Let's get ready for the end of the year with the following five tips regarding some of this period's most commonly used Spanish words and phrases.
While the most standard way to say "Happy New Year" in Spanish is simply Feliz Año Nuevo, you may also hear the following alternatives:
Feliz Año (short for Happy New Year)
Próspero Año Nuevo (Prosperous New Year)
Feliz 2023 (Happy 2023)
If you're writing to someone, there's a difference between writing Feliz Año Nuevo (with all three words capitalized) and Feliz año nuevo (with the second two words in lowercase). In fact, while the former is a good wish for the New Year's Eve and New Year's Day holidays, the latter is a more general good wish for the new year ahead.
Nochevieja (literally "old night") is the last night of the year, or New Year's Eve. Just keep in mind that it is preferable to write the name of this special day as one single word (Nochevieja), rather than as two words (Noche Vieja).
In some parts of Latin America, people burn human-size dolls called años viejos (literally "old years") stuffed with old clothes, newspaper, and firecrackers as a symbolic act to cast off the old year and welcome the new one, as we can see and hear about in the following clip (check out the full video to learn more)!
Un saludo para todos los fabricantes de años viejos y los compradores
A greeting to all the makers of "años viejos" [dolls] and the buyers
Captions 74-75, Otavalo Artesano de monigotes de Año Viejo
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It is difficult to imagine the end of the year in many Spanish-speaking countries without fireworks. But do you know how to say "fireworks" in Spanish? The following are the two acceptable terms:
Fuegos artificiales
Juegos pirotécnicos
Regarding the second term, be careful not to mix it with the first and say "fuegos pirotécnicos" instead of "juegos pirotécnicos." This mistake is quite common, even among native Spanish speakers! Let's hear how to pronounce the first term:
Sí, fuegos artificiales con un fondo de violines, me encanta, ¿eh?
Yes, fireworks with a background of violin [music]; I love it, huh?
Caption 39, Yago 6 Mentiras - Part 2
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And that's all for this year! We wish you a stellar 2023, and don't hesitate to write us with your questions and comments. ¡Feliz año!
The focus of today's lesson will be "verbs like gustar." But... what is gustar like?!
The Spanish verb gustar describes the concept of "liking" someone or something. In contrast to English, where we'd say "We" (the subject) "like cheese" (the object), in Spanish, whatever "we like" becomes the subject that projects the action "onto us." This is similar to how the English verb "to please" functions, e.g., "Cheese pleases us," where "the cheese" carries out the action of "pleasing" (us). For an in-depth exploration of this topic, we recommend this two-part lesson on Gustar vs. "To Like": A Difference in Perception. In the meantime, we'll give you a few tips regarding conjugating the verb gustar and verbs that act in a similar fashion.
1. An indirect object pronoun (me (to me), te (to you), le (to him/her/formal "you"), nos (to us), os (informal plural "to you"), and les ("to them" or plural "to you")) is used to indicate who is "being pleased," or, in English, the person who "likes" someone or something.
2. Regardless of tense, the verb gustar is conjugated in accordance with the Spanish subject (what is "being liked" or "pleasing").
3. If the subject is a noun, the definite article is used (el, la, los, las, which mean "the").
4. Optionally, a phrase with a (to) + a prepositional pronoun (mí (me), ti (you), él (him), ella (her), usted (formal "you"), nosotros (we), vosotros (informal plural "you"), or ustedes (plural "you")) can be added before or after the verb for emphasis. A direct object may also be introduced with a.
Armed with this information, let's look at a few examples:
A mí me gustan las hamburguesas.
I like hamburgers.
Caption 11, Español para principiantes Los colores
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Me gustas.
I like you.
Caption 44, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa Capítulo 4 - Part 12
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¡A las niñas grandes les gustan los coches deportivos, les gusta el dinero, les gusta bailar!
Big girls like sports cars, they like money, they like "bailar"!
Captions 22-23, Extr@: Extra en español Ep. 3 - Sam aprende a ligar - Part 3
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In accordance with our tips, in all of these examples, the indirect object pronoun indicates or agrees with who is "liking"/"being pleased," with me being "I" and les agreeing with the direct object, las niñas grande. The verb gustar, on the other hand, agrees with who or what "pleases"/"is liked" in English: the plural gustan with las hamburguesas and los coches deportivos, gustas with the implied tú (you), and gusta with el dinero and the infinitive bailar.
Now that we've recalled how gustar functions, we bet you're dying to know Yabla's Top Ten Verbs Like Gustar in the sense of the "reversal" of the roles of the traditional subject and object. Let's take a look.
Although this verb is most often translated as just "hurt(s)," it might help you to think of the more literal translations for the examples below: "My legs hurt (me)" and "your head hurts (you)," respectively.
¡Me duelen las piernas!
My legs hurt!
Caption 45, Extr@: Extra en español Ep. 3 - Sam aprende a ligar - Part 1
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Cuando tú estás enfermo, te duele la cabeza,
When you're ill, your head hurts,
Captions 32-33, El Aula Azul Las Profesiones - Part 2
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Note that as gustar can be translated as "to like," encantar is most often translated as "to love." However, it might behoove you to think of the English word "enchant(s)" to help remember the Spanish structure, e.g. "Feathers enchant me."
Me encantan las plumas.
I love feathers.
Caption 33, Ariana Cena especial
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Aquí, a los alemanes les encanta sentarse afuera
Here, Germans love to sit outside
Caption 21, Venezolanos por el mundo Zoraida en Alemania - Part 2
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Es una ciudad que me fascina,
It's a city that fascinates me
Caption 16, Venezolanos por el mundo Gio en Barcelona
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y me fascinaba perderme entre sus calles
and it fascinated me to get lost in its streets
Caption 11, Venezolanos por el mundo Gio en Barcelona
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An alternative translation for this second caption might be: "and I loved getting lost in its streets."
While "need" is the most often-heard translation for the verb hacer falta, you can think of the following examples with "to be necessary for" to more closely imitate their Spanish structure, i.e., "the only thing that's necessary for us" and "Those songs are necessary for me."
lo único que nos hace falta es una voz líder.
the only thing we need is a lead singer.
Caption 31, X6 1 - La banda - Part 3
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Me hacen falta esas cantadas
I need those songs
Caption 66, Félix Carlos Hello Chamo
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While the English verbs "to matter (to)" and "be important (to)" work much like the Spanish verb gustar, importar plus an indirect object pronoun can also occasionally be translated as "to care about."
Me importás vos.
You matter to me.
Caption 23, Yago 6 Mentiras - Part 2
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¡Mis hijos me importan!
I care about my children!
Caption 60, Yago 3 La foto - Part 6
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This second example could also be translated more literally as "My children matter to me!"
The verb interesar can be translated as either "to interest" or "be interested." For example, if you say, Me gusta la ciencia, either the more literal "science interests me" or "I'm interested in science" suffice as possible translations. Let's see a couple of examples, noting the inclusion of the word atraer (to attract), which also functions like gustar.
no me atraen ni me interesan...
they neither attract me nor interest me...
Caption 8, Enanitos Verdes Amores Lejanos
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si les interesa saber cómo es la cumbia, en Yabla pueden encontrar un video
if you're interested in knowing what cumbia is like, you can find a video on Yabla
Captions 90-91, Cleer y Lida El Carnaval de Barranquilla - Part 2
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Since the English verb "to bother" works much like the Spanish molestar, the translations for sentences with the verb molestar plus an indirect object pronoun should seem pretty straightforward for English speakers.
¿Por qué te molestan tanto?
Why do they bother you so much?
Caption 3, Guillermina y Candelario La Peluqueria del Mar - Part 2
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¡No, no me molestas para nada! -Adiós.
No, you don't bother me at all! -Goodbye.
Caption 48, Yago 9 Recuperación - Part 1
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In our first example below, a more literal translation would be "it seems cool to them." However, "to think" is a very common translation for parecer(le) a alguien (to seem to someone). For more on the verb parecer, check out Clase Aula Azul's seven-part series on El verbo parecer as well as Doctora Consejo's video on Parecer y parecerse.
Están muy interesados en la música, les parece chévere.
They're very interested in the music, they think it's cool.
Caption 54, Cleer Entrevista a Lila
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¿Te parezco una mujer?
Do I seem like a woman to you?
Caption 29, Muñeca Brava 8 Trampas - Part 1
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When you want to talk about "being worried" or "worrying" yourself, the reflexive verb preocuparse (to worry) is the one to choose. But in the case that something worries you, the verb preocupar plus an indirect object pronoun can help you to describe this.
Sí, te preocupa. -¿A mí qué me preocupa? -¿Morena?
Yes, it worries you. -What worries me? -Morena?
Caption 32, Yago 9 Recuperación - Part 4
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para hablarles de un tema que parece del pasado pero que nos preocupa a todos en el presente.
to talk to you about a topic that seems [to be] from the past but which concerns us all in the present.
Captions 28-29, La Sub30 Familias - Part 1
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In literal terms, quedar plus an indirect object pronoun can be thought of as "what remains" or "is left for" someone or something. Let's take a look at this verb in action:
Como: Todavía me queda tiempo.
Like: I still have time.
Caption 110, Escuela BCNLIP Clase con Javi: el futuro - Part 10
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todavía nos quedan muchos más prefijos para ver.
we still have a lot more prefixes left to look at.
Caption 52, Carlos explica Los prefijos en español - Part 4
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Note that this very same verb can also refer to how something "looks on" or "fits" someone when accompanied by adjectives such as bien, mal, grande, etc.
Que me pasa a mí es que los guantes siempre me quedan grandes.
What happens to me is that the gloves are always too big for me.
Caption 78, 75 minutos Del campo a la mesa - Part 5
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With this final example, we conclude our list of Yabla's Top Ten Verbs Like Gustar. While these are just a handful of the many verbs that function like gustar in Spanish, we hope that this lesson has aided your understanding of how they work and look forward to your suggestions and comments.
In preparation for El Día de San Valentín (Valentine's Day), let's listen to several pertinent clips from the Yabla Spanish video library... and learn some vocabulary in the process!
Aunque no crean, existe el amor a primera vista.
Believe it or not, love at first sight does exist.
Caption 56, El reencuentro Las amigas hablan del trabajo y el amor.
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Cupido vuelve a apuntar con su flecha
Cupid aims with his arrow again
Caption 5, Tito El Bambino Llueve el amor
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Mande a pedir un ramo de doce rosas rojas,
Order a bouquet of twelve red roses,
Caption 45, Programación de oficina El dictado del jefe
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Chocolate Perfección: el chocolate para enamorados.
"Chocolate Perfección": the chocolate for lovers.
Captions 43-44, Extr@: Extra en español Ep. 5: Ha nacido una estrella - Part 2
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The captions above include some common themes and traditions of Valentine's Day in North America, which is meant to festejar el amor (celebrate love) for romantic partners and family members, and, increasingly, to show appreciation for friends. Typical ways of doing so include intercambiar regalos (exchanging gifts) and tarjetas de San Valentín (valentines), mandar flores (sending flowers), most typically rosas rojas (red roses), giving cajas de chocolate en forma de corazón (heart-shaped boxes of chocolate), and planning special citas (dates), such as salir a cenar (going out to dinner). Valentine's Day in North America is celebrated on el catorce de febrero (February fourteenth).
Valentine's Day is celebrated in a similar fashion on the same day in many Spanish speaking countries, with varying degrees of popularity. In addition to El Día de San Valentín, many countries refer to this holiday as El Día del Amor y la Amistad (Love and Friendship Day) or El Día de los Enamorados (Lovers' Day), while some use these terms interchangeably. And Guatemala has a unique name: El Día del Cariño (Affection Day).
Many Valentine's costumbres (traditions) in the Spanish-speaking world overlap with North American ones:
La floristería. ¿Sí? Es una tienda donde la gente compra flores, plantas, ¿sí? Por ejemplo, para cumpleaños, o para... en... en primavera, o para el Día de los Enamorados, por ejemplo.
The florist. Right? It's a store where people buy flowers, plants, right? For example, for birthdays, or for... in... in spring, or for Valentine's Day, for example.
Captions 3-6, Curso de español Tiendas y edificios públicos en la ciudad
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However, there are some differences. In Chile, las orquídeas (orchids) are the flowers of love rather than roses. And some countries, like the Dominican Republic, have the tradition of a game called Amigo secreto (Secret Friend) or Angelito (Little Angel) among friends or colleagues, which is similar to the idea of Secret Santa.
Some countries celebrate their Valentine's Day on a different date, while others commemorate both February 14th and additional love and friendship holidays.
Colombia's El Día del Amor y la Amistad falls on the third Saturday in September, while Argentina's La Semana de la Dulzura (Sweetness Week), where amigos (friends) and amantes (lovers) exchange chocolate and other dulces (sweets), lasts from June 1st through 7th. Argentinians also recognize El Día del Amigo (Friend Day) on July 20th, whereas Mexico has its El Día Internacional de la Amistad (International Friendship Day) on August 30th. Additional romantic holidays include El Día del Estudiante, de la Juventud, de la Primavera, y del Amor (The Day of the Student, Youth, Spring, and Love) on September 21st in Bolivia and El Día de San Jorge (Saint George's Day) in Catalonia on April 23rd, where red roses are traditionally gifted to women and books to men. On El Día de San Dionisio (Saint Dionysius Day) in Valencia on October 9th, the gift of choice is the Spanish sweet mazapán (marzipan) wrapped in a pañuelo (handkerchief).
Now that we know about various international Valentine's-like festivities, let's learn some romantic Spanish vocabulary, starting with some verbs:
abrazar: to hug/embrace
acurrucar: to cuddle
adorar: to adore/love
amar: to love
besar: to kiss
coquetear: to flirt
casarse: to marry/get married
enamorarse: to fall in love
encantar: to [cause] love
gustar: to [cause someone to] like
querer: to like/love
Related to these words are, of course, essential Valentine's Day nouns like el beso (the kiss) and el abrazo (the hug) and adjectives like enamorado/a (in love). Let's hear a few of these words in action:
Me quiero casar con ella. Estoy enamorado, ¿eh?
I want to marry her. I'm in love, huh?
Caption 59, Muñeca Brava 2 Venganza - Part 9
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¿Y no te alcanza el tiempo para coquetear con cierto chico... rubio, guapo, encantador?
And don't you have enough time to flirt with a certain guy... blond, handsome, charming?
Captions 116-117, NPS No puede ser 1 - El concurso - Part 10
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Siento que cada día te quiero más
I feel that each day I love you more
Caption 27, Alberto Barros Mano a mano
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Since the subtle differences between the different "love" verbs can seem a bit confusing for English speakers, we recommend our lessons on three different ways to express love in Spanish and Amar y Querer. And, since the way that verbs like gustar and encantar work can feel a bit counterintuitive, we recommend this two-part lesson on Querer vs. "To Like": A Difference in Perception.
Let's conclude today's lesson with some ways to refer affectionately to your romantic partner, although you might additionally hear many of them used among friends. While we will provide their literal translations below, many of them can be used similarly to the way that the terms "honey," "dear" or "sweetie" are used in English.
Amor: love
Cariño: affection
Corazón: heart
Mi cielo: my sky
Mi rey/reina: my king/queen
Mi vida: my life
Querido/querida: dear
Let's hear a few of these in action:
y te mando un beso, corazón.
and I send you a kiss, sweetheart.
Caption 11, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa Capítulo 3 - Part 7
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Dame un beso. -¿De verdad, mi cielo?
Give me a kiss. -Really, my dear?
Caption 64, Confidencial: Asesino al Volante Capítulo 1 - Part 3
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¡Mi reina! Mi amor, cómo te extrañé. -Hola, yo también.
My queen! My love, how I missed you. -Hello, me too.
Captions 1-2, Yago 6 Mentiras - Part 2
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And remember that while gordo/a literally means "fat" or "fatty," it is also used as a term of endearment in some Latin American countries (although we definitely don't recommend employing it's English equivalent!).
Ay, gordo, muchísimas gracias por haber estado aquí. -A ti por invitarme.
Oh, honey, thank you very much for having been here. -To you for inviting me.
Caption 13, Club 10 Capítulo 2 - Part 4
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We hope that this lesson rife with Valentine's Day vocabulary has been useful to you, and ¡Feliz Día de San Valentín (Happy Valentine's Day)! And don't forget to leave us your suggestions and comments.
Even though there are plenty of websites devoted to explaining the difference between te amo and te quiero (both meaning "I love you" in English), learning how to use these expressions remains a difficult task for many English speakers. Why is that?
For starters, these phrases deal with perhaps one of the most complicated feelings human beings can ever experience. All things considered, you could say that a language that offers only two verbs to express this feeling is, in fact, very limited! And if you believe Spanish is just complicating things by using both amar and querer, consider that there are at least 11 words for love in Arabic! Is it really that surprising, considering the many ways, modes, and interpretations of love that there are out there?
So, generally speaking, the difference between te amo and te quiero is that the first one is more serious in nature, while the second one is more casual. You have also probably heard or read that te amo is romantic in nature and te quiero is not, but this is not really accurate. The phrase te quiero is used all the time to express romantic love, and is even perhaps more common than saying te amo.
What is the difference, then? Well, there is an added solemnity to saying te amo that is somewhat equivalent to the act of kneeling to propose marriage: some people may see it as too theatrical, affected, and old-fashioned, while others may see it as the ultimate proof of how deep and committed the declaration of love is. For many, using te amo as a declaration of romantic love is very telenovela-like, but for others, it's just the right way to do it. Our new series Los Años Maravillosos comically illustrates this duality of perspectives:
Te amo.
I love you.
-Yo también te amo.
-I love you too.
-¿Cómo podían amarse?
-How could they love each other?
¡Se habían conocido a la puerta del colegio hacía cinco minutos!
They had met at the school door five minutes ago!
Captions 45-48, Los Años Maravillosos - Capítulo 1
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Te amo is also used very often to express romantic love in songs and poetry:
Te amo dormida, te amo en silencio
I love you asleep, I love you in silence
Caption 47, Documental de Alejandro Fernandez - Viento A Favor
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On the other hand, te quiero is a more relaxed way to express either romantic love or affection to family, friends, pets, etc.
Confesarte que te quiero,
To confess to you that I love you,
que te adoro, que eres todo para mí
that I adore you, that you're everything to me
Caption 3, Andy Andy - Maldito Amor
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Te quiero mucho (I love you so much) is something you can and must say to your kids, your partner, your family, and yourself on a regular basis:
Y en este momento, ¿sabes lo que yo quiero hacer?
And at this moment, do you know what I want to do?
Pasar mis días con mi abuelito. -¡Qué maravilla!
To spend my days with my grandpa. -How wonderful!
-Te quiero mucho.
I love you a lot.
Captions 29-31, Yago - 4 El secreto
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But when can't you say te quiero? Well, here's an interesting tidbit. Spanish speakers have long used the distinction between te amo and te quiero* to test the commitment of their lovers. So learn this: If your lover says to you te quiero, you can answer yo también te quiero. (Of course, you also have the option to turn up the tables and solemnly answer yo te amo, if you are up for it.) But if your lover says to you te amo, be careful! She or he probably means serious business. You either answer with a reciprocal te amo, or answer with te quiero (which will likely be interpreted as, "Whoa! I want to go slower").
In Spanish, when someone says te amo to profess romantic love, there's always this conscious choice of putting more emphasis, adding more commitment, giving more importance to the expression. It could come out of true emotion, of course, but it could also be a calculated move to manipulate someone. If you are familiar with the plot of Yago Pasión Morena, you know which is which in the following situation:
Yo también, mi amor. -Te amo.
Me too, my love. -I love you.
Yo también te amo, te reamo.
I also love you, I love you so much.
Captions 3-4, Yago - 6 Mentiras
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So you definitely don't want to be saying te amo lightly to declare romantic love. However, different contexts mean different rules. For example, since expressing your love to your dad is definitely not in the context of romantic love, maybe you can use te quiero on a regular basis and use te amo, papá on his 70th birthday.
Moreover, in some situations, using the verb amar is more natural than using querer. This is especially true when you are talking about your love for inanimate or abstract things, like nature, a musical genre, etc. Why? Well, because the verb querer literally means "to want," while amar is exclusively used to express affection. Strictly speaking, you can also use querer, though it would sound a little odd (it would sound a bit as if you are professing romantic love for an object or an abstract thing). Anyway, if you decide to use querer to express your affection to something other than an animate being, make sure to always use the preposition a (for) plus an article (el, la, los, las, etc.) or a possessive adjective (mi, su, tu, etc). Study the difference between the following examples and their translations. The first option is the most natural and common, the second one is possible but uncommon, and the third one means something totally different:
Voy de vacaciones al campo porque amo a la naturaleza / quiero a la naturaleza / quiero la naturaleza.
I'm going on a vacation to the countryside because I love nature / I love nature / I want nature.
Gertrudis realmente ama a la literatura / quiere a la literatura / quiere literatura.
Gertrudis really loves literature / loves literature / wants literature.
Los niños aman a su hogar / quieren a su hogar / quieren su hogar.
The kids love their home / love their home / want their home.
Amo al jamón ibérico / Quiero al jamón ibérico / quiero jamón ibérico.
I love Iberian ham / I love Iberian ham / I want Iberian ham.
Finally, there is another instance is which you must use amar instead of querer: when you want to express love that is strictly spiritual in nature. So you say amar a dios (to love God), amar al prójimo (to love one’s neighbor), amara la creación (to love God's creation), etc. Again, it's possible to use querer in such contexts as well, but it's not customary and it would sound odd. Here's a nice example:
Hermano gato
Brother cat
Yo te amo, no te mato
I love you, I don't kill you
Captions 19-20, Aterciopelados - Hijos del Tigre
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*For advanced learners, here’s a very famous song that refers to the difference between amar and querer out of spite for an unrequited love.
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