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Tú... -Nada, entonces nada. -tantos para allí para la sota.
You... -Nothing, then nothing. -points for the jack.
Caption 28, Jugando a la Brisca - En la calle
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Spanish learners quickly pick up the word tanto in its widely used sense of "so much" or "so many." In this meaning the word is used both as an adjective, tanto dinero (so much money), and adverb, no deberías apostar tanto (you shouldn't gamble so much).
However un tanto is also "a point," and tantos can mean "points," as in points in a game or a competition. In our video example the speaker is referring to points in a card game.
El jugador marcó dos tantos y su equipo ganó el partido.
The player scored two points and his team won the match.
Este equipo tiene dos tantos a su favor.
This team is up by two points.
¿Y se animará Sebastián Estebanez a comer cucarachas?
Will Sebastian Estebanez dare to eat cockroaches?
Caption 1, Factor Fobia - Cucarachas - Part 2
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In Argentina, the reflexive verb animarse is frequently used to mean "to dare," as we see throughout our Factor Fobia series.
¿Se animará o no se animará Sebastián Estebanez en el Factor Fobia?
Will Sebastian Estebanez dare or not dare in Fear Factor?
Caption 26, Factor Fobia - Cucarachas - Part 2
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Animarse a más
Dare for more (Pepsi slogan)
¿Te animás a saltar desde el puente?
Do you dare jump from the bridge?
Some parts of the Spanish speaking world are less likely to use animarse when they want to speak of "daring", but would more likely be using another reflexive verb, atreverse.
For example Marley could have equally well have said:
¿Se atreverá Sebastián Estebanez a comer cucarachas?
Will Sebastian Estebanez dare to eat cockroaches?
Here's an interesting headline we found:
¿Se atreverá alguien a comprar Youtube?
Will someone dare to buy Youtube?
(The answer to that is now clear.)
Another use of animarse found throughout most of the the Spanish-speaking world is in the sense of infusing oneself with ánimo (spirit, life, energy). This can mean cheering oneself up or gaining courage/motivation.
¡Animate! Vamos a la fiesta.
Cheer up! Let's go to the party.
Al final me animé a lanzarme al agua helada.
In the end I got up the courage to jump into the freezing water.
Ambos lo deseábamos, pero alguien tenía que animarse y decirlo.
We both wanted it, but someone had to have the guts and say it.
Captions 35-36, Los Años Maravillosos - Capítulo 2 - Part 7
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...vestía la ropa con la que tú sólo puedes soñar
...she wore clothes that you can only dream about
Caption 15, La Mala Rodriguez - La Niña
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In caption 15 of María's song La Niña we are told that the protagonist wore clothes "con la que tú sólo puedes soñar," (that you can only dream about). Soñar is the infinitive "to dream" and of course is related to the word for dreams themselves, sueños. The tilde (~) over the n tells us that this n is pronounced with the "palatal nasal sound" or [ny], like what we hear when we say the English word "canyon" (which is, appropriately, cañón in Spanish). Soñar, therefore, is pronounced [sonyar].
Being a rapper and therefore a poet, it's no surprise that a few lines later she ends another line with a very similar looking infinitive.
Te llaman, te llaman, tu teléfono no deja de sonar
They call you, they call you, your phone doesn't stop ringing
Caption 19, La Mala Rodriguez - La Niña
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By dropping the ~ over the n in soñar we get sonar, which means "to sound" and also, as in this case means "to ring." Because there is no tilde over the n, the word is pronounced with the standard [n] sound we are used to in English. As so often happens, in this case the infinitive sonar is best translated into English using the present participle ("ing") form of the verb, which gives us "ringing."
Tengo un trato, lo mío pa' mi saco...
I have a deal, what's mine is mine...
Caption 3, La Mala Rodriguez - Entrevista
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In her rap, María Rodríguez tells us Tengo un trato, "I have a deal," and lo mío pa' mi saco, which literally means "mine for my bag," but which is a figurative way to say "what's mine is mine."
Por eso te quiero ofrecer un trato.
That's why I want to offer you a deal.
Caption 31, Muñeca Brava - 43 La reunión - Part 5
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¡Es un trato hecho! Te paso a buscar a las ocho.
It´s a done deal! I'll pick you up at eight.
Hagamos un trato: tú vas a la reunión y yo cuido a los chicos.
Let´s make a deal: you'll go to the meeting and I'll look after the children.
As in English, a deal, un trato, is related to but not exactly the same as un contrato, a contract, which usually implies a more formal, legal agreement, usually written.
We can informally make a deal, un trato, but whenever we are talking about more serious and legal matters, we´ll use contrato, contract.
Algunos clientes bajo contrato, le pre-maduramos la fruta para que llegue apta para comer.
[For] some customers under contract, we pre-ripen the fruit so that it arrives ready to eat.
Captions 99-100, 75 minutos - Del campo a la mesa - Part 18
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El abogado está redactando el contrato de mantenimiento.
The lawyer is drawing up the maintenance contract.
El contrato que firmé me obliga a trabajar dos sábados al mes.
The contract that I signed requires me to work two saturdays a month.
Y tras la pausa, vamos a ver si se anima Sebastián Estebanez...
And after the break, we'll see if Sebastian Estebanez dares...
Caption 56, Factor Fobia - Cucarachas
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Tras la guerra con Napoleón, el Rey Fernando Séptimo inició su reconstrucción.
After the war with Napoleon, King Ferdinand the Seventh began his reconstruction.
Captions 64-65, Marisa en Madrid - Parque de El Retiro
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The word tras can be used to mean "after" in terms of the timing of a sequence of events.
Tras hablar con su padre, Ana dijo que no volvería a la casa.
After speaking with her father, Ana said she would never return home.
Note that tras can also operate as a preposition used to indicate "behind."
La azafata acabó de salir del hotel y Zárate va tras ella.
The flight attendant has just left the hotel and Zarate is behind her.
Caption 21, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa - Capítulo 4
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Tu hermano está tras la puerta.
Your brother is behind the door.
In the program Factor Fobia, Marley uses two words that are very similar sounding, atrás and tras.
Tuve un... hace unos meses atrás, me he ido a China.
I had a... some months ago, I've been to China.
Captions 28-29, Factor Fobia - Cucarachas
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As is evident, atrás can be used to indicate "ago," as in time past.
Yo empecé hace tres años atrás en el grupo Guamanique,
I started three years ago in the Guamanique group,
se llama Ballet Folklórico Guamanique, que es de Puerto Rico.
it's called the Guamanique Folk Ballet, which is from Puerto Rico.
Captions 3-4, Baile Folklórico de Puerto Rico - Los Bailarines
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Muchos años atrás, él fue general.
Many years ago, he was a general.
La última vez que nos vimos habrá sido unos seis años atrás.
Last time we met may have been some six years ago.
Of course, atrás is also commonly used to indicate "backwards" or "towards the back."
Si eso era un primer paso, había sido un paso atrás.
If that was a first move, it had been a move backwards.
Caption 24, Los Años Maravillosos - Capítulo 2
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Ella fue atrás.
She went backwards.
Vaya hacia atrás, por favor.
Go backwards, please.
Llevo ocho años en Estados Unidos.
I've spent eight years in the United States.
Caption 18, Maestra en Madrid - Nuria y amigo
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As we've mentioned, the verb llevar is used not only for "to carry," but also to speak about a duration of time.
Llevar is often used to imply that an action continues (or will continue in the future). In this case, Nuria tells us that she has spent eight years living in the USA (and she will continue to do so).
We might be tempted to translate the present tense conjugation llevo by also using the present tense in English -- "I spend" or "I am spending" -- but, to retain the same meaning as the Spanish, we use the present perfect, "I have spent..."
Llevo cinco horas viendo la televisión.
I've spent five hours watching television.
(I've been watching television for five hours.)
Ana lleva cinco días estudiando español para su próximo examen.
Ana has spent five days studying spanish for her next exam (and she continues studying).
Shortly thereafter Nuria informs us:
Pero pasé casi diez años en Madrid haciendo mis estudios...
But I spent nearly ten years in Madrid doing my studies...
Caption 22, Maestra en Madrid - Nuria y amigo
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The verb pasar, like llevar, can take on the meaning "to spend (time)", but pasar gives us the impression that the action is completed and does not continue. Nuria spent nearly ten years in Madrid, but she is no longer living there full time.
Ana pasó cinco días estudiando español.
Ana spent five days studying spanish (and then she stopped).
Strolling down the historic streets of Burgos, Carlos and María Angeles (who goes by Angeles) tell us about their local nightspots. Pubs, they say, manage to circumvent local laws and keep customers through the night -- until about 8 AM -- by briefly closing and then opening again. Angeles explains:
Sí, son trucos, pequeños truquitos de la picaresca española.
Yes, they're tricks, little tricks of Spanish wiliness.
Captions 78-79, Burgos - Caminando
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Trucos are "tricks." And, as we've explained before, the ending -ito is diminutive, so truquitos are "little tricks." Saying pequeños truquitos is merely repetitive, for effect. It emphasizes that we're talking about "little, harmless tricks." Also: note that truquitos is spelled here with a 'qu' to preserve the hard 'c' sound in Spanish (like 'k' in English).
Hace todo... es muy inteligente, hace todo lo que le pides, se sabe un montón de trucos.
He does everything... he's very smart, he does everything you ask him, he knows a ton of tricks.
Captions 55-56, Rosa - La perrita Mika
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Deberíamos decirle que nos enseñe unos truquitos.
We should tell him to teach us some little tricks.
Caption 5, Los Años Maravillosos - Capítulo 4
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A related word in the first quote of this lesson is the adjective picaresca, which means "rascally" or "picaresque" in the literary sense. Remember, picaresque literature was founded in Spain, "flourished in the 17th and 18th centuries in Europe and continues to influence modern literature," according to Wikipedia's entry (in English) on the subject. The genre usually features the adventures of a roguish hero (un pícaro), living by his wits. You might note that Angeles -a Spanish history fan herself- utters the term picaresca with a giggle and a knowing appreciation of the form.
To introduce this popular song, singer Marciano Cantero of Argentina's Los Enanitos Verdes ("The Green Dwarfs") shares the story of an encounter in Denver:
Me acerqué, así como haciéndome el dolobu.
I came closer, pretending to be a fool.
Caption 12, Enanitos Verdes - Luz de día
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Here is another example, this time from the Argentinian telenovela Muñeca Brava.
Y tuvieron un hijo juntos pero después el señor Federico se hizo el dolobu.
And they had a son together but afterwards Mr. Federico played the fool.
Caption 66, Muñeca Brava - 36 La pesquisa
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¿Dolobu? Try to find that word in a formal dictionary. You can't. That's because dolobu is an inverted slang form of the slang word boludo -- which we wrote about some weeks back. For Argentines like Marciano and many of his fans, boludo ("jerk" or "fool") is such a popular taunt that they have little trouble recognizing dolobu as a scrambled version of it.
There's a term for this sort of scrambling slang in Spanish: Al vesre--which is al reves ("in reverse") in al vesre. Got that? Think of it as a form of Pig Latin.
As a general rule, scrambling syllables a la al vesre will shade a word with more negative connotations than its original meaning. For example, while boludo may be a friendly greeting between friends (as we noted in this space previously), dolobu is more often a straight-up insult. Here are some more examples:
Hotel ("hotel") becomes telo (with the silent "h" dropped to preserve its pronunciation) when it's a seedy, rent-by-the-hour, love motel.
A sifón ("siphon") becomes a fonsi to describe the sort of hooked nose reminiscent of a siphon.
The already vulgar verb cagar ("to defecate") becomes garcar (with an "r" added to keep it recognizably a verb in the infinitive), with roughly the same crude meaning.
There are countless other examples. For further discussions of al vesre slang, see these web pages:
Wikipedia > Vesre (in Spanish)
Wikilibros > Diccionario de Vesre (in Spanish)
This week we also offer the eighth installment of De Consumidor a Persona ("From Consumer to Person"), from Spain, a probing look at tough environmental questions. In this clip, we hear:
Es decir, se trata de vincular la misma actividad que uno tiene pues para...
That is, it is about linking the same activity that one has, well, to...
trabajar por la abolición de la deuda externa.
to work for the abolition of the foreign debt.
Captions 37-38, De consumidor a persona - Short Film - Part 8
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We've discussed the versatile verb tratar ("to treat" or "to attempt to") in this space before. But we didn't yet touch on the common construction tratarse de [algo] ("to be about [something]"), which is seen in the phrase above.
Here's a common question:
¿De que se trata?
What is it about?
And one possible answer:
Yabla Spanish se trata de gente interesante.
Yabla Spanish is about interesting people.
Got that? Have a look at an interesting discussion of the phrase, found here.
When quizzed further on the subject of diversión ("having fun"), the highly educated Patricia uses more colloquial and informal terms, as appropriate. After reventones, another one that caught our eye was farandulera -- as in:
Y yo realmente soy muy poca así... farandulera.
And actually, I am not really that way... a party girl.
Caption 7, Patricia Marti - Diversión y Ejercicio
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According to our Yabla dictionary, a farandulera is formally "a trickster, a person who plays tricks" or "a rogue, crook, swindler or cheat." It comes from the noun farándula, which traditionally means "the theater world." But note that in common usage in Latin America, la farándula is more like a group of people who are always out late at night, dancing and having fun. Latino paparazzi may follow la farándula to supply photos for magazines such as ¡Hola! and Caras (roughly equivalent to the US's People or Us Weekly). Many LatAm newspapers and websites have sections devoted to farándula (such as MSN Latino).
So, Patricia tells our cameras not to bother following her like some paparazzi. She's not una farandulera ("a party girl").
Venezuelan Patricia Martí tells us about her home town of Coro, compared to other parts of the world:
Así como en otros países, que hay muchas discotecas y reventones y fiestas...
The way [it is] in other countries, there are a lot of discotheques and big blowouts and parties...
Caption 4, Patricia Marti - Diversión y Ejercicio
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Look up reventones -- plural of reventón -- and you'll see it's "a flat tire" or "a blowout." As you can see, Patricia uses the word in a looser sense to mean a sort of big social event, which, in English, we might also call a blowout.
To further build up your vocab, note that reventón is a noun related to the verb reventar, which means "to burst." The verb form can also be used in formal and informal speech. For example, to be formal:
Reventó un caño.
A pipe burst.
And, in a looser, more figurative sense:
Su padre reventaba de orgullo.
Her father was bursting with pride.
We learn many things in the sixth installment of actress Natalia Oreiro's biography. One is that she's not a Tom Cruise- or Winona Ryder-sized wee thing. She's tall -- for an actress. And that was actually a worry at first, her friend Rosa tells us. Here's a snippet of the interview:
E incluso le dijeron que, que para ser acá así de actriz era muy alta...
They even told her that, that to be an actress here she was too tall...
que era como muy grandota y que no encajaba...
that she was like too huge and would not fit...
Captions 13-15, Biografía - Natalia Oreiro - Part 6
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Rosa has a colorful way of speaking. The first of the two words we highlight above --grandote-- is formed from the adjective grande ("big, large") and the augmentative suffix -ote, which amplifies the meaning of grande, making our best translation "huge." Adding -ote or -ota "often adds a note of contempt to the idea of bigness," according to The Ultimate Spanish Review and Practice (published by Passport Books).
Note that augmentative suffixes can be applied to pretty much any noun or adjective. Some augmented words merit their own dictionary entries, especially if they take on a special meaning, while others don't. For example, consulting a few sources, we found entries for:
ojotes (root word: ojos, "eyes"): "bulging eyes, goggle eyes"
palabrota (root word: palabra, "word"): "swear word, dirty word"
animalote (root word: animal, "animal"): "big animal; gross, ignorant person"
In Spanish, augmentative suffixes are not quite as popular as diminutive ones (-ito, -ita, -cito, -cita), but you will hear them peppering the language for emphasis. (For some more on diminutives, review our previous discussion of poquitito some weeks back. To learn more about suffixes in general, ThoughtCo. has a helpful list.)
Moving on to the second word we highlighted above: It's encajaba, from the verb encajar. It, too, is a compound word, formed from the prefix en- ("in") and root word caja ("box"). The verb encajar means "to fit." It can suggest a physical fit (e.g., pieces of a puzzle fitting together), or a more thematic one (e.g., a transfer student fitting in to his new school). Rosa is using the second sense of the word, when she describes the fears that her friend wouldn't fit in to the acting world in Buenos Aires.
For more on compound words in Spanish, see: ThoughtCo.'s Colorful Combinations.
The title of this week's new music video is the common phrase Para Siempre, meaning "forever." Take a look at how the phrase is used in the lyrics:
Puedo esperar para siempre
I can wait forever
Caption 5, Zurdok - Para Siempre
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Puede durar para siempre
Can last forever
Caption 7, Zurdok - Para Siempre
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Quiero vivir para siempre
I want to live forever
Caption 13, Zurdok - Para Siempre
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Tiene que ser para siempre
It has to be forever
Caption 15, Zurdok - Para Siempre
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Para here means "for." Para + an expression of time will indicate a point in time for which something is intended--or, a deadline. In the examples above, our singer is intending something to go on forever. Here are two less poetic examples of para in action:
Tengo tarea para mañana.
I have homework for tomorrow.
Tengo que terminar este informe para la semana que viene.
I have to finish this report for next week.
But astute listeners will catch that there's another way to say "for" in Spanish, also used in this song. Look at this line of our featured song:
O por toda una eternidad -Si me lo pides
Or for all eternity -If you ask me
Caption 4, Zurdok - Para Siempre
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You see, por + an expression of time usually indicates the duration of something. For example:
Él trabajó por tres horas.
He worked for three hours.
Por la semana que viene, vamos a tener clases en el edificio porque acá hay una reunión.
(Just) for next week, we are having classes in the old building because there is a meeting here.
The difference is subtle when we're talking about the intention "forever" (para siempre) vs. the duration "forever" (por siempre). It's no wonder por and para take a lot of practice to get right for non-native Spanish speakers. But here's a hint to help you along: The phrase 'para siempre' is much more common than 'por siempre' in romantic song lyrics and on Valentine's cards. And even native Spanish speakers debate the por / para divide.
How might a new airport affect the families living off the farming land of Atenco, Mexico? Listen to the interviews in this documentary for some strongly held opinions.
In the introduction, a listener might think they're hearing double:
A no nomás al estado de México.
And not only to the state of Mexico.
Caption 9, ¡Tierra, Sí! - Atenco - Part 1
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No nomás ("not only") is not to be confused with no, no más ("no, no more"). In Mexico and parts of Central America, nomás as a single word can mean solamente or sólo (in English: "only"). It's distinguished from the two words 'no más' by their context.
But note that 'no nomás' probably sounds a little odd to someone from Spain, who would say "No sólo el estado de México," instead. (Loyal readers may recall we previously discussed why sólo takes an accent mark when it means "only.")
Y ahí, bueno, pienso que con eso colaboro para mi país. Con eso... y ya.
And so, well, I think I'm helping my country like this. Like that... and that's it.
Captions 36-38, Patricia Marti - Perspectiva Política
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In Spanish, ya is an adverb that packs a lot of meanings. It most commonly means "already" and "now." In informal, everyday speech, it's best understood in the context. For example, in a busy café, a waiter might ask you and your friend:
¿Ya pidieron?
Did you all order already?
No, no tenemos la carta todavía
No, we don't have the menu yet
Ya se la traigo
I'll bring it to you now
Note that fellow adverb todavía means "yet" or "still". But getting back to ya, here are two phrases you're sure to come across often:
Ya es la hora = "It's time [already/now ]."
Ya está = "It's here [already/now]."
Our interview subject ends the interview with a shrug and a "y ya," which is her way of telling us "enough already," or "that's it."
In the music video A Casa by Javier Garcia, take a look at two lines of the catchy refrain:
Anoche fue muy fuerte...
Last night was very tough...
Caption 7, Javier García - A Casa
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La noche fue muy fuerte...
The night was very tough...
Caption 11, Javier García - A Casa
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Note that anoche means "last night." Some non-native Spanish speakers think they should say 'la noche pasada,' but that would be akin to saying "the day before today" when you mean simply "yesterday" in English. So listen closely to distinguish 'la noche' -meaning, more generically, "the night"- from 'anoche' -meaning "last night"- as in this week's featured song.
Here are some more useful Spanish terms for the past:
Dígame... Eh Padre, ¿se acuerda de esa chica que estábamos hablando ayer?
Tell me... Um, Father, do you remember that girl that we were talking about yesterday?
Caption 12, Muñeca Brava - 2 Venganza - Part 2
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Ayer = "Yesterday"
Anteayer = "The day before yesterday"
You'll note ante means "before," and so anteayer is really just a contraction of "[the day] before yesterday." Following the logic, can you guess what anteanoche means? Yup, "the night before last." (Isn't it convenient to have one Spanish word when in English we require four?)
Moving from days to weeks and years, the rules change a little. You see, there's no single word that means "last week." Instead, you have to say: 'la semana pasada.' And to say "last year," use el año pasado. But there is a word that means "yesteryear": It's antaño. Like "yesteryear" in English, antaño in Spanish refers to "times past"--not necessarily last year.
Meanwhile, in New York City, we catch up with Skampida's Gustavo and David on camera. They tell us what they've been up to:
Llevamos cuatro meses en New York City.
We've been in New York City for four months.
Caption 7, Skampida - Gustavo y David
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Bueno la... la banda ha estado... llevamos ocho años tocando y...
Well the... the band has been... we've been playing for eight years and...
Caption 12, Skampida - Gustavo y David
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You probaby know that the verb llevar means "to carry." But it has many other shades of meaning, one of which indicates the passage of time. Here are a couple more examples of llevar in this context:
¿Cuánto tiempo llevas aquí?
How long have you been here?
Llevo seis horas esperando.
I've been waiting six hours.
Note that you could substitute "haber estado," as in "to have been," to arrive at approximately the same meaning as llevar.
El niño se daba cuenta que por haber estado agachado tanto tiempo.
The boy realized that as the result of having been bent over for so long.
Caption 36, Los Años Maravillosos - Capítulo 8 - Part 1
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