The news has been dominated by the death of Queen Elizabeth II. If you are wondering how to say words like "queen" or "kingdom" in Spanish, this lesson will teach you how to say and spell the most important royal terms.
hasta que por fin la reina Isabel le concedió audiencia
until Queen Isabel finally granted him an audience,
Caption 18, Viajando con Fermín Patios de Córdoba - Part 3
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Notice that even when used as part of a proper name like la reina Isabel (Queen Isabel), la reina and its male counterpart el rey (the king) are lowercase in Spanish.
Miren, hablando del rey de Roma.
Look, speak of the devil [literally "the King of Rome"].
Caption 60, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa Capítulo 5 - Part 4
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Keep in mind that the masculine plural form of el rey, los reyes, is used to describe "the King and Queen" (although it could also mean "the kings" in different contexts).
Actualmente es la residencia oficial de los reyes de España,
Currently, it's the official residence of the King and Queen of Spain,
Caption 24, Madrid Un recorrido por la capital de España
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Corona imperial española.
Imperial Spanish Crown.
Caption 18, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa Capítulo 4 - Part 3
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era para el alto clero, la monarquía y la burguesía de Barcelona
was for Barcelona's high clergy, monarchy, and middle class
Caption 58, Víctor en España La Catedral del Mar en Barcelona
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a quienes los monarcas otorgaban las patentes de corso,
to whom the monarchs granted letters of marque,
Caption 58, Viajando con Fermín Pasajes (Pasaia) - Part 3
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Remember that the article el is used to describe a male monarch, and la is used for a female, while los monarcas could be a group of males or a mixed group.
Una noche conocí en un casino al príncipe este, Rainiero.
One night I met at a casino this prince, Rainiero.
Caption 9, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa Capítulo 1 - Part 4
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The above clip is from our popular Colombian series Confidencial: El rey de la estafa. In the following clip, you can hear how that word is pronounced by a speaker from Spain. Notice the difference in pronunciation, especially when it comes to the letter "c":
come como un príncipe,
eat the main meal of the day like a prince,
Caption 36, Raquel Presentaciones
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se casaba con una princesa de España.
he was marrying a princess from Spain.
Caption 26, Leyendas urbanas La Llorona
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Su marido es el príncipe Felipe, duque de Edimburgo.
Her husband is Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
Captions 25-26, El Aula Azul Adivina personajes famosos - Part 2
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Note that the feminine form of el duque, la duquesa, means "duchess."
Por consejo del cuerpo de seguridad de la familia real,
Under the advisement of the security forces of the royal family,
Caption 29, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa Capítulo 4 - Part 5
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Érase una vez en un lejano reino,
Once upon a time in a faraway kingdom,
Caption 1, Cuentos de hadas Cenicienta - Part 1
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y la subida al trono del nuevo cacique
and the ascension to the throne of the new cacique
Caption 18, Aprendiendo con Carlos América precolombina - El Dorado
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A Su Majestad, la reina, le ha interesado mucho,
It has interested Her Majesty, the Queen, a lot,
Caption 23, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa Capítulo 4 - Part 4
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Su Alteza Real el príncipe se casará con la mujer cuyo pie encaje en este zapato de cristal.
His Royal Highness the Prince will marry the woman whose foot fits into this glass slipper.
Captions 25-26, Cuentos de hadas Cenicienta - Part 2
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That's all for now. We hope you have learned some "royally" useful words in this lesson, and don't forget to send us your suggestions and comments.
Are you familiar with the verb contar and its meanings in Spanish? Beyond its most common translations, which we'll be sure to reveal, this extremely useful verb is used in many additional ways. Let's take a look at some of them.
One of the most common meanings of contar is "to tell." Let's see this in action:
Abuelo, te voy a contar un secreto.
Grandpa, I'm going to tell you a secret.
Caption 9, Guillermina y Candelario Mi Primer Tesoro
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Soy Rosa Chaparro y os voy a contar la historia de Mika.
I'm Rosa Chaparro, and I'm going to tell you the story of Mika.
Caption 2, Rosa La perrita Mika
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We also use the verb contar when we want to quantify, or "count," things:
Y vamos contando cuántas hierbas tenemos, ¿sí?
And we're counting how many herbs we have, right?
Caption 47, Otavalo Proyecto familiar Kawsaymi - Part 7
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That said, we hope it is now clear that it's one thing contar los números (to count numbers) and another, very different thing contar historias (to tell stories). Context, however, should make it perfectly clear which meaning is meant, which we can see in these two clips from our friend Luis Guitarra:
Para contar los números, podemos usar los dedos de nuestras manos.
To count the numbers, we can use the fingers on our hands.
Captions 5-6, Luis Guitarra Aprendiendo a contar
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Con él, yo aprendí a contar historias.
With him, I learned to tell stories.
Caption 71, Luis Guitarra Influencias musicales - Part 1
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Rafael, the speaker in the following clips, consistently uses the verb contar coupled with the preposition con where we might have expected to hear tener (to have). Let's take a look:
Cuando uno ya cuenta con familia...
When you already have a family...
Caption 11, Rafael T. - Viaje al norte
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Yo cuento con una... con una farmacia, con una mini-farmacia.
I own a... a pharmacy, one mini-pharmacy.
Caption 18, Rafael T. - Viaje al norte
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Although its literal meaning is "to count with," when Rafael uses contar con to talk about a family, he means when one "has" a family, while this same verb has been translated as "own" in the example regarding the pharmacy. Let's check out another clip from our friend Fermín:
Por supuesto, tenemos la suerte de contar con una señora británica que se encarga de controlar que los gatos callejeros que viven aquí
Of course, we are lucky enough to have a British lady who's in charge of making sure that the alley cats who live here
Captions 20-21, Fermín y los gatos Mis gatas vecinas
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So, we see that "to have" or "to own" are both acceptable translations for contar con.
On the other hand, if someone asks "¿Puedo contar contigo?" they don't want to know if they can "have" you, but rather whether they can "count on" you. Let's look at a couple of examples of contar con with this meaning.
cuente con mi apoyo y con la embajada para lo que se le ofrezca.
count on my support and on the embassy for whatever you need.
Caption 42, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa Capítulo 4 - Part 4
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sabes que puedes contar conmigo, ¿sí? -Bueno.
you know that you can count on me, OK? -OK.
Caption 71, Muñeca Brava 36 La pesquisa - Part 6
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And finally, sin contar or sin contar con, which literally mean "without counting (with)," can be utilized to express the idea of "not to mention" or "without taking into account." Let's look at a couple of clips from our series Confidencial: El rey de la estafa:
Eso sin contar los lujos que te debes dar
That's not to mention the luxuries you must give yourself
Caption 21, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa Capítulo 3 - Part 8
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Eso, sin contar con la publicidad que vais a recibir
That, without taking into account the publicity that you're going to get
Captions 52-53, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa Capítulo 5 - Part 5
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That's all for today. We hope you've enjoyed this lesson on some of the many uses of the Spanish verb contar, and don't forget to send us your suggestions and comments.
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