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English to Spanish Phrases: 327 Expressions, Sayings, and Idiom Translations

I spent a solid 10 years soaking up life in Puerto Rico, where I gathered a bunch of popular Spanish sayings and matched them with their English equivalents. While other resources online might start with the Spanish saying and give you the English version, that’s all well and good if you’re a native Spanish speaker or already know the Spanish saying you’re after. But if English is your mother tongue, what you really need is the reverse: the English saying paired up with its Spanish equivalent.

4 Names in Spanish for SANTA CLAUS: Infographic

The legendary figure of Santa Claus is well recognized all over the world. The story around this character was inspired by the Christian Bishop Saint Nicholas from the 4th century that lived in Lycia (Turkey today). Legends said that he was recognized for his generosity as a secret gift-giver, putting coins in the shoes or […]

12 Popular English Songs in Spanish (Part 1)

There are many songs that become popular and then make a crossover to other languages. Some turn out to be good, but others are a complete disaster. I assume that translating a hit song to a different language is difficult. Think about the challenge of keeping the essence of the original lyrics yet finding the […]

6 Spanish Language Words for TURKEY: Infographic

Soon we will be celebrating Thanksgiving, one of my favorites holidays. The special thing about Thanksgiving is the true meaning of being grateful for what you have. This is not a holiday about Christians or any religion; you can be thankful to God, life, destiny or whatever you want. Even though this holiday is not […]

BOCA ABAJO: How to Translate This Spanish Phrase to English

This post is a follow-up to Is My Underwear Inside-Out or is it Backwards? and a direct result of conversations during and after I wrote that article. This started as a simple post. In discussing the first post above, it came out that boca abajo’s translation to English is unclear. So I began writing the […]

AL REVÉS: How to Translate This Spanish Phrase to English

So I’m getting dressed the other day. I slip on the undies and my wife says: Tienes los calzoncillos al revés. I immediately assumed they were backwards. Namely, that the label side was in the front and the normal front part of the underwear, in the back. And here’s where we ran into a language […]

English to Spanish Translations: 3 Ways TO MOVE in Spanish

This post is part of the series Warming up for El Día E: Posts to Improve Your Spanish. El Día E is a world-wide celebration of the Spanish Language that will take place on June 23th, 2012. Posts in this series to celebrate El Día E: 1. Join the Celebration of El Día E 2. […]

The Matrix: English to Spanish Words Compared by Country

The text for this post originally appeared at Mezzofanti Guild. Thanks, Donovan, for the opportunity! Examples of Latin American Spanish dialect differences Here’s the thing about learning Spanish: Most teachers lie to you from the first day. Hola bursts through their lips. It may be implicit lying, but they have hidden the truth. And not the […]

15 Additional Popular English Songs in Spanish

After the success of the first post Singing Latino: 12 Popular English Songs in Spanish, a sequel became mandatory. Here I feature 15 additional English songs with their Spanish versions, plus a Spanglish “bonus track”. To listen to a demo of each version, click on each MP3 link and conclude if it’s a good Spanish […]

The Worst English to Spanish Translation for HOT

In English, the word “hot” can refer to temperature, spiciness or to attractiveness. The word for “hot” in Spanish, in reference to temperature is caliente, which also has more than one meaning. Just not the same meanings as in English. So, check out this story that teaches you which is the most embarrassing English to […]

English to Spanish Translations of 50 European Countries

I’ve never understood why the whole world doesn’t just call each country by the same word the natives use, but the fact of the matter is that every language has a different name for every country. This can be very frustrating when you are trying to talk about politics, sports, geography, etc. with country names […]

6 Classic Board Games With Their English Names in Spanish

The other day, I spent some time in a department store in Cozumel, Mexico. While wandering through the shelves, I stopped by the toy section where they had a great selection of board games… in Spanish! But don’t worry if you encounter a situation where you need to buy a game in a Spanish-speaking country, […]

Car Vocabulary: Translating Spanish to English Words and Phrases

Hopefully, you’ll never need to drive while abroad. Personally, I hate driving in my own country. However, I’ve found that even without renting/owning a car in another country, I’ve ended up in conversations that involved car vocabulary that, at the time, was just a bit over my head. Here are some useful car vocabulary words. […]

Beauty Salon Vocabulary: Translating Spanish to English Words

Getting your haircut can be a scary experience anytime, but if you add in language barriers, it can be downright terrifying. If you find yourself in a Spanish speaking country in dire need of a trim, here are some helpful basic Spanish phrases that just might save you from a disastrous haircut. Beauty Salon Vocabulary […]

Gym and Exercise Vocabulary: Translating Spanish to English Words

Workout vocabulary is yet another thing we take for granted in our own language. We grow up taking gym class in school so we know the basics like push-ups, squats, jump, etc. There may be a few machines in a gym you don’t know the names of, but overall, it would be pretty strange for […]

Pet Vocabulary: Translating Spanish to English Words

Pets, or mascotas, are a big part of any animal-lover’s life and thus tend to make their way into conversation quite often. Talking about your pet and buying the proper supplies when in a Spanish speaking country is an extra obstacle pet-lovers face. At the same time, it offers a fun opportunity to meet new […]

What is the Best English to Spanish Translation for EMBARRASSING?

What is the Best English to Spanish Translation for embarrassing? Check this out. You may know a little about false friends, words that look and/or sound like a word in English but actually mean something totally different. Embarazada is one of those words. Novice speakers often make mistakes when speaking and then quickly try to […]

Translating 75 Fruit and Vegetable Spanish Words to English

In the United States, produce is readily available in supermarkets. Generally, there are signs with the names of each type of produce and you can just walk up and grab whatever fruit or vegetable you want. In many Latin American countries, on the other hand, produce is found in produce stands where you will need […]

Spanglish Words From The Back of a Cake Box

I recently wrote an article about baking in Spanish. I was pretty confident that I have covered the most important stuff. However, the other day I saw a cake mix box with Spanish instructions and a couple of Spanglish words surprised me. Look at the picture in the right: Never in my life have I […]

Translating 54 Sport Spanish Words to English

While you may imagine that all Spanish speakers only care about fútbol (soccer), you will find the occasional need to discuss other sports. Here’s some Spanish sports words that will be useful. Translating 54 Sport Spanish Words to English 1. Fútbol / Balompié – Soccer 2. Hockey / Hockey sobre césped / Hockey sobre hierba […]

Friday the 13th or Martes 13: Your Bad Luck Day Depends On the Language

Today is Tuesday March 13th, 2012 and it is a common day to most English speakers. But if you live in a Spanish speaking country today is Martes 13, día de la mala suerte or the equivalent to Friday the 13th. It is curious that this “bad luck day” superstition changes depending on the country. […]

Baking Vocabulary: Translating Spanish to English Words

My mother is a baker, so I grew up making all kinds of delicious baked goods. When it comes to my specialties, like cookies, I hardly even glance at recipes, I either know them by heart or I just wing it. However, I realize not everyone was lucky enough to grow up working alongside my […]

Translating 16 Playground Spanish Words to English

A park is such a simple, childlike place. It is somewhere to relax, play, and have fun. Imagine heading to a park in a foreign country, enjoying the sites and, oh yeah, having no idea how to describe anything. Chances are you learned the word for park (parque) and nothing else related to it. Here […]

Beauty Products Vocabulary: Translating Spanish to English Words

Finding beauty supplies in an unfamiliar place is bad enough, but have you ever considered how difficult it would be to explain what hair conditioner is with limited vocabulary? It would be a lot easier if you just memorize the words for a few key items you might need while shopping in a Spanish speaking […]

Spanglish Example Photo: FREE EXIT

This is a Spanglish sign posted in Puerto Rico. “SALIDA AUTOMATICA” has been translated to “FREE EXIT.” The correct translation would be “automatic exit”. I’d like to award some Spanglish bonus points for the use of “beeper” in the phrase “No ultilizar beeper para salir” (Do not use a beeper to exit). That is true […]

What is the Best English to Spanish Translation for EXCITED?

When learning a new language, words that are the same or similar in more than one language can be an excellent friends. Spanish is full of friends to English, such as teléfono (phone), carro (car) and even verbs, such as combinar (combine). There is also a long list of Spanish words that have become common […]

76 Classic Cartoon Character Names in Spanish

Pitufina, Robotina, Mandibulín, Pablo Mármol and Tío Rico McPato… do you recognize any of those names? They were some of the cartoon characters I grew up with. Before VHS recorders, computers, 24-hour television programming and the Cartoon Network, I grew up watching animated programs after school and on Saturday mornings. What we call in Puerto […]

Spanish NFL Infographic: English Names in Spanish of The NFL Teams

Last weekend I was trapped in a Sunday Football get-together. All the Americans were hypnotized watching the game and between commercial breaks, I was able to chat with a friend from Mexico. She asked me if I have ever heard the names of the NFL teams in Spanish. I was completely puzzled, because for me […]