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Talking About Hunger and Thirst in Spanish

Let's learn some common expressions to talk about being hungry or thirsty in Spanish (or to say we're not)!

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Saying "I'm Hungry" in Spanish 

The most common way to talk about "being hungry" in Spanish is with an idiomatic expression with the verb tener, which is tener hambre (literally "to have hunger"). So, if you wanted to say "I'm hungry," in Spanish, you'd say "Tengo hambre."

 

Fede, tengo hambre. Tengo hambre, Fede.

Fede, I'm hungry. I'm hungry, Fede.

Captions 34-35, Los Años Maravillosos Capítulo 1 - Part 7

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Now, let's listen to this verb in question form, conjugated with (the single familiar "you"):

 

¿Tienes hambre? 

Are you hungry?

Caption 39, Extr@: Extra en español Ep. 1 - La llegada de Sam - Part 4

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The more formal usted version would, of course, be "¿Tiene (usted) hambre?

 

An alternative way to talk about hunger in Spanish is with the verb estar (to be) plus the adjective hambriento/a(s). Remember that in the case of adjectives, they must agree in terms of both gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural) with the subject in question. Let's take a look at an example with a single, female speaker:

 

Y yo estoy hambrienta.

And I am hungry.

Caption 7, Cata y Cleer En el restaurante

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Now, let's look at some more dramatic ways to say "I'm hungry" in Spanish (something more akin to "I'm starving"). 

 

Sí, ¿y viene la comida o no? Pues yo estoy muerto de hambre.

Yes, and is the food coming or not? I am dying of hunger.

Caption 35, Muñeca Brava 44 El encuentro - Part 6

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The adjective muerto/a(s) literally means "dead," of course, but the expression estar muerto/a(s) de hambre is roughly equivalent to the English "dying of hunger." Let's see a couple more:

 

¿por qué no me invita a desayunar algo que estoy que me muero de hambre?

why don't you serve me something for breakfast since I'm dying of hunger?

Captions 37-38, Tu Voz Estéreo Embalsamado - Part 5

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¿Pero será que podemos comer ya, por favor, que me estoy desmayando de hambre?

But could we please start eating since I'm passing out from hunger?

Caption 45, Los Años Maravillosos Capítulo 12 - Part 3

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Saying "I'm Thirsty" in Spanish 

Tener sed (literally "to have thirst") is probably the most common way to say "I'm thirsty" in Spanish. In the first person this would be: "Tengo sed(I'm thirsty). Now, let's look at an example with :

 

Es muy útil si tienes sed y necesitas beber agua.

It's very useful if you're thirsty and need to drink water.

Caption 29, El Aula Azul Adivina qué es - Part 1

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And, in the same way you could say you are "dying with hunger," you could also use estar muerto/a(s) de sed to say you are "dying of thirst":

 

¡Estabas muerta de sed!

You were dying of thirst!

Caption 1, Muñeca Brava 47 Esperanzas - Part 5

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Another way to say "to be thirsty" in Spanish is estar sediento/a(s):

 

y yo... yo estoy muy, muy sedienta.

and I... I'm very, very thirsty.

Caption 42, Kikirikí Agua - Part 3

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To ask you if you're thirsty, someone might say "¿Tiene(s) sed?(Are you thirsty?) or simply ask:

 

¿Quieres tomar algo, Pablo?

Do you want something to drink, Pablo?

Caption 28, Extr@: Extra en español Ep. 1 - La llegada de Sam - Part 2

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Although this might initially sound like "Do you want to take something?" to a non-native speaker, remember that the verb tomar additionally means "to drink" in Spanish. The common expression "¿Quiere(s) tomar algo?" is thus used to ask someone in Spanish if he or she would "like something to drink."

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Saying "I'm Not Hungry/Full" in Spanish

So, what if you want to say you're not hungry in Spanish? You can simply use the verb tener hambre with the word "no" in front of it:

 

Pero igual no tengo hambre.

But anyway, I'm not hungry.

Caption 58, Muñeca Brava 3 Nueva Casa - Part 6

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Another option would be the verb llenarse (to be full). So, if someone asks you if you're hungry, you might use this verb in the preterite (simple past) tense to say:

 

No, gracias. Ya me llené.

No, thank you. I'm full (literally: "I already got full"). 

 

Now let's listen to this verb in the present:

 

Se infla, como que se llena,

You get bloated, like, you get full,

Caption 44, Los médicos explican Consulta con el médico: la diarrea

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An additional way to say you are full in Spanish is with the verb estar (to be) plus an adjective. Although you might hear satisfecho/a(s) (literally "satisfied") or, in some regions, repleto/a(s)lleno/a(s) is the most common adjective that means "full" in Spanish, as we see in the following example:

 

Estoy lleno. No puedo comer más.

I'm full. I can't eat any more. 

 

This adjective might also be used with the verb sentirse (to feel):

 

y para mantenerte y sentirte lleno.

and to stay and feel full.

Caption 29, Natalia de Ecuador Alimentos para el desayuno

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This brings us to a popular Spanish saying that is reminiscent of the English idiom "The way to a man's heart is through his stomach": 

 

Barriga llena, corazón contento.

Full belly, happy heart.

Caption 36, Los Años Maravillosos Capítulo 2 - Part 1

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To learn a lot more fun Spanish phrases, check out this lesson on Yabla's Top 10 Spanish Idioms and Their (Very Different!) English equivalents

 

We hope that this lesson has helped you to learn several ways to talk about hunger and thirst in Spanish, and don't forget to leave us your suggestions and comments

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Names of Fruits in Spanish

Let's talk about the various types of fruits in Spanish. Do you know how to say the names of fruits like "apple" or "peach" in Spanish? If you don't know, don't worry! In this lesson, we will find out how to spell and say the names of different fruits in Spanish. Of course, we can't talk about all of the fruits of the world, but we will cover many of the most popular ones with the following list of fruits in Spanish and English. Let's take a look!

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Pome Fruits in Spanish

 

Manzana (apple)

 

Una manzana roja.

A red apple.

Caption 32, Cleer y Lida Picnic

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Pera (pear)

 

La palabra "pera" tiene dos sílabas:

The word "pera" [pear] has two syllables:

Caption 11, Lara enseña Tildes - Part 1

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Stone Fruits in Spanish

 

Albaricoque (apricot)

 

Lo único que, en vez de llevar mermelada de albaricoque,

The only one that, instead of having inside apricot jam,

Caption 29, Horno San Onofre El Chocolate

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Cereza (cherry)

 

A mí me recuerda... como si fuese una cereza.

It reminds me... as if it were a cherry.

Caption 58, Amaya Cata de vinos

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Ciruela (plum)

 

 

Durazno (peach)

 

Me volvió a gustar la compota de durazno

I started liking peach baby food again

Caption 4, Los Años Maravillosos Capítulo 7 - Part 1

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It is important to say that another Spanish term for the word "peach" is melocotón. This term is the prevalent term in Spain:

 

Por ejemplo con melocotón.

For example with peach.

Caption 53, Recetas Tortilla

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Nectarina (nectarine)

 

 

Citrus Fruits in Spanish

 

Lima (lime)

 

una lima, y se utilizan mucho para una bebida

a lime, and are used a lot for a drink

Caption 21, Otavalo Julia nos muestra las verduras

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Limón (lemon)

 

con un poco de sal y limón

with a bit of salt and lemon

Caption 14, Ana Carolina Receta para una picada

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Mandarina (tangerine)

 

Aquí están las mandarinas.

Here are tangerines.

Caption 75, Otavalo Conozcamos el Mundo de las Frutas con Julia

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Naranja (orange)

 

saben a naranja.

taste like orange.

Caption 34, Ariana Cita médica

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Gourd Family Fruits in Spanish

 

Melón (melon)

 

Ahora le vamos a poner un poquito de melón.

Now we're going to add a little melon.

Caption 19, Desayuno Puerto Escondido Frutas

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Sandía (watermelon)

 

Le vamos a poner... sandía,

We're going to put... watermelon,

Caption 3, Desayuno Puerto Escondido Frutas

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Berries in Spanish

 

Fresa (strawberry)

 

Y me comí un heladito de fresa porque me daba antojos.

And I ate a strawberry ice cream because I was craving it.

Caption 14, Los médicos explican Consulta con el médico: la diarrea

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Frambuesa (raspberry)

 

lleva una mermelada natural de frambuesa

it has inside an organic raspberry jam

Caption 30, Horno San Onofre El Chocolate

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Mora (blackberry)

 

La mora es mi fruta favorita.

The blackberry is my favorite fruit.

Caption 59, Otavalo Conozcamos el Mundo de las Frutas con Julia

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Kiwi (kiwi)

 

 

Uva (grape)

 

Estas son las uvas.

These are grapes.

Caption 22, Otavalo Conozcamos el Mundo de las Frutas con Julia

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Tropical and Exotic Fruits in Spanish

 

Banano (banana)

 

Esto es el banano o plátano.

This is the banana or plantain.

Caption 38, Otavalo Conozcamos el Mundo de las Frutas con Julia

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As you saw in the video clip, this fruit is also known in some regions as the plátano. However, keep in mind that the word plátano can also refer to the plantain:

 

Por último, procedemos a freír el tradicional plátano venezolano,

Lastly, we proceed to fry the traditional Venezuelan plantains,

Caption 75, Recetas de cocina Pabellón criollo

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Coco (coconut)

 

El agua de coco es muy nutritiva y además te calma mucho la sed.

Coconut water is very nutritious and plus it quenches your thirst a lot.

Caption 84, Otavalo Conozcamos el Mundo de las Frutas con Julia

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Granadilla (passion fruit)

 

Esta es una granadilla.

This is a passion fruit.

Caption 40, Otavalo Conozcamos el Mundo de las Frutas con Julia

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Guanábana (soursop)

 

Se llama guanábana

It's called soursop

Caption 28, Otavalo Conozcamos el Mundo de las Frutas con Julia

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Guayaba (guava)

 

Esto se llama guayaba.

This is called guava.

Caption 54, Otavalo Conozcamos el Mundo de las Frutas con Julia

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Mango (mango)

 

Este es el mango.

This is mango.

Caption 21, Otavalo Conozcamos el Mundo de las Frutas con Julia

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Papaya (papaya)

 

Son unas papayas chiquitas

They are small papayas

Caption 11, Otavalo Conozcamos el Mundo de las Frutas con Julia

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Piña (pineapple)

 

piña en trocitos,

chunks of pineapple,

Caption 13, Cleer y Lida El regreso de Lida

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In addition to all of the fruits we have mentioned, we would like to add two more fruits that are often not treated as such:

 

Aguacate (avocado)

 

Vamos a conocer un poco sobre la historia del aguacate y sus beneficios.

We're going to find out a bit about the history of the avocado and its benefits.

Caption 3, Melyna El aguacate

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Tomate (tomato)

 

Por lo tanto, botánicamente hablando, el tomate es una fruta,

Therefore, botanically speaking, the tomato is a fruit

Captions 33-34, Fermín Ensalada de tomate

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List of fruits in Spanish and English

Now that we have seen how to write and pronounce the names of many important fruits in Spanish, we wanted to leave you with the following quick reference list of fruits in Spanish and English:

 

aguacate (avocado)

albaricoque (apricot)

banano (banana)

cereza (cherry)

ciruela (plum)

coco (coconut)

durazno (peach)

fresa (strawberry)

frambuesa (raspberry)

granadilla (passion fruit)

guanábana (soursop)

guayaba (guava)

kiwi (kiwi)

lima (lime)

limón (lemon)

mandarina (tangerine)

mango (mango)

manzana (apple)

melocotón (peach)

melón (melon)

mora (blackberry)

naranja (orange)

nectarina (nectarine)

papaya (papaya)

pera (pear)

piña (pineapple)

plátano (banana)

sandía (watermelon)

tomate (tomato)

uva (grape)

 

And that's all for this lesson. Before we go, we invite you to answer the following question: ¿Cuál es tu fruta preferida? We hope you've enjoyed this lesson, and we'd love for you to send us your suggestions and comments¡Hasta la próxima!

 

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