Have you thought about your resoluciones de Año Nuevo (New Year's resolutions) yet? Let's go over ten of the most common propósitos de Año Nuevo (another Spanish term for "New Year's resolutions") and find out how to talk about them in Spanish.
After a season of comer de más (overeating), a lot of us feel we have put on a few libras (pounds) or kilos (kilograms, since much of the Spanish-speaking world uses the metric system) and wish to adelgazar (lose weight) in the New Year.
Entonces, en un sentido es, quiero bajar de peso,
So, in one sense it's, I want to lose weight,
Caption 22, Cuentas claras Sobreviviendo enero - Part 1
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Another way to say "to lose weight" in Spanish is perder peso.
Related to losing weight and ponerse en forma (getting in shape) or volver a estar en forma (getting back in shape) is exercising. Let's see how to say this in Spanish:
quiero hacer ejercicio,
I want to exercise,
Caption 23, Cuentas claras Sobreviviendo enero - Part 1
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One way to get in more physical activity might be to take up some new exercise-related hobby like el yoga (yoga), la natación (swimming), or pole dancing, to name a few, and, in fact, empezar un pasatiempo nuevo (starting a new hobby) is another common New Year's resolution.
Claro. Es muy importante romper con la rutina diaria y hacer cosas diferentes. Te hará sentirte mejor y desconectar del estrés.
Of course. It's very important to break the daily routine and do different things. It will make you feel better and disconnect from stress.
Captions 14-18, Karla e Isabel Nuestros hobbies
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Of course, hobbies range from physical activities to more cerebral pursuits, and for a plethora of hobby ideas and how to say them in Spanish, check out this lesson on Yabla's Top 40 Hobbies in Spanish.
Also related to such fitness/health metas (goals) are quitting smoking and drinking (either permanently or for a while):
Dejar de fumar, dejar de tomar alcohol. Por eso voy a dejar de tomar.
Give up smoking, give up drinking alcohol. That's why I am going to stop drinking.
Captions 52-53, Los médicos explican La hipertensión
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Another common resolution is to get in shape financieramente (fiscally) rather than físicamente (physically):
y en el lado financiero, quiero salir de deudas, quiero comenzar a ahorrar, quiero hacer un presupuesto.
and on the financial side, I want to get out of debt, I want to start to save, I want to create a budget.
Captions 25-26, Cuentas claras Sobreviviendo enero - Part 1
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Pasar tiempo (spending time) with our seres queridos (loved ones) might not seem like something we have to vow to do more of, but we all too often neglect it due to being ocupados (busy), estresados (stressed), or enfocados en nuestro trabajo (focused on our jobs). And, the pandemic has definitely made us value our ability to spend time with people more than ever before.
Eh... Tengo muchísimas ganas porque hace mucho tiempo que no veo a la familia y a los amigos.
Um... I really want to because it's been a long time since I've seen my family and friends.
Captions 8-9, El Aula Azul Conversación: Planes de fin de semana
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Having taken away our ability to travel for a time, the pandemic has also made many of us long to do so even more. A travel-related resolution might be hacer más viajes (to take more trips) generally or perhaps to finally take that special trip one has long been planning:
Quiero viajar a Japón este año.
I want to travel to Japan this year.
Caption 63, Clase Aula Azul Pedir deseos - Part 1
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Carlos puts it very simply:
Lea más libros.
"Lea más libros" [Read more books].
Caption 42, Carlos explica El modo imperativo 2: Irregulares, Usted + plurales
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Although the aforementioned stressors might make us feel like we don't have time for la lectura (reading), many set this as a resolution because they know it can enrich their vocabulary and/or language abilities while simultaneously providing a valuable escape.
Organizarse (getting organized) might entail cleaning up our clutter or picking up after ourselves more regularly:
Ahora sí, mi dormitorio está en orden.
At last, my bedroom is organized.
Caption 43, Ana Carolina Arreglando el dormitorio
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Another aspect of organization might be writing things down to avoid forgetting them or overbooking:
Pues yo, Montse, me lo apunto en la agenda, ¿eh?
Well, I, Montse, am writing it down in my planner, huh?
Caption 78, Amaya Teatro romano
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This is a more general resolution that could include having el coraje (the courage) to tackle some or many of the previous resolutions we have mentioned, as well as simply learning to vivir y valorar el momento (live and appreciate the moment). It is the notion of making the most out of each day and doing things to work towards inner paz (peace), alegría (happiness), and equilibrio (balance), while not perder oportunidades (missing out on opportunities), the specifics of which are, of course, different for each person. Let's take a look at some clips that reflect this sentiment:
y que vivan una experiencia, que vivan realmente el momento,
and that they live an experience, that they really live the moment
Captions 25-26, Melany de Guatemala Su Método de Actuación
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No tengas miedo. Debes ser fuerte y arriesgarte.
Don't be afraid. You should be strong and take risks.
Captions 44-45, De consumidor a persona Short Film - Part 1
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Entonces, vale la pena aprovechar la oportunidad.
So, it is worth it to take advantage of the opportunity.
Caption 29, Outward Bound Fabrizio
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Now that we have established them, ¿cómo cumplir con los propósitos de Año Nuevo (how do we keep our New Year's resolutions)? With a lot of enfoque (focus), disciplina (discipline), and determinación (determination), and by setting objetivos realistas (realistic goals) and working on them poco a poco (bit by bit). That said, les deseamos mucha suerte (we wish you a lot of luck) following through with your New Year's resolutions a largo plazo (in the long term)... and don't forget to leave us your suggestions and comments!
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