When traveling in a foreign country, you might want to order a glass of wine with dinner or have a beer with friends. But do you know how to say "wine" and "beer" in Spanish? In this lesson, we will teach you the words for those bebidas (beverages) as well as the names for several of the most popular liquors... just in case you want to have a trago (alcoholic beverage) instead!
The standard word for beer in Spanish is cerveza:
"Llevo tres cervezas y todavía tengo sed",
"I've had three beers, and I'm still thirsty,"
Caption 34, Aprendiendo con Silvia Significados, usos y expresiones con "quedar" - Part 6
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The word for wine in Spanish is vino. Let's hear it in action:
hay vino blanco.
there's white wine.
Caption 24, Ariana Cena especial
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As we just heard, vino blanco is "white wine" in Spanish. Now, let's find out how to say "red wine," which might be different than you thought!
Vino tinto es como se refiere al vino rojo en el resto del mundo, aquí en España.
"Vino tinto" is the name here in Spain for what's called "red wine" in the rest of the world.
Caption 50, Amaya Cata de vinos
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El vino rosado puede venir de variedades blancas mezcladas con tintas
Rosé wine can come from white varieties mixed with red ones
Caption 14, Feria de Vinos Españoles en Londres Bodegas Quiroga de Pablo
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Rosé wine can also be referred to in Spanish as rose, rosé, or simply rosado.
"Sparkling wine" is the more general category for bubbly wines like champagne, cava, and prosecco. Let's learn how to say a few of these terms in Spanish:
El cava es el vino espumoso de España que sigue el mismo método que... que el champán,
Cava is the sparkling wine from Spain that follows the same method as... as champagne,
Captions 13-14, Feria de Vinos Españoles en Londres Bodegas Castell D'Age
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Alternatively, the words champaña or champagne itself may be used for "champagne."
Let's hear the names for many of the world's most popular types of liquor in the context of videos from our Spanish library.
Está Elisa elaborando unas trufitas de coñac
Elisa is making some little cognac truffles
Caption 9, Horno San Onofre El Chocolate
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Su mujer era Ginebra,
His wife was Guinevere,
Caption 42, El Aula Azul Adivina personajes históricos - Part 1
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Although in this clip, Ginebra is the translation for the name Guinevere, the word ginebra in Spanish also means "gin."
de Tequila su mezcal
from Tequila, its mezcal
Caption 45, El Ausente Acto 2 - Part 3
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Lo que no puedes dejar de probar si vas a Cuba es el Ron Santiago,
What you can't miss trying if you go to Cuba is Ron Santiago [Santiago Rum],
Caption 24, Viajando con Fermín La Feria Internacional de los Países de Fuengirola - Part 3
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Con un... -Claro, claro, sí. -la botella de tequila.
With a... -Of course, of course, yes. -the bottle of tequila.
Caption 40, Hispanoamericanos en Berlín Karla y Fernando hablan de música
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Mis pensamientos son tan puros como vodka caro
My thoughts are as pure as expensive vodka
Caption 5, Joselo Sobriedad
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¡No tomo whisky! -¡Pero hacete hombre de una vez, che!
I don't drink whiskey! -But become a man once and for all!
Caption 23, Muñeca Brava 2 Venganza - Part 3
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And, as subcategories of whiskey, we have "Scotch," which can be known as whisky/güisgui escosés, or simply escosés and "bourbon" (bourbon, borbón, whisky/güisgui americano or borbónico).
Of course, in addition to these internationally renowned liquors, it might be interesting to try local favorites like fernet in Argentina, pisco in Peru, cocuy in Venezuela or aguardiente in Colombia, just to name a few, either alone or in the context of cócteles (cocktails).
Armed with this information, we hope you now feel equipped to order your favorite alcoholic beverage in Spanish, should you choose to.
Just remember to do so in moderation (so as not to have to describe your hangover in Spanish), and write us with any of your comments, questions, or suggestions. ¡Salud (Cheers)!
The Spanish verb llevar has many different meanings. It's also used in many idiomatic phrases. Let's study some examples since this is a very popular and useful verb.
The basic meanings of llevar is "to carry " or "to take":
Tengo que llevar a mi hijo al doctor - I have to take my kid to the doctor.
Ella lleva una carga muy pesada - She carries a very heavy burden.
Sometimes the verb llevar translates as "to bring":
No [te] olvides [de] llevar un regalo a la fiesta de Lucía / Don't forget to bring a gift to Lucia's party.
This can be a little confusing for English speakers, since traer and llevar actually mean opposite things in Spanish. The verb traer involves carrying something to the speaker's location, while llevar means to carry something from the speaker's location to a different place. So, to use the same example, if you are already at Lucía's party or, let's say, she is your roomie, you must say: No [te] olvides [de] traer un regalo a la fiesta de Lucía (Don't forget to bring a gift to Lucia's party).
But the verb llevar has many other interesting uses. For example, it's used to express the idea of having been doing something for a period of time. In this case, it's very common to combine llevar with the preposition ya (already):
Yo ya llevo veintitrés años aquí ya.
I have already been here for twenty-three years now.
Caption 65, 75 minutos - Del campo a la mesa - Part 18
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Llevar can also be used to express duration. This is easy to learn since English also uses "to take" for the same purpose:
tenemos que teñirlo, esto pues, nos lleva un ratito,
we have to dye it, this well, it takes us a little while,
Caption 68, Animales en familia - Un día en Bioparc: Microchip para Nacahué - Part 1
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As you can see, this use of llevar frequently involves using reflexive pronouns. But you don't always need them. Compare, for example:
Hacer la tarea lleva mucho tiempo / Doing homework takes a lot of time.
Hacer la tarea me lleva mucho tiempo / Doing homework takes me a lot of time.
Llevar also means"to wear":
¿Por qué lleváis guantes?
Why do you wear gloves?
Caption 46, 75 minutos - Del campo a la mesa - Part 5
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By the way, the verb traer (to bring) is sometimes used the same way:
por eso... traen pantalones
that's why... they wear pants
Captions 47-48, El Ausente - Acto 2 - Part 3
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And the verb llevar also means "to lead." For example: ¿Llevas una vida saludable? (Do you lead a healthy life?).
Finally, there's an expression used in Mexico that derives from this last meaning: ahí la llevas. It literally means something like "there, you are leading it" but it means that the person speaking is telling you that you are doing your work well. It's very common to use this expression as an ironic remark that means exactly the opposite, so be careful:
No te rindas, hijo. Ahí la llevas. / Don't give up, son. You are doing well.
¿Otra vez borracho? Bueno, tú síguele. Ahí la llevas. / Drunk again? Well, keep going. You are on the right track... not.
Llevar (to take) and traer (to bring) are very similar verbs. Both refer to the action of moving objects from one location to another. Llevar is used when an object is being taken to a place other than where the person who is talking is. On the other hand, traer is used when an object is being transported towards the speaker. It sounds pretty straightforward, right? Well, it is, but deciding when to use llevar or traer in context is sometimes tricky. That's because in many cases there is only a subtle difference of meaning between these two verbs, and because both are used in many idiomatic expressions, and, finally, because in some cases they can be used as synonyms.
So let's start with the basic difference between llevar (to take) and traer (to bring). When Luciana and Julia save Valente from being beaten to death by some thugs, Luciana says:
Ayúdame, vamos a llevarlo a mi casa.
Help me. We are going to take him to my house.
Caption 3, El Ausente - Acto 2
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But when Guillermina finds that her Grandpa has fallen into a pit, she says:
Ya sé, abuelo.
I know, Grandfather.
Voy a traer la red de pescar para intentar subirte.
I'm going to bring the fishing net to try to get you up.
Captions 34-35, Guillermina y Candelario - Una película de terror
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When the direction of the movement is being stated in the phrase, it's possible to use traer or llevar to express the same idea, with just a subtle difference in meaning. In the next caption, we included "traer/to bring" between parentheses so you can compare:
Trabajan duramente
They work hard
para llevar el producto del campo a la mesa.
to take the produce from the field to the table.
Captions 5-6, 75 minutos - Del campo a la mesa Part 1
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Note that the only difference between the two options is the perspective from which the person is talking. With llevar, the person's perspective is from the field; with traer, the person's perspective is from the table.
You should also remember that llevar and traer are both transitive verbs, so they will always be accompanied by a direct object, or direct pronoun. If we add to that the inclusion of indirect objects or indirect pronouns, the many possible ways to combine all these elements can be a real challenge. We suggest you study the rules on how to correctly place and combine all these pronouns. You may also like to check out your conjugation tables, especially for traer, since it's an irregular verb. Study these examples too:
Julio trae el dinero para Raquel. | Julio lo trae para Raquel. | Él lo trae para Raquel. | Él se lo trae.
Julio brings the money to Raquel. | Julio brings it to Raquel. | He brings it to Raquel. | He brings it to her.
No olvides llevar el carro a mamá. | No olvides llevarlo a mamá. | No olvides llevárselo. | ¡Llévaselo!
Don't forget to take the car to mom | Don't forget to take it to mom. | Don't forget to take it to her. | Take it to her!
Now, for the good part: both llevar and traer are used figuratively in so many expressions that we are going to need a second part of this lesson to explore them. Let's just see a couple now.
Llevar and traer are used to express that something or someone has, contains, or wears something:
En español, todas las palabras tienen una sílaba fuerte.
In Spanish, all the words have a strong syllable.
Y muchas de ellas llevan tilde.
And many of them have a written accent.
Captions 50-51, Fundamentos del Español - 1 - El Alfabeto
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Me gusta llevar faldas normalmente, sobre todo en invierno.
I like to wear skirts usually, especially in winter.
Captions 6-7, El Aula Azul - Actividades Diarias
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It's also correct to say Me gusta traer faldas ("I like to wear skirts"). Check out this one:
Por eso traen pantalones.
That's why they wear pants.
Captions 47-48, El Ausente - Acto 2
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You will find llevar and traer meaning "to have" or "to contain" when talking about food or recipes:
Le pusimos una pancetita y lleva pollo.
We put in some bacon and it has chicken.
Caption 92, 75 minutos - Del campo a la mesa Part 9
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Le quitamos la posible arenita que pueda traer.
We remove the possible bit of sand that it might have.
Caption 68, Cómetelo - Crema de brócoli
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We'll stop here to leave some for Part 2. Thanks for reading!
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