How to say you have a headache in Spanish

Hola a todos! (Hello everyone!) Welcome to Your Daily Pinch of Spanish :)

Today I have for you a short lesson: How to say your head hurts.

I had the most horrible series of headaches this last week. It lasted like three days! And it was just horrible. I couldn't spend much time on the computer, and sounds were just aggravating.

Headaches can be so annoying, and sometimes we need to tell the person being noisy next to us that we have a headache (Lol)

Let's begin!

Dolor de cabeza (doh-lohr deh cah-beh-sah) - Headache

Jaqueca (hah-keh-kah) - Headache

How do you say it?

1. Tengo dolor de cabeza - I have a headache.

*This is the most common one you will hear if you come to Puerto Rico. Also:

Me duele la cabeza - My head hurts

2. Tengo una jaqueca - I have a headache

This is seldom used in Puerto Rico, but it seems to be the most common in most other Hispanic countries. I hear it all the time on Television, and so it is the one you might be hearing the most learning Spanish and traveling to Hispanic countries.

*You can add the words: terrible, horrible, horrendo, and fuerte

Tengo un fuerte dolor de cabeza - I have a strong headache.

Tengo una jaqueca terrible - I have a terrible headache

*Terrible is written exactly the same as in English, but it is pronounced differently. Keep it in mind. It is: Teh-rree-bleh 

Tengo una jaqueca horrenda - I have a horrendous headache

Tengo un dolor de cabeza horrible - I have a horrible headache

More about headaches:

Sometimes when a person is annoying, or a child is very wild and energetic, people will say they are a headache. For example:

Él es un dolor de cabeza - He's such a headache

Ese nene es un dolor de cabeza - That kid is such a headache

*Nene is another word for niño (child). Nene translates as 'kid'. Nene is the masculine; the feminine is nena. *The word nene or nena is also used by couples to call each other sweetly, so it can also translate to something like 'baby', 'honey', or 'sweetie', in this context.

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 This is it for now. I hope you found this little lesson useful. :)

If there is any doubt, do contact me. I have a Twitter page and a Facebook Page. I also have a Tumblr where I post a link to every new lesson/post.

Until next time! :)

*This lesson was originally  posted on my now deleted website. The website was bought by someone else who remade it using my content without my permission. So please do not support the website, and if you like my content, please support this blog. Thank you. :) 

~Maria

Read and Translate: Ear and Ear

Hello everyone and welcome to Your Daily Pinch of Spanish :)

I have another Read and Translate post for you today. You'll learn the difference between ear, and, well, ear. You'll see!

 Cuando su hija era pequeña tuvo varias infecciones de oído. Que tuviera las orejas pequeñas no tenía nada que ver. Ahora de grande le molestan los sonidos fuertes, sin embargo, tiene muy buen oído para la música. 

English translation now :)

When her (*or his; it's not specified) daughter was a child (*literally: small) she had a few ear infections. Having small ears had nothing to do with it. Now that she's older she's bothered by loud sounds, however, she has a very good ear for music. 

Now I'll explain some interesting points in this reading:

*The word pequeña (or pequeño if it's a boy) translates to small, but when you're talking about a person, it means 'child'. I think in English people do this, too.

'Cuando era pequeña' - When I was a child.

*Varias translates to 'various', but it also translates to 'a few' in some cases.

*Ahora de grande - This can translate to 'Now older'. De grande literally means 'of bigger'. This would be more casual speaking. To be more accurate, or more correct, you can say 'Ahora que es grande' or 'Ahora que es adulta(o)'.

*The word oído - It means 'ear'. But this particular word for ear refers only to the inner ear, be it the inside or the hearing ability:

'Buen oído para la música'- Good ear for music.

'Le da picor de oído todos los días' - He(or she) gets an ear itch every day.

'Ya ha oído esa canción antes' - He(or she) has already heard this song. (*Oído is also a past verb form of the verb oír, which means to hear.)

*The word oreja - It also translates to 'ear', but this is used for the physical ear only.

'Él tiene as orejas grandes' - He has big ears.

'Ella tiene aros de oro en las orejas' - She has gold earrings on her ears.

*The word buen - Is the same as bueno(a). It translates to 'good', as in 'capable', but also as in 'nice'. But buen is used in front of the thing it's describing:

Es buen hombre - He's a good man

Es un hombre bueno - He's a good man

More Vocabulary:

1. Hija - Daughter

2. Infección - Infection

3. Ahora - Now

4. Sonido - Sound

5. Fuerte - Strong. When talking about sound, loud.

6. Música - Music

7. Sin embargo - However, Although, Though.

(For Spanish pronunciation guide, click here.)

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This is it for now! I hope you enjoyed this lesson post, and that you found it useful :)

Any doubts or if you notice any typos, you can contact me on my Twitter, Facebook, or Tumblr blog. Thank you for reading! Until next time! :)

Read and Translate #3

Hola everyone and welcome to the site :)

Today I have another read and translate post. I will share with you a casual conversation - a story about me - and give you some vocabulary and explain some expressions.

Let's begin:

Pues, todos los días digo que me voy a ir a dormir temprano, y entonces enciendo la computadora por la noche y me entretengo, de modo que se hace tarde y termino acostándome tarde de nuevo. Esta noche voy a hacer todo por acostarme temprano. (En otras palabras, no voy a encender la computadora por la noche.)

Ok, so now here is the translation:

So, everyday I say I'm going to bed early, and then I turn on my computer at night and get entertained (*sidetracked), so it gets late and I end up going to bed late again. Tonight I'm going to do my best (*lit. do everything) to go to bed early. (In other words, I won't turn on my computer at night.)

I'll explain some of the expressions in here that you might find interesting (and useful):

1. Pues - Here this translates to 'So'. When you start telling a story and you go 'So... this and that happened', it's exactly the same. You start 'Pues... Pasó esto y aquello.'

2. En otras palabras - In other words

3. Me entretengo - This literally translates to 'I get entertained' but it's the same as saying 'I get sidetracked', or 'I get distracted', depending on when you're using it. You can say 'me entretengo' like about playing a game or reading and such, and it would translate to 'I get entertained'.

4. Voy a hacer todo para... - I'm going to do everything to... *This expression I don't know if it's used all over Hispanic countries, but I know I use it here in Puerto Rico. 'Voy a hacer todo' translates to 'I'm going to do my best', although literally it means 'I'm going to do everything.' Say it when you want to do your best to achieve something. 'Voy a hacer todo para viajar este año' - I'm going to do the best I can to travel this year.

5. Termino - I end up. * This one translates to 'end up (doing x)', but it also translates to 'I finish'.

Some vocabulary from this reading:

1. Dormir (dohr-meer) - to sleep

2. Temprano (tehm-prah-noh) - early

3. Cama (kah-mah) - bed

4. Noche (noh-cheh) - night

5. Computadora (kohm-poo-tah-doh-rah) - computer

6. Tarde (tahr-deh) - late

7. Encender (en-sen-dehr) - turn on

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 This is it for today :)

I hope you found this lesson useful and fun. If you have any doubt, just contact me in the comments, or on my Twitter or Facebook page.

Thank you for reading!

How to say you hate something in Spanish

Hello! And welcome to your daily pinch of Spanish :)

Everyone knows that everything is not perfect all the time. Sometimes we really don't like something, or even hate it! So, if you need to say it in Spanish, how do you go about it?

I'll give you several phrases.

(Remember I have pronunciation tables here if you need them.) (*Update: my pronunciation page is currently unavailable, until I rebuild my blog here. I had to delete my old website, so a lot of my links won't work until I reestablish them. Sorry!)

First, words for dislike:

1- Odio (oh-dee-oh) - Hate

2 - Repudio (reh-poo-dee-oh) - Repudiation, rejection

3- Asco (ahs-koh) - Revulsion

4- Disgusto (dees-goos-toh) - Disgust

5- Desagrado (deh-sah-grah-doh) - Dislike, displeasure

Now to the phrases:

1. No me gusta - I don't like it/I hate it

*Past tense: No me gustó

2. Lo odio - I hate it (stronger than saying 'no me gusta')

*Related:

Odio eso - I hate that.

*Past tense: Lo odié

3. Me desagrada - I dislike it/I dislike that (not too common)

4. Me asquea - I find it revolting (not to common, and for me it is stronger than saying you hate something)

5. Lo repudio - I repudiate it/I hate it (stronger even, and not common)

6. Me parece molesto - I find it annoying

*Past tense: me pareció molesto

You can add the words mucho (much, manu, a lot), and tanto (a lot):

No me gusta mucho: I don't like it very much

No me gusta tanto: AI don't like it very much

Lo odio mucho - I hate it very much

Also bien (very) muy (very, much) and tan (a lot, so) for this one:

Me parece bien molesto - I find it very annoying

Me parece tan molesto - I find it so annoying

Me parece muy molesto - I find it very annoying

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This is it for now :)

I hope you guys find this lesson useful and simple.

Until next time!

How to say you’re in a hurry in Spanish

surely find useful: How to tell others you're in a hurry.

First, the key word:

*Prisa (pree-sah) - hurry, rush, haste

Now, here are some ways to say you're in a hurry:

Tengo prisa - I'm in a hurry

Ando con prisa - I'm in a hurry (Literally, 'I walk in a hurry.')

*Use this when you meet a person you know in a place, but you can't stay to talk for too long.

If you want to say it like an excuse:

Es que tengo prisa - It's just that I'm in a hurry

*You can also add the word mucha (much, many) to these expressions, to say that you're really in a hurry:

Tengo mucha prisa - I'm really in a hurry/I'm in a real hurry

Es que tengo mucha prisa - It's just that I'm really in a hurry.

Now, how to tell others to hurry up:

Date prisa - Hurry up

Avanza - Hurry

No te tardes - Don't take long

*To make it more polite, add Por favor - Please

*You can add it before or after:

Por favor date prisa - please hurry up

Avanza, por favor - Please hurry

No te tardes, por favor - Don't take long, please

*To make this last one more polite or respectful (if you're talking to a stranger or someone older than you, for example, you say) say it this way: No se tarde/No tarde.

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 This is it for now :)

I hope you enjoyed this lesson and that you found it useful and simple.

Until next time!

How to express happiness in Spanish

Hello everyone and welcome to Your Daily Pinch of Spanish! :)

I was requested to make lessons on how to express emotions, and I thought it would be best to make it as a series, since emotions are many and in one post would be very long and I like to keep things simple so everything is easier to understand.

Today I start with how to express that you are happy.

Let's begin :)

First words for happiness:

Feliz (feh-lees) - Happy

*The strength of pronunciation is in the last syllable.

Felicidad (Feh-lee-see-dad) - Happiness

Alegría (ah-leh-gree-ah) - Happiness, joy

Alegre (ah-leh-greh) - Happy, cheerful, lively

Contento(a) (kohn-ten-toh(ah))- Happy, pleased

Now I will give you phrases to express your happiness:

1- First the super simple estoy feliz.

estoy means 'I am', so this phrase means 'I'm happy'. To say that others are happy, the verb estoy changes:

Estás feliz - You are happy

Está feliz - She/he is happy

Están felices (plural) They are happy

*You can add 'muy', 'tan', 'bien', and 'súper':

Estoy tan feliz - I'm so happy!

Estoy muy feliz - I'm very happy!

Estoy bien feliz - I'm very happy

Estoy súper feliz - I'm super happy

*You can add these words to contento(a), and alegre, too.

2- Me hace feliz - It makes me happy

*Hacer translates to 'do'.

You can also say- Me pone feliz - it makes me happy, Like 'eso me pone feliz' (that makes me happy).

*Poner - translates to 'put', so literally this translates to 'It puts me happy', but the way it is used in everyday Spanish the expression translates to 'it makes me happy'.

3- Me contenta - It pleases me, or, it makes me happy

*I really don't hear this too often, unless the person had been previously sad or down, and somebody cheers them up.

*You can also say 'me pone contento' (if you identify as male) or 'Me pone contenta' (If you identify as female). This translates to 'it makes me happy' (literally 'it puts me happy').

*Me contenta, even if it sounds and looks exactly as the the example above that a girl would use, is a different word when connected to me; it's for everyone to use. It's a form of the verb 'contentar', meaning 'it makes me happy'.

*You can also say estoy contento (if male; if female: contenta) to say 'I'm happy'.

4- Me alegra - it makes me happy

*This one I usually hear it here as a reply to good news. Like me alegra escuchar eso - I'm happy to hear that.

*You can say estoy alegre for 'I'm happy', as well.

*You can use 'tanto' and 'mucho':

¡Me alegra tanto escuchar eso! - It makes me so happy to hear that!

Me alegra mucho ver que todo está bien - It makes me very happy to see that everything is okay.

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This is for now. There will be many more lessons to come about expressing feelings and emotion. I hope you can understand well, and if you have any doubt, just contact me on my Twitter or Facebook, or my Tumblr too and I'll answer.

I hope you find this lesson useful :)

Thank you for reading! Until next time!

Ten words about food

Today it is a super simple 'lesson'. It's a vocabulary list; I will give you ten words that have to do with food. Or more like, eleven, since I will also give you the translation to the word 'Food' xD

The word 'Food' translates to - Comida (koh-mee-dah).

Also alimento (ah-lee-mehn-toh), but this one is more for nourishing food, at least to my understanding in how we use it here.

1) Mesa (Meh-sah) - Table

2) Utensilios (oo-ten-see-lee-ohs) - Utensils

3) Desayuno (Deh-sah-joo-noh) - Breakfast

4) Almuerzo (Al-moo-ehr-soh) - Lunch

5) Cena (seh-nah) - Dinner

6) Postre (pohs-treh) - Dessert

7) Aperitivo (ah-peh-ree-tee-voh) - Apetizer, snack

8) Merienda (Meh-ree-ehn-dah) - Snack

*In the UK, this could be translated to 'tea', as well.

9) Apetito (Ah-peh-tee-toh) - Appetite

10) Sabor (sah-bohr) - Taste

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This is it for this short lesson post :)

Thank you for reading, until next time!

Dia de las madres. Mother’s Day in Spanish

Hello everyone! And Welcome to Your Daily Pinch of Spanish :)

Today I bring you a simple and short lesson post in which you will learn how to congratulate a mom on mother's day and also some Hispanic countries' names.

So, how do you say 'mother's day' in Spanish? 

Día de las Madres - Mother's day (literally, Mothers' day; in Spanish it's in plural.)

Here's how you congratulate a mom! :)

¡Feliz día de las madres! - Happy mothers' day!

Some Hispanic Countries that celebrate mother's day today:

I wrote a pronunciation guide in parenthesis in case you want to know how we pronounced these in Spanish.

(The second Sunday of May)

Honduras - (ohn-doo-rahs)

Perú - (Peh-roo)

Puerto Rico - (Poo-ehr-toh ree-koh)

Colombia - (koh-lohm-bee-ah)

Cuba - (coo-bah)

(The tenth of May)

México - (mehk-see-koh) (*more commonly pronounced: meh-hee-koh)

El Salvador - (ehl sahl-vah-dohr)

Guatemala - (goo-ah-teh-mah-lah)

The Vocabulary List!

I know, by this point you probably can translate all this, but to make it more complete, I include the words:

Feliz (feh-lees) - Happy

Madre (mah-dreh) - Mother

Día (dee-ah) - Day

Mayo (mah-joh) - May

De (deh) - (*Indicates possession) Of, from, by

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This is it for today! A short little lesson post for Mother's day. I hope you enjoyed it and learned something with me today :)

Until next time!