Important Announcement! Changing the blog's name!

As we all know, I don't post daily. So, I've decided to change the blog name to "
Your Simple Pinch of Spanish" instead of "Your Daily Pinch of Spanish".

I am also going to change the blog's layout and theme to make it more accessible and easy to use. I realize with this theme it's kind of hard to access my older posts, and so I'm going to organize everything to make it easier to use. <3

Another thing that went into my decision to change my blog's name is, as I've let you all know before, when I ended my previous website someone decided to buy the domain and keep my original content without my authorization. (I mean it's okay for them to buy the domain name, since I deleted my site, but it was NOT okay to steal my original posts.)

Because of that reason I had decided to keep my previous blog name, so that people would know it was me here, and not a copycat. But even when I had the website I had decided I wanted to change the blog name, because when I chose that name, I was home without a job and without college, so I had all the time in the world to blog, and because of that, I decided to make a daily blog to keep my mind busy and have fun sharing my native language with people who wanted to learn it.

Now I believe that, I should just ignore that person who stole my original content, and continue to create more new content, whenever I can, and just because I want to.
It still hurts to see that my content hasn't been removed from the site, and that someone else is using it with no shame (I even sent an email to an address that now appears at the top of the page, and had no reply from the shameless people.)

Eventually it will stop hurting. I know that the people who follow my content know that I am now on Blogspot. Anyway, whoever stole my content never wrote original content of themselves; they just posted some photos on my original posts, and posted "by Susan" at the bottom... So these people are just taking advantage of others since they have no talent of their own.

I expect to dedicate more to this blog soon. I'm currently working on two novels, so I haven't had much time to blog. If you want to know more about my blogs, follow me on Tumblr! In my Tumblr blog you have ALL the links to every single thing I do online.

Thank you for your support, and I will see you soon. :)

~Maria

How to say you have an itch in Spanish

Hello everyone! ¿Cómo están hoy? (How are you today?)

I haven't been posting new Spanish lesson blogs in a long time, partly because of the hurricances leaving me without electricity and internet (I live in Puerto Rico), and partly because I was a little disappointed that my website was stolen and is still being used by someone else (someone names Susan, apparently?) after I deleted it to pass all the content to this blog, which is free and easier to use. But not I hope I can make it work here. I don't know how many people follow the blog, but I like posting Spanish lessons. (I just wish I hadn't chosen the word "daily" since we all know how good I am at "daily" lol).

Ok, without further ado, here's today's short Spanish lesson! :)

I chose to make it about itch, because I've been crazy with allergies these days, and my eyes just won't stop itching. haha

Vocabulary:

Itch - Picor (pee-cohr)

To be itchy/ To have an itch - Tener un picor (teh-nehr oon pee-cohr)

(Something) is itchy - Da picor (dah pee-cohr)


Additional vocabulary (for the examples):

Camisa - Shirt (kah-me-sah)

Ojo - Eye (oh-hoh)

Todo - Everything (toh-doh)

Tener - To have (Teh-nehr) (Tengo - I have) (Ten-goh)


Examples:

Tengo picor - I have an itch

Esa camisa da picor - That shirt is itchy

Me pica el ojo - My eye is itchy

Eso da picor - That (thing) is itchy

Me pica todo - Everything is itchy


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I hope this short lesson was easy to understand. I hope I can come back with more lessons soon. Thank you for your support! I hope I can be at least of a little help for your Spanish learning journey. :)

~Maria

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!

Colores (colors)

Hola! Y bienvenido a (welcome to) Your Daily Pinch of Spanish!

Today I have a simple little lesson for you, in which I will show you how to say the names of some colors in Spanish.

I will write a pronunciation guide in parenthesis; if you want to know more about Spanish pronunciation, go to the link above titled 'Spanish pronunciation', so you can read the tables I prepared for you. (**Update: This page is currently unavailable, while I rebuild my blog here. I am rebuilding everything here after I deleted my old website.)

Let's get started!

First, the word for color in Spanish is: Color (coh-lohr). Looks like English, doesn't it! But the syllable that carries the strength in this word in Spanish is the last one 'lor'.

The primary colors are called:

Rojo (roh-hoh) - Red

Amarillo (ah-mah-ree-joh) Yellow

Azul (ah-sool) Blue

*Remember that the 'r' in Spanish is rolled. Don't hesitate in exaggerating a little at first! Soon it will be natural.

Now, more colors!

Violeta (vee-oh-leh-tah) - Violet

Púrpura (Poor-poo-rah) - Purple

Verde (Vehr-deh) - Green

Anaranjado (Ah-nah-rahn-hah-doh) - Orange

Rosa (Roh-sah) - Pink, rose

*Sometimes you will hear the color rosa as rosita (roh-see-tah), especially by girls. Some people also call pink color de rosa. 

Marrón (mah-rrohn) - Brown

* Remember that the function of the accent is to add strength to the syllable.

Blanco (Blahn-koh) - White

Multicolor (Mool-tee-coh-lohr) - Multicolored

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This is all for today! Just a bit about colors, so that you can be a little more descriptive in Spanish :)

Of course there's more to say about colors, but for now, this is a simple and fun lesson for you.

I hope you enjoyed this little lesson! If you want to know more, just tell me on my twitter page or Facebook page.

Until next time!

How to say thank you in Spanish – Expressing gratitude

Hola! And welcome to Your Daily Pinch of Spanish.

You have another pinch of Spanish for today! And it's all about expressing gratitude. Many of you probably already know how to say thank you in Spanish (gracias), after all, this expression is one of the most important ones you can learn in any language, and one of the first things you'll come across when starting to research the language and learn.

In this blog I'm all about keeping it simple for you, and give you knowledge that you can use. I will teach you four ways to express your gratitude, and explain in which settings to use each one.

Let's begin! Four ways to express your gratitude:

1- Gracias (grah-see-ahs)

2- Muchas gracias (moo-chas grah-see-ahs)

3- Te lo agradezco (teh loh ah-grah-des-coh)

4- Estoy en deuda contigo (Ehs-toy ehn-deh-oo-dah con tee-goh)

Let's start with the simple gracias. It translates to 'thanks' or 'thank you', and can be used in any setting.

Next, muchas gracias. It translates to 'many thanks', which is basically like saying 'thank you very much' in English. It can also be used in any setting, but by adding the word 'muchas' (many), you are adding emphasis, so this is better used when you need to express gratitude for a favor, or have received a gift, or something like that. Difference between simple 'gracias' and 'muchas gracias' is just this, the stress the word 'muchas' is adding, the emphasis. To make this even more marked, instead of adding the word 'muchas', you can add the word 'muchísimas', which would make it muchísimas gracias. (You have probably heard singers or actors say it after a performance or accepting an award.)

The expression Te lo agradezco is another way to express your gratitude in Spanish, less common than simply saying gracias or muchas gracias. It translates to 'I thank you'. This one is more intimate than the other two, and you should use it when something meaningful has been done for you. To make it formal, instead of using 'te', use 'se', which makes it Se lo agradezco. You can also add 'mucho' (many, much) at the end to stress it more, becoming Te/Se lo agradezco mucho. And to add even more weight to the expression you can add 'muchísimo' instead of 'mucho', this emphasizes your gratitude even more. It becomes 'Te/Se lo agradezco muchísimo', and really isn't too common.

Lastly, the expression Estoy en deuda contigo. This translates to 'I'm in debt with you', which is like also like saying 'I owe you one'. So you would use this expression when a favor has been done for you or someone has gotten you out of a tight situation. To make it formal, instead of saying Estoy en deuda contigo say Estoy en deuda con usted. A similar expression to this would be 'Te debo una', which literally translates to 'I owe you one'. It's more casual, but has the same effect.

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So here you have them, four ways you can express your gratitude in Spanish. Gracias for reading this blog! I hope you have enjoyed this little lesson, and as always, I hope you can find it useful. Here I'm all about keeping things simple for you and to the point, giving you Spanish that you can use. If you have any doubt, don't be shy and ask me in the comments! You can also ask me on my Twitter page, or my Facebook page.

Continue to look forward to more lessons! Until next time!

Learn to count in Spanish, lesson 2

Hello! And welcome to Your Daily Pinch of Spanish. Are you ready for another simple lesson?

I hope so! Here is the second little lesson on numbers. Today I bring you the numbers from 11 to 19.

To refresh your memory, the numbers from zero to ten go like this: cero, uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco, seis, siete, ocho, nueve, diez.

If you want to refresh on the pronunciation, just click here to see the previous lesson. I hope you've been using these números! Remember that the key to learn a new language is to be consistent in your practice, even if at first you really don't sound like the native speakers at all.

Now, the numbers from eleven to nineteen.

This set of numbers have something in common; from eleven to fifteen, and from sixteen to nineteen. I'll show you how easy it is.

First let's see the numbers from eleven to fifteen. As always, the pronunciation is presented in parenthesis:

11 - (ohn-seh) once

12 - (doh-seh) doce

13 - (treh-seh) trece

14 - (cah-tohr-seh) catorce

15 - (keen-seh) quince

Did you notice? From eleven to fifteen, all numbers end in 'ce'. It's really simple.

The numbers from sixteen to nineteen also have something in common with each other:

16 - (dee-eh-see-seh-ees) dieciséis

17 - (dee-eh-see-see-eh-teh) diecisiete

18 - (dee-eh-see-oh-cho) dieciocho

19 - (dee-eh-see-noo-eh-veh) diecinueve

As you can see, all you have to do is add the word 'dieci' to the numbers from sixteen to nineteen, and you have added a value of ten to that number. Super easy. In the case of sixteen, you also add an accent to the word seis.

Now you can count up to nineteen!

This is it for today, I hope you can find this little lesson useful.

We have now three more lessons on numbers to come, all simple, short, and fun. Until next time!

*This was originally posted on my old website (yourdailypinchofspanish), which no longer exists. If it is still running, it is a person or bot using my content without my permission.

Learn to count in Spanish, lesson 1

Hello! And Welcome to Your Daily Pinch of Spanish. Since I'm still inaugurating this blog, I thought I'd do a series of beginner lessons, starting today with the numbers.

This will be the first of a short series, showing you the numbers from zero to ten. A simple little lesson of great value to you.

First of all, in Spanish, the word for 'number' is número, that is pronounced: noo-meh-roh. The accent over the letter 'u' just means that the strength in the word goes right there, in that first syllable. To say it in plural, just add an 's' at the end, números. 

Since the word ends in 'o', the appropriate article to use with it is 'el': el número. In plural, 'el' turns into 'los': los números.

Now, let's get started! The pronunciation for each number will be written in a parenthesis; the translation follows.

0 - (seh-roh) Cero

1 - (oo-noh) Uno

2 - (dohs) Dos

3 - (trehs) Tres

4 - (coo-ah-troh) Cuatro

5 - (sin-coh) Cinco

6 - (seh-ees) Seis

7 - (see-eh-teh) Siete

8 - (oh-cho) Ocho

9 - (noo-eh-ve) Nueve

10 - (dee-ehs) Diez

Here you have them, the números from zero to ten. I hope you have enjoyed this little lesson!

Read and repeat los números aloud, and today, whenever you need to use numbers, try replacing them with their Spanish pronunciation. Play with them, count, say your phone number in Spanish, etc.

Remember to have fun! :)

Up next, the numbers from eleven to nineteen.

Until Next time!

#5 Learn to count in Spanish lesson 2

Hello! And welcome to Your Daily Pinch of Spanish. Are you ready for another simple lesson?

I hope so! Here is the second little lesson on numbers. Today I bring you the numbers from 11 to 19.

To refresh your memory, the numbers from zero to ten go like this: cero, uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco, seis, siete, ocho, nueve, diez.

If you want to refresh on the pronunciation, just click here to see the previous lesson. I hope you've been using these números! Remember that the key to learn a new language is to be consistent in your practice, even if at first you really don't sound like the native speakers at all.

Now, the numbers from eleven to nineteen.

This set of numbers have something in common; from eleven to fifteen, and from sixteen to nineteen. I'll show you how easy it is.

First let's see the numbers from eleven to fifteen. As always, the pronunciation is presented in parenthesis:

11 - (ohn-seh) once

12 - (doh-seh) doce

13 - (treh-seh) trece

14 - (cah-tohr-seh) catorce

15 - (keen-seh) quince

Did you notice? From eleven to fifteen, all numbers end in 'ce'. It's really simple.

The numbers from sixteen to nineteen also have something in common with each other:

16 - (dee-eh-see-seh-ees) dieciséis

17 - (dee-eh-see-see-eh-teh) diecisiete

18 - (dee-eh-see-oh-cho) dieciocho

19 - (dee-eh-see-noo-eh-veh) diecinueve

As you can see, all you have to do is add the word 'dieci' to the numbers from sixteen to nineteen, and you have added a value of ten to that number. Super easy. In the case of sixteen, you also add an accent to the word seis.

Now you can count up to nineteen!

This is it for today, I hope you can find this little lesson useful.

We have now three more lessons on numbers to come, all simple, short, and fun. 

Until next time!

*This was originally posted on my old website (yourdailypinchofspanish), which no longer exists. If it is still running, it is a person or bot using my content without my permission.

I will upload the rest of the posts I had on my other website this week - stay tuned

Hello everyone, how have you been? :)

In light of what has been happening, with my website being rebuilt by some bot or some person called "Susan" stealing my content after I had deleted the website, I am going to upload the rest of my content here.

I'm so sorry now that I didn't dedicate to this earlier, because I was busy with college, and always tired and frankly... I didn't feel like sitting down to transfer all of my posts. It was a mistake out of my laziness the days I actually had free time while at college this last semester.

I'm going to post here today some of the old posts I saved from my old website.

Thanks, if you're reading this, for supporting me. Please, do NOT support the person/bot who bought and continued www.yourdailypinchofspanish.com website, since that person/bot is only posting the material I had written as if it was theirs, without my permission.