La sobremesa happens after you’ve finished eating but also before leaving the table. Used mostly in Spain, it literally means “over the table” and describes what happens after lunch or dinner when you’re simply hanging out with the people you’ve just shared your meal with-be it your friends, family or business partners. Then you can, but be discreet! La sobremesa (Spain) Oh, and by the way, it is not acceptable to eat el de la vergüenza, unless the evening has come to an end and everyone is leaving the table. We all know that feeling when there’s just one little bit of manchego cheese left on the plate and you’re dying to eat it but you also don’t want to be that guy! Literally this Spanish expression means “the one of shame” and it’s used to describe the last piece of food no one wants to take. In Costa Rica, for example, the word mae is also used to express surprise and a lack of intelligence.īecause the word mae also works as a pronoun, this is a perfectly comprehensible sentence (maybe for a native Costa Rican): Ay mae, this mae is so mae that he’s still dating that mae! Every usage there has a different meaning. These are just a handful of examples I’ve encountered on my own travels, but I’m sure you’ll find other local expressions throughout other Latin American countries. Don’t mix them up and make sure you use the right version in its own country. These words are some of the ways you can say “dude” in Spanish. Mae (Costa Rica), Chamo (Venezuela), Tío (Spain), Quillo/quilla ( Andalusia)
To help come up with this list of Spanish words (some useful, some less-than-useful), I’ve collaborated with Europe-based illustrator Clairikine and online language school to help put it together. Some words vary greatly between countries and what you speak in Spain may be undistinguishable when traveling in Central or South America.Īnd, like German, Spanish has its own untranslatable words-but that’s what makes this such a fun language to learn… If you’ve studied Spanish yourself, it’s quickly apparent that the fact the language is spoken in so many countries makes it extremely rich and polysemic (a beautiful English word for multiple meanings).īut also tough as a language student. But it was when visiting Costa Rica for the first time that I learned just how challenging the regional differences can be. I’ve taken Spanish language courses everywhere from Texas to Spain and practiced the language around the world. It’s the official language of at least 20 different countries-spread between Europe and the Americas with hundreds of millions of native speakers.īecause of its vast spread around the world, there are a number of different varieties and dialects of the language making it as diverse as it is interesting.
Spanish is one of the world’s most beautiful languages.
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