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

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 to use in the morning

Hello! And Welcome to your daily pinch of Spanish blog! :)

Today it is a simple and short Spanish lesson. I'll give you ten words you use in the morning and its translation in Spanish.

Let's begin!

1 - Café (ka-feh) - Coffee

2 - Té (teh) - Tea

3 - Desayuno (deh-sah-ju-noh) - Breakfast

4 - Despertar (dehs-per-tahr) - To wake up

* To tell a person to wake up, say it like this: Despierta (dehs-pee-ehr-tah).

* This word like this can also mean to be awake, but this is the feminine form. Estoy despierta - I'm awake. (feminine) ; Estoy despierto - I'm awake (masculine)

5 - Periódico (peh-ree-oh-dee-koh) - Newspaper

6 - Tarde (Tahr-deh) - Late

* Tarde also means afternoon. 'La tarde'

7 - Temprano (Tehm-prah-noh) - Early

8 - Jugo de chinas (hoo-goh deh chee-nahs) - Oranje juice

9 - Escuela (ehs-coo-eh-lah) - School

10- Llaves (Jah-vehs) - Keys

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I hope you enjoyed this little lesson! There are many more words we use in the morning, of course, but these are ten good words for you, for now.

Have a good day today! Remember to share this lesson if you enjoy it :)

Thank you, and until next time!

Conocer y Reconocer (to know and to recognize)

Hello! And welcome to Your Daily Pinch of Spanish :)

Today I want to share a follow up lesson to my previous one, 'Saber' and 'Entender', and show you the words 'Concoer' and 'Reconocer'. These words are quite similar in meaning to 'saber' and 'entender'.

Conocer (koh-noh-sehr) - To know; to meet

Use conocer when you know a person. Or when you've come to know something and so you understand what and/or how it is.

Yo lo conozco a él - I know him

Quiero conocerla - I want to get to know her

(Yo) conozco bien este lugar - I know this place well

(Yo) conozco este tema bastante bien - I know this topic quite well

*I wrote yo in parenthesis because using the verb form conozco already points out that you're talking about yourself.

Reconocer (Reh-koh-noh-sehr) - To recognize; to understand

It's just like the English 'recognize'. It's used when you've seen someone or something before.

(Yo) reconozco este lugar - I recognize this place, or, I know this place

(Yo) no reconozco este lugar - I don't recognize this place, or, I don't know this place

(Yo) reconozco esa cara - I recognize that face

But also, it has a meaning very similar to 'understand', and I've heard it used more in this sense when you understand a flaw or something that you did wrong. I'll give you some examples:

Yo reconozco que está mal - I understand that it's wrong

Yo reconozco que pude haberlo hecho diferente - I understand I could have done it differently.

I'll give you now some basic conjugations, to finish this little lesson:

Yo conozco (koh-nohs-coh) I know

Tú conoces (ko-noh-sehs) You know

Ella/Él conoce (koh-noh-seh) She/he knows

Ellos/Ellas conocen (koh-noh-sehn) They know

Yo conocí (Koh-noh-see) I met, I knew

Tú conociste (Koh-noh-sees-teh) You met, You knew

Ella/Él conoció (Koh-noh-seeoh) She/He met, She/He knew

Ellos/Ellas conocieron (koh-noh-see-eh-rohn) They met, They knew

Yo conoceré (koh-noh-seh-reh) I will know, I will meet

Tú conocerás (koh-noh-seh-rahs) You will know, you will meet

Ella/Él conocerá (koh-noh-seh-rah) She/He will know, she/he will meet

Ellos/Ellas conocerán (koh-noh-seh-rahn) They will know, they will meet

Yo reconozco (reh-coh-nohs-koh) I recognize, I understand

Tú reconoces (reh-coh-noh-sehs) You recognize, You understand

Ella/Él reconoce (reh-coh-noh-seh) She/he recognizes, she/he understand

Ellos/Ellas reconocen (reh-coh-noh-sehn) They Recognize, They understand

Yo reconocí (reh-coh-noh-see) I recognized, I understood

Tú reconociste (reh-coh-noh-sees-teh) You recognized, you understood

Ella/Él reconoció (reh-coh-noh-seeoh) She/he recognized, understood

Ellos/Ellas reconocieron (reh-coh-noh-see-eh-rohn) They recognized, they understood

Yo reconoceré (reh-coh-noh-seh-reh) I will recognize, I will understand

Tú reconocerás (reh-coh-noh-seh-rahs) You will recognize, You will understand

Ella/Él reconocerá (reh-coh-noh-seh-rah) She/he will recognize, she/he will understand

Ellos/Ellas reconocerán (reh-coh-noh-seh-rahn) They will recognize, they will understand

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This is it for today. I hope you learned something with me today, and that you understand and find this lesson useful :)

Thank you for reading, Until next time!

Saber and Entender: To know and understand in Spanish

Hello everyone! And welcome to Your Daily Pinch of Spanish!

Today bring you the word saber and the word entender. 

Here are the translations:

Saber (sah-behr) To Know

Entender (Ehn-tehn-dehr) To understand

These two verbs resemble each other in the sense that they both mean that you have the knowledge of something. Their use is pretty much the same as their English translations, but in Spanish, sometimes (at least here in Puerto Rico) we use the word saber where normally in English you would use the word endender.

For example, you can say 'Yo sé' or 'I know' in a case where normally you would use 'Yo entiendo' or 'I understand'.

Here are some useful forms or conjugations:

(Yo) sé - I know

*I wrote 'yo' (I) in parenthesis because, depending on context, it will be understood that you mean yourself, since this form of verbs is only used for when you are talking about yourself. By the way, the word 'understood' translates to 'Endendido' (En-ten-dee-doh); It will be understood - Será entendido, or, quedará entendido.

Yo sabía - I knew

Yo sabré - I'll know

Tú sabes - You know

Tú sabías - You knew

Tú sabrás - You will know

Ella/Él sabe - She/he knows

Ella/Él sabían - She/he knew

Ella/Él sabrán - She/he will know

Ellos/Ellas saben - They know

Ellos Ellas sabían - They knew

Ellos Ellas sabrán - They will know

*Remember, 'ellos' is used when there are two or more people together, and they  are either all male, or there's at least one man in the group. That's how it is. 'Ellas' is when there are more than one woman, but only women are in the group.

Ustedes saben - you know

Ustedes sabían - You knew

Ustedes sabrán - You will know

*'Ustedes' is when you are referring to two or more people; a group of people. Think of it as the plural of 'you'.

(Yo) entiendo - I understand

Yo entendí - I understood

Yo entenderé - I will understand

Tú entiendes - You understand

Tú entendiste - You understood

Tú entenderás - You will understand

Ella/Él entiende - She he understands

Ella/Él entendió - She he understood

Ella/Él entenderá - She he will understand

Ellos/Ellas entienden - They understand

Ellos/Ellas entendieron - They understood

Ellos/Ellas entenderán - They will understand

Ustedes entienden - You understand

Ustedes entendieron - You understood

Ustedes entenderán - You will understand

Here are some example phrases:

1- Yo sé lo que tengo que hacer - I know what I have to do

2- ¿Tú sabes la hora? - Do you know the hour?

3- Yo sé eso - I know that/I understand that

4- Yo entiendo que debes cambiar esa camisa - I understand you should change that shirt

5- ¿Tú entiendes esa teoría? - Do you understand that theory?

6- Él sabe tejer - He knows how to knit

7- ¿Ustedes entienden cómo hacer eso? - Do you understand/know how to do that?

8- Ellos saben que no funcionará - They know it won't work

9- Entiendo - I understand

10- Ella no entiende que el tiempo es corto - She doesn't understand that time is short

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This is it for today. I hope you could entender (understand) and that you find this useful. Any doubt, you can find me on Twitter or Facebook.
Thank you for reading!

Until next time!

I have a lot on my mind: Learn this phrase in Spanish, and similar others to express worry

Hello! And welcome to your daily pinch of Spanish!

I have a lot to think about lately, and it got me saying La verdad es que tengo mucho en la mente estos días. (I sure have a lot to think about these days.)

How do you express worry in Spanish? This is what I will show you today!

I'll give you some phrases you can use for this purpose. It's a short lesson, and hopefully very simple.

Let's begin:

1- Tengo mucho en la mente - I have a lot on my mind

2- Tengo mucho en lo que pensar - I have a lot to think about

3- Tengo la cabeza hecha un bollo - My head is a mess

*Bollo (boh-joh) can also mean 'bread roll'.

4- Tengo mucho en la cabeza - I have a lot in my head

* Cabeza here, or head, is referring to the mind.

5- Tengo muchas preocupaciones - I have a lot of worries/I have many worries

You can say it's at the moment, if you're just going through a difficult time:

Tengo muchas preocupaciones al momento - I have many worries at the moment. Also: Tengo muchas preocupaciones últimamente - I have many worries lately/I'm preoccupied lately

6- Tengo la cabeza hecha un lío - My head is a mess

*Lío (lee-oh) and Bollo have a similar meaning, they both mean 'mess'. (*of course, Lío doesn't mean 'bread roll'; it just means 'mess', and 'trouble'. Just in case!)

7 - Estoy preocupado - I'm worried/I'm preoccupied

*If you're a girl, use preocupada (preh-oh-coo-pah-dah); ending in 'o' is the masculine of this word.

8- Necestio una distracción - I need a distraction/I need a break

As you can see, the common thing here is the words Tengo mucho which translates to I have a lot.

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This is it for today. I hope you find this useful and easy to understand. And please, share this lesson!

Thank you for reading :)

Until next time!

Read and Translate #1

Hello everyone and welcome to Your Daily Pinch of Spanish! Today I want to start this new Category in the Blog in which I will give you a short reading, and then its translation. I will also explain some of the words inside and give you the vocabulary list.

So let's get right to it! Today's short reading will be something I apply to my life, and I hope you can apply it to yours as well, as long as you agree : )

Here it is:

Tenemos que usar lo que tenemos y hacer con ello lo máximo que podemos en el momento. No podemos detenernos por creer que nos faltan recursos; si queremos hacer algo, usemos lo que en el momento tenemos disponible, y comencemos a hacerlo. 

Now I'll give you the English translation. If you're an advanced learner, try to translate it yourself before reading this part.

We have to use what we have and do with it the most we can do in the moment. We can't stop ourselves because of believing we lack resources; if we want to do something, let's use what we have available in the moment, and start doing it. 

Now I want to explain a couple of things that appear in the reading I gave you. The first is the verb Tenemos. It comes from the verb Tener which means 'to have'. It's the indicative form when it's you plus other people, nosotros tenemos - we have. To create this form of verbs when referring to yourself and others, use the stem of the verb, and add the ending 'emos'. Tener - Tenemos.

We see this used again in this short paragraph in the following verbs:

Podemos - We can

Queremos - We want

There is also something quite similar in the following words, but pay attention to the use:

Comencemos - Let's start

Usemos - Let's use

The -emos ending in these ones adds a different meaning: 'let us do', instead of 'we do'. To make them like the others, in these ones it would be: Comenzamos - we start; Usamos - we use. Using the ending -amos, instead of -emos.

Vocabulary list:

1) Tener - to have

2) Usar - to use

3) Hacer - to do

4) Poder - can; power

5) Máximo - Maximum; the most

6) Momento - moment

7) Detener - to stop

*Detenernos - to stop ourselves; to stop us

8) Creer - to believe

9) Faltar - to lack, to be missing

10) Recursos - resources

11) Querer - to want

12) Algo - something

13) Disponible - disponible

14) Comenzar - to start

*If you have doubt with pronunciation, I created a guide in a separate page; just follow the link above titled "Spanish pronunciation", or click here. (** Update: this page doesn't exist for now, while I rebuild my blog here. Sorry about that!)

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This is it for today! I hope you found this post interesting, and that you learned something with me. If you have any doubt, or want to know more, just contact he in my Twitter page or Facebook page. :)

Until next time!