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Learn Colloquial Spanish Expressions

Are you somewhere between intermediate and advanced levels in Spanish? Have you noticed that the more Spanish you learn, the more you realise there is still to learn? You know “pastilla” (a pill or tablet) — but do you know the expression “a toda pastilla”? Or how about “ni que gaitas”? You can look up “gaitas” (bagpipes), but what does the phrase actually mean?

And then there are all the ways to express agreement, disagreement, refusal, or an offer of help… the list is endless. Plus the words and phrases that pop up in specific situations: making or receiving a phone call, preparing for a job interview, or joining a conversation about bullfighting (if you dare!).

That’s why we created this section. Quite a few of these posts include one of our YouTube videos, Trocitos de Real Spanish, focused on the idioms, everyday expressions, and colloquial phrases that Spanish speakers use all the time. Drop them into conversations and you’ll sound great.

Come across a word or phrase you just can’t figure out? Drop us a comment — we’d love to help!

¡Vamos allá!

Elizabeth from Real Spanish

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No way!

First of all:  If you want to push yourself a bit, try reading the blog and viewing the video in the Spanish version first. You can always come back here if you want to check a particular word or phrase. Just click on "English" or "Español" in the menu above. Note: the video below is part of a complete lesson in our ebook "Spanish for Perfectionists No. 1". See below for more information about our ebooks and a free sample lesson.    Hi. I’m Elizabeth, from Real Spanish, and a keen learner of Spanish, like you. I collect interesting and useful Spanish phrases, sometimes several in one day— in a movie, a newspaper, a podcast, or just a normal day-to-day interaction with Spanish speakers— it’s become a kind of hobby. I live in Barcelona, so I have plenty of source material. Spanish is wonderfully expressive and you can add loads of colour and authenticity to your own speech if you have a good repertoire of useful vivid phrases you can use in real conversations with native speakers. They really help to string your ideas together and express what you really mean. Why not develop your own collection of useful expressions? If you are not surrounded by Spanish speakers every day, how about a language partner online? We have a blog post about that, in English or Spanish. Or you can watch films and TV shows. Did you know that on YouTube and Netflix you can slow down the audio playback for the difficult bits?  Don’t know how? We have a video for that! Watch on your computer but keep WordReference.com open on your phone: or tablet  (or any other combination of two screens, to save you switching back and forth between apps). It’s the best resource I have found for colloquial expressions. Professional translators use it.  The video below explains some great expressions that you can use in real conversations with native speakers to reject an idea, a proposal or a request. I’m sure you already know what ¡Qué va! means. You could translate it as “No way”. But I bet this one sounds strange: ¡Ni qué niño muerto! literally means “Not even a dead child”. Sounds grim, right? We explain its curious origin in the video below, so let’s get on with it. All the best for your adventures in Spanish, Elizabeth from Real Spanish   The video: Below the video you'll find the English transcript, and below that you’ll find a few more expressions with similar meanings, but at various levels of informality: some are OK for expressing disagreement in work meetings, while others are best saved for family and friends.   Transcript in English:  Hello and welcome to this mini-lesson on some expressions for rejecting an idea, a proposal, or a request. One expression you’ll often hear is “¡Qué va!”. It’s used to contradict what another person has said — in other words, to say that things are quite the opposite. For example Did you have a

4 de October de 2019
A toda velocidad

At top speed!

Co-author: Gema Benítez Sánchez There are so many interesting expressions that you can use to make your Spanish sound more colloquial and more natural! We’ll bring you some of them in this blog, as well as in all our lessons based on movies and TV programmes. Today, we’ll introduce you to some expressions about speed. Did you catch the expression a toda pastilla in the home page video? A toda pastilla: at top speed, flat out, full throttle, full pelt, foot down, pedal to the metal… depending on context. Of course you can say a toda velocidad, or muy rápido, but your speech will be more expressive (and impressive) if you can use some of the expressions below. Expression Possible origin of the phrase Example in context a toda pastilla Pastillas are used in electric musical instruments to create sound. A toda pastilla is at maximum volume. ¡Qué cansada estoy! Llevo todo el día a toda pastilla, corriendo de un lado a otro sin parar. a toda mecha Una mecha is a fast-burning fuse used to ignite something quickly (such as dynamite). ¡Qué cansada estoy! Llevo todo el día a toda mecha, corriendo de un lado a otro sin parar. a toda máquina Machines work much faster than human beings. Estos empleados trabajan a toda máquina para que los clientes reciban sus compras en casa a tiempo. a toda marcha Marcha is march, or pace, so a toda marcha is at full speed (“Quick march!”) La nueva campaña publicitaria va a toda marcha, muy pronto estará terminada. a la velocidad del rayo As in English, at lightning speed Esa mujer ha cruzado la calle a la velocidad del rayo, parece que tiene mucha prisa. a toda caña This expression comes from dar caña, which comes from the world of horse racing: to flog or whip (the horse). In this case la caña is a whip. Van conduciendo sus motos a toda caña, es un peligro para todos.

23 de September de 2019