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.
Do you know the names of the months in Spanish? Believe it or not, the names of the months in Spanish are quite similar to their English equivalents. Let's look at how to write and pronounce the months of the year in Spanish language.
The answer is mes. If you want to use the plural form, you need to use the term meses. Also, when talking about months in Spanish keep in mind the following:
One month: Un mes
Two months: Dos meses
Last month: El mes pasado
Next month: El próximo mes
Before we hear how to pronounce the names of the 12 months in Spanish, let's take a look at the following list featuring the months in Spanish and English:
January: enero
February: febrero
March: marzo
April: abril
May: mayo
June: junio
July: julio
August: agosto
September: septiembre
October: octubre
November: noviembre
December: diciembre
Let's hear the following sentences so you can practice the pronunciation of the 12 months in Spanish.
Estos son los meses del año. Enero.
These are the months of the year. January.
Captions 1-2, El Aula Azul - Estaciones y Meses
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Diecinueve de febrero.
February nineteenth.
-¡Oh! ¿Diecinueve de febrero?
-Oh! February nineteenth?
Captions 13-14, Extr@: Extra en español - Ep. 1 - La llegada de Sam
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Las Fallas son unas fiestas que se celebran en Valencia durante el mes de marzo.
The Fallas is a festival celebrated in Valencia during the month of March.
Caption 25, Raquel - Fiestas de España
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Me gustaría reservar una cabaña para la primera semana de abril.
I would like to reserve a cabin for the first week of April.
Caption 4, Cleer y Lida - Reservando una habitación
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En mayo, salen las flores.
In May, the flowers come out.
Caption 18, El Aula Azul - Estaciones y Meses
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En junio, empieza el verano.
In June, the summer starts.
Caption 19, El Aula Azul - Estaciones y Meses
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En julio. Vendría el mes de julio entero.
In July. He'd come for the whole month of July.
Caption 27, El Aula Azul - Conversación: Los cursos de español
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En agosto, miles de voluntarios vienen a este sitio.
In August, thousands of volunteers come to this site.
Caption 53, Rosa - Laguna Fuente de Piedra
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Por ejemplo, durante el Festival de Cine
For example, during the Film Festival
que se celebra en San Sebastián en el mes de septiembre.
that is held in San Sebastian in the month of September.
Captions 13-14, San Sebastián - Palacio de Miramar
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Desde octubre se comienza la venta de los monigotes.
From October the selling of the dolls begins.
Caption 55, Otavalo - Artesano de monigotes de Año Viejo
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Fue inaugurado el treinta de noviembre de mil novecientos noventa y cuatro.
It was opened on November thirtieth nineteen ninety-four.
Caption 5, Paseando con Karen Monterrey - Museo de Historia Mexicana
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Normalmente, suele nevar en diciembre.
Normally, it typically snows in December.
Caption 69, Clara y Cristina - Hablan de actividades
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Finally, did you notice anything in particular in the previous sentences regarding the spelling of the names of the months in Spanish? Unlike English, in Spanish the names of the months don't have to be capitalized.
That's it for today. Try to write a couple of sentences with the months in Spanish and read them aloud so you can practice their pronunciation. And don’t forget to send us your feedback and suggestions.
Si no or sino? That is the question of today's lesson. Do you know when to write one or the other? Both expressions seem very similar but they don’t necessarily mean the same thing. Although even native speakers make mistakes when writing these words, the truth is they are used in specific cases that are easily recognizable. Let's start this lesson with a little quiz:
Which one would you use in the following sentence?:
Amalia no ha llegado al apartamento; ____ ya me hubiera llamado.
Amalia hasn't arrived at the apartment; otherwise she would have called me already.
What about in this one?:
No solamente cubre la ciudad de Bogotá, ____ varios municipios alrededor de... de Bogotá.
It doesn't just cover the city of Bogota, but rather several municipalities around... Bogota.
We will unveil the answers at the end of this lesson. Now, let's dive into the difference between si no and sino.
Si no is made of two parts. The conditinal conjunction 'si' and the negation 'no'. We use si no to introduce a negative conditional sentence. In particular, we use si no when it works as "otherwise" to imply the idea of "on the contrary". Let's see a couple of examples:
Porque todos son amantes de los animales, si no, no vendrían a vernos.
Because they are all animal lovers, otherwise, they wouldn't come to see us.
Captions 45-46, Santuario para burros - Voluntarios
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¿Grabó esto sin su permiso?
Did you record this without her permission?
Claro que sí. Si no, no la habría descubierto.
Of course. Otherwise, I wouldn't have discovered it.
Captions 52-54, Los casos de Yabla - El perrito malcriado
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In Spanish, the word sino is a conjunction that usually works as the English equivalent "but" or "but rather". Generally speaking, we use it to create a contrast between and affirmative statement that is placed right after a negative one. Let's see a couple of examples:
Que no es una chica, sino un chico. -Oh...
That's it's not a girl, but rather a boy. -Oh...
Caption 40, Extr@: Extra en español - Ep. 1 - La llegada de Sam
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Por esta razón, no decimos "uno libro", sino "un libro".
For this reason, we don't say "uno libro," but rather "un libro" ["a book"].
Caption 39, Carlos explica - Los Números: Números Cardinales
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Sometimes, we also use sino when we want to state an exception:
Nadie lo sabe sino tu padre.
Nobody except your father knows it.
And finally, we use sino when we want to add more elements to a single statement, usually with the formula 'no solo... sino también' (not only... but also):
Unas de las bandas más importantes de Latinoamérica,
One the most important bands in Latin America,
este... no sólo por su trabajo musical,
um... not only because of their musical work,
sino también por su trabajo social y activismo ambiental.
but also because of their social work and environmental activism.
Captions 10-12, Doctor Krápula - Entrevista
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Considering all of the above, it is time to solve the questions we posed at the beginning of this lesson. Let's unveil the answers:
Amalia no ha llegado al apartamento; si no ya me hubiera llamado.
Amalia hasn't arrived at the apartment; otherwise she would have called me already.
Caption 19, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa - Capitulo 4
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No solamente cubre la ciudad de Bogotá, sino varios municipios alrededor de... de Bogotá.
It doesn't just cover the city of Bogota, but rather several municipalities around... Bogota.
Captions 57-58, Bogotá - Chorro de Quevedo
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That's it for today. We hope this lesson helped you to understand when to write sino and si no. And don't forget to send us your feedback and suggestions.
Do you know how to say “but” in Spanish? If you are wondering why we need a lesson to answer such a simple question, there’s a reason for that. In fact, we have three options to express the conjunction “but” in Spanish: pero, sino and sino que. Let’s look at each one:
As a conjunction, the Spanish word pero works like the English conjunction “but.” Let’s look at some examples:
Pues, fue muy estresante y agotador pero a la vez divertido porque…
Well, it was really stressful and exhausting but at the same time fun because…
Caption 62, Cleer - Entrevista a Lila
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Llegó al país de los Muiscas una bella pero mala mujer llamada Huitaca.
A beautiful but evil woman named Huitaca arrived in the country of the Muiscas.
Caption 28, Aprendiendo con Carlos - América precolombina - El mito de Bochica
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We use pero in Spanish to create contrast between two statements. This contrast helps us to expand the information provided by the first statement. While most of the time the first statement is a positive one, there are some cases in which that statement can be negative:
No podemos ver, pero podemos escuchar.
We can’t see, but we can listen.
In this case, you could also replace pero with sin embargo (however):
No podemos ver. Sin embargo, podemos escuchar.
We can’t see. However, we can listen.
We use the conjunction sino to create a contrast between two statements where the first one is ALWAYS a negative one. Let’s take a look:
Lo importante no es ganar, sino competir.
The important thing isn't winning, but competing.
Caption 41, Club 10 - Capítulo 1
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Que no es una chica, sino un chico. -Oh...
That's it's not a girl, but rather a boy. -Oh…
Caption 40, Extr@: Extra en español - Ep. 1 - La llegada de Sam
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You can think of sino as something that we could replace with por el contrario (on the contrary). Also, keep in mind that when you have a verb after sino, you need to use its infinitive form.
We use sino que exactly the same way as the conjunction sino. The difference is that we use sino que when both statements contain a conjugated verb. Let’s take a look:
En general, la... la gente no es sólo respetuosa,
In general, the... the people are not only respectful
sino que es súper amable con nosotros.
but are super kind to us.
Captions 41-42, El Instituto Cervantes - Jefa de biblioteca
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O sea que no solamente era una cosa, sino que eran varias.
I mean that it was not only one thing, but rather there were many.
Caption 27, María Marí - Su pasión por su arte
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Considering the fact that you have three options, you might not always know which option to choose in order to say “but” in Spanish. Luckily, there are some simple rules that will help you to figure out whether you need to use pero, sino or sino que. Let’s have a look:
- If the first statement is positive you need to use pero.
- If the first statement is negative, you need to use either sino or sino que.
- If the first statement is negative and you have a conjugated verb in both statements you need to use sino que.
- If you can replace “but” with “however” (sin embargo), you need to use pero.
- If you can replace “but” with “on the contrary,” (por el contrario) you need to use sino.
That's all for now. Now that you know how to say “but” in Spanish, try to write 5 sentences with pero, 5 sentences with sino and 5 sentences with sino que. And don’t forget to send your feedback and suggestions to newsletter@yabla.com.
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