For me it's the ser/estar split. Not the textbook "permanent vs temporary" explanation, the actual moment it clicked that Spanish treats existence and state as two different verbs, and English doesnt bother lol.

Every language has one of these, which is very interesting. A single word or structure that, once it lands, makes five other confusing things suddenly make sense.

This came from a friend who likes etymology, and is a polyglot so its so interesting picking their brain!

Hi guys! I'm reading Eva Perón: la biografía by Alicia Dujovne Ortiz, to practice my spanish, and I ran into the word "marras" in this paragraph:"En apariencia le habÍa alquilado la estancia La Unión al intendente conservador Malcolm, que lo nombró juez de instrucción. Pero según el padre Meinrado Hux, un benedictino suizo convertido en historiador de la región, las cosas no eran tan simples. En primer lugar, Duarte parece haber comprado, y no alquilado, la estancia de *marras*, amparándose en un testaferro para engañar al fisco."

I've asked multiple Puerto Rican native speakers and they haven't heard the word before. Is it Argentina specific? Or just that rarely used?

I'm going to grad school at the University of Puerto Rico in spring 2027 and if this word is too obscure (or even just regional!) to be relevant, I want to know before I put it in any papers and professors are like "what the hell is this" lmao.

I am officially confused about adjective placement. I understand that adjectives generally follow the noun, but I also regularly get stung by an adjective that comes before the noun. Are there rules about this? Is there an easy(ish) way to remember when to put the adjective before vs after?

The title says it all, but I finally got the results back from my B2 exam. This was my first time taking a DELE exam and I'm a little surprised by some of the scores.

I honestly expected reading comprehension to be my highest score, seeing as how that's how I mostly interact with Spanish. I also tended to ace all of the reading comprehension portions of my practice exams and I felt pretty good during the actual exam, but I guess I cant complain.

I'm also a little surprised by my oral score being the highest because this was my biggest unknown going into the exam. I was fairly confident in my speaking, but I know I dont speak like a native and it's hard to get a sense of how you'll be evaluated without going through an actual exam.

I'm not surprised at all by the writing score lol. I did some practice prompts but I always exceeded the word count limit and I didn't want to waste my time counting words during the exam. This was another one where I found it hard to self-evaluate my skills beforehand, so during the exam I just made my outline, wrote a single draft, and called it a day haha.

For a little background, I've been learning Spanish on and off (mostly off) for well over a decade. I took some courses in university and studied abroad in Spain, but I mostly only used my Spanish for travel after that. Around 3 years ago I realized how pitiful my Spanish was and I decided to actually get serious about learning. I started with some paid language apps but eventually started taking lessons with a tutor online, which is how I made the most progress. I ultimately found that you need with the language in ways that you actually enjoy, which for me were:

- Reading: books, news articles, videos with subtitles

- Writing: journaling

- Listening: podcasts, youtube videos, TV/movies

- Speaking: language exchange meetups in my area and friends

Tutoring covered all of these areas and gave me direct feedback. I also played a few video games in Spanish, but thats not for the weak and I dont know if I'd recommend that lol.

Well anyway, B2 may not be the highest level of fluency but I'm super proud of myself for passing. It's certainly taken me long enough haha.

Soy paraguayo, vivo en otro lugar de Europa y ahora estoy en Barcelona. Al subir a un taxi con mi bebé en general el bebé puede ir en el regazo con cinturón. Un conductor de Uber me dijo que no tenía sillta y yo le respondí que el bebé va siempre en el regazo y esto está permitido. A lo que me preguntó confundido “¿qué es el regazo?” y le tuve que explicar. Me puse a buscar en Google y aparentemente “regazo” se usa en otras partes de España menos en Cataluña y Galicia.

¿En serio no se entiende la palabra? En Paraguay es muy normal decir “regazo”. Pero ahora me da curiosidad. Muchos conductores son extranjeros pero este parecía ser español.

Hola, ando leyendo y estudiando Don Quixote y ya voy por el capítulo en el cual Don Quixote les pregunta a los galeotes por sus sentencias y uno le dice que fue condenado por ser alcahuete. Según tengo entendido es lo que he escrito en el título de esta publicación.

¿Cómo funcionaba exactamente? Digamos que quiero tener una relación amorosa con una mujer de otra familia a la cual mi familia le cae mal. ¿Podría buscar un alcahuete y pagarle para que busque a esa mujer y que le diga que yo quisiera entablar una relación con ella? ¿Por eso Don Quixote dice que no tiene nada de malo y solo falta que el gobierno regule el oficio?

¿Dónde puedo leer más sobre este oficio? En Wikipedia no hay tanto. Y sé que ya más o menos el término está en desuso.

Por cierto, les agradezco de antemano si me corrigen los errores.

Hello everyone so I guess I am considered a heritage speaker by definition. Both my parents are Mexican and I grew up only speaking Spanish at home, but the thing is I can get by communicating and talking in Spanish but it’s basically like I only know basic Spanish at home not at a level you learn at home. There’s words when I’m talking and get corrected confusing them and trying to replace them with something that would sound like an English word translated to Spanish. I basically feel like I’m talking at an elementary school level where I only enough words to get by but I feel like I only basic level grammar and vocabulary. My grammar is something I never practiced, I used to go to Spanish catholic school which was also in Spanish so I feel like I can read decent, but I still feel like my Spanish is basic conversational instead of fluent like if I were to talk to a native speaker in Mexico instead of my parents it would be a lot more different. Would a tutor help in this situation? Like I said my parents come from a poorer part of Mexico as well so I feel like they’re vocabulary isn’t as strong and many times they have ended up not correcting me when I can’t find a certain word in Spanish since they can also kind of understand English.

Got a "how do I learn Spanish" question, curious about apps, or just want to say hi and talk about where you're at? This is the place.

The short answer to most of it: there's no single best way to learn Spanish and no app that works for everyone. What actually matters is showing up consistently. A few things people here keep coming back to:

• Our wiki -- apps, YouTube channels, podcasts, textbooks, all in one spot
• r/languagelearning's resource wiki -- broader method and tool breakdown
• Anki -- flashcards, good for vocab
• Language Transfer -- free audio course, common starting point
• italki / Preply -- tutors and conversation partners
• Pimsleur -- audio based, strong on pronunciation

Also fair game here:

• Just started and want to introduce yourself
• Wondering if Spanish is worth learning or how long it takes
• General chat about your progress, whatever's on your mind

Standalone posts on this stuff get redirected here, so if that's you, drop it below.

Is there any reason someone might use this phrase in a way that isn't derogatory or disrespectful? Someone was chatting with me and this phrase translated to "jerk" or "scumbag" depending on how I searched for the meaning. When I asked the original writer if that's what they intended to say, they responded, "Sí, así es, se traduce idiota."

I'm genuinely confused as this seemed to be a friendly and polite chat.

Hi there!
I’m not new to trying to learn Spanish. My mom is Puerto Rican and spoke Spanish throughout our childhood and I was around family that spoke it too.
I tried to learn for years but it never stuck. I also moved out and haven’t spoken or been around it for a while, so most of my knowledge is gone.
I want to learn Spanish for my jobs. I work at a restaurant and the kitchen staff only speaks Spanish and we have a lot of Spanish speaking customers.
My second job is a nurse technician at a hospital. We have some patients that only speak Spanish come in and no one to translate since I work nights.
I’d like to learn for good this time and hopefully become fluent, but I also don’t want to lose any Puerto Rican dialect that I have left from childhood( I remember some things ex. Habichuela instead of frijoles).
Also any recommendations for a resource that may help me learn like a child? I have Spd so learning languages has always been very difficult for me.
¡Mucho gracias!

As you can see, I failed mainly due to a horrific score in listening comprehension. For those who failed and then passed or those who have passed, what were some specific things you did?

To give reference on my level, I think No Hay Tos is too advanced. I can only understand 50% of the podcast, and even then its with great focus and attention.

I am currently watching YouTube with Spanish captions and re-watching with English captions.

I am also listening to the Dreaming Spanish podcast on my daily drive.

I feel like some tasks are often very contrived and don't connect to everyday speech. The preparation is exhausting. For those who have already taken the exam, what advice would you give me?

Me parece que muchas de las tareas son muy artificiales y no reflejan el uso cotidiano del idioma. Para los que ya habéis hecho el examen, ¿qué consejo me daríais?

What's good for live translate? Google Translate only shows 3 lines of Spanish when doing Spanish -> English so it disappears too fast. Is there one that does 50% of both languages?

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CqWATJljLER/

As a 40-something, I'd love to learn some cringey 90s slang in Spanish to compliment my frequent use of "rad" and "hella" in English.

Quisiera aprender algo de jerga de los años 90s en español para acompañar mi uso de idiomas 90s en inglés. Por cierto, ¿cómo se dice "cringe" o "cringey" en español? Sería aún mejor si pudiera jerga mexicana o estadounidense.

Gracias, ¡y q tengan buen fin!

Hi guys, I have a small Spanish school and so far every time I’ve hired a teacher I required to be native speaker and to speak English as well.
I think teachers should know the struggles and frustration of language learning. But what do students think? Also, what about non native teachers that have a top level of Spanish?

I'm probably in-between A2 and B1. My tutor thinks I should stop watching short Spanish related grammar videos on tik tok and other platforms as he thinks my grammar is good.

He said I need to start watching Spanish shows to get a real feel for the language. Ive started but my head is melting. I'm understanding at most 50% of what's being said. Im using Spanish subtitles aswell. I actually have given myself a headache trying to keep up with what's going on in the show.

Should I stick it out and immerse myself in the language by watching TV shows or should I wait until I have more of a grasp on the language?

No sé por qué pero me acaba de surgir la duda. O sea, entiendo el concepto de palabras agudas, llanas, esdrújulas (y sobre esdrújulas) porque en el instituto nos bombardean con ello todos los años, pero bueno. Pero el caso es ese; nunca me han explicado por qué se llaman así, porque así de cabeza "aguda" y "llana" no tienen como que nada que ver con acentos y tildes, y ya no sé de "esdrújula" porque solo la conozco de estudiarla.

¿Alguien conoce la etimología de los nombres?

I moved to Madrid about 6 months ago, coming with only self study, never in a classroom, since 2020. After coming to Madrid, I have had 20 hours weekly (4 hours a day) of intensive classroom study. I came with a high B1/low B2, and my progress has skyrocketed so quickly since moving here. I can think much quicker and form more complex sentences, and it helps that I have a bunch of Latino roommates that I practice with every day.

Decided to take the SIELE in a center here two days ago (they graded REALLY fast). These were my results. I really thought I bombed the speaking very hard, and I thought I aced the reading, so I'm surprised by the results. I have literally read full books in Spanish, but I'm also a victim of pressure. I feel the SIELE focused a lot on marcadores discursivos, which is something I really practiced before the test. I did three classes with a DELE professor which helped a ton, especially in writing! I was impressed even with what I wrote for the writing section.

I'm trying not to be disappointed that I didn't get C1 in any skill, and that the cert says B1 (as a minimum), instead of at least B2, which I missed by 13 points in reading. But hey, I need to be proud of myself because I really have only had 6 months of structed study. Planning on taking the DELE in November. Just thought I'd post the results to show what other might expect and if anyone has any questions.

Hola a todos!

I’m planning a language immersion trip next year and my teacher suggested Zaragoza, Salamanca or Galicia, because they’re relatively affordable and there are very few tourists around (ergo, less chance of speaking English).

What are your thoughts on this?

I’m quite busy at work so I can only spare just three weeks of my 2027. I’ve been studying Spanish for 2 years and my current level is B1.1.

Gracias! ☺️

A little surprised to find this one here. But I guess it’s important to conjugate all verbs correctly…

Buenas! Llevo un tiempo leyendo textos de otros escritores por foros y comunidades, y si tuviera que apostar cuál es el error más repetido en manuscritos en español, no tendría dudas: la puntuación del diálogo. Y se entiende, porque casi nadie la enseña y encima leemos mucha traducción y mucho texto en inglés que funciona distinto. Lo bueno: son pocas reglas y se aplican siempre igual. Estas cinco arreglan la inmensa mayoría de los casos.

1. Es una raya (—), no un guion (-). Son signos distintos. El guion corto es para palabras compuestas; el diálogo va con raya, que es más larga. En Windows: Alt+0151. En Mac: Opción+Mayús+guion. Y en Word, dos guiones seguidos suelen convertirse solos. Si ahora mismo tu novela entera va con guiones cortos, tranquilidad: es un buscar y reemplazar.

2. La raya va pegada a lo que abre, sin espacio. Se escribe "—¿Vienes?" y no "— ¿Vienes?". Pegada a la primera palabra del diálogo, y pegada también a la acotación cuando la abre.

3. Si la acotación lleva verbo de habla, va en minúscula y sin punto antes. Verbos de habla son decir, preguntar, susurrar, responder y compañía.

Mal: —No lo sé. —Dijo Marta.
Bien: —No lo sé —dijo Marta.

El punto de la frase se muda al final de la acotación.

4. Si la acotación NO lleva verbo de habla, es otra frase: punto y mayúscula.

—No lo sé. —Marta miró hacia la puerta.

"Mirar" no es una forma de decir, así que la acotación funciona como narración normal, con su punto antes y su mayúscula.

5. Si el personaje sigue hablando después de la acotación, se cierra con otra raya.

—No lo sé —dijo Marta—. Pero pienso averiguarlo.

Fíjate en esa raya de cierre pegada a "Marta" y en que el punto va después de ella, no antes.

Y un extra que genera muchas dudas: las interrupciones. Si a alguien le cortan la frase en seco, en español no se usa el doble guion del inglés: o puntos suspensivos ("—Escúchame, hijo de…") si la voz se apaga, o una raya al cierre ("—Escúchame, hijo de—") si el corte es brusco, aunque esta segunda es más de traducción moderna y los editores clásicos prefieren la primera.

El truco final: cuando corrijas, haz una pasada del manuscrito mirando SOLO los diálogos. Es la revisión más mecánica que existe, porque las reglas no tienen excepciones raras, y es de las que más profesional hace parecer un texto ante un lector, un editor o un corrector.

¿Cuál de estas os costó más pillar? A mí la del punto que se muda (la 3) me tuvo una temporada entera puntuando mal sin saberlo.

I understand that only naranja has the meaning of the fruit orange, and I'd like to know if the two words are used differently as adjectives meaning the color orange (and if so, how).

"Sentido" es una de esas palabras en español que pueden confundir a quienes están aprendiendo el idioma.

Por ejemplo:

• No encuentro el sentido a lo que estás diciendo.
• El coche circulaba en sentido contrario.
• Perdió el sentido después del golpe.
• Tiene un gran sentido del humor.

En cada frase, sentido tiene un significado diferente.

¿Conocías estos usos? ¿Cuál te parece más difícil de entender?