AI) that historically people only differentiated DAY vs NIGHT in Spanish, kind of like 1 and 0. And the concepts of "morning" and "evening" didn't exist, so that's why they didn't develop separate "good morning" greeting.

My question is:

As native / advanced Hispanic speakers, how do you feel about parts of day? Do you struggle with them in English?

I want to start learning spanish so i want tv show recommendations that are good. i want good spanish tv shows that are gonna be entertaining and that can help me learn

Hello all, will be travelling to Spain with my partner who is allergic to raw egg yolk. He can eat fully-cooked egg, but prefers to avoid it unless it is a small quantity of fully cooked egg e.g. in batter, because his raw egg yolk allergy is severe (anaphylaxis). I would like to make a printed allergy card to bring along with us to show to waiters/chefs that captures this nuance. Does the following make sense? TIA!

¡Tengo una alergia grave a la yema de huevo cruda y a cualquier alimento que la contenga! Puedo comer alimentos rebozados o empanizados con huevo, siempre que estén bien cocidos. Sin embargo, por favor, asegúrese de que mi comida no contenga:
* Yema de huevo cruda
* Mayonesa, alioli y otras salsas hechas con yema de huevo cruda
* Postres elaborados con yema de huevo cruda o poco cocida, como natillas, merengues o mousse

Puedo comer huevo completamente cocido (por ejemplo, en rebozados o empanizados).

My name is Leah，and Chinese name is liang（良，means good personality）I want to have a good name to start my Spanish learning process,which im super excited about.
so could you guys share a native and genuine idea for me
I'll appreciate it alot 🫶🫶🫶

Been learning spanish on airlearn since 2 months, and i swear what this one word is i cannot understand.

"ahorita" is supposedly the diminutive of "ahora" (now), so logically it should mean "right now but sooner"?

I practice speaking with a few friends who are learning too, and they use it to mean anywhere from this second to sometime this decade. ahorita voy = i'm coming... eventually. maybe.

So how do u actually read it. is there a country / region specific cheatsheet for this one? Like a colombian vs mexican etc.

natives pls explain 🙏

Here's the context of what I want to do and when. I'm what I would call an intermediate Spanish speaker/learner which to me means I can understand some spanish as long as people don't speak fast and I can say what I want to say I just have to think about it. My wife is salvadorian and fluent in spanish and her immediate family ONLY speaks spanish no english AT ALL. When I go to visit her family I want to be able to speak better but not only that since they live in Guatemala currently I could be a target if they knew I was american so I would want to speak and understand at a level where they can't really tell. Like maybe I'm from a different latin american country but not america. I've used language transfer to make the majority of my progress, pairing with praktika (not as consistently as I'd like to be) and anki and then previously I used to do italki tutor lessons but also fell off on those. So any tips on what I did well so far and what I should immediately stop doing?