You are surely familiar with the Spanish pronoun nada with the meaning of "nothing." But are you aware that it can have several additional meanings and translations? Let's explore many of them!
Before we learn several of the lesser-known meanings of the Spanish word nada, let's look at its most common usage. Like "nothing" in English, the pronoun nada in Spanish can mean an absence or lack of anything, as we see here:
Es una palabra que define todo y nada al mismo tiempo
It's a word that defines everything and nothing at the same time
Caption 55, Carlos comenta Confidencial - Jerga típica colombiana
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Now, let's move on to our 7 additional meanings of the Spanish word nada that may not initially come to mind.
When used with a double negative, the English equivalent of the pronoun nada in Spanish changes to "anything":
No, hoy no tengo nada qué hacer.
No, today I don't have anything to do.
Caption 42, Conversaciones en el parque Cap. 5: Me gusta mucho este parque.
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For a more in depth explanation of this topic, check out Yabla's lesson entitled Nada: Nothing or Anything?
When the pronoun nada in Spanish is used to mean "none," it is typically accompanied by the preposition de, as we see below:
¿Por qué hace como si nada de esto estuviera pasando?
Why are you acting as if none of this were happening?
Caption 25, Confidencial: Asesino al Volante Capítulo 4 - Part 8
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Similarly to the manner in which nada can mean either "nothing," or "anything," its meaning also changes from "none" to "any" when used with the preposition de in a double negative sentence:
¡No, no... no! -No tiene que hacer nada de esto. -¡No, no, no, no, no!
No, no... no! -You don't have to do any of this. -No, no, no, no, no!
Caption 16, Tu Voz Estéreo Embalsamado - Part 17
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In this usage, nada functions as an adverb that can be translated with the English phrase "at all":
pero como no lo hago nada bien,
but since I don't do it well at all,
Caption 5, Beatriz Expresiones con colores
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Moving on to some uses of the Spanish word nada as a noun, let's see how la nada can mean "nowhere":
"¿La gente cómo puede vivir en medio de la nada, no?",
"How can people live in the middle of nowhere, right?"
Caption 3, Hispanoamericanos en Berlín Irwin y la acuarela - Part 3
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Like the pronoun nada, the noun la nada can describe a complete lack of anything:
Era el frío de la nada
It was the cold of nothingness
Caption 41, Acercándonos a la Literatura José Asunción Silva - "Nocturno III"
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The Spanish noun la nada can additionally be translated as "the void" when referring either to empty space in a physical sense or one's feeling of emptiness:
Y mi papá miraba hacia la nada con una rabia feroz de la que no era muy consciente.
And my dad stared into the void with a ferocious rage he wasn't very conscious.
Caption 54, Los Años Maravillosos Capítulo 2 - Part 1
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Now that you have learned 7 alternative English translations for the Spanish word nada, let's look at some common Spanish fixed expressions that include it, noting their English equivalents:
Antes de nada, vamos a repasar algunos conceptos e información necesaria
Before anything else, we're going to review some concepts and necessary information
Caption 1, Raquel y Marisa Aprender a conducir - Part 1
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Pero antes que nada, lo básico:
But first of all, the basics:
Caption 2, Conversaciones con Luis Astrología
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y que anda por ahí como si nada, entonces.
and that he's out there as if it were nothing then.
Caption 20, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa Capítulo 2 - Part 4
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De nada. Estoy para servirle. Permiso.
You're welcome. I'm at your service. Excuse me.
Caption 61, Programación de oficina El dictado del jefe
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Bueno, ahora estoy haciendo, más que nada, un trabajo con los niños
Well, now, I'm doing, above all else, a project with children
Caption 28, Cleer Entrevista con Jacky
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no le importa nada más.
nothing else matters to them.
Caption 34, Aprendiendo con Silvia Frases hechas - Part 1
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pero que no tiene nada que ver con temas religiosos.
but which has nothing to do with religious themes.
Caption 25, Viajando con Fermín La Feria de Santo Tomás
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¿Entonces no importa si la llamo? Para nada. -¡Para nada!
Then it doesn't matter if I call her? Not at all. -Not at all!
Captions 43-44, Los Años Maravillosos Capítulo 5 - Part 7
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Primero que nada, pedirte perdón por lo de ayer.
First of all, to apologize for yesterday.
Caption 12, Confidencial: Asesino al Volante Capítulo 5 - Part 4
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Pues nada, espero que... hayáis conocido un poquito este deporte, esta escuela, a mí,
Anyway, I hope that... you've learned a little bit about this sport, this school, myself,
Captions 80-81, Escuela de Pádel Albacete Hablamos con José Luis
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That's all for today. We hope that this lesson has helped you to understand many of the meanings of the Spanish word nada beyond simply "nothing," and don't forget to write us with your questions and suggestions.
Unfortunately, this year that is about to end wasn't the brightest. From the Ukraine war and the never-ending COVID-19 pandemic to global economic woes and the ongoing climate change crisis, this year's Word of the Year summarizes, in just six letters, all of these unfortunate events. With that being said, let's reveal Yabla's Spanish Word of the Year 2022.
The word crisis (with the same spelling as in English) is our Spanish Word of the Year 2022. Let's see how to pronounce this word in Spanish with a sentence we could easily apply to the present times:
Vivimos en tiempos de crisis.
We live in times of crisis.
Caption 3, Los Años Maravillosos Capítulo 2 - Part 1
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By the way, the word crisis in Spanish doesn't necessarily mean something negative, but rather a drastic change in a particular situation. However, for the context of this lesson, we are using the following definition from the Diccionario de la lengua española:
Situación mala o difícil (Bad or difficult situation)
Do you know what the plural of the word crisis is in Spanish? Let's find out with the following clip:
por las crisis que genera,
for the crises it generates,
Caption 40, De consumidor a persona Short Film - Part 6
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Yes, the plural of the Spanish word crisis is... crisis! Why? Because words that have the accent on the second-to-last syllable and end in "s" don't change in the plural. In addition to crisis, words like virus and apocalipsis also follow this rule. For more information about this topic, check out our lesson about Rules for Forming the Plural of Nouns in Spanish.
Considering the coverage that the war in Ukraine received this year, we were tempted to choose the word guerra (war) as our Spanish Word of the Year 2022. However, we opted for a word that takes into consideration all of the other problems affecting our world. Let's take a look at some of this year's runner-up terms.
Yo soy "antiguerra", no me gusta la guerra.
I'm "antiguerra" [antiwar], I don't like war.
Captions 52-53, Ana Carolina Prefijos y sufijos - Part 1
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creo que debido a la incertidumbre que teníamos todas las personas,
due, I think, to all of our uncertainty
Caption 46, El coronavirus Confinamiento en España - Part 1
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La inflación en América Latina será más alta que la media.
Inflation in Latin America will be higher than average
Durante la invasión francesa en mil ochocientos ocho,
During the French invasion in eighteen o-eight,
Caption 60, Marisa en Madrid Parque de El Retiro
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Did you notice anything? That was a lot of words that start with the letter i, which even appears twice in the word crisis! That said, i is definitely the Spanish letter of the year!
And that wraps up Yabla's Spanish Word of the Year for 2022. What do you think of our choice? Please feel free to share your comments and suggestions with us, and here's to hoping that 2023 will be a better year!
Let's learn some common expressions to talk about being hungry or thirsty in Spanish (or to say we're not)!
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 tú (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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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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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 tú:
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."
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.
The coronavirus is one of the greatest challenges humankind has ever faced. Because of that, we are being bombarded with words such as "virus," "disease," "quarantine," and "pandemic." But, do you know how to say all those words in Spanish? In this lesson, we will review some of the most important nouns associated with the current coronavirus. But first, let's take a closer look at the word coronavirus in Spanish.
In Spanish, the word coronavirus is a masculine noun made of two words: corona (crown) and virus (virus). However, keep in mind that coronavirus is just one word so there's no need for spaces or hyphens between the words that make up this noun.
Apart from that, it is worth mentioning that the word coronavirus in Spanish is the same in both the singular and the plural. Let's take a look:
El coronavirus es un virus contagioso
Coronavirus is a contagious virus
Los coronavirus son virus contagiosos
Coronaviruses are contagious viruses
From the example above, you can also see that the word virus in Spanish is the same in the singular and plural. In fact, this word belongs to a group of nouns ending in 'S' or 'X' that are the same in the singular and plural in Spanish.
With that being said, let's take a look at some of the words that you need to keep in mind in the context of the coronavirus.
For talking about coronavirus, here are some of the most common nouns. Let's take a look.
Brote (outbreak)
Crisis (crisis)
Vivimos en tiempos de crisis.
We live in times of crisis.
Caption 3, Los Años Maravillosos - Capítulo 2
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Cuarentena (quarantine)
Desinfectante (disinfectant)
Mirá, ni siquiera uso el alcohol como desinfectante.
Look, I don't even use alcohol as a disinfectant.
Caption 81, Muñeca Brava - 18 - La Apuesta
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In this caption, we also highlighted another very used word nowadays: alcohol (alcohol).
Enfermedad (illness, disease)
Por una enfermedad o por un trastorno.
Due to an illness or due to an imbalance.
Caption 50, Raquel - Visitar al Médico
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Se controla que no tienen ninguna enfermedad.
They check [to make sure] that they don't have any disease.
Caption 60, Rosa - Laguna Fuente de Piedra
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Jabón (soap)
Aquí está nuestro mejor amigo: el jabón.
Here's our best friend: soap.
Caption 18, Ana Carolina - Artículos de aseo personal
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Mascarilla (mask)
Another term commonly used when talking about the masks people use to protect their mouths and noses is "tapaboca" or "tapabocas".
Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS)
This is the Spanish name for the World Health Organization (WHO)
Pandemia (pandemic)
On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization officially declared the coronavirus a pandemic. The Spanish term for pandemic is pandemia. Keep in mind that there is a difference between epidemia (epidemic) and pandemia (pandemic). While the former relates to the spread of a disease in a country, the latter refers to the spread of a disease throughout the world.
El mundo se enfrenta ahora a una pandemia sin precedentes.
The world is now facing an unprecedented pandemic.
Caption 12, El Coronavirus - Introducción y vocabulario
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Prueba (test)
The word "prueba" is probably the best one for the test that people take in order to find out if they have coronavirus. However, some people prefer to use similar terms such as "test" or "muestra".
Recesión (recession)
According to several experts, even in the most optimistic of scenarios, many economies will be heading to a recession after the coronavirus crisis is over.
...que fue cuando en España entró la recesión en el sector de la construcción.
...which was when in Spain the recession in the construction sector began.
Caption 5, Leif - El Arquitecto Español y su Arte
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Teletrabajo (remote working)
Transmisión (transmission)
Virus (virus)
"El coronavirus es un virus contagioso".
"The coronavirus is a contagious virus."
Caption 27, El Coronavirus - Introducción y vocabulario
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There are many more words that are used in the context of the coronavirus disease. However, if you want to follow the news in Spanish, there is a good chance of coming across some of the terms we just reviewed. Please, take the necessary protection during this difficult time and don't forget to send us your comments and suggestions.
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