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!
A recent Yabla video entitled La Doctora Consejos: parecer y parecerse demonstrated the difference between the verb parecer (to seem) and the reflexive verb parecerse ("to look like" or "be similar"). Although, at first glance, the difference between these two verbs might seem simple, this can be confusing when pronouns are thrown into the mix.
When no pronouns are present, it will be quite obvious that the verb in question is parecer. Let's take a look:
La verdad es que pareces cansado.
To be honest, you seem tired.
Caption 11, El Aula Azul - La Doctora Consejos: parecer y parecerse
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Las cosas son más fáciles de lo que parecen.
Things are easier than what they seem.
Caption 25, Carlos explica - Acentuación Cap. 3: La división en sílabas
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On the other hand, when a sentence does involve pronouns, these two verbs become a bit harder to distinguish. One reason for this is that, although parecerse employs reflexive pronouns, while parecer is often accompanied by indirect object pronouns, there is some overlap in terms of the forms of these two pronoun types. Let's take a look:
| Personal Pronoun | Reflexive Pronoun | Indirect Object Pronoun |
|---|---|---|
| yo | me | me |
| tú | te | te |
| él, ella, usted | se | le |
| nosotros, nosotras | nos | nos |
| vosotros, vosotras | os | os |
| ellos, ellas, ustedes | se | les |
Should we encounter se then, we will know it is reflexive, while we will recognize le or les as indirect object pronouns. However, as you will notice that the reflexive and indirect object pronouns that correspond to four out of the six personal pronouns appear identical (me, te, nos, and os), how can we tell whether an instance of parecer accompanied by one of these pronouns is indeed parecer or its reflexive counterpart?
Let's start with the verb parecerse. Keeping in mind that this is a reflexive verb, note that it is conjugated "as usual" to agree with its subject's corresponding personal pronoun: in other words, just like the verb parecer with the addition of the appropriate reflexive pronoun. With this in mind, let's take a look at the present indicative forms of parecer and parecerse:
| Personal Pronoun: | Present Indicative of Parecer: | Present Indicative of Parecerse |
|---|---|---|
| yo | parezco | me parezco |
| tú | pareces | te pareces |
| él, ella, usted | parece | se parece |
| nosotros, nosotras | parecemos | nos parecemos |
| vosotros, vosotras | parecéis | os parecéis |
| ellos, ellas, ustedes | parecen | se parecen |
Now, let's look at some examples of the verb parecerse in action:
En eso me parezco mucho a mi madre.
I'm a lot like my mother in that way.
Caption 38, El Aula Azul - La Doctora Consejos: parecer y parecerse
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¡Nos gustan las mismas cosas!
We like the same things!
Nos parecemos.
We are similar.
Captions 40-41, Conversaciones en el parque - Cap. 2: Cafe y bocadillos
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pero entonces tienes que decir, "Mis ojos se parecen a los ojos de mi madre",
but then you have to say, "My eyes look like my mother's eyes,"
Caption 28, Clase Aula Azul - El verbo parecer
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Note that with the verb parecerse, the conjugations agree with the sentence's subjects, or who or what is performing the action of the sentence: in these cases yo (I), nosotros (we), and mis ojos (my eyes). In other words, we conjugate them in accordance with who or what "looks like" or "is similar to" something else.
In contrast, when the verb parecer is accompanied by an indirect object pronoun, this verb falls into a class of verbs that function in a manner similar to the verb gustar. While we use the same conjugations of parecer (present indicative, etc.), the person or thing to whom or which something seems a certain way becomes the object of the sentence (receiver of the verb's action), while what seems that way to that entity is the subject. Let's take a look at some examples:
¿Qué cosas te parecen muy importantes en tu día a día?
What things seem very important to you in your daily life?
Caption 25, El Aula Azul - La Doctora Consejos: parecer y parecerse
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Here, parecer is conjugated in accordance with las cosas (the things) that seem important rather than the person to whom they are, and the indirect object pronoun te tells us that the person they seem important to is tú (you). In addition, when parecer is accompanied by an indirect object pronoun, it entails an opinion, similar to the idea in English that someone "thinks" something. So, although, in the above example, parecer is translated as "to seem," an additional translation might be: "What things in your daily life do you think are important?" Let's look at another example:
A ti te parece bonita.
You think it's pretty [literally "To you it seems pretty"].
Caption 11, Clase Aula Azul - El verbo parecer
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Were this the verb parecerse utilized with the reflexive pronoun te, the conjugation would instead be: te pareces (you look like). However, this is an instance of the verb parecer conjugated in the third person singular (parece) and accompanied by the indirect object pronoun te to indicate that what "seems" pretty to "you'" is "it'" (we know from the previous sentences that the "it" is the city of San Sebastian, Spain). And as with the verb gustar, adding a mí (to me), a ti (to you), a ellos (to them), etc. is optional but not essential for adding emphasis to this construction.
Let's conclude with one last example:
y además podéis aprovechar para dar vuestra opinión
and you can also take the opportunity to give your opinion
sobre qué os parece este espacio y qué os parecen mis recetas.
about what you think of this space and what you think of my recipes.
Captions 36-37, La cocina de María - Tortilla de patatas
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Again, remember that although os parece and os parecen have both been translated as "you think" here, which tends to be the more common way to express this idea colloquially, the more literal translations of sentences like this one (in this case, "and you can also take the opportunity to give your opinion about how this space seems to you and how my recipes seem to you") are useful to keep in mind when attempting to decipher or create such structures.
We hope this lesson has helped you to better differentiate the verbs parecer vs. parecerse when pronouns are present, particularly since many of the reflexive and indirect object se parecen (look alike). For an even more in-depth exploration of this topic, check out Clase Aula Azul's series entitled El verb parecer (The Verb Parecer).
That's all for today, and don't forget to send us your questions and comments.
How many question words in Spanish are you familiar with? Do you know how to write a question in Spanish? Asking questions is one of the most important skills you need to master in the language you are learning. In this lesson, we will learn the most important interrogative words in Spanish. However, before we explore those words, let's discuss a couple of things about asking questions in Spanish.
'Pregunta' is how you say the word 'question' in Spanish. 'Pregunta' is a feminine noun and its plural form is 'preguntas'. Let's practice the pronunciation of this term:
Kevin, la pregunta es:
Kevin, the question is:
Caption 13, Los Años Maravillosos - Capítulo 1
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Los voy a dejar con cuatro preguntas.
I am going to leave you with four questions.
Caption 48, Carlos explica - Tuteo, ustedeo y voseo: Ustedes y vosotros
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Do you know how to write a question in Spanish? Let's take a look at the basic structure of a question in Spanish.
To begin with, you need to stick to the rules of Spanish punctuation. Because of that, when you write a question in Spanish you need to remember that question marks are always double-sided. In other words, you need to start the question with an opening question mark (¿) and end it with a closing one (?):
¿Cómo es Japón?
What's Japan like?
¿Qué te gusta de Japón?
What do you like about Japan?
Captions 69-70, Clase Aula Azul - Pedir deseos
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Let's start with simple questions. Believe it or not, for these kinds of questions your intonation is what matters the most. You basically make Yes/No questions by transforming a statement into a question. The Spanish question structure for these kinds of questions is the following:
¿ + (subject) + conjugated verb + (additional information) + ?
Please note that the terms in parenthesis are optional. Let's see a couple of examples:
A Pedro le gusta comer pizza. (Pedro likes to eat pizza.)
¿A Pedro le gusta comer pizza? (Does Pedro like to eat pizza?)
For negative questions, you just need to place a "no" before the conjugated verb.
No quieres estudiar. (You don't want to study.)
¿No quieres estudiar? (Don't you want to study?)
Go ahead and play the following clips so you can hear the intonation of the following Yes/No questions. Notice how the pitch of the speaker's voice gets higher at the end of the sentence when asking questions in Spanish:
Mmm... ¿Quieres ir al cine?
Mmm... Do you want to go to the movies?
-Sí, ¡buena idea!
-Yes, good idea!
Captions 45-46, Conversaciones en el parque - Cap. 5: Me gusta mucho este parque.
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¿Necesitas ayuda?
Do you need help?
-Mmm... Sí.
-Mmm... Yes.
Captions 9-10, Español para principiantes - La hora
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¿No conoces Manhattan?
You don't know Manhattan?
Caption 37, Yago - 2 El puma
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As you can see, it is very common to start Yes/No questions with a conjugated verb.
The following is the Spanish question structure you need to keep mind when your question is aimed at getting some sort of information:
¿ + (preposition) + question word + conjugated verb + (additional information) + ?
Please note that the terms in parenthesis are optional. Let's see a couple of examples:
¡Oh! ¿Dónde está el cajero automático?
Oh! Where's the ATM?
Caption 36, Natalia de Ecuador - Palabras de uso básico
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In the example above, we have the following structure:
¿ + question word (dónde) + conjugated verb (está) + additional information (el cajero automático) + ?
Let's listen to another clip:
¿Desde cuándo tienes este piso?
Since when have you had this apartment?
Caption 35, 75 minutos - Gangas para ricos
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In this last example, the Spanish question structure is the following:
¿ + preposition (desde) + question word (cuándo) + conjugated verb (tienes) + additional information (este piso) + ?
Now that we have seen the structure of a question, let's take a look at some Spanish question words in sentences.
It's time to review the most important interrogative words in Spanish. If you are thinking about WH questions, you are right. Let's find out what the Spanish question words are for 'what', 'which', 'when', 'where', 'who', 'why' and 'how'.
For your reference, here's a list of the top question words in Spanish.
What / Which (Qué / Cuál)
When (Cuándo)
Where (Dónde)
Who (Quién)
Why (Por qué)
How (Cómo)
Now, let's see each one of these question words in action with a list of some of the most basic Spanish questions you can ask.
And now, let's dive into our list.
What / Which (Qué / Cuál)
Diremos, "¿Qué hora es?"
We'll say, "What time is it?"
Caption 49, Español para principiantes - La hora
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O, ¿A qué te dedicas?
Or, What do you do? [with "tú"].
Caption 17, Karla e Isabel - Tú y Usted
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Oye, y ¿en qué trabajas?
Hey, and what do you do [for a living]?
Caption 82, Ricardo - La compañera de casa
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Por supuesto; ¿cuál es su dirección de correo?
Of course; what is your e-mail address?
Caption 69, Negocios - Empezar en un nuevo trabajo
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¿Recuerdas cuál era la copa para servir vino?
Do you remember which cup was the one for serving wine?
Caption 36, Ana Carolina - El comedor
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When (Cuándo)
¿Y cuándo hizo el "check-in"?
And when did he check-in?
Caption 13, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa - Capítulo 3
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¿Cuándo terminas de estudiar?
When do you finish studying?
Caption 72, Carlos explica - Tuteo, ustedeo y voseo: Conjugación
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Where (Dónde)
¿De dónde eres?
Where are you from?
Caption 36, Curso de español - ¿De dónde eres?
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Y ¿en dónde vives?
And where do you live?
Caption 8, Cleer - Entrevista a Lila
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Let's see a couple of clips from Raquel to see the kind of questions you ask when you want to find out where something is located:
¿Me podrías decir dónde está el baño?
Could you tell me where the bathroom is?
Caption 7, Raquel - Expresiones para un festival de música.
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¿Sabes dónde hay alguna farmacia?
Do you know where there's a pharmacy?
Caption 24, Raquel - Expresiones para un festival de música.
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Who (Quién)
We use 'who' when we want to find out someone's identity. Let's see a couple of examples:
Mi jugador favorito juega en el Real Madrid.
My favorite player plays for Real Madrid.
¿Quién es?
Who is it?
Captions 19-20, El Aula Azul - Las Profesiones
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¿Usted quién es?
Who are you?
Roberto. Un amigo.
Roberto. A friend.
Captions 24-25, Yago - 9 Recuperación
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Why (Por qué)
¿Por qué dices eso? -No...
Why are you saying that? -No...
Caption 14, Cortometraje - Beta
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How (Cómo)
Para saludar, podemos decir: "Hola. ¿Cómo estás? ¿Todo bien?"
To greet (people), we can say: "Hello. How are you? (Is) everything good?"
Caption 7, Español en las calles - Varias expresiones
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Keep in mind that the word 'cómo' is not always translated as the English word 'how'. In fact, one of the most basic Spanish questions you can ask is a good example of that:
Buenos días, ¿cómo te llamas?
Good morning, what's your name?
Caption 8, La rutina diaria - La mañana
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When we want to find out someone's age or the price of an object, we combine 'how' with other words such as 'old' or 'much'. When we want to get that kind of information, we use other interrogative words in Spanish. Let's take a look:
Ah, lindo.
Oh, nice.
¿Cuánto cuesta?
How much does it cost?
Captions 33-34, Natalia de Ecuador - Palabras de uso básico
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¿Cuántos años tienes?
How old are you?
Caption 6, Cleer - Entrevista a Lila
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Ah, vale. ¿Cuántos hijos tienes?
Oh, OK. How many sons do you have?
Caption 39, Clase Aula Azul - El verbo parecer
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¿Y cuántas botellas de agua hay aquí?
And how many bottles of water are there here?
Caption 78, Español para principiantes - Los números del 1 al 100
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And that's it for now. We hope you use this review of the most important Spanish question words as the perfect excuse to start asking questions in Spanish. Are you ready? We encourage you to do that and don't forget to send us your questions and comments.
When it comes to bringing good vibes and positive energy, there's nothing better than a nice compliment. In fact, we use compliments when we want to express respect, approval, or admiration for someone. With that being said, let's learn some easy ways to express compliments in Spanish.
First things first. There are various terms you can use for the word compliment in Spanish. The following are your options:
- Cumplido
- Elogio
- Halago
- Piropo
Keep in mind, however, that the word piropo is mostly used to indicate a short sentence that is concerned with the beauty of a woman:
En cambio vos no cambiaste nada;
On the other hand you haven't changed a bit;
estás más hermosa que nunca.
you're more beautiful than ever.
Caption 56, Yago - 11 Prisión
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Very often, compliments are preceded by some form of congratulations. Let's see that in action:
Los felicito, muchachos; eso está muy bien.
I congratulate you, kids; that's great.
Caption 36, Tu Voz Estéreo - Feliz Navidad
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Enhorabuena, Amaya... -Muchas gracias. -...por tu primera venta.
Congratulations, Amaya... -Thanks a lot. -...on your first sale.
Caption 77, Santuario para burros - Tienda solidaria
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Do you know how to say 'good job' in Spanish? Let's see how to express one of the most common compliments:
Te felicito; buen trabajo, ¿eh?
I congratulate you; good job, huh?
Caption 49, Muñeca Brava - 47 Esperanzas
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Debo admitir que hiciste un excelente trabajo, realmente.
I must admit that you did an excellent job, really.
Caption 4, Muñeca Brava - 33 El partido
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There are many ways to compliment a woman on her looks. Let's see some examples of compliments for women in Spanish:
Hola, guapa.
Hello, beautiful.
Caption 30, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa - Capítulo 3
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Pasa. -Qué bonita que estás, ¿eh?
Come in. -How pretty you look, huh?
Caption 1, Yago - 12 Fianza
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Yo jamás dejaría plantada a una mujer tan guapa como esta.
I would never stand up a woman as beautiful as this one.
Caption 67, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa - Capitulo 5
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The verb gustar (to like) is very useful when it comes to express compliments. Just like English, what you want to say is 'I like this of you':
Me gusta como sos. Me gusta tu pelo.
I like how you are. I like your hair.
Captions 80-81, Muñeca Brava - 7 El poema
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You can also use similar verbs to express compliments in Spanish:
Es que me encanta cómo hablas.
It's just that I love the way you speak.
Caption 49, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa - Capítulo 2
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¡Hey! Adoro tu caminar
Hey! I adore your walking
Caption 34, Huecco - Dame Vida
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There are lots of compliments you can use when you want to encourage someone. Teachers, for example, use these kinds of compliments often with their students:
Perfecto, chicos. Muy bien.
Perfect, guys. Very good.
Caption 57, Clase Aula Azul - El verbo parecer
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A very common way of expressing compliments in Spanish consists of using the word qué (what) followed by a positive word (most of the time an adjective):
¡Qué buen observador eres!
What a good observer you are!
Caption 30, Guillermina y Candelario - El Mar enamorado
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¡Pero qué lindo dibujito!
But what a nice little drawing!
¡Mateo, qué bien está dibujado, che!
Mateo, how well it's drawn, wow!
Captions 41-42, Yago - 4 El secreto
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Quiero que todo el mundo sea feliz y contento.
I want everyone to be happy and content.
¡Muy bien! Qué bonito, ¿mmm?
Very good! How nice, hmm?
Captions 34-35, Clase Aula Azul - Pedir deseos
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Sometimes, we can express compliments or flatter someone by saying good things about something that is connected to that person:
Ay, me encanta tu camiseta azul. Gracias.
Oh, I love your blue shirt. Thank you.
Captions 3-4, Español para principiantes - Los colores
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Si, si lo criaste vos, tiene que ser un buen pibe.
If, if you raised him, he must be a good kid.
Caption 33, Yago - 6 Mentiras
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And that's it for today. Try practicing some of these compliments in Spanish and don't forget to send us your questions and comments.
¡Hasta la próxima!
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