Are you familiar with the word sueño in Spanish, whose meaning can change from "dream" to "sleepiness" depending upon whether it is used as a noun or within the verb tener sueño (to be sleepy)? Today's lesson will cover these terms as well as additional pertinent vocabulary for la hora de dormir or de acostarse (bedtime).
Let's explore some Spanish bedtime verbs, which we've broken down into several categories.
First, we'll look at some Spanish verb phrases that describe how you might feel at bedtime, listening to their pronunciation in clips from our Yabla Spanish video library.
Estar cansado/a: to be tired
Bueno, yo también me voy a la cama, estoy muy cansado.
Well, I'm also going to bed, I'm very tired.
Caption 87, Muñeca Brava 43 La reunión - Part 1
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Tener sueño: to be sleepy
siento que todavía tengo sueño,
I feel that I'm still sleepy,
Caption 40, Aprendiendo con Silvia Significados, usos y expresiones con "quedar" - Part 6
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Estar agotado/a: to be exhausted
Tengo... Estoy agotado.
I have... I'm exhausted.
Caption 22, Yago 11 Prisión - Part 6
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Now, let's learn a couple of more colloquial ways to convey the idea of being exhausted:
Estar muerto/a (literally "to be dead"):
Te juro, Mili, que estoy muerta.
I swear to you, Mili, that I'm exhausted.
Caption 2, Muñeca Brava 43 La reunión - Part 2
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Estar hecho polvo (literally "to be made into dust"):
"yo ya estoy hecho polvo.
"I'm exhausted already.
Caption 24, Pigueldito y Federico El cielo
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Next, let's take a look at several Spanish reflexive verbs for actions from many people's bedtime routines.
Bañarse: to bathe/take a bath
Cepillarse los dientes/lavarse los dientes: to brush your teeth
Ducharse: to take a shower
Lavarse la cara: to wash your face
Let's hear a couple of these in action:
Ehm... Suelo ducharme con agua caliente. Después, ehm... suelo lavarme los dientes en el baño,
Um... I usually take a hot shower. After that, um... I usually brush my teeth in the bathroom,
Captions 2-3, El Aula Azul Actividades Diarias
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To top off the bedtime verbs, let's check out these sleep-related verbs:
Acostar: to put to bed
Acostarse: to go to bed
Descansar: to rest
Despertarse: to wake up
Dormir: to sleep
Dormirse: to fall asleep
Levantarse: to get up
Relajarse: to relax
Soñar: to dream
Soñar con: to dream about
Roncar: to snore
It's worth noting that the concept of dreaming "about" something is expressed instead with the Spanish equivalent of "with," or the preposition con. Let's hear this construction in a clip from our library:
¿Sabés que anoche soñé con vos?
Do you know that last night I dreamt about you?
Caption 39, Muñeca Brava 41 La Fiesta - Part 7
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Let's move on to some categories of sleepytime related nouns!
Since there are various ways to say or spell all of the Spanish articles of clothing for bedtime, let's start with the English terms and give you some alternatives in Spanish:
Bathrobe: la bata, la bata de baño, el albornoz
Nightgown: el vestido de dormir, el camisón de noche
Pajamas: las pijamas, las piyamas, la pijama, la piyama
Slippers: las zapatillas, las pantuflas
A couple of things to keep in mind:
1. As you may know, the term zapatillas can also refer to "sneakers" in some regions.
2. The many words for "pajamas" in Spanish are similar but differ slightly due to being extranjerismos, or adaptations of a foreign word to another language. Therefore, you may encounter spellings of this word with either a "j" or a "y" as well as both the singular and plural versions as equivalents for the always plural English term "pajamas." Let's listen to two variations:
Usa piyama lo más flojita posible
Wear pajamas [that are] as loose as possible,
Caption 13, Los médicos explican Consejos para dormir
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A mí me gusta ponerme enseguida la pijama o ropa de cama.
I like to put on pajamas or sleepwear right away.
Caption 83, Natalia de Ecuador Vocabulario de prendas de vestir
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Now let's cover another type of "bedclothes" and some additional nouns in our bedtime environments with a couple of video examples. Note that the use of particular terms for items like a "bedroom," "blanket," etc. varies widely from region to region.
Bed: la cama
Bedroom: la alcoba, el cuarto, el dormitorio, la habitación, la pieza, la recámara
Bedspread: la colcha, el cobertor, la cubrecama, la sobrecama
Blanket: la cobija, la manta, la frazada
Mattress: el colchón
Nightstand/Night table: la mesita de luz, la mesita de noche, la mesilla de noche, la mesa de noche
Pillow: la almohada
Sheet: la sábana
A mí me gusta cambiar las sábanas cada semana.
I like to change the sheets every week.
Caption 21, Ana Carolina Arreglando el dormitorio
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Y aquí tienes una almohada, ¿mm?
And here you have a pillow, hmm?
Caption 57, Extr@: Extra en español Ep. 1 - La llegada de Sam - Part 3
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We'll conclude our section on Spanish bedtime nouns by hearing the noun el sueño used as the equivalent of three different English words:
Llevo toda la semana teniendo todas las noches el mismo sueño.
All week, I've been having the same dream every night.
Caption 6, El Aula Azul La Doctora Consejos: Hay y estar
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va a mejorar tu sueño.
it's going to improve your sleep.
Caption 17, Bienestar con Elizabeth Introducción al yoga
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Por tu culpa estoy muerta de sueño.
It's your fault I'm dying of sleepiness.
Caption 3, Muñeca Brava 46 Recuperación - Part 3
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Lastly, let's learn the Spanish versions of some common English phrases you might say to someone at bedtime:
Good night: Buenas noches
Sleep well: Que duermas bien, Que descanses (literally "I hope you rest")
Sweet dreams: Dulces sueños, Felices sueños (literally "Happy dreams")
Que duermas/sueñes con los angelitos (literally I hope you sleep with/dream about the angels)
We encounter two of these phrases in the following clip:
Buenas noches. -Buenas noches. Buenas noches. -Que descanses, mi amor.
Good night. -Good night. Good night. -Sleep well, my love.
Captions 73-74, Muñeca Brava 43 La reunión - Part 1
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Remember that, in addition to meaning "Good night," Spanish-speakers also use the expression Buenas noches in contexts other than bedtime when English speakers would say "Good evening," for example, as a greeting at a restaurant in the late evening or at night.
That's all for today. If all of these sleep-related terms have got you thinking about your own sleep, you might want to check out Silvia's Consejos para dormir mejor (Advice to Sleep Better), Los Médicos' (The Doctors') Consejos para dormir (Sleep Advice) or Soledad's series on El insomnio (Insomnia). In the meantime, we wish you excellent sleep, and don't forget to write us with your questions and comments.
There are many different ways of expressing agreement in Spanish. We can express strong or mild agreement or disagreement. And many times, we just have to admit we will never reach an agreement and "agree to disagree" as the Mexican band Café Tacuba repeats in its chorus:
Estemos de acuerdo
Let's agree
en no estar de acuerdo
to disagree
Captions 19-20, Café Tacuba - De acuerdo
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Some very common, mostly spoken expressions to convey agreement include claro, tal cual, exactamente, and (es) cierto.
Tienes razón. Claro. Sí.
You're right. Of course. Yes.
Caption 55, El Aula Azul - La Doctora Consejos: parecer y parecerse
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Loca se... se gustaron, la pasaron bomba y punto.
Girl, you... you liked each other, you had a great time and that's it.
Tal cual. -No te tenés que casar con él, ¿eh?
Just like that. -You don't have to marry him, huh?
Captions 25-26, Yago - 9 Recuperación
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y con las pautas de lo que es el... el espectáculo, ¿no?
and the guidelines for the... the show, right?
Exactamente.
Exactly.
Entonces lo sacamos solamente para que conozca esto.
So we take him out just so that he gets to know this.
Captions 43-44, Animales en familia - Un día en Bioparc: Coatís
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Often, the discussion is productive and ends in some sort of deliverable, something we agree to do as the outcome of an exchange of ideas.
Y acordamos que mi amiga me enseñaría
And we agreed that my friend would teach me
todos sus trucos para saltar muy alto,
all of her tricks to jump really high,
Caption 24, Guillermina y Candelario - Una Amiga muy Presumida
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Además, íbamos cerca,
Besides, we weren't going too far,
y quedamos en que yo era capitán,
and we agreed that I was [the] captain,
Caption 21, Guillermina y Candelario - Mi Primer Tesoro
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To reassure your commitment, it is common to use the phrase trato hecho, which kind of closes the deal you have made. Once this phrase is uttered, both parties will be held accountable for what they have agreed on.
Perfecto, ¿mañana a qué hora?
Perfect, tomorrow at what time?
A la misma hora de hoy.
At the same time as today.
¿Trato hecho? -Perfecto.
Deal? -Perfect.
Captions 69-71, Escribiendo un libro - Algunos consejos sobre cómo comenzar
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Negative phrases can be emphasized with para nada or en lo más mínimo.
Si tienes planes, lo entiendo.
If you have plans, I understand it.
No, no, no, para nada, no, ¿cómo se te ocurre?
No, no, no, not at all, no, how can you think that?
Captions 11-12, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa - Capítulo 4
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No, te estaba contando una cosa
No, I was telling you one thing
pero parece que no te interesa en lo más mínimo.
but it doesn't seem to interest you in the least.
Caption 43, Muñeca Brava - 39 Verdades
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We can also emphasize that we won't do something requested by someone else with phrases like ni loca/o, de ninguna manera, antes muerta/o (not even crazy, no way, over my dead body):
Vamos a mi cuarto.
Let's go to my room.
Ni loca, antes muerta.
Not even crazy, [I'd have to be] dead before.
Captions 11-12, Muñeca Brava - 44 El encuentro
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¿Aquí?
Here?
¡De ninguna manera! ¡No!
No way! No!
Captions 41-42, Extr@: Extra en español - Ep. 4: Sam busca un trabajo
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Disagreement can be introduced by softening phrases like (no) me parece (I (don't) think). You will notice that in informal conversations, we can even omit what follows and simply say no me parece. Let's see some examples:
No, pero ves,
No, but you see,
ahí me parece que estás equivocado
there it seems to me that you are wrong
Captions 71-72, Muñeca Brava - 46 Recuperación
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Pues, la verdad no me parece muy buena idea porque
Well, I really don't think it's a very good idea because
anda por ahí el agente ese de seguridad preguntando por ti.
that security agent is out there asking about you.
Captions 19-20, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa - Capítulo 4
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Que una chica se lo diga a un chico, ¿viste?
For a girl to say it to a guy, you see?
No... No me parece.
It doesn't... It doesn't seem right to me.
Caption 68, Muñeca Brava - 46 Recuperación
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We hope you all agree that these expressions will be useful, and quedemos en que las van a poner el práctica ahora mismo (let's agree that you will put them into practice right away). Trato hecho (deal)? And don't forget to leave us your suggestions and comments.
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