Are you familiar with the body parts in Spanish? Do you know how to say words like "hands," "legs," or "face" in Spanish? Let's see how to write and pronounce las partes del cuerpo en español (the parts of the body in Spanish), from head to toe!
Inclina tu cabeza hacia atrás,
Tilt your head back;
Caption 19, Bienestar con Elizabeth - Rehabilitación vestibular
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Pelo is a very common word for "hair." However, keep in mind that pelo can refer to any kind of body hair, while the word cabello only refers to the hair on one's head.
Vale, pero los dos tenemos el pelo negro, vale, muy bien, perfecto.
OK, but we both have black hair, OK, very good, perfect.
Caption 12, Clase Aula Azul - El verbo parecer
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Para mi cabello, aquí tengo mi cepillo de cabello
For my hair, I have here my hair brush
Caption 27, Ana Carolina - Artículos de aseo personal
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Keep in mind that the Spanish word for the inner ear is el oído while the external ear (what you actually see) is called la oreja.
Las orejas son partes del cuerpo
The ears are parts of the body
que se encuentran en cada lateral de la cabeza
that are found on each side of the head
y que forman la parte exterior del oído.
and that form the external part of the inner ear.
Captions 53-55, Clara explica - El cuerpo
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Some of the most often used parts of the body in Spanish are placed in our face. Let's take a look.
There are two words for face in Spanish: la cara and el rostro. However, while cara is mostly used to talk about the physical part of the body, rostro is often used to talk in a sort of poetic, abstract way about someone's face. Let's see how to pronounce both words:
Esa mañana, al lavarse la cara,
That morning, while washing his face,
Caption 15, Aprendiendo con Carlos - El microrrelato
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Pinto mi rostro de mascarada
I paint my face in masquerade
Caption 20, Alejandra Guzmán - Porque no estás aquí
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Dio un suspiro y un golpe en la frente,
She let out a sigh and banged her forehead,
Caption 55, Cleer - Rafael Pombo y "Pastorcita"
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Me encantaría tener los ojos azules.
I would love to have blue eyes.
Caption 34, Clara explica - El cuerpo
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Ahora voy a delinear las cejas con un lápiz color café.
Now I am going to line the eyebrows with a brown-colored pencil.
Caption 53, Maquillaje - Con Cata y Cleer
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Después tenemos las pestañas.
Then we have the eyelashes.
Caption 21, Marta de Madrid - El cuerpo - La cabeza
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Cuando una mujer hablaba de mis mejillas,
When a woman talked about my cheeks,
Caption 23, Los Años Maravillosos - Capítulo 3
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que podía tener sangre por la nariz.
that he might have a bloody nose.
Caption 15, Juan Sánchez - Personajes
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Esta... esta boca quiere decir que está como un poco...
This... this mouth wants to say that it's like a bit...
Caption 67, Bucaramanga, Colombia - Pintor callejero
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Tanto te quise besar que me duelen los labios
I wanted to kiss you so much that my lips hurt
Caption 2, Shakira - Sale el Sol
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para que los dientes estén más fuertes
so that the teeth become stronger
Caption 61, Los médicos explican - Consejos: dientes de niños
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Esta letra la pronuncias poniendo la lengua junto al paladar
You pronounce this letter by putting the tongue next to the palate
Caption 61, Ana Carolina - Mejorando la pronunciación
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Después tenemos la barbilla.
Then we have the chin.
Caption 70, Marta de Madrid - El cuerpo - La cabeza
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Vas a bajar el mentón hacia tu cuello
You're going to lower your chin toward your neck,
Caption 28, Bienestar con Elizabeth - Relajación
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La cabeza es la parte superior del cuerpo
The head is the top part of the body
que está situada sobre el cuello
that is situated on the neck
Captions 49-50, Clara explica - El cuerpo
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y a Chibchacum lo puso a cargar la Tierra en sus hombros.
and forced Chibchacum to carry the Earth on his shoulders.
Caption 57, Aprendiendo con Carlos - América precolombina - El mito de Bochica
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Esta que tengo en mis brazos se llama Poeska.
This one I have in my arms is named Poeska.
Caption 21, Fermín y los gatos - Mi gata Poeska
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Vamos a mover codos,
We're going to move [our] elbows,
que normalmente no movemos esta articulación.
as we don't normally move this joint.
Captions 15-16, Bienestar con Elizabeth - Activar las articulaciones
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Of all the names of body parts in Spanish, this is probably the most unique. The word muñeca indeed means not only "wrist" but "doll" as well, so keep that in mind when you need to remember how to say "wrist" in Spanish.
sufren mucha lesión en codos, en muñecas y en hombros.
they suffer a lot of injuries on [their] elbows, wrists and shoulders.
Caption 28, Adícora, Venezuela - Los fisioterapeutas
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los voy a colocar en mis manos,
I'm going to place them in my hands,
Caption 30, Ana Carolina - Gérmenes
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Tiene agujeros donde se colocan los dedos,
It has holes where you place your fingers,
Caption 38, Karla e Isabel - Instrumentos musicales
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Si tienes unas piernas fuertes y ganas de andar,
If you have some strong legs and feel like walking,
Caption 102, Blanca - Cómo moverse en Barcelona
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¡Vamos! Doble sus rodillas.
Let's go! Bend your knees.
Caption 24, Extr@: Extra en español - Ep. 3 - Sam aprende a ligar
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unos zapatos para los pies del bebé.
some shoes for the baby's feet.
Caption 35, Conversaciones en el parque - Cap. 4: Regalos para un nuevo bebé
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También, este... son frecuentes en lesionarse [sic] mucho las articulaciones metatarsianas
Also, um... they frequently hurt their metatarsal joints a lot,
que son los dedos del pie,
which are the toes,
Captions 25-26, Adícora, Venezuela - Los fisioterapeutas
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And with this last term, we have come to the end of this lesson about Spanish body parts. We encourage you to practice the names of all of these partes del cuerpo, and don't forget to send us your comments and suggestions. ¡Hasta la próxima!
If you have been studying Spanish, you probably know that the Spanish verbs, ser and estar, have a common translation in English: "to be." With that in mind, let's start this lesson with a practical example. Your Spanish friend has just invited you to her wedding (boda) in Madrid, and you want to ask her (in Spanish, of course!) the following simple question: "Where is the wedding?" Which verb would you choose, ser or estar? Would you ask, Dónde está or Dónde es la boda? Let's find out.
Are you wondering about the meaning of dónde está in English? Generally speaking, we use the verb estar when we want to talk about the position or location of someone or something. Considering that dónde means "where," we use dónde está when we want to know where someone or something is located. Let's look at a couple of examples so that you can better understand the use of the verb estar when talking about position or location:
¿Sabes dónde está la biblioteca?
Do you know where the library is?
Caption 20, Español para principiantes - Hablando de ubicaciones
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El pulverizador, ss... ss... está en el baño.
The spray, ss... ss... is in the bathroom.
Caption 63, Extr@: Extra en español - Ep. 3 - Sam aprende a ligar
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Se llama Frigiliana, y está en la provincia de Málaga.
It's called Frigiliana, and it's in the province of Malaga.
Caption 6, Viajando con Fermín - Frigiliana, Málaga
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According to the above logic, we could solve the question we posed at the beginning of this lesson by saying, ¿Dónde está la boda?, right? Well, not so fast!
When using dónde (where) for asking about the location of something, there is one case in which you should use the verb ser rather than estar: when asking about the location of an event. For that reason, the correct manner of asking the aforementioned question would be, ¿Dónde es la boda? Let's look at additional examples where the verb ser would be necessary:
¿Dónde es el funeral?
Where's the funeral?
Caption 1, Los Años Maravillosos - Capítulo 3
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¿Dónde es la fiesta?
Where is the party?
Caption 11, Raquel - Expresiones para un festival de música.
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There are, however, some cases in which you can use either verb, depending upon what you wish to express. For example, if you want to ask someone about the executive breakfast your company is organizing, you would say, ¿Dónde es el desayuno? In this case, you use the verb ser because you are talking about an event.
However, if you are referring to the breakfast as the food you are going to eat, you would say, ¿Dónde está el desayuno? In this case, you use the verb estar because you are asking about the location of something that is not an event. Let's take a look:
EVENT
-¿Dónde es el desayuno? -El desayuno es en el hotel.
-Where is the breakfast? -The breakfast is at the hotel.
FOOD
-¿Dónde está el desayuno? -El desayuno está en la nevera.
-Where's breakfast? -Breakfast is in the fridge.
Additionally, it's important to note that if you're expressing direction when asking about the location of a specific place, you might also use ser. For instance, in response to a question about someone's house location, one could say:
¿Dónde es su casa? (Where is their house?)
This is acceptable when you are asking about directions or where the house is located, much like ¿Dónde queda la casa? (Where is the house located?).
Podríamos ir a buscarlo a la casa, ¿sí o no? ¿Y usted sabe dónde es? Sí, sí sé dónde queda la casa del man pero tenemos un problema.
We could go look for him at his house, yes or no? And do you know where it is? Yes, I do know where the guy's house is, but we have a problem.
Captions 50-52, Confidencial: Broma pesada Capítulo 2 - Part 8
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In summary, understanding when to use 'ser' versus 'estar' for location-related questions can greatly improve your Spanish fluency. Let’s recap the key points to help you make the right choice in different situations.
The physical location of places or objects.
Example: ¿Dónde está el libro? (Where is the book?)
1. Referring to the location of events.
Example: ¿Dónde es la conferencia? (Where is the conference?)2. Asking about directions or the address of a place.
Example: ¿Dónde es tu casa? (Where is your house?)
Estar = Location of things
Ser = Location of events or directions
Finally, a good rule of thumb to decide when it would be necessary to use ¿Dónde es...? rather than ¿Dónde está? is to ask oneself whether the verb could be subsituted with tiene lugar (takes place), in which case the verb, ser, should be utilized. For example: Since ¿Dónde tiene lugar la fiesta? (Where is the party taking place) makes perfect sense, ¿Dónde es la fiesta? would be the correct manner of asking where the party is.
That's all for today. We hope you enjoyed this lesson, and don't forget to send us your comments and suggestions. ¡Hasta la próxima!
Let's talk about family! Do you know how to say words like "father" or "cousin" in Spanish? Today, we will learn how to say the names of the most important family members in Spanish. In particular, we will see how to write and pronounce those names. Let's take a look.
Familia is the Spanish word for family. It is important to say that this is a feminine collective noun. Collective nouns are words that we use for particular groups. However, these nouns are treated as singular words. Let's see how this works:
Mi familia es pequeña y cálida.
My family is small and warm.
Considerando que "familia" es un sustantivo colectivo femenino,
Considering that "familia" is a feminine collective noun,
conjugamos el verbo en tercera persona del singular
we conjugate the verb in third person singular
y utilizamos adjetivos femeninos, "pequeña" y "cálida",
and use feminine adjectives, "pequeña" [small] and "cálida" [warm],
para elaborar la concordancia de manera correcta.
to create agreement in the correct way.
Captions 16-20, Carlos explica - Sustantivos colectivos
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The following are the names of the most important family member in Spanish.
Comes bastante verdura, tu madre que te quiere.
Eat enough vegetables, your mother who loves you.
Caption 38, Extr@: Extra en español - Ep. 1 - La llegada de Sam
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Very often, however, people refer to their mothers using the following terms:
Mamá, quería preguntarte algo.
Mom, I wanted to ask you something.
Caption 2, Yago - 10 Enfrentamientos - Part 7
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OR
¿Haciendo la tarea con mami? -Sí.
Doing your homework with Mommy? -Yes.
Caption 24, Yago - 11 Prisión - Part 5
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"A mi padre siempre le toca trabajar mucho todos los viernes".
"My father always has to work a lot every Friday."
Caption 53, Carlos explica - Vocabulario: El verbo “tocar”
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However, just like for the word "mother", there are some other terms people use when talking with or about their fathers:
Fue cuando me di cuenta no tenía ni idea de lo que hacía mi papá.
It was then that I realized I had no idea what my dad did.
Caption 30, Los Años Maravillosos - Capítulo 3 - Part 3
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OR
Papi, cualquier hora es buena.
Daddy, any hour is good.
Caption 5, X6 1 - La banda
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Quiero presentarles a mi hijo; Kevin, él es Felipe.
I want to introduce you to my son; Kevin, this is Felipe.
Caption 16, Los Años Maravillosos - Capítulo 3 - Part 6
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Y muy feliz de tener a mi lado a mi hija.
And very happy to have my daughter by my side.
Caption 38, Yolimar Gimón - sobre el concurso Mrs. Venezuela
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Después aquí tengo a mi hermano, José.
Then here I have my brother, Jose.
Caption 11, Curso de español - Vamos a hablar de la familia
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...pero que estaba alejando a mi hermana de nosotros.
...but it was taking my sister away from us.
Caption 21, Los Años Maravillosos - Capítulo 4
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¡Abuelo, abuelo!
Grandpa, Grandpa!
Caption 9, Guillermina y Candelario - Un regalo de Estrellas
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Abuela, podemos hablar dos minutos por favor.
Grandmother, can we talk for two minutes, please.
Caption 4, Muñeca Brava - 18 - La Apuesta
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Mi nieto no existe.
My grandson does not exist.
Caption 53, Muñeca Brava - 33 El partido
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La nieta de María.
Maria's granddaughter.
Caption 30, Zoraida en Coro - El pintor Yepez
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Y su tío Aldo cree que está muerto, su tío Lucio confía en que esté vivo.
And his Uncle Aldo believes that he's dead, his Uncle Lucio has faith that he's alive.
Caption 22, Yago - 8 Descubrimiento - Part 3
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Esa es mi tía Silvia.
That is my Aunt Silvia.
Caption 24, Español para principiantes - Demostrativos
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¿Hace cuánto tiempo que dejó de ver a su sobrino?
How long ago did you stop seeing your nephew?
Caption 69, Yago - 8 Descubrimiento - Part 1
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Sobrina. Muy bien.
Niece. Very good.
Caption 43, Curso de español - Vamos a hablar de la familia
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Sí, me gusta mucho mi primo Pedro.
Yes, I like my cousin Pedro very much.
Caption 40, El Aula Azul - Mis Primos
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Esta mañana mi prima se ha roto la pierna jugando al fútbol.
This morning my cousin has broken her leg playing soccer.
Caption 15, Lecciones con Carolina - Participios - Ejemplos de uso
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Finally, keep in mind that when using the plural forms of these nouns, you should use the male form when the group is made of both male and female members:
Two cousins (both male): Dos primos
Two cousins (both female): Dos primas
Two cousing (one male and one female): Dos primos
That's it for today. We invite you to take a piece of paper and design your family tree with the names of the family members in Spanish. And don't forget to send us your comments and suggestions.
Abre el baúl, mueve la candela... -Slow... Señor Maquinitero.
Open the trunk, move the candle... -Slow... Mister Mix Master.
Captions 7-8, ChocQuibTown Interview - Eso es lo que hay
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In our exclusive interview with ChocQuibTown, we meet the band, including its leader ("líder"), bass player ("bajista"), and a guy named Slow, who describes himself as Señor Maquinitero. Señor what?? After watching Slow busy at work on turntables, with equalizers and computer cords all around, it makes sense to conclude that he's calling himself something close to "Mister Mix Master," as we translated in the captions. You see, una máquina is "a machine." The diminutive maquinita is "a little machine" or "a video game." Finally, the suffix "-ero" can be added to a noun to create a new word that describes somebody who works with that noun. Here are a few examples:
Yo iba a ser jugador de Millonarios o, en su defecto, ingeniero constructor de puentes.
I was going to be a Millonarios (soccer) player or if that falls through, a bridge building engineer.
Captions 30-31, Los Años Maravillosos - Capítulo 3 - Part 6
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Aprendió todos los oficios: vaquero, mayoral, domador de potros.
He learned all the trades: cowboy, shepherd, horse-breaker.
Caption 18, Europa Abierta - Jassin Daudi - Con arte
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zapato (shoe) + -ero = zapatero (cobbler or shoe salesman)
vaca (cow) + -ero = vaquero (cowboy)
ingeniería (engineering) + -ero = ingeniero (engineer)
rap (as in rap music) + -ero = rapero (rapper, rap artist)
Knowing your suffixes helps decode words that you might not find in your dictionaries -- like maquinitero or rapero. But note that Spanish has more than one suffix for professionals or tradespeople. For example, a standard Spanish dictionary lists someone who works with machines (e.g. to fabricate parts) as un maquinista ("a machinist"). Some more:
bajo (bass) + -ista = bajista (bass player)
batería (drums) + -ista = baterista (drummer)
taxi (taxi) + -ista = taxista (taxi driver)
Eh... toco... toco tarola... Batería, baterista. -baterista de Banda Pioneros.
Um... I play... I play the snare drum... Drums, drummer. -the drummer of Banda Pioneros.
Captions 4-5, Banda Pioneros - ¡Conócelos!
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A few nouns can have either -ero or -ista added to them to form new words, like the all important fútbol (soccer). Note that the definitions are slightly different:
Futbolero = soccer supporter
Futbolista = soccer player
But don't make sweeping generalizations about -ero vs -ista from the sporty example above. For example, a professional "bookseller" is a "librero" while a "book lover" or "book worm" is "amante de los libros," "un bibliófilo" or "ratón de biblioteca." Knowing the suffixes can help you along, but some memorization is required to get the details right (as in English).
Finally, we want to clarify: You might have noticed that the suffix -ista always ends in a, regardless of the gender of the person who's being described. With words like futbolista and taxista, you must rely on the articles to get the gender across. For example:
La futbolista = the female soccer player
Un taxista = a male taxi driver
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